We’re building a team to beat OKC like we tried to do against GSW. OKC has SGA and J-Dub, so we will counter by throwing 9 defensive wing players at them. Every possession they will be matched up against a different fresh defender. Genius Ime.
I think it is safe to assume collectively Amen/Alpi/Tari/Jabari/Reed will improve as offensive players. The question is how much. Unless one is a hopeless homer of a Rockets fan, there is no scenario where they could build an opening night roster as good as OKC's. All they need is to be within striking distance and you let the season play out.
Both OKC and Pacers had an over abundance of wings. Rather than targeting OKC it may be the new model. Like OKC has SgA, JDub, Lou Dort, Caruso, Ajay Mitchell etc dont tell me they arent wing city as well.
Almost looks like stocking up on wing defenders in order to make a big trade using Jabari, Tari, etc for another elite offensive weapon.
SGA, one of the most unstoppable players on offense, JDdub pretty elite offensive player, Dort ~40% 3pt shooter, Ajay solid playmaker and shooter, and Caruso serviceable shooter. Rockets wings and theirs are not exactly the same archetype or level of player on offense.
Great move when this guy is like the 12th person on your team. We have a crazily deep roster. Other than learning to love KD, it’s amazing.
No, this is different. We're building a team that can throw out several different looks. Small lineups, double bigs, switchy defense. This roster isn't built to beat OKC. It's built to withstand the age of parity where we need to beat any team. So many teams have recently faltered trying to build a team to beat the previous champ: The Wolves built a Nuggets killer, then beat them only to go down to the Mavs next round. The Knicks built a Celtics killer, then beat them only to go down to the Pacers next round. We can focus all we want on OKC, but doing so could mean lose a match up to someone like Denver, LAC or the Wolves who are built differently to OKC.
Chill, this roster spot was always going to be an end of the bench 3rd stringer. Okogie is clearly an NBA level talent. If he is our 14th man, I can't complain. What I can complain about were the better options out there. Melton would have been my #1 target or Malcolm Brogden.
The nightmare for any team is for their best player to get hurt. The true nightmare is to not have assets, or alternatives to turn to when a star player gets hurt. This is not the case with the Rockets. They can stay afloat without Durant because they will have a top tier defense with, or without him. Would adding Seth Curry, or Malcolm Brogan truly matter if KD were healthy, *or, out for the season? I don't think so.
Now, you are getting it. Sengun...Adams....Capella...Tate....DFS.....Okogie.... Centers and wing players on reasonable contracts are nice commodities.
