The reality of the current Rockets is we need a paradigm shift from most everyone involved. Right Now: Harden can score 40 or Westbrook can score 40. While one wins more than the other, I don't think at this point either is what is needed. They each need to shift a little - IMO I think combined they can score 60. While it will be different night to nite .. . I lean more toward a split Harden way (35/25) There needs to be a focus on the other parts of the game Defense, Assists, rebounds . And the big thing of this shift . . . . less minutes. 35 minutes a game MAX! 30 minutes average This is the DanAndToni shift. He has got to manage minutes better. This is getting ridiculous his player management is unreal and destroying us. We complained about it with JVG as well Thibbadeux was notorious for it . .. (some even think he may have ruined Derrick Rose) Watching Harden play . . . seemingly a bit injured . . . I don't want him to be Isaiah Thomas (the little one) or Grant Hill Stop trying to play through injuries !!! Our Role players need to Roll Hit some f*cking shots. They need more time and confidence. They need CONSISTENT TIME .. . His is not just Harty and Thabo But House and BMac . . . If you run off the three line. . .DRIVE HARD (and please don't miss dunks. . . . HOUSE!!!!) IT is the end of January . . .this is the time to tinker . . . Try different line ups and get ready for the March push Honestly. . . i know you are all coming but I have no interest in bullsh!t useless complaining HARDEN WON'T . . . WERSTBROOK is just .. . TILMAN is cheat etc etc Can we examine the team without taking a **** on them? Rocket River
The best thing right now is that Russ and the Rockets have found out how to maximize him on offense. The stat that I've been tracking are games when Russ takes 3 or fewer 3s. So far, including last night's game: PPG: 27.4 RPG: 8.7 APG: 7.8 ToPG: 4.7 FG%: 52.1% FT%: 74.6% Total games: 18 Record: 14-4 You move the line to 2 or few 3s: PPG: 28 RPG: 8.4 APG: 8 ToPG: 4.9 FG%: 52.4 FT%: 73% Total games: 12 Record: 9-3 The next is to figure out how this can work with a 100% healthy Harden. It's going to be almost like having two different teams and two different offenses on the floor if they're going to stagger Harden and Russ even moreso.
Defense Turnovers That's the paradigm shift I'd like to see. MJ, Kobe, Wade, Kawhi, etc... if the offense isn't there, they can still impact the game positively in other ways.
We need a new coach and a system thst generates better ( meaning more fluid/unpredictable shots) for role pkayers AND stars. As much as I love Morey... We also may need a fresh start in management. Obviously we can't shitcan Tillman but that would also help.
I am not the biggest fan of it, but not possible to switch at this point, and may never be possible with James, who is just incapable of staying in front of pretty much any NBA backcourt player that can dribble, and unwilling to put in the effort to fight through picks, rotate a ton, etc. In short, keep the system, try and get taller and better wings/frontcourt defenders.
100x this. We don’t have the personnel to switch everything anymore. That was probably a one time thing because of the sheer luck in having Ariza Tucker AND Luc on one team. I’ll be very happy even if we can get just ONE good wing defender by the deadline. At least that helps Tucker out.
Also, switching was a novelty back then. It confused offenses and coaches because nobody had used a switch-everything-always scheme like we were. Nowadays, heavy switching is no longer as effective because offenses have learned to take advantage of it.
Surrounding both Harden & Russ with more complementary role players would be a start. Need more 6'7 plus 3-D players instead of 6'3 guards.
also the switch everything scheme was meant for GS specifically bc of their ball movement coupled with dead eye shooters of klay, steph, and later KD. The idea was if it gave you a chance to beat the best team in the league, it will everyone else. There was no way to defend that team without this, without giving them resistance on their shots. as some have eluded to the rockets had the personnel to do it previously. And to your point its now not as effective, coupled with the rockets having a significant number of low iq poor defenders its no wonder the rockets defense is just outright bad
Replacing Bzdelik with Elston Turner has been just as negatively impactful as losing Ariza/Luc or having owner who emphasizes LTS.
Well....we dont actually switch everything anymore. We have like a combo of traditional pick and roll and switching defense. Problem is, we are bad at both.
Yet this blamed on MDA instead of defensive coach Elston Turner. It amazes me how Turner flies under the radar, even Bzdelik got more hate.
Agreed . But it sounds like most of the things you are suggesting , MDA would have to do ... and i just don’t think he’s gonna do it The evidence for resting has been staring him in the face for many years now and he refuses to take initiative Who is the guy that sits out b2b’s this year / has been careful coming back from injury ? ... Russ . Who is the guy that looks like he is rounding into form and getting stronger as the season goes on ? Russ . I can critique the team without ******** on it , but most of the time I just end up back at MDA . Our roster isn’t perfect. I would Looooove some trades and upgrades . But outside of a few very good teams every year , every team has roster flaws and every team is thin at certain positions . Unlike MDA , other coaches don’t seem to need a perfect 10 deep roster of solid nba vets in order to play more than 7 guys . I like MDA’s willingness to go small and play non-traditional lineups ... I don’t like that that’s his only move . Tilman and Morey are not blameless ... and neither are the players themselves . But When you don’t play guys on the roster because “they aren’t good enough” or “they don’t fit the system” and that causes the good players to get worn down .. then there’s no one to blame but the coach . For as many years as MDA has been in the nba he still hasn’t realized that you CAN win with any team on any night in the regular season . We literally just proved it vs Utah . We did it in 14-15 (winning 56 games)with harden and DMO and Bev ,Joey Dorsey and Nick Johnson . Scrubs hustle , effort is contagious , there’s an added benefit of not wearing guys into dust. MDA knows scrubs can hustle , but his bar for giving playing time to a player that’s not in his top 7 consists of sitting out for 2 weeks then playing inspired , mistake free basketball as soon as he gets back on the court .... that or make 3’s .
I recommend everyone listen to the Book of Basketball podcast by Bill Simmons when he had Steve Nash on. While Nash gives MDA lots of praise he openly admitted that by the time the playoffs hit, he was gassed AF. The other issue was that there wasn't a comparable backup for him and that neutered the team when he wasn't on the court, further intensifying and putting more stress/burden on him to create and run the offense for everyone. Sounds all familiar right?
Of course it does . Remember 16-17 when harden fell apart in the second round . We had no problem admitting that we wore him out a bit too much in the regular season . The next season we had a great roster so resting harden was easy . Last year he carried us again . This year he is playing even more minutes . MDA don’t give a **** . Anything he ever says about wanting to get guys minutes down is just lip service .
One day it'll be Harden on Simmons' podcast saying the same thing That episode made me realize how close Nash was to the championship. Sucks that MDA can't understand giving your star player some rest.
I mean he got very close, if it wasnt for Robert Horry or Amare Stoudimire getting injured, he very well could have won it. People get caught up in the offense but those Suns defenses were average, and that is a big reason they lost. Im not saying Nash was wrong as I think Mike is doing really bad right now and is being stubborn. But the thing about the Suns was not that they were gassed, its that they coulndt get it done defensively that they coulndt win.
I see some good approaches here and there. Too bad the coach and others are too stubborn to consistently move out of their comfort zones.
