I think we underestimate the need for Practice and Off Season

Yes. This looks a lot like preseason. And we’re possibly the most turned-over roster in the league.

 

In the year's prior, time to gel was usually bypassed by Harden just going Super - Saiyan. In the two worst seasons he just willed them team to an 8th seed and everyone forgets that in 2/8 of the Harden years, the team had starts that were terrible. Harden kind of bypassed team building and just went full MVP mode.

Now, Harden isn't coming to save the day, but John Wall and Danuel House (both penciled in as day one starters) have been completely AWOL. The team expects both back on Tuesday. February's schedule is a cake walk. If the team is still winning at a .333 rate by March 1, 2021, then it is what it is.

This team is a borderline playoff team as hard as that is for many to hear. It's not a top 4 pick team even if that's where they are right now. If the Rockets tank and land a top 4 pick, I'll be ecstatic. If they tank and land a pick at 5 or worse? I'll probably check out for a while to be honest. It would be a bad gamble that anyone using logic could see isn't worth it.

The only reason this team should be a bottom four team is if this team is bad enough to be a bottom four team without throwing games. That doesn't mean, hold onto PJ Tucker or Oladipo if neither are in future plans. That means, don't sit guys who want to play, that means don't attach assets to dump bad contracts of good players like Eric Gordon. Asset accumulation is fine but only trade if the return is worth it. The team is going to try to win a lot of games in February to convince Oladipo to stay long term.

 

This roster needed it more than any other team out there with all the changes, yet we’ve probably had the least amount of time together than any roster.

just unfortunate that this is the way things played out. I think Silas will be a good coach, but he’s had both hands tied behind his back.

 

That’s why we should embrace the tank... we’re already in position due to lack of continuity/injuries/Covid/practice and roster turnover... at least with the tank train we have a percentage chance to keep our pick instead of picking 16 and trading OKC anyways

 

1) Rockets tank, have the worst record in the league 52% top 4, 48 % out of top 4

Rockets get pick 5
Thunder get pick 10
Miami gets pick 20

The Rockets end up with pick #20

2) Rockets try for the playoffs and just miss.

Rockets get pick 14
Thunder get pick 10
Miami gets pick 20

The Rockets end up with pick #20


Imagine the heartbreak of scenario #1. I literally cannot do it. The Russell Westbrook trade will go down as the worst trade in Rockets history. I couldn't believe it then. I couldn't believe that people liked it and I still cannot believe how awful it turned out. It was worse than even I could have imagined and I loved CP3 and hated Russ prior to the trade.

 

Never forget the words "Basketball Ops got weak."

The Westbrook trade is in 2 parts. 1) Westbrook the player. And 2) The draft assets used to acquire.

If Morey wasn't "forced" to make the move by #Tilman "right away" the draft assets used would have been MUCH lower. So, instead of a trade in July, imagine a trade right before OKC training camp when Presti likely would not have wanted Westbrook there during that time.

#Tilman

 

Yes bro but I would rather have a 52% chance at pick 1-4 then a guarantee to pick at 20 and likely not make the playoffs simultaneously

 

I don't really see the heartbreak at all. If there was no draft then being 15th in the west and losing in the play-in are worth exactly the same to me. The tiering is: contenders, playoff teams, and not playoff teams. What's the difference of kinda missing the playoffs and really missing the playoffs?

 

Me em say uhh
na nah na nah

-Master P

 

People like watching a team go nowhere instead of watching a team go somewhere.

 

In every sense of the word turnover. We still can't stop turning it over.

 

Why bother - you can't undo the westbrook deal. Dwelling on it makes it worse.

The expected value of scenario 1 is 50% of pick 20 + 50% of pick 1-4 (if they are that bad), so call it, Pick 11.

The expected value of scenario 2 is 100% of pick 20.

It's an easy choice, and dwelling on the sunk cost of the Westbrook deal doesn't bring it back.

Give Boggy Cousin the keys. Let him work his magic. He are perfect.

 

I can do it, it'd be more like disappointment over heart break . The least likely scenario is the Rockets try for the playoffs and just miss because the Rockets aren't very good.

It's certainly possibly Miami gets 12 instead of 20 or even..... 14.

 

It's a little ugly right now, but for the most part, the teams we knew were good look pretty good, and the teams we knew we were bad look pretty bad...

You can give yourself some false hope if you want, but I don't think a smart man would bet on this squad even in the best case scenario being anything better than a playoff bubble team.

 

I must have missed that one

 

Practice makes progresss.