I got really used to being 2nd in the west. Now we are at 5th spot but just 2.5 games behind 2nd. Looking a bit unrealistic but I really want to go back to 2nd spot. So depressing to see us at 5th, cant stand to look at the ladder anymore. Really miss being at 2nd spot. Really.
It's just a lesson to the JVG's and Udoka's of the world, you can't ask your players to sustain that level of playoff intensity on both sides of the ball, using their extra gear from day 1 of the regular season. I called it almost two months before it happened that we're going to get exhaustion-based injuries before everyone else. Mentally too, we're once again at the point where we have a team that has worked harder than practically everyone else and coach started questioning their effort, instilling paranoia and doubt. He really has to stop doing that, he's going to ruin a pool of perfectly motivated players and he will lose the locker room. No one in the world but Ime believes the rockets have chronic issues with effort. Everyone knows we're the team that built our record on effort. This teams main issues right now are an alarming delay in Udoka's offensive development (two-way Ime only shows up post ASB) and extreme stinginess from the GM. The team has given more than 100% and developed as much as one would expect over a summer. They built this record by getting beat up on defense and rebounds - that's a mostly player driven thing. I don't want to hear these two guys come out and criticize the team's work ethic anymore. When things go wrong, tell the truth: we are ok with this, we had opportunities to acquire shooters but decided late picks are more valuable - even though we constructed a team who's role players can't shoot. Or you can be honest and say: "the other coach outclassed me offensively". This is the hardest working rockets team I've seen since 1994. We're going to bounce back but I doubt it's back to 2nd place unless Jalen once again puts us on his back after the ASB.
Bingo. Ime has to have a superstar offensive player that can carry the offensive load on his own, because he is incapable of coaching offense. I, too, have commented on his scape-goating and never taking responsibility for his own weaknesses. He doesn't have to admit he screwed up in public if his ego can't handle it, but he needs to correct those weaknesses and quit publicly blaming the players. I'm not going to blame Stone, yet. We don't know what the cost of some of the shooters at the deadline and he tried to address our shooting problems by drafting Reed. I also think they were surprised that Jabari and Cam regressed to start the season. Jabari was shooting great before he go hurt, so hopefully next year we will have another outside shooter. Cam has a beautiful stroke so maybe he matures into a better shooter as well. Next year should be make or break for both Ime and Stone to me. If Stone provides the players, but offense still sucks, Ime needs to go. If Stone doesn't supply the players, it's time for him to go as well. No more excuses now that our superstar is finally starting.
Perhaps he can coach offense but he emphasized defense from day 1. The team is extremely young and he remains defense first. If this same team had the same veterans on it but all 7 of the young guys were 5 years older then they would be better offensively. OR. If he was not as focused on defense and let them put more energy into offense then they would better as well. It seems to me he is letting the young guys understand what good defense is and as they get more experience they should get to where they should be as stated in the prior paragraph.
Perhaps he can or perhaps he can't. Are you willing to wait 5 years or even 3 years for the guys to do it themselves? We have great players. It is up to Ime to mold them into contenders. History shows you can't win on defense alone. Most everybody is giving Ime a pass, because he has a young team. I will too, this year. Next year we have to improve our offense or Ime needs to be replaced. OKC isn't going away and SA and the Lakers are going to be much better next year.
Are the lakers replacing LeBron? He only gets worse not better. Unless he takes a pay cut or something.
Lebron has been playing great and has been one of the most durable players in history. Doncic takes his place when he does retire and the league will make sure the Lakers get another superstar replacement for him. Fox was a bad fit for us, but a great fit for the Spurs who are going to tank the rest of the year and probably get another star in the draft. Just letting this roster ride next year is not an option for next year or even 2 years from now. We need to surround Amen with the right kind of players and with an adequate offensive coach even if its just an assistant. You are not a contender by just playing defense. The Doncic and Fox trades have changed the dynamics of the Western Conference for years to come.
Interesting thought, should we bring back Harden and convince him to pull a LeBron to Cleveland move and bring Houston a championship?
Well, there’s a good chance that the Spurs will have two solid shots at a top 3 pick this draft if Atlanta continues to struggle.
Replacing Ime is not the solution. The solution is adding missing pieces to supplement the offensive areas of concern.
Maybe we dodged a bullet on not getting that #1 pick and Wemby .... DVT is bad stuff, potentially career and life threatening.
I said in another post, if Stone provides the players and the offense still sucks Ime needs to go. If Stone doesn't provide the players then Stone needs to go. My point is that next year is the time for both of them to prove they are championship calibre. The West is too good now and going forward, to continue with the status quo and hope the current roster learns how to score.
Udoka said VanVleet's ankle was "in the 80 (percent) range" after practice, and that ideally the point guard would build up to his return with more scrimmaging. The problem is that the Rockets have limited practice time with a Friday/Saturday back-to-back against Minnesota and at Utah followed by a Tuesday/Wednesday back-to-back against Milwaukee and San Antonio. "He needs to have some contact and some up-and-down scrimmaging. That's where he felt a little limited," Udoka said. "Did quite a bit over the break, but that's different than getting out there playing. And when he did, he didn't feel quite confident enough. So I guess after these two games we'll have two days and he might get a decent practice in him again before Milwaukee, San Antonio, and we'll see how he feels after." https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sp...sota-timberwolves-schedule-score-20176356.php
