What must this Rockets team answer to be a contender?

Harden- improve his d as he was getting torched by other SGs. improve his team leadership and team oriented style of basketball.

Dwight- stay healthy. improve FTs if possible (Asik improved alot within 1 year)

Parsons- improve D and stupid turn overs

Lin- orchestrate the offense better

Mchale- Become smarter and more creative with his coaching. Prove that he can take a talented squad far in the playoffs

 

we need defence and reggie and omri need to hit open 3s

 

i'm curious as to what 3pt % PB will have to be at if people require lin to be at 40%. what do ya'll think?

 

this is interesting to me. shouldn't we expect similar 3pt %'s for both our point guards? i'm confused about CF's expectations for our pg's.

I love PB and his junkyard dog style of play. He's a wiley one-on-one defender but lacks the offensive court vision/orchestration and attacking ability to create his own shot.

it's debatable that PB fits better with Harden in the starting lineup since harden can run the offense. i actually see this perspective and understand the appeal. it doesn't sound like a bad experiment but wouldn't this relegate PB to being a spot-up 3 pt shooter with harden running the show? if so, shouldn't PB be expected to shoot the 3 ball better than 34% like some expect of lin as a starter?

so regardless of who starts, next year bev is expected 34% from the 3 and to keep up the aggressive defense? whereas lin has to shoot 40% from 3, improve on running the offensive attack/pnr especially with howard now, stronger defense, and not get injured like a weakling? does anyone else see the discrepancies in expectations?

 

"Can you win the west?"

 

as stated in my post, what if PB was the starter? what would the expectations be for his 3 pt% cause a lot of people seem to think he'll be our starter.

 

his offensive isn't much of a "curve ball" that's difficult for opposing teams to defend. he basically brings the ball up like most pg's and swings it at the top of the key, cuts to the baseline and curls. over and over again.

 

way to really commit on those answers OP...

 

Who will be the reliable offensive spark from the bench to run the 2nd unit?

Will the defense on the perimeter be good enough to prevent Dwight from foul trouble?

 

Really wish we had a deadeye 3 point shooter. Ugh, why did Delfino have to sign with Milwaukee?? At the end of the day though, it's all about defense. We NEED to be a good defensive team if we want to go anywhere in the playoffs.

 

Add in someone that can run the 2nd unit effectively when Harden/Lin is out. Last season had some nightmare-ish games by the bench; for example, that Orlando game where the bench blew a huge lead and almost let the Magic caught up.

Depends on how the bench matures I think Lin will be asked to carry the 2nd unit more this season.

 

will dwight give up on trying to satisfy shaqs taunts?
he refused to run pick and rolls with nash, posted up and was awful. if he does that again the team is going nowhere.

 

As a whole-

-DEFENSE
-some actual set plays and not always relying on variance
-more more more ball movement, we don't need one ball handler and four spectators in uniforms
-more consistency
-more use of chemistry on the floor and more trust in one another

 

coach Mchale should stop being predictable sometimes by always forcing the ball to Harden. He should read the mis-match like going to Parsons and now Dwight when Harden is locked down by a tough defensive player like Iggy. Spacing, ball rotation and DEFENSE is also very important

 

Turnovers - Number one issue right now

Lin - needs to improve

Chemistry - takes time

Perimeter D - Needs more cowbell

Legit player at the 4 - LMA??

Good to go.

 

that's it? only Lin needs to improve? i smell a ring

 

Do you have trouble counting?

Obviously, other players need to improve. Lin needs to improve the most, though.