I would say 2 years. it starts with harden. play off record was 2-4. all in all, good year with a lot of potential. add a top 10 player and the record is 2-4 with some of the same problems (defensive lapses, iso-harden/sticky ball/no 4th quarter offense). if they only underperformed, thats one thing. it's the reason why they underperformed is the problem. it was because of the same problems as last year. a harden step back long 2 is different than using a screen for a 10-15 footer. there are ways to attempt "better" 2 pointers. they seem to be more important in half court situations while playing a great defensive team and slower paced games in general. you can also get more efficient 3s (which the rockets dont seem to do in the 4th anyways), but sometimes teams will force a midrange shot. i figure if they are going to force a midrange shot, might as well set up a good one. it has to be incorporated into the offense as a 3rd option in the half court. getting better shots through ball and player movement in the half court also needs to be improved upon as well.
That's not a fair or reasonable assessment. The Rockets were the 8th seed last year. Playing with a 23 year old as their lead player who had never even started a season before that one. If anything they overachieved last year. 2-4 with 4 games lost by a combined 13 points. I agree that we definitely underachieved this year. And there are obvious problems that need to be addressed going forward. What would you say those are? I'm still sticking to the idea that our main problem is role players. Especially a wing defender. And then a new lead assistant coach to replace Sampson. I agree that with what you are saying. In game 6 adjustments were made to get Harden better looks off of screens. Similarly, Troy Daniels off ball movement was promising. Let's see what improvements they make during the off-season to incorporate more player movement after being humbled by the Blazers.
The most satisfied are naive and have passive personalities, some too young to know what's good for em. Life will pass them by before they try to do anything about it. the people who have issues with McHale and the way morey went about putting together a cast have been basketball fans for a very long time and know the difference between winners and imitators. History repeats itself and for those saying it's just been 1 year... you need to understand context and chain of events instead of playing fake wise men online.
<br> I'm not trying to flame you. But you actually said nothing at all in this post aside from a few baseless nonsensical statements conjured from anecdotes.
All that needed to be said was said on page 1. that post kind of poked fun at types like the OP who analyze a bunch of trivial things to justify mediocrity because they don't get what a winner is. they don't know what wins titles. they just fantasize without any understanding. so they say keep mchale, keep morey, just tweak a few things and we'll be fine. but you have to get to the core of a problem to fix it. the root. and it is so clearly mchale being clueless and morey telling players where to shoot high percentage shots. that is probably why the team could not develop an ounce of chemistry in the playoffs against a stuttering blazer team. and it is because of this cluelessness that morey has put all his faith in mchale as he knows it's a base for a good regular season and promising first round exit. HE DOES NOT WANT TO RISK GOING FOR GOLD WHEN A BLUE RIBBON PARTICIPATION AWARD IS GUARANTEED. But what's the point telling you... you're 19... 20 tops?
Lolz. Thanks for making my night. That was a cute post. You're right. I'm 19 and Morey wants constant first round exits. Brilliant analysis.
Who's the young one, Obi Wan Kenobi: Les Alexander? Seems like he already won two titles. Oh, "the people who have issues with McHale and the way morey went about putting together a cast have been basketball fans for a very long time and know the difference between winners and imitators"? How many titles have they won? jk I mean how many NBA games have they won? jk I mean do u know the F they are? The sage patriarchy of posters, wizened with the workings of basketball knowledge in some of the most crinkly craniums in this universe and every other. . . . Gandalf, Yoda, some of those Harry Potter dudes. . . . History repeats itself? You mean Les is going to win two more championships? Dwight Howard will return to the finals? What do you mean, exactly?
Morey was hampered this first year with signing Howard. And this team was very very young. You may not like it but it is the damn truth. And they need to make it to the 2nd round next year and the finals the season after that at a minimum. If either of those don't happen heads should roll.
If they can't win two more championships in the Harden and Howard era then this should be seen as a failure. No further excuses.
half court offense is the biggest concern. discipline is another (defense and execution). youth didn't stop GSW getting to the 2nd round last year. youth didn't stop portland from playing with a lot of poise and advancing. to me, it's an excuse with this much talent. it's not like the 2 stars are inexperienced either. i really can't understand where the smart basketball goes in the 4th quarter. maybe this is a function of the lack of half court offense due to games tightening. there were some roster deficiencies, but overall, still very talented. with the same problems occurring since harden came, it make's me believe the players aren't being utilized to their full potential. this ties into the harden point below. wing defender is a need. looks like PG might also be a need (depending on what you can get). back up center possibly is a need if asik is shipped. should it have taken til game 6 to figure out how to give harden a better chance to succeed? troy daniels didn't get many looks either. some part is due to portlands perimeter defense, but you could have squeezed a couple more FGA's for him in some games. i hope they improve, but as i mentioned above, some of the trends over 2 years are alarming because it doesn't seem like they have been improved upon. "iso harden" was in existence before dwight. the ball was sticky before dwight. defense did seem to pick up after dwight, but the few lapses they have are killer. morey seems to be fine on the roster side. we don't know how much morey is to blame for court performance because outsiders don't really know how much influence morey has on play style. everything after the roster is an assumption but there is some evidence that suggests morey has some sort of impact.
I would assume one more really big FA will come to Houston within next years trading deadline, and more likely this offseason. And I don't see how they can't win. I think the spurs are headed down. The thunder are in limbo until Durant resigns. And I think the clippers are headed down with Chris Paul always being hurt. I think the east will be getting stronger these next two years. With the rockets probably having the best record for the next 2 out of 3 seasons with hopefully one championship. Maybe even 2 if Kevin Love is on the team.
*** drafting Dorsey Instead of deandre Jordan was not very smart!! two picks ahead let's draft Ray Lewis with a basketball. weak!!
You think Kevin McHale is the guy to incorporate those changes? The decision to retain him is the only bad thing I have to say about Morey.
Dallas has been competitive in the NBA playoffs for over a decade and won a title in 2011. Memphis got to the Western Conference Finals a year ago and the Semifinals 3 years ago. Golden State got to the Semifinals a year ago. You're right in that every team loses in the playoffs except for one. But the problem is the Rockets are always one of the first ones knocked out(and nearly half the time lately they don't even qualify for the postseason). Aside from 2009, the fanbase for this franchise has had nothing to cheer for for nearly 2 decades. Morey has done an overall outstanding job as GM. He's had some major F'ups, but who doesn't? Even Pop and Buford made a blunder like giving away Scola to us. Dumars wasted the #2 pick on Darko instead of Wade, Bosh, or Melo. Presti traded away Harden. And so on and so forth. What concerns me now though is what is being done to make this team a contender? Because obviously having 2 superstars is not enough. We now know this for a fact(and we should've known after the T-Mac/Yao era). Going forward, there is gonna be a lot of scrutiny coming Morey's direction if he doesn't fix the problems that are clearly plaguing this team. And his refusal to even entertain the idea of a new head coach(seriously, you announce McHale's return less than a day after Game 6?!) has me very worried.
Because of the decision to retain McHale even after a bad playoff run, this is the first time that serious and hardcore Rockets fans, in my memory, are disagreeing with Morey with regards to team direction. Doubt has been sown. His every move and the performance of the team will be judged more harshly from now on. Slogan "In Morey We Trust" is officially retired.
