I'm callin playoffs, baby! I think AT MIN we make the playins and advance to the first round... i aint sayin we'll make it past the 1st round - but really its year 1. I'd call Ime for COY... but idk if NBA would allow those optics (given his recent history in Boston)... lol I'm gonna say kpj is gone by trade deadline (if not sooner). I dont think he's gonna survive without Silas holding his hand...
Sticking with 31 wins pending further changes. Boston/Udoka had 3-pt shooters along the perimeter for Tatum, Brown, Smart, Horford to maneuver. Allowing for back door cutting, slashing, off ball screening to work. Rockets will be forced to be predominately a jump shooting team as opponents pack the paint. Much like last season. Green, Jabari, Tari, Sengun improvement gets negated until January as they try to learn a new offense, defense, coaches and new players added such as Amen, Whitmore, FVV, Dillon and Landale.
Brooks will become the forums punching bag. Kpj excels in his new role on the team. Our youngsters Smith green sengun and Eason all improves. We will b competing for a play in spot hopefully.
Udoka : Not the best, he is OK FVV,Brooks: Salary fillers KPJ: "Still crazy after all this years" JGreen/Sengun/Bari/Tari/Amen : Obvious core TyTy: Huge loss
will wait for final chips to fall down but for this lineup right now, barely enters the play-in tournament
Changed my mind. If we match up @ 2nd round with Denver, it would most likely be 4-1 Houston at this point.
#playoffs. By the end of the season, people will realize that he is in 7 of the top 10 lineups in terms of +/- and stop putting Tate in every trade scenario.
With Amen back, Tate is the odd man out. He is already being benched for the most part. He is really headed to the far end of the bench or out the door unless there is an injury.
If we want something of value in return we have to put some value in what we give up. Who else of value would you include in a trade scenario? Holiday maybe?
Depends upon what we are looking for in return. I think for the most part the only holes in the rotation are a backup big and I believe Tate has far more value than that, especially to contending teams up against the salary cap. He's a band-aid for just about any position except the 5, near the top of the league in turnover rate, assist percentage, offensive efficiency and ranks very highly as a defender by just about every metric. I'm not giving him away for a backup big that's likely to see 14 minutes a night behind Sengun and first round pick in the 20's from a contender just doesn't get it done either. He has more value here pushing the young kids. You can get him, but I need something substantial.
Last 20 games, we had 11 wins. So, you predict we will win 20 more wins in 62 games? Alright, let's not jinx it! Got you...
The only concern is the West has 11 playoff caliber teams. 42-40 might leave someone on the outside of the play in
As a team we are hitting 3’s at a 36% clip. If we can maintain that we should be a 45 win team at worst. However, that is a big if. JVV, Holiday, and Brooks will almost assuredly cool down. Jalen needs to step up and we should try and get a journeyman sharpshooter to come off the bench, if Cam is not that. I agree with Apache that 3 pt shooting is going to be one of the deciding factors of whether we are playoff contenders. I do think we are already play-in contenders. Back up center is crucial as well. FVV and Sengun are going to get worn out.
We certainly look like at least a play-in team right now. The Rockets barring major injuries should finish ahead of at least 4 teams in the West(Utah, Portland, Memphis, San Antonio). All that's left is edging out the Pelicans or Warriors to finish in the Top 10. I assume Phoenix and the Clippers won't THAT bad the rest of the season. As for the playoffs, that's definitely a possibility, but they're gonna have to maintain their stellar play at Toyota Center and at least beat the crappy teams on the road. Either that or Anthony Davis will have to get injured at some point which is almost a guarantee given his track record.
My prediction was with real basketball, not this "Sports Entertainment " fake stuff. That's why I left this forum to concentrate on the Texans and Astros. Not that the NFL isn't rigged either.....I just like watching C.J. Stroud, Nico Collins, Will Anderson, and the gang. I can't stand 5'10" VanVleet nor Dillon the Villain. There was a time Pro Wrestling was debated whether it was fake or not....they also had to put the disclaimer, "Sports Entertainment " That's a must for the league in case a whistle blower comes out.....protects the league from getting sued into oblivion. But you can keep thinking it's real.....Santa and the Easter Bunny as well. Bless your heart.
