As is, is this team better than last year’s team?

It’s far more versatile with a inside /outside game now. No more midge ball. Way more variety . It does not guarantee success but atleast we will be harder to guard

 

definitely. we got bigger and actually have a young star potential now

 

Both Cousins and Wood complement Harden and Wall, as opposed to a Capela being a black hole and never leaving the paint, and an erratic Westbrook who can't hit the broad side of a barn.

Just because of those two guys, this roster is already better than last year. Although Covington is sorely missed.

 

You are underestimating woods. He will be a duel Pick/roll and pick and up pop threat unlike Clint who was strictly a pick and roll threat. Woods can also put the ball on the floor and create his own shot. A huge upgrade on offense. Defense remains to be seen

 

if john wall was 100% healthy i would feel even more confident. Wall is just a smarter overall player than westbrook

 

IMO no. Hopefully I’m wrong

 

Nope

 

if both boogie and Wall are healthy, then yes this team is better than last year's

 

It is different. I don’t know if it’s better.

The half-court offense is definitely better. The PnR game returns for Harden with a legit rim runner in Wood. Spacing is better by taking out Westbrook and inserting Wall. Also, my hope is that House in the starting unit over Gordon helps both players.

I don’t think our transition offense takes too much of a step back. I think Wood will be good there as well, and perhaps Wall.

Our defense takes a step back. If Wood is an average big defensively, I consider that a positive development. Wall might be an upgrade from Westbrook, but we will need to see it on the court.

 

All comes down to how good Wall is. If hes close were better. If him and Cousins are good we may have something legit.

Westbrook was a massive issue, but I loved Covington.

I'll lean slightly better.

 

I would say more versatile but more prone to inconsistency and injuries.

I hope this management finds continuity because you can't expect to trade away half of your starters every year and expect consistency.

Makes zero sense to me.

Morey and MDA weren't slouches lol.

People love to forget their strength and overemphasize their weaknesses.

 

My expectations are for Wall, Cousins, Nwaba not to be contributors due to their achilies injuries. It’s likely they are either awful, or get re-injured.

What do we have outside of that?

A lot of IDK players, maybe they can contribute, maybe no - Green(coming off of broken foot at 35), Clemons, Wooten, Brown, Martin, Caboclo, Tate, Grant

What do we know we have?

Gordon
Harden / Mac
House
Tucker
Wood

Good players to have around Harden, but seriously lacking reliable depth that isn’t a vet min prayer, or isn’t a player coming off the worse injury in basketball. Last year, although Brodie is pretty awful, he ran the point when Harden sat, he had a good stretch, we had Clint and then we had Roco who were both very good. Jeff Green too.

To me, it looks likely we got worse, but hey Cousins/Wall/Nwaba would totally shot me and come back healthy, and 2 or 3 of those IDK players can pan out and help to make us better.

 

If healthy, it’s more balanced talent than the bubble team. The only outgoing pieces are Rivers, Westbrick, and Covington. We added Wall, Cousins, and Gerald mf’ing Green. So, if healthy, those guys make this a better team than those three guard/wings, imo.

Plus I never thought MDA was a championship coach. Chronic short rotations leading the consistent burnouts in playoffs, questionable game mgmt decisions, no defensive interest, and zero accountability.

I know nothing about Silas, other than the little I’ve read about his offensive schemes and the success of Dallas. So that is a question, MDA may not have been a championship coach, but that doesn’t mean Silas will be. We can only hope for now...

 

Yea but i think Houston does not know what there getting into with Wall. Its obvious they both could be in Suit in few Months or Year down the road, and Cousins. You just hope as fan that they are making corner around there career like Rose, Hill did and getting back to finish what is left, I remember Grant Hill did this and wasnt too bad of a Contributor, I dont know if people here remember Grant Hill, but he didnt do too bad coming back.

 

I can send the link but I watched a video last night about Wall and apparently he’s telling folks that since he finally got bone spurs fixed in his heel and knee he’s going to be a better version of himself than we’ve ever seen. “We’ve only seen a clip of what he can be”. So he’s certainly confident. Whether that translates in real life remains to be seen. Remember, Washington could’ve thrown him into the bubble but they were being extra cautious

 

If the team stays as is after the Wall trade expect a similar fate as last year. This team is nowhere close to the upper echelon teams in the west. We need a true no 1 player to play alongside Harden ala KD Kawhi type but that probably isn't going to happen. Hence why Harden wants to team up with KD

 

This is the answer, IMO. Huge if, though.

 

Of course not.