Needed better wing shooters and a true stretch 4. JJ's defense on Harden, while disciplined and fundamentally good, isn't what prevented him from going to the rim. It was seeing Blake and DJ clogging the paint. If Blake's on the perimeter guarding a stretch 4, Harden could blow by and either attack DJ or throw a lob/dish to Dwight for a bucket. Instead, since Jones can't shoot and Smoove forgot how to play basketball, they can't get anything going to the rim. Gotta go small, switch everything, and continue hacking DJ in game 5.
In defense of Morey. If he did not make the midseason moves he made the rockets would have likely been a 7th seed and gotten their butts kicked by the Clippers in the first round. Winning the division was a step in the right direction but next year I expect more. Western conference finals or bust.
The clippers seem to be taking a lot of midrange jumpers. Their game is just having more flow. We need real basketball to run this team.
You guys keep fooling yourself. What's good we can't win it, be the 7th seed or 2nd seed or not making the playoff. We got blown out by the clippers three times in the playoffs. This team is not that good.
Yawn. Being blown out in a series against a superior team doesn't mean we are fooling ourselves. Changes need to be made, the sky isn't falling, etc., etc., etc.
Just stop. Morey's top FA targets have had some elite mid range shooters: Melo, Bosh, CP3, and Aldridge (I'm just throwing him in there as Morey would pull the trigger on an elite mid range PF/C).
Analytics does not work. I will say it again analytics does not work in the playoffs. Les get rid of this clown Morey. Analytics only works in baseball that's it. In the playoffs trams chase you of the 3 point line and protect the rim. You have to hit midrange shots. Basketball 101 from a rockets fan.
The two are not mutually exclusive, you NEED analytics in today's game. That doesn't mean you use them like Morey, and the spurs will be the first to tell you this. They have a coach who understands how the game is played down to the core and is also a great tactician, open to the analytical side of the game and how improvements can be made. Morey is trying to run this team purely on the analytical side , which is why he had to hire a puppet coach. The moment he realizes his flaw we will be much better.
You do realize the entire coaching staff aren't puppets? Morey doesn't rely purely on analytics, that's silly.
I think everyone is letting emotion get the best of them. We were out-coached by Doc who has multiple rings. McHale just got new a deal mid-season, more than likely he will be returning next season. I think its obvious that what it takes to win in the regular season and what it takes to win in the playoffs are two different things. We need more from our 4's. We need better shooting from our wings. Need a legit pg. I wonder if Dwight will ever figure out that teams are trying to have him foul out every game and that he almost does, every game.
You make Rivers beat you, it's letting their starters destroy you is what I'm more concerned with. I can live with Rivers lighting it up if we played better team defense, you can't stop everyone.
Why the **** is this thread getting 3 stars? This thread is garbage and made by someone who clearly doesnt understand bball. We've had numerous games where the Rox can't hit, but we won those because the team scrapped and played defense, this series they kept rolling over and dying how's that related to moreyball? Secondly if Josh Smith cant hit from the 3 or the paint what do you his % would be from midrange? Did you see his % in Detroit where all he ever shot were midrange shots? We dont have a midrange expert on the team thats why they forbid the mid range shot! If we had a guy like LMA then midrange would be fine but we dont.
Elaborate what? Google the assistant coaches and their backgrounds. Do you honestly think Morey hires analytics only guys?
There's too many absolutes on this thread. Morey certainly values players who are elite mid range players like Bosh, Melo, CP3, Aldridge, and the Gasols.
And why do you think they keep rolling over and dying? Has Morey's calculation factored in how much quit is there in a player? To me, Morey's problem isn't his analytics. I've always believed in analytics. His problem is grossly underestimating the human aspect of basketball. He seems to think that as long as you get the most efficient players together, you will beat the less efficient team. The players aren't just numbers following the law of average. They are human beings. Human beings are affected by lots of factors that make their performance fluctuate. And unlike the regular season, a fluctuation of just a few games in the playoffs means elimination.
