I didn’t get his lineup end if 3rd beginning of 4th with very little scoring except for Gordon. None of the big 3 were in while suns had CP3 and Booker. Granted McGee goaltended or fouled 3 times that whole block of time made no sense.
I mentioned in couple other posts but Wood is just not there. On the cusp of stardom but there’s a reason he’s not. Too many mental lapses, lack of aggression and physically weak. He’s too weak to post up and too slow to drive by players even bigs but he plays like a 2-3 not a 4-5. Too much standing around at the 3.
Sengun picked up two quick PFs at the end of the 3rd quarter to give him 5. Adding in his two third-quarter TOs and misses that's why his + - was negative. But that was his first time to go against Javale McGee. You shouldn't expect to be able to Eurostep by him with a short finger roll. Also, I'm a huge Sengun fan, but he needs to ditch the majority of his negative body language (raising his arms, hopping up and down, looking around for a late whistle). That's not a good look. My best guess is that NBA refs will punish 19-year old rookies that try to make them look bad. Even worse, they might pigeonhole you as a complainer. If Sengun wants to earn his calls in the paint, my advice is to train harder, gather, and finish through contact above the rim. Let's leave all this pouting behavior in Phoenix. Yes, you're being treated unfairly (insert obligatory eye-roll). Can we move on? Though the team is improving, there is some work to do on fourth-quarter TOs (8 with 6 "steals" by the Suns). These killed any chance of a comeback.
I'm with you that the coaching and decision-making are an absolute puzzle, but this is a player's league. I'm not sure we've got playoff players yet.
He is learning and you can see the development even through seven games or so. I observed that he doesn’t use his body enough when going up after a drive and gets himself blocked or caught with guys going vertical. Needs to manipulate his body to get contact the way lebron or harden does it even Westbrook does. He’s more agressive last 2 games so that’s encouraging at least.
I didn’t expect to win this season. In fact I want to get another top 3 pick. I just want to watch our youngsters grow. With that comes inconsistencies. Just grow and start to limit the mistakes as the season goes on. I’m seeing more “offense” but it’s still disorganized and sloppy. Would like to see cleaner movement, more off ball movement and hitting the open man whether that’s the cutter or man with his guy sealed off in the post.
A positive: second straight game where kpj has looked good at PG. Good offensive aggression, few bad turnovers, and good ball movement. If he can get his 3 to fall, he's dangerous.
Wood seemed really selfish today. Seems like he's just looking to "get his" and was very undisciplined the entire game. That was honestly the biggest takeaway I saw from the game lol. Everything else was par for the course.
Is this the smell of optimism? Because I'm damn sure it smells like optimism here. 2 good games in a row. Encouraging. A lot of things to improve. I love Nwaba but he can't be shooting our 3s at the end of the shot clock. Also Sengun please don´t pick up your dribble under the rim, with nowhere to go. We need to find more minutes for Armani, JC and Garuba.
Seemed like that was the game plan, for Wood to attack the paint and get their bigs in foul trouble but it backfired. Since we don't have a legit backup big, their bigs off the bench killed the Rockets. #WHERE'STHEBIGSTONE
What was the deal with Josh Christopher going to check in during the 1st but then sitting back down and never getting into the game? Trying to show him a lesson to always be ready?
Last night was the first Rockets game I was able to watch this season, after watching a pretty good amount last season, especially the first half of the season. Pros: There is definitely talent on this team. A lot of legitimate NBA players. The talent is young and will improve. The playstyle of a lot of the young guys is fun to watch. Eric Gordon should have solid trade value. Cons: I don't really understand Silas' vision for the team. In contrast to the younger guys, Wood may have reached his peak. Lack of size. Lack of three-point shooting. I don't see any real road to a championship. Even if some of these guys develop into stars and we become a solid playoff team, I don't see a path to actually getting over the hump to winning it all. Bottom line: Team is fun to watch, but I think we'll end up seeing a lot of these guys ultimately play solid roles on other teams while the Rockets are in the best case scenario a playoff but not championship team. That's not the end of the world, plenty of fanbases in the same boat.
You had me until “any real road to a championship” crap. We have a great GM and a boatload of talent and a boatload of draft picks. It’s way too early to think we have no road to a championship. We will probably have a high lottery pick in 22 and the possibility of a high lottery pick in 2023. Maybe we get lucky and get a franchise big man in the next 2 drafts. We also will have a ton of cap space sometime next year or for sure in 23. With all the draft picks and good young players the GM will have the opportunity to get all-stars via trade or FA to round out the team. We will be extremely competitive in 2024 at the worst.
3 assists is not good at pg when we needed more passing. He looked like a good 2 guard or a good small forward not point guard. This game should prove he's not a point guard as he passed less and racked up more scoring but had a more efficient night and looked like himself.
I don't think Silas really has a vision for this team. That's not meant as a criticism, I think he's just throwing **** against the wall to see if it sticks. Neither he nor anyone else knows what this team has yet. This team isn't winning this year and even though losing sucks, it's in the best interests of the team to tank as beautifully as possible. Once the pieces are in place though (like the Suns or the Warriors before them) we will need a coach who is smarter that knows how to maximize talent. Feel like the writing on the wall for Wood is there though. Dude's a poor man's LMA.
You make some good points but I respectfully disagree. Look, is it possible that we go all the way? Sure, it's theoretically possible. We're in a good place with the talent and picks, like you say. I think the verdict is still out on Stone, there's some good signs, but also some cause for concern like the Oladipo offer (hopefully that was a sham we knew for a fact that he'd turn down?). I definitely am not ready to call him "great" yet. Regardless, there's countless teams in the dustbin of history that were likewise loaded with young talent and picks, and haven't won the championship, or worse, failed miserably. In the era of player empowerment, I think we'll continue to see the coastal teams keep getting richer and better. The glaringly obvious counterexample is the Bucks, but them getting Giannis and keeping him is a generational event imo. Another recent counterexample would be the Spurs, but I think they're toast moving forward for the same reasons as the Rockets. Hope I'm wrong!
Its collective decision making that separates good teams from bad. Example KPJ and other rockets such as Augustine make jump passes often which results in turnovers. Wood pulling up for ill advised long 2 in a critical situation instead of demanding the ball in the post or elbows. Forced passes in the paint and missing the open shooters in the corner or wings. These all add up and the difference in wins and losses.
