Again so if you lose to OKC or SAS you need to be demolished and rebuilt? Is that what you are saying? 2nd round is already them duh. Despite the narrative being spewed here about the Rox being the oldest team their core guys are 24 and younger. Reed literally only 22 yrs old and just got out of bust status. Amen isnt even out of his rookie scale contract. You want the team to be demolished rebuilt cuz they lose to OKC or SAS? Lol what a joke. By your logic OKC should trade SGA and rebuild after losing to SAS.
It’s the lack of self awareness that perpetuates through the organization. IMO, Stone doesn’t trust Ime to play the youth so he limits the roster. I think Stone/Patick has their hands on everything. BUT Stone/Patick do their jobs and Ime is Ime. S/P gave a college championship PG & the G league MVP PG to choose from. The trade deadline comes and goes. IMO, S/P are like it doesn’t matter what we do, it’s coach’s choice. Ime doesn’t want help because he thinks we are not broken. Ime’s offense is KD wants his points just get out the way and play defense. Under different leadership it would look better. like you I have been around a long time and seen the great and the sad. The Rockets have NEVER frustrated as badly as they do now. It’s a me thing and I try not to negative. Even the triangle logo is not for me. Yes the wins are happening but it doesn’t mean that much because Ime can’t coach in the playoffs. The closest thing I can think of is JVG turning Yao Ming’s game into Patrick Ewing’s with all the old NYK players.
All this talk about bullying but our own fans have been bullying the ish out of our players more than any other fanbase, but the moment it turns to the coach and GM ya'll suddenly get sensitive and become white knights, full of justifications? Come on now, get outta here with that BS.
We're always dysfunctional af! lol! Personally, I found the MDA years most maddening - bc we were soooooo close, but these guys (MDA, DM, JH) couldnt get outta their own way... lol Like the year they froze out D12 bc he "wasnt efficient enough..." so Harden went uber usage down the stretch and we just snuck into the playoffs to keep our streak alive... and we forfeited our frp which was lottery protected in the process... and promptly got bounced in the first round... I knew that we couldnt compete in the post season relying on 1 guy, that we had to diversify our attack... but we didnt... it was all Harden - and of course the other team doubled and tripled (like w KD) and we got thumped... that was pure megalomania.... and small ball... OMG dont get me going on smallball... we didnt have a single center on the roster... Curry/Klay got injured... and the Lakers beat our a**es in the paint in embarrassing fashion... MDA ran a short rotation and our guys always looked gassed in the post season... when asked about if the short rotation was a factor and if he needed to better manage people's minutes, MDA said "People that say that dont know what they're talking about..." and our guys looked gassed and we got bounced... smh Bringing in a washed Melo - and so Bzdelik bolted... lol... good times! And it was overly detrimental bc obviously MDA dgaf about defense... and what I found most frustrating... is folks on here defended MDA and DM at every turn - prob the same folks calling for Ime and Stone's heads now... lol! I guess if someone is being stubborn about scoring points (at the detriment to the defense) folks are cool with that... but being stubborn on defense while downplaying offense and people lose their minds... lol I look at it all as a net result.... scoring a bucket is the same as preventing a bucket... If harden scores 30, but gives up 30 w lack of defensive effort - its a wash... but i guess folks dont see it that way... like I love Alpi... but if they can run the same post play on you 6 times in a row and u cant adjust or prevent it... does it really matter what u r doing on the other end?
