1. We are winning despite all the injuries, new guys coming in, MDA's stubbornness on rotations 2. We are winning even though we are 29% in 3p% and it's such a big part of our game so 3. We are winning with defense, 13th in the league so far and we can get better since 4. We are winning even with the amateurish breakdowns on defense and lack of good transition D 5. We are winning in spite of Harden not getting to the line, which can still be an early focus by the refs or something that will last all year. In either case, I want Harden to get back to just playing ball instead of looking for the bailout. 6. We are attacking the basket and Gordon is one of the main ones doing it a lot more often. We are #1 in 2p% which is a pleasant surprise since we don't play above the rim and neither have a lot of big athletic guys. 7. Our new additions are doing good and pleasantly surprised by Black and Mbah's production, I knew about Tucker's game but those guys are doing well. 8. Guys are still impacting the game even with missing shots, mainly our defensive minded guys and Harden with his playmaking. 9. Our FT% is in the top 10 and above 80% as team. Capela is 7 out of 8 which is great to see. He changed his shot, it's less of a rainbow shot and has more of a chance of going in. It's early, like the title says, but I think with his new form it will be solid enough as opposed to prior years where you didn't know what to expect. 10. We are 5th in the league in steals, blocks and assists. The steals were always going to be there, the assists too but the blocks has me impressed. There's still much to improve upon and we have played some good competition, been on the road and started agains the champs so while I'm not too happy with how we're playing, there's a lot of positive to take away from the first 5 games. Feel free to add and refrain from saying small sample size, since I already acknowledged that and if you still feel like you need to say it, just don't comment and stay out of this thread. Thank you
early negative signs mda has no problem killing our players early into the season with 45+mpg averages extreme mental illness paranoia afraid to use the bench like last season harden and ariza might die on the court this season, eg back to injury prone player if harden doesnt die form playing to much then he will by getting hacked to death in the paint bobby brown is wasting a roster spot cuz he's harden's friend mda hates using his bench past 2-3 players mda is paranid as ****
ladies and gentlemen, esteemed members of the press, etc. etc. etc.... presenting.. CAPTAIN KNEE JERK
We only play with 1 good team in the 4 wins so far. Not sure how much positivity you will see with these games. All the defense improvement talks should stop after last night's game. Because our defense was not that great last night. Please wait until after 20-25 games to judge this teams identity.
I still can't for the life of me figure out why they're not calling fouls on James Harden. Now I understand those 3pt fouls where he kinda throws his hands up and gets FT's. But driving to the basket where the defender CLEARLY slaps down on his arm, or thru body contact, should be a foul everytime. Ppl make fun of conspiracies here, but I'm really thinking the league decides who gets the benefit of calls and who doesn't. The Rockets rely on 3pters, layups & drawing fouls. Is it outrageous to assume the NBA decided to stop us from leading the league in ft's? I don't see any of the elite teams, GS, Cavs, SAS, getting blackballed to this degree
James Harden's fouls have been a huge issue in the national media for a few years now. Coaches, media, retired players, etc. all trash on the Rockets and call them unwatchable because of the fouls on Harden. It shouldn't be surprising to see them try to limit them.
Comon Man! You start a thread with the word "Positive" in the title & didn't expect the 1st 2 replies to be negative! Your list is spot on! I also like the results so far given the circumstances. We're in the process of incorporating new players into the system & these players play D. The game flow won't be smooth for a while & then we'll get the injured players back, which will disrupt the flow again. I like our improved defense so far. No, it's not perfect; but last night, Harden had more blocks than Embiid!
Too many people get their rocks off of pointing out things about others around here. I'm impressed with the memory, although I should tell you years ago I debated fiercely in the D&D, I also cursed in plenty of game threads and I once pooped outside in the bushes. Ow wait, or was it several times..I can't remember, maybe one of you can tell me. So how many hail mary's father?
What I'd like to see is the 3pt% going up, we're near the bottom of the league. Our offensive system needs to start working, otherwise we're going to lose unnecessary games -- just like against the one against Grizzlies. If we need to find ways to get the shooters more space, or come up w/ set plays that will allow the shooters to get more stable on the shot, we need to make those adjustments. Also, something is up w/ Harden -- this dude sits like 2 steps from the half-court line on the offense half the time. Maybe because he's really trying hard on the defensive side where there's been a noticeable improvement, but he's amassing too many unnecessary TOs. I'd like to see him cut that in half.
Lasty night was probaly the only game this season when he had turnover issues.WTF you blabbing on about?
You can't? They implemented a rule LITERALLY called "The Harden Rule" Seems pretty straightforward to me.
