It was a joke. It also is true that they cannot score well enough to contend in a playoff series... YET. We'll see if Amen, Sengun, etc. improve on that end, or if they are able to bring in an offensive engine.
I think ultimately the playable guys on the roster has to grow from the 8 it's at now, to 10. Minutes have to be given to two guys who can stretch the floor. Yes, we can't compromise defense very much, but we can't just repeat this year. I do think Alpi, Jalen, Amen, and Tari have a duty to improve their shooting (I'd say Bari already has) so we can grow internally. But if it's not Cam/Reed/Holliday etc getting minutes, they better find someone who can space the floor and contribute for next year's playoffs.
I think it's fairly obvious that the roster is out of balance. Too many forwards, not enough good jump shooters. The tricky thing is going to be solving that without damaging our elite defense.
They now have plenty of data to make informed changes. You can't stand still and expect a different result. The team is very limited offensively. You have to address that to make progress.
Actually... we got our butts kicked by Shawn Kemp and the original Gary Payton again... heck... we got swept by them. Just had to wait for Kemp to get addicted to coke and get fat.
The Rockets just contended in a playoff series. Won 3 games, lost three games, lost a coin toss game on a ticky tacky foul, and the refs refused to toss Draymond Green in any game (the only guy they had slowing Sengun down, and I think he deserved to be tossed at least twice).
Rephrase it however you want but it's not that controversial of a take that the Rockets need to get better on offense.
Fast break possessions are generally generated by defense .... Yes, this team did get out on the break this season, they were 7th in fast break points per game for the year and 8th in transition efficiency. The #1 team in fast break points and efficiency was Denver, they averaged about 10 possessions per game, that's less than 10% of all possessions and in the playoffs when offenses slow down, an even lower percentage. The Rockets problem wasn't that 10% ..... it's the other 90% - half court offense. FVV, Sengun & Jalen were all below NBA average in both 2p & 3p shooting percentage, eFG% and TS% for the year for their respective positions. Run it back? I think not.
I'm the last person on the run-it-back wagon. I was deeply critical of Stone for leaving us at a standstill at the trade deadline. If he could have added any shooting mid-season, we'd probably still be playing and getting experience. But we were getting bounced by every first-round opponent because they all made in-season trades/moves to get better. Denver even fired their coaches to improve late in the season. But I want to address this "fastbreak problem." Denver is #1 in efficiency in fast breaks, and yes, that's only 10% of their possessions. But the key is that 10% is the foundation of their team. Denver doesn't run in an opportunistic way. They run on everything: makes, misses, and turnovers. They are coming for you. Dropping Westbrook into their roster infused the athleticism and energy that they needed, and everyone was influenced. Braun, Porter, Gordon, Murray, and Strawther are all better when running. The Rockets' approach to the break is hit-or-miss. They run if someone steals the ball or a long board falls into someone's hands. And most of the time, because they lack offensive skill, Houston sits on the ball. Denver has a plodding Jokic who is a mismatch in the half-court, but they rarely walk it up. Their strengths are playing fast and getting people on their heels, so Jokic can kill them with passing. #3 in offense #8 in pace 31 assists per game in the regular season (a historically high number, top 5 in NBA history) #30 in three-point attempts per game 2nd in the NBA in corner three-point percentage at 42.6 and their 37.2 percent above-the-break three-point shooting ranked 5th 58.5 paint points per game ranked 1st in the NBA. That's the most painted area points a team has averaged since this tracking data became publicly available in 1996-97. Houston was #6 at 46.9. The Rockets found their identity by playing hard nosed defense and crashing the glass. If they can maintain those strengths and remake their fastbreak and get everyone in shape to push the pace, we could play an exciting, frenetic brand of ball. If Denver can run, why can't we?
Getting better on offense is not controversial if the goal post is winning the title. I don't deny that. Your post was explicit on contending in a playoff series. For the Rockets to contend in a playoff series (objectively let's say get to Game 6), the Rockets offense has proven they are capable of doing that.
This is the same management crew that negotiated against itself to extend Kevin Porter Jr - the RUN IT BACK instinct is strong.
Again, they did .... the Rockets were 7th in opportunities and 8th in efficiency .... about 0.4 possessions per game difference. That's four tenths of a possession per game difference.. The same roughly 10% of total possessions. The difference is Denver's perimeter players can shoot & Half court execution.
You’re painting a skewed picture by pulling scoring numbers without context—pace, defense, shot quality, all of that matters. Yeah, we had some low-scoring games. But so did Golden State. That doesn’t automatically mean our offense was broken—it means it was a grind-it-out, half-court battle with adjustments flying every possession. You mentioned 85, 93, and under 90 in Game 7—but GS only scored 95, 104, and 98 in those same games. If our offense was “horrific,” theirs was just as bad given how many elite shooters they have. And sure, we won when we scored 109, 115, 131—but look at why: we pushed the pace, forced turnovers, defended with energy. That created better offensive flow. Our defense opened the door. Even Ime said as much. I’m not saying offense wasn’t an issue. Of course it was. But calling it the fatal flaw? That’s where we disagree. In Game 7, we only got up 18 threes because GS ran us off the line, and we didn’t respond with enough movement or rim pressure. That’s more about spacing and scheme than some lack of shot creators. Bottom line, tight playoff games often come down to who hits the tougher shots late. That’s variance. That’s experience. Not necessarily a sign your team’s broken. So yeah, maybe we just see it differently. But if you think the only fix is getting some ISO god to carry us, I don’t think the film supports that. And honestly, if we just hit league-average free throws, the series probably ends in five and we’re talking about how to guard Anthony Edwards instead.
I don't see why it has to be either running it back or making a big move(or series of moves). Why not keep most of this roster intact and make minor changes? - In other words, no KD or Giannis trade. - Maybe trade away Dillon and hand those minutes to Tari, Jabari, and Cam. - Don't pick up the options on Jock or Aaron and bring in another backup 5/4(perhaps with the Suns pick) to eventually replace Steven and make Reed the fulltime backup point guard. - Make a commitment to giving Cam meaningful playing time next season to find out A) if he's worth of an extention since he's already gonna be eligible a year from now and B) if he maybe can supplant Jalen in the lineup. Wouldn't that be a better outcome than mortgaging the future on a 37 year old KD? - Resign Fred to a much smaller deal and use the extra cap space from that, Dillon's contract being off the books, and Aaron, Jock, and Jeff Green being gone to go after a shooter in free agency. Quentin Grimes for example. All of this takes minimal effort from the Rockets and could lead to major rewards. And if God forbid it doesn't work out over the next few years or the team is right on the cusp of winning it all but needs one more piece, along come the Suns and Nets picks in 2027 and later on the Suns and Mavs picks in 2029.
Would that not be a successful season? We're in year 2 of Phase 2 which I think is supposed to last 3 years. I would've assumed a playoff series win in the final year of that phase followed by Phase 3 which is the contending years puts us right on schedule.
@Josh Smith Do y’all think Sengun is Kelly Rowland ? Because he sure as hell ain’t Beyoncé breh @Os Trigonum @Salvy @RB713 @pgabriel