Well if you’re saying both MD and Ime suck then I can sure agree with that. Last year was more maddening in my mind, because I sincerely believe we had a good enough roster to compete highly, if we had a better coach. Coaching really showed up in all the close games we absolutely blew and how bad Ime has gotten out coached in the playoffs.
and I think the year that we went micro ball was our opening... Curry and Klay went down to start the year... it was right there for the taking... but we had absolutely nothing for interior defensive - just Robert Covington... lol... kinda like the flip of having no shooters, right... lol! I view Ime and MDA as the opposite sides of the same coin... lol The part that baffles me is how soooo many viewed MDA as this offensive guru and thought he was a genius or something... meanwhile they got the pitchforks out for Ime... they got the same stubbornness and short rotations, etc... Personally, I appreciate good defense and rebounding, etc... I like to see us work the ball inside... but most folks nowadays are all about wanting to rain 3s... "bc in today's NBA blah blah blah..." lol and everybody complained about the double big... but werent we the #1 defense w like a top 5 offense - based largely on 18 second chance points a game? but it wasnt "pretty",,, lol Its all a game of balance... but everybody is all about taking 1 thing and running it to the nth degree... If Ime would get his offensive version of Bzdelik... we'd be a lot better off... but this is still basically the same team that started last year taking OKC to double OT.... so i dont see the doom and gloom... lol
The difference is that MDA's teams were really fun to watch, Ime's teams aren't. You felt like MDA's teams had a chance to win something...they were teams that no one wanted to face in the playoffs. Everyone knows Ime's teams have no chance and EVERYONE wants to face them in the playoffs. it's the difference between something that is flawed that prevents getting to that final level and something that is a complete joke.
The problem is the grass isn’t always greener. Trust me Ime frustrates me quite a lot with how he handled lineups during the season, but after the Silas years, if were to tell you “the next two seasons we’d win 52 games, you’d take that in a heartbeat and think whatever coach pulled that off was amazing. He has something that gets the players to give effort, his problem is his stubbornness. He needs an offensive minded assistant that can actually put a system in place. Would he like that? Probably not, and that’s the issue. Stone I can go either way. He hasn’t been amazing, but he hasn’t been terrible either. This will be a huge year for both Ime and stone, as the excuses are gone, especially if FVV is anywhere near like he was his first year with us. No “we didn’t have a point guard” to blame it on. We’ll see what happens.
I wouldn’t call it doom and gloom as much as frustration as to what this upcoming season could be with a mindset change. Last year was not enjoyable to watch while being a knowledgable fan that knew what the outcome would be. It is apparent to most of us that this FO and coach believe that last year was a championship formula if not for bad luck. At the very least, I wish they would’ve given us some glimmer of hope for a more fun brand of basketball, even if, because of the coaching, we will be inevitably an also ran. Vegas agrees with us as the 16th most likely team to win the championship. Can you be any more mediocre than that? Here’s to hoping they have something up their sleeve to give us hope to unleash Amen and/or Sengun.
maybe to an extent... the thing is that this is a completely diff team with or wo Adams... nobody wanted to play us early in the year... we were beating the crap outta people w Adams protecting the rim and the terror twins wreaking havoc... we were on pace to set an all-time record for rebounding... without Adams we had soft Alpi at the rim... and folks could feast! and then they figured out that we had no real ball handler and they put down the press... I think these issues can be addressed... I hate having to rely on Adams given his health record... i'd like to see us trade Alpi for a younger rim protector... and I'm hopeful that adding Smart and Thronton and maybe if FVV returns to form, we can have competent ball handling.... With MDA teams it was all about whether or not our inordinate number of 3s were dropping... and I viewed that as fools gold... we didnt have great shooters and the 3ball is fickle af... If the 3s dropping, then we win... if it ain't, then we're toast... and idc about 'fun to watch'... lol... I'm old af and I appreciate grind it out ball...
Smart isn't a competent ball handler, and Thornton is a G leaguer, you shouldn't expect too much from that. As to the double big nonsense, it's a gimmick that worked until the league adjusted to it. Once they realized that they could exploit the fact that we had no shooters on the court, it was pretty much over. Ime seems to think that it's still the 80's, that kind of mentality will get you nowhere in the modern NBA.
