Rockets basketball ball is too predictable. They do not shoot mid range shots even they’re wide open. Keep shooting those desperate long threes.
Our competative advantage is having 2 scoring machines, one is very efficient while the other may not be as much but he kinda offsets that by helping getting rebounds and assists,yes we ran a 3 and d offense and the league is heading that way,but in reality we just ran a 3 and no d team. Let me explain ,sure we could score and were known to chunking up 3 s but because we were at a heavy disadvantage at center it,we got heavily punished by skillful centers that could take advantage of that mismatch. Which is ultimately our Achilles heel.To offset the high turnovers that russ and harden make ,we need a defensive stopper at center.We can score but can we defend?
We were literally the best defensive team in the NBA since we got rid of Clint Capela. It was our 17th ranked offense that killed us against LAL.
It went from "I hope we can get a defensive stop" to "I hope someone--anyone--on this team can score on this possession"
As much as we talk about Rockets offense, I feel like it is the *switching defense* that is an advantage. But it isn't as advantageous if the PERSONNEL for that defense isn't optimized. Need more height. But guys with long wingspan help too. Like Nwaba.
Height? 6'10 Check Good defender? Check Can hit the 3 ball? 37.%% as a starter this year Check Tough as nails? Check Is a free agent? Check Spoiler
It has nothing to do with "not getting it", it's just a difference of opinion. None of us can know for sure who decided on the "don't take wide open midrange shots", but to me, it makes way more sense that it's a D'antoni thing than a Morey thing. Morey has said repeatedly in interviews that the emphasis is not on eliminating midrange entirely, only eliminating inefficient plays/shots. It's possible for midrange shots to be efficient, and in those cases they should be taken. It's on the coach to decide how to translate that idea into what we see on the court. Moreyball is obviously about emphasizing 3s and layups, but the system designed around this principle is all on the coach. It's possible to have a very efficient offense that incorporates a lot more variety than what we see with the rockets, look at the Clippers or the Celtics. So if you interpret Moreyball to be an emphasis on more threes, more layups, and removing inefficient shots, then yeah, the entire league has been copying it for a decade now.
Rockets should have doubled Lebron like Lakers did Harden with a wall in paint to prevent easy layups. Rockets likely still lose but it takes away Lebron's explosive plays and it becomes battle of attrition. Guarantee that Lebron loses his cool first if he is cut out of Lakers offense like Lakers tried to do with Harden.
Yeah, I don't mind Harden letting go of PG duties that turned out amazingly well during MDA. Not sure what would replace it, but it must be insane for the other guys to follow the whole park and watch offense (if you don't adjust, MDA sends you to the attic because there's only nine chairs on the floor). You totally give up the concept of rhythm and it's always weird to see Harden play the "right" way when he's doubled in the playoffs only to have the other fizzle out. Maybe that's because they're not used to doing it in the regular season?
Better zone/wall defender than man switch defender but he would be great add to this team. Tough minded smart physical defender. https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/...-suns-need-defense-aron-baynes-brings-defense
The advantage is speed, and it could work under the right circumstances, but we never really had them. We need better shooting to go with the speed. On the nights that we got it, they were really tough to beat. On the flip side, when they didn't have it, they pretty much weren't going to win. Our roster was never really exactly right for what we were trying to do. Good, but never great.
I agree that Harden is our edge. However, teams just double team him now and we don't have a great solution (yet). Also, I don't really feel the same way about Russ before the bubble. Although 30 PPG on 57% TS looks nice on the stat sheet, and is certainly great for Russ...it's not good enough. Harden is out there averaging 62% TS every season. So I think teams are more than willing to let Russ be the main option as even under ideal circumstances, he's nowhere close to James.
Totally forgot about him tbh. SG/SF sized, super strong, seems like a good defender...and hopefully is respectable enough as a shooter on offense.
Baynes has better chance of being starter on Rockets than on Suns. Problem is that Rockets only have MLE. Baynes can also "show and go" - put ball on floor and get to rim if opposing team closes out hard.
Bruno could be a sneaky good find too, hope Rockets bring him back so he can have full training camp and preseason to integrate. 6'8 Josh Jackson is another sneaky good option. Same with 6'7 Ryan Broekhoff and his 40% 3P.
Not to **** on your enthusiasm but do we really expect Jamychal Green to move the needle for us? Most of the time he was the 8th or 9th man on a loaded clippers team that still got bounced early. We are even less talented than the clippers, and without a huge infusion of talent not sure we have much of a margin for error in the playoffs next year.
