Is this a crazy good roster and potentially fun team? Or am I just crazy?

As with vegas it's gambling. but fun fact. Did you know Washington wasn't even one of the potential destinations that was on his prop for westbrick. Saying you trust vegas is pretty silly. They go off many things just like the rest of us do and put out silly odds for the average person who doesn't follow in detail whats going on, well because of the many suckers in the world. Doesn't mean they have it all down. They don't.

 

Potentially great offense; potentially terrible defense. There's going to be a huge learning curve on D.

 

All you have to do is look at their betting odds on the Presidential Election as Election Night went on. Vegas was flying by the seat of their pants, and riding a rollercoaster of hype just like everyone else. Ultimately they're in it to draw in as many bets on both sides as possible. Odds are not some insider haven that keys you in on information other people aren't privy to.

 

Interesting seeing he has never averaged that many minutes in his career. But yeah usually when people have season ending injuries they play career high the following year, especially when unproven

 

Plus we have even got back a few of our picks. Question for the knowledgeable, for our pick swaps.
Say next year our won pick is18 based on our season, but we get hold of say Sacramento pick next year that is
6. Are we required to pick our nice 6 pick form Sacramento in say a swap w. OKC? I assume they just get the right to swap our 18pickw theirs?

 

Hey it will be an exciting season. It is better than being in year one of a 10 year rebuild. even EVEN IF WE DO NOT WIN THE CHAPIONSHIP OR LOSE IN THE WESTERN FINALS.

 

/ tillman

 

We disagree but I get your point. For me, I like gambling and the question is "Do I trust that Harden will stay enough that I would bet over 35.5 wins?" No, I don't think so. If I thought Harden was staying, would I bet over 35.5 wins. ABSOLUTELY. So why am I worried he's leaving? Because Vegas baked it into the line.

OK, I would bet $100 on the over 35.5 even if I was unsure if he would leave. As a "I like to gamble, I want Harden to stay, and screw ESPN and Stein" bet. Would I bet $1000? No.

It's possible Vegas made that line because they think people will believe the media hype that Harden is gone and so they are more likely to bet under. Then the line moves right before the start of the season if Harden will start with Houston. I could see that happening.

 

and with gambling you're free to do whatever you want. It's isn't possible they made that line because of the media. It's exactly why and goes back to the suckers reference. trusting vegas is never something you should tell yourself. but good luck either way

 

2 of those guys didn't play basketball last year and have only played right around 70 games over the past three seasons. So yeah; I think you're crazy. Quit looking at the names are start looking at who they are more recently. It's unlikely that either of them have a full healthy season - but both? Those are some astronomical odds.

I hope you're right and I'm the crazy one. I'd love to be proven wrong. But I think we're going to see our worst season since Dwight's last year after both Wall and Cousins get injured and/or fail to meet expectations.

 

I'm serious i was ready to drop 1k on the Rockets if Vegas have us 42wins or above or something. I'm very convinced we will be under 40.
35.5 is tough. Theres a reason why Vegas is Vegas. These guys are good but i'm still leaning under. I'm not touching it at 35.5 though.

 

Sure, any star not playing in Houston gets the media balls licking
See that Washington suddenly have the best backcourt on the NBA with BEAL AND WESTBROOK

 

I mean, to be honest, I like everything about this team better than I did a year ago. I think they have a better roster, a better coach, and are setting themselves up for a better future by actually having some draft capital for a change. My only concern right now is chemistry. There are some STRONG personalities on this team that Silas is going to have to reign in. If he can do that, and everyone can stay healthy, they could ultimately be pretty good. They could also completely self destruct! Either way, I feel a lot better now than I did a month ago.

 

What I'm excited about is Harden not having to share the ball and appeasing Westbrook's ego. Harden is going to average 40 a game. Release the kraken.

 

I don't have the time to look it up, but he has averaged 20 or so minutes a game and has improved over the years. He is an excellent defender on the perimeter and if he is healthy will get lots of minutes, and based on who the Rockets back up point guard is, he may well start the back to backs.

You can believe that the injury will hamper him, and it may...... no one knows..... but what I can tell you is that the last few years he has gone from a solid defender to an elite defender on the perimeter... the issue with him is offense.

 

I just can't wait for this team to be fun again as the last two seasons have been so draining. Defense is probably going to be terrible but I am very excited to watch the offense.

 

I see a PG that will, almost certainly, be a shell of a former self. If he plays, it will likely be less than half of the season. And Cousins that is only slightly better than that.
Plus Tucker, who I really like, but has got to be slowing down more and more. And Harden who may or may not even want to be here or invested anymore.


I appreciate your optimism.

 

The most I've ever bet on one game is $200. So 1k is a bit rich for my blood. But if I thought Harden would stay, we'd be around as good as last year and then he'd be traded at the deadline then I could see wanting to bet on the over 35.5. Basically with the idea that we'd be on our way to the over before he was traded and could win it even if he left at the deadline.
PSA, you must think Harden is being traded if you'd take under 42.5, right? 42.5 is about 5.5 games fewer than the total we were picked to win last year with 82 games (54.5).

 

I'm not optimistic about a very fun season. With the roster and coaching turnover and relatively weak bench I expect us to take awhile to build chemistry. We've replaced a lot of vets with rookies. Three of our players are also recovering from Achilles injuries so they'll need time to shake off rust as well. Our most talented lineup includes Wall, Cousins, and Wood and they aren't exactly sharpshooters from deep, although Wood shot well last season. I'm concerned we'll be a below average 3pt shooting team this year. I know we've only been league average for years, but I was hoping we'd add shooters rather than fewer.

In light of these issues I'm keeping expectations in check. With a 72 game season I'd be happy with 40 wins. I hope for Wall and Cousins to be healthy and for Wood to grow as a player. I hope one of the young players to be a gem as well. If things really go off the rails (Wall and Cousins get injured early) I see us easily dropping into the lottery and giving OKC a good pick, which would really piss me off.