They both gotta be better ball handlers than KD... lol! Personally, I'd like to see us trade for Kyrie (depending on cost)... if we're going to do a couple more years of KD - then lets do this! I disagree on the double big - but it is situational - like most any philosophy should be.... like not just keep chucking 3s if they aint dropping tonight, lol! Its a copycat league... everybody tries to mimic whats been successful... like GSW and shooting 3s... but if u dont have a Curry and Klay - then u aint gonna beat em doing the same thing that plays to their strengths... Personally, I think teams have gotten soft... theyre used to little resistance as they fly and play above the rim... i think some smashmouth ball really takes many teams outta their comfort zone... but we'll see how it goes... I just hope Adams can stay healthy!
I have a whole lot more issues with Ime than Stone. We could definitely have a better GM than Stone but he does not hurt us as much as Ime although he is responsible for Ime.
I think Stone is either intimidated by Ime or the org has made it clear that Ime is the power side of the couple. If Stone has the same view on team building as Ime, then he needs to go as well.
I'll put it this way, if Smart was on the Rockets last season, he'd have had the worst turnover rate of any non center on the roster.... worse than KD. He's only good for defense and nothing else. The other guy isn't an NBA player, so it doesn't matter what he can do.
our defense was nowhere close to #1 with Steven Adams…not sure where you heard that or got that from the offense was 4th, and ultimately finished 8th in the NBA, but that was fake and all smoke and mirrors…unless you actually believe what you witnessed these playoffs was legitimately the 8th best offense in the league FVV is a bottom tier starting PG, and depending on soon to be 38 y/o KD and his 6-14 record in the playoffs the last 5 seasons to carry the scoring load shows that we’re not a serious team in the WC This is still a 1st round exit punching bag with FVV, and when he goes then what? We’re trusting Stone to finally get an actual good starting PG and build a coherent roster? and Marcus Smart is not a real PG, so KD still would’ve racked up 9 turnovers…Marcus Smart had a 23% turnover rate these past playoffs…if KD has 9 turnovers, Smart probably chips in 6 or 7 additional ones the way he was turning it over…we’d still be dependent on KD to be a facilitator Sengun becoming a stretch 4 or overcoming his physical limitations on defense are about as likely as Reed Sheppard developing the best handles in the NBA
idk bro... I'm certainly no expert on Marcus Smart... but this is what I'm reading... AI Overview No, Marcus Smart does not generally have a high turnover rate. Throughout his NBA career, he has maintained a solid assist-to-turnover ratio and typically averages under two turnovers per game. However, he has experienced occasional high-turnover stretches, such as a six-turnover game during the playoffs. Career Overview Turnovers per Game: Smart averages consistently around 1.5 to 1.8 turnovers per game over his career. Playmaking: He consistently posts strong assist-to-turnover ratios, frequently hovering around the 2.0 to 2.8 mark. Context: Because of his hustle, defensive IQ, and leadership, he is often trusted to run the offense and handle the ball despite not being a traditional scoring-first point guard. While a specific game or series may occasionally skew his numbers, historically, he is known as a careful ball-handler and a "winning player" rather than a turnover liability. You can verify his current and historical turnover metrics on platforms like ESPN or StatMuse.
Despite what AI says, Marcus Smart turned the ball over on nearly 15% of possessions and he wasn't even a primary ball handler. He's technically a PG, but that's just due to him being the same height as Reed Sheppard, it's not due to how he plays.
nowhere close? Before his season-ending ankle injury on January 18, 2026, the Houston Rockets possessed the No. 3 ranked defense in the NBA. [1, 2] They boasted a staggering defensive rating of 107.4 and were outscoring opponents by over nine points per 100 possessions when Adams was on the floor. [1] (edit #1 def rating for year was 107.7 by OKC) Check out the full defensive team standings and season statistics on NBA Stats. After his injury we fell to like 6th?... so we were prob around 10-14 without him... and imo our offensive challenges were greatly masked by our 18 second chance points a game - largely attributed to Adams rebounding... and that was without a true pg. edit: and tari turning back into a pumpkin killed us.. lol All but 1 playoff game was without our #1 scorer... I'm onboard trading for Kyrie or any good pg... and I;m good trading Alpi bc I think hes an inadequate rim protector...
