This is just stupid. Every metric suggests this team is more than good enough to make the playoffs, and probably to get a 5 or 6 seed. Point differential, strength of schedule, o and d rating, etc. You can debate tanking all you want, but to argue that this isn't an above-average team is just flat out wrong.
I don't think every metric points to it, but given Covid disruptions there's higher than normal variance in terms of outcomes. Basically you can be crappier and finish higher than you'd think. Dallas at full strength is vastly superior to us, but with teams almost never at full strength across the entire NBA due to pandemic, we're levelled with them (so far) in terms of results.
Interesting take, it does seem health plays into it, and usually does - I mean CP3's Hammy proved that. So, will the Rockets stay healthy? What I find interesting is a lot of teams are betting on players that have a large injury history - and we are no different. So, it seems to depend on whom will get lucky with their bets.... DD
And that pretty much sums up where the Rockets are now: betting other teams get the injury bug all the while holding their breath each time Dipo or Wall hit the floor.
Yah I agree. We have a lot of NBA playable players. Dallas has Luka, KP, Hardaway and that’s it. Luka is better than anyone we got, but Wood is close to as good as KP and doesn’t have the injury history. And Wall and Dipo are both better than Hardaway. The rest of our roster is vastly better than Dallas, imo.
If we make the playoff this year, it will be a good year. Not a big step backward from the last year. Get some picks back from the Harden trade and expiring contracts - also hope for the future.
That does not matter, Gordon had a terrible games and when Coach Silas starting using Boogie and Wood together on the court, we can beat them when they are healthy.
Great analysis. Our depth is the reason we were able to slaughter them despite not having our best player.
Their starting 5/most used lineup from last year (Doncic-Hardaway-FinneySmith-Porzingis-Powell) was +11 - that lineup (due to injuries to Powell and Porzingis mostly) hasn't played a single minute this year. Their most effecitve lineup overall last year (Kleber -> Porzingis was +34) has played 0 minutes this year. Granted they lost Seth Curry and Silas but otherwise, everybody's kinda back.
I don't agree with the belief that Dallas is vastly superior but I like the variance point which has been echoed in other comments. If there was ever a year that a team other than those with 3 superstars could make the finals this is the year. COVID is the variable that every team has to navigate and will have more to do with winning and loosing than team 3 pt %. Each teams COVID strategy will probably have as much to do with winning and losing as their game strategy.
It doesnt settle the debate of which team is better but how often do you expect Cousins to drop 28 and 17? The dangers of small sample size and whatnot...
The Lakers lost to Detroit last night without Davis and we beat Detroit last week without Wood so we're better than the Lakers.
Obviously my post was in jest. But not only are the Mavs not the "vastly" better team, they are not the better team, period. As someone pointed out earlier, they are top heavy. Luka is obviously a star, but Wood is better than anyone they have not named Luka and our team is far deeper.
Yep, and they are ridiculously deep, and efficiency wise they have the best defense in the league right now. And they are only have a fraction of thr chemistry that they will develop. And they will get Kevin Porter Jr. And they believe that they can contend. The Rocks are a scary team.
Depth is overrated. It just means you don't have enough stars in the context of a team like the Rockets.. When you have a top 5 guy like Luka or Harden out there at his peak creating tons of open looks with every touch- that IS your depth in a way, because you can put replacement level guys next to him and still be very effective. It's how the Rockets kept pluckign discards and couch free agents like Rivers, Faried, House, Green etc and made them into viable NBA players - Harden created his own depth around him. Ironically the true "depth" pieces (expensive ones like Ryno & Gordon) were the ones who didn't give us the real bang for the buck. Though, again, in a year like this one, it probably helps more than it did due to COVID absences.
Hilarious. First you say they are better because of their "healthy" starting unit -- which is debatable -- then shift to basically, "Eh, they are better because they have Luka." The fact is, if Luka is that good, why is their team been so bad? If Luka is their "depth," then how could COVID have destroyed them? You are totally contradicting yourself. Also, you are underrating Christian Wood. As I said, he's not Luka, but he is absolutely capable of creating a ton of looks for others.
