+ good gm+drafting and team players that buy in to play a team game Rockets right now are still new and have a lot to go in terms of being on the same page. Bringing Dwight in probably didn't really make the team better right away because they still had to develop the chemistry. Bringing another superstar in, would probably make them better but they still would have to readjust yet again. The window is max 2-3 years if they don't get their stuff together.
They had an entire year to develop chemistry with Dwight. The reason they lost to the Blazers was because they never implemented an offensive system other than ISO-ball and they never committed themselves to playing defense for 48 minutes. Hell, by the end of the season, they had trouble playing D for 12 minutes. The Rockets don't need more superstars. They need depth, defense, and an actual head coach.
Rockets sweeping them in the regular season means anything. BKN swept Miami and still got their clocks cleaned come playoff time. Spurs were definitley not playing anywhere close to 100% in the regular season games against the Rockets. Some part of me thinks Pop was hoping to face McHale in the playoffs and school this gimmick coach.
While that does seem like a championship team. Do you have a single idea for a team that includes Harden? I mean I understand you dont like him, but there is almost 0% chance we trade him so why not come up with some more realistic ways of creating a team that can win and includes him. Just sayin
Because there is no realistic way to win a title with him if he is playing his current ****ty defense. Lebron won't want to play with such a teammate. Dwight will leave out of frustration. Les Alexander will get mad and get caught saying something racist and die in shame.
But but but... we were 4-0 in the regular season against the Spurs! We could've beaten them in the playoffs too!
I still think his offensive production is too positive. If we can get another defensive-minded player/star and force him to be more responsible on defense (which I think getting him some help on offense would lead to his ability to work on both ends) then it could work out. Im not a fan of getting melo because he also lacks defense, but if we had some more load sharing on the offensive side, maybe harden would pick it up on def.
It's gonna be hard to beat the Spurs when you have a bunch of pathetic Rockets fans too busy on their knees giving dome to San Antonio.
There is a whole lot going on here. First, to all the people saying "get a coach", well Popovich is the best basketball coach I have seen in over 30 years of watching basketball. He is special, you don't just find someone like him. He has progressively gotten better and has been in a position to avoid politics by having the power to hand pick everyone in the organization. If your plan is to emulate the Spurs, it is VERY unlikely. It is like saying you want to emulate the old Bulls teams by finding the next Jordan. Second, every year is different. I expect Leonard to continue to improve, but the Spurs are old and they are an injury away from a second round exit. Everyone knows Duncan will be 38, but Parker and Ginobili are getting older. This isn't a situation like the Lakers with Shaq and Kobe or the Bulls with Jordan and Pippen and Rodman. The Spurs are not beginning a dynasty. The Spurs show how important keeping a team together for a long time is. The Spurs know exactly where each other are on the floor and when to switch and when not to. That all comes with experience together. For what it is worth, the Spurs winning the title is terrible for the Rockets goal to add a third elite player. Now, Anthony may not want to go to the Western Conference. Now, the Heat will try to make moves to get Anthony or another elite player in Miami. To those thinking LeBron is now available, not happening. He isn't going to be vilified again. Riley will try to get Bosh and/or Wade to opt out.
Getting Melo will let the rockets to beat Spurs soon, getting James would be the title dream, but beat Spurs without question.
Right!... and that is exactly why the Spurs are back to back to back to back champions... oh wait, you mean it was 7 years between their last title and this one?... hmm and the Heat, Lakers and Celtics all won titles in the interim with top heavy teams?.. hmm There is more than one way to skin a cat, but historically it has been teams with strong star power that win titles, especially dynasties.
Miami Heat last year when the won the championship. Defensive efficiency when LeBron off the court: 106.7 Rockets Defensive efficiency last year: 106.3 If LeBron was able to win a championship with that group of defenders from last year, he can win with Howard and Harden.
There are a few reasons the Spurs dynasty is as good as it is and as long going as it has been: 1) They got incredibly lucky in getting Tim Duncan. Probably the humblest superstar ever, and probably the best in terms of longevity. Duncan has been an integral piece since his first year and never declined, but he also is willing to put the team before himself (can you imagine a guy like Kobe or Melo being the whipping boy for Pop? I can't). 2) Probably the 2nd or 3rd greatest basketball coach of all time in Pop, who runs a system which allows you to plug in and out role players. 3) Novel techniques in drafting and quality scouts. The Spurs were one of the first teams to really tap the international market and get guys like Manu and Parker. Plus, they were able to draft Kawhi. I'd say we at least come close to the Spurs in this sense. The major lesson for the Rockets is to upgrade coaching, and establish a set core to build around - whether that's a core of Harden and Howard or those two and Melo - you can't have the constant turnover like we've had (although I have a feeling after this offseason we'll start to see some roster stability.) I think once you have a nucleus that can grow familiar with each other and a set, stable system on offense and defense - it's all a matter of finding the right role players (something we've always been good at) and just getting the right stroke of luck (something we haven't had in the past).
Great post. I've heard stuff like this time and time again when talking about the championship team. "They did it X way, we need to do that to win". "They have X player, we need a player like that to win". That last one should sound VERY familiar to Rockets fans of any tenure. If it's an offensive system why isn't everyone running it? If it's just the coach why aren't more people emulating his style? There's a metric out there for everything. Pop's tendencies could (and I'm sure are) charted somewhere. It's not just one thing. It's a combination of everything. Scouting, coaching, system, players and EXPERIENCE. Give me the best 12 players of all time at every position and throw them on a team for a year. They won't have the chemistry of that Spurs team even if Pop is the coach. That's just not how it works. Think about it like a good meal. You go to a steakhouse and pay $75 for a meal. It's damn good. But it's just steak right? How hard could it be to cook one just as good? Is it the meat? The prep? The cooking style? The hot waitress?
We swept them already, remember? We WANTED to play them in the second round after we had walked over Portland in the first round, remember? It was OKC and the Clippers we were scared of, remember? We ended up in the best case scenario seeding, remember?
