Based on his advanced splits he isn't way worse he even increase his TS. Net rating went from 11.4 to 10.4 how is that "way worse"? Also the general consensus is Steph is still a superstar. Ask most fans and CCs majority will say Curry is still a superstar. GSW are irrelevant because of the supporting cast and not really Curry.
Look at any of his WS, ws/48, vorp, any advanced stat and he's a shell of what he used to be. Not believing aging is a real thing is just so weird man, even for you. General consensus also doesn't matter, he's not a superstar regardless what people think or believe, that's not relevant to reality.
Corey Brewer, who was traded to the Lakers, took a pass on the baseline, drove, spun, shook two defenders with a 360 and missed a point-blank shot at the rim. "Coach, I did my thing," he told D'Antoni, "but then I got to the rim and just ran out of talent."
This team has more depth than the Spurs and Nuggets, you remove Victor / Jokic they are lotto teams. Remove our best player and they are still a playoff or play in team.
OK. Good discussion, I concede that most championship teams in history have had more power at their #1 than this Rockets team. Although, in my book Admiral was not a superstar in 1999 by any means... I'd much rather have 2026 KD than 1999 Admiral. What it boils down me is this: Can the Rockets win a title in 2026? Yes, I think so. Is that very likely? No, by any means. Winning a title is a very high hill, only one team wins in a given year, amongst several who can. If we don't win it, will it be because our #1 is not a superstar? It depends entirely on what KD does in the playoffs. His shotmaking looks as sick as ever, but he's not dominating the way Jokic or SGA or Giannis are. Is that because of age? Is that because he defers to our very good depth? Is that because at 37 you're bound to pace yourself... You claim that it is because of decline, I say that this is not at all evident. he very well may have it in him to go on a complete playoff tear and be as good or better as many #1s on championship teams over the past 30 years. His stats at 30 games of regular season is not an indication in my book, and this is where we'll have to disagree. Now, if people are saying that Sengun is a legit #1 on a championship team, I'd agree that this is a leap. Maybe in few years, but not this year. Is our #1 power the main thing that would prevent us from winning a title? Not in my book. I am much, much more concerned about our ball security than our #1/#2 guys. A team with such turnover rate cannot win it, and that is a much bigger factor. Unless we improve or address it with a trade for PG, I think we are second-round exit.
Duncan and Robinson were better that season than current KD but not by much. Also, that was a lockout season and wacky stuff always happens in fake seasons so i wouldn’t use that as a data point (like bubble season). KD is not dominating because he is very very very old. Here is a list of players that i would consider to be a true superstar at 37: End of list Here is a list of players you could argue were still fringe superstars if you squint hard enough: lebron, kareem (both guys far above KD’s level) if the rockets had prime Durant i think we would definitely be legit contenders, the gap between 28 year old kd and 37 year old kd is gargantuan.
Come on now, age 37 Lebron was still 100% a monster. I don't like the guy but it's hard to argue with 30.1 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 6.2 APG with 59%+ TS% That's a legit superstar in any era.
He’s maybe the one guy you could argue for, but he was still nowhere close to his peak anymore. His defense was pretty much completely gone and he was hurt a lot of the season. He’s also SO MUCH better than kd that it’s not a super useful data point, even if you can argue there is literally one person ever who did it.
I'll give you that he was nowhere near his peak, he was however still in the top tier of players in that season. But yeah I agree the point that LeBron is a 1 of 1 there, KD has never been close to him in my opinion in truth. LeBron's probably one of the greatest physical specimens in sports history period though, always was tbh but the longevity just cements what many people (including Morey) have pointed out for years. He's like an X-man or some **** what he's even able to do at his size regardless of age, for it to have maintained for so long just shows how far apart he is from most professional athletes.
They traded for Durant to win a championship. Of course they rely on him. Your comment on Amen makes little sense considering his defense, rebounding, and ability to blow by defenders to the paint. Jabari has improved his game tremendously getting to the paint and shooting more efficiently on pullup 2s and 3s from the corner. Eason has provided a spark and great all around player since he’s started. Being able to shoot 3s isn’t the only skill a player should have. Sheppard has shot 3 well and got Rockets in games or extended leads. If you watch closely Sheppard still makes a lot of mistakes on offense including holding onto the ball instead of passing, passing into congested lanes or where there’s a defender, not being able to get past defender to get in the paint, not converting layups in the paint, not defending in man or help situations.
Whether KD is a super-elite #1 who’s not top10 in stats because of effort economization is a legit matter of debate. Only the playoffs will show. His regular season in 2021 wasn’t that great either, but was a total beast in the playoffs. What is pretty indisputable is that Sengun is among the best #2s in the NBA. Who would you rank above him? KAT? Austen? Who? Amen is also among the best #3s out there… This matters.
What he meant was probably lacks in 25-28 year old elite talents......he would be right about that age bracket. Those guys would be closer to their primes.....if the Rox can do it with 23 and 37 year olds that would be fine as well but it would be unheard of.....why not.
Rockets main weakness is not talent it's offensive execution/coaching. We have guys who are great at certain things like KD -> scoring, Adams -> rebounding, Amen -> defense, but we lack that floor general who can maximize all these talents like a Harden, a Hali or a Nash. Having a savant playmaker who can integrate all these players makes the coach job so much simpler however now that we dont have that the onus is on the coach to create Xs and Os. Lots of coaches do this for example Jordan Ott on the Suns, OKC coach or Michael Malone these coaches dont need a pg to do the work for them. Ime needs to step it up to that level RN I would put him below coaches of other contending teams.
