Lack of talent or team chemistry issues?

it’s a badly built roster that would do well in the mid-2000’s

the talent that we do have is either geriatric like KD, or severely flawed like the “young core”

Ime coaches like he’s JVG’s twin

Hornets: 17-43 from deep

Rockets: 8-24

it’s hard to win that way…I don’t want to just boil the game down to something as simple as this, but we’re losing the math battle every single night, and without Stephen Adams, we don’t have the offensive rebounds to mitigate it

Rockets have to get an absurd amount of offensive boards just to keep up…tonight we had just 12

last night against Boston: also just 12 offensive boards

against the tanking Pacers: 19 offensive boards, so scored 118 points despite going 7-22 from deep while the Pacers were 12-26

 

Toughness and physicality.

 

Both. The Rockets have a bunch of young guys that have not taken any steps forward. Sengun/Amen each have things they excel at but also have major liabilities. The group of players they have do not fit well at all. The system they run is archaic and the coach thinks is 1990.

 

All agreed mostly, they are not functioning right now....that is why a hot team like Charlotte can beat them.....

Talented, flawed and dysfunctional with a Coach that cannot coach Offensive versatility to save his own career.

It is actually frustrating that the Hornets have more hope and a better GM right now.

 

ROSTER BALANCE from '24 & '25 seasons is missing.

VanVleet, Brooks, Jalen Green, that's 3 starters gone. Much bigger chemistry losses than it appears.

Ime arrived for '24, had those 3 starters, and team improved to a respectable 41 wins in '24. (From 22 wins the season before)

In '25, the SAME CORE of players then improved to 52 wins. With mostly internal progression, and some Steven Adams cleanup man action. That's natural chemistry, players in more identifiable roles. Those 3 away makes it almost another team. No Adams takes away even more identity

Its also not much coincidence that those 3 players can be threats from 3 point range. They didn't have to be great 3 point shooters, just decent enough to get guarded, or make the wide open chances when given.

This Rockets team doesn't have anything like that on offense. They went heavy on length & force over shooting & passing, & it's wearing everything down BOTH sides of the ball

 

We lack guys who can dribble and shoot which makes competent offense difficult. KD has been amazing but without him, the offense is depressing.

We're also down to 12 healthy players on the roster. One of those is Jeff Green who is here just for locker room leadership. Jae'Sean Tate, Aaron Holiday and DFS have all struggled this year. This means we're down to only 8 capable NBA rotation players.

The Timberwolves added talent and the Lakers added shooting. We clutched and held onto our 2nd-round picks. After our injuries, I think our roster is probably the 5th-best in the West right now- clearly behind OKC, Denver, SA and Minnesota. We're probably better than the Lakers but the league will give them enough extra free throws that they're likely to finish above us. I believe we'll be competing with the Suns for the 6th spot in the West. I don't think any of us imagined that scenario at the beginning of the season.

It's hard to watch the Rockets right now.

 

Its a combination of things but I think it all stems from Ime-ball. Roster decisions are made based on how Ime wants the team to play.

Rockets were one of the best shooting teams in the league from 3 for a while and never increased their 3pt volume. Even with the recent regression they are still an average 3pt shooting team. Tari is still near or at the top of the league in 3pt percentage. On any other team guys that shoot that well are utilized as a three point threat much more often. Here, he gets whatever crumbs he can get when he's out there. Rockets are 29th in three point attempts per game. The hornets and celtics were not incredibly better at making threes this past two games. Especially the celtics. But they both basically doubled our attempts.

This isnt about having bad shooters. Its a philosophy and a play style that has been ingrained in the team.

It shows up in the simplest things like failure to kick the ball out to open shooters when surrounded in the paint. Look at how teams that get a lot of threes up move the ball. When they get oboards or get deep into the paint they kick it out to open shooters.

Pay attention to how many times our guys just have to show their toughness and grit by trying to muscle up over the entire defense at the rim when theres open shooters around the perimeter.

Rockets have other flaws besides coaching, but coaching is by far the biggest issue. They have issues, but they arent THIS bad. But eventually when you've got nothing besides play harder and be tough it wears down on a team. Coaches should be trying to make it easier on their players, not trying to get them to run through a brick wall all the time.

 

Why did Sengun regress? He finally looked like himself against Indiana and then again he falls into a slump

I would say coaching first, then it piles up into chemistry...this team has no ball movement whatsoever...we were lucky last year with Brooks brining us back a few times because hes a dog. Right now we just dont seem to have the energy

 

Stone needed to step in at the deadline and trade KD and maybe Sengun away to do a soft - reset. He didn't so we're sitting on declining assets going in to the off-season.

 

Very obvious answer.

 

Chemistry is a factor.

But tactical incompetence is the elephant in the room. It's plagued the first half of every season of Udoka's career. He wastes the first half experimenting with silly 1990's ideas. Then the players check out. Then he gets mad. Then they don't flinch. Then he gives in by doing what every coach in the league knew he should do on day 1 of the season.

Then they win a lot in the second half and Ime pretends it's about effort and minimizes offensive contributions.

 

Im going to go out on a limb here and say the team is still not that bad.

DEFENSE - Wins championships!
Capela and Finley Smith Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith
OFFENSE - Kevin Durant
Good 6th man- Reed Sheppard
Great 20-10 Big man : Sengun
Coach : Ime Udoka is not a bad coach,


This roster is not as bad as people are saying, they are 4th in the west.
There Season is not over with
Yes 2 key players are out! - But that dont mean they cant win.

People are just too hard on this team as is.

Calm the **** down!

 

Why have Rockets fans reached a point where 4th in the west is looked upon as a great achievement in a year in which the GM signed/re-signed 6 players over the age of 30, including a 37yr old superstar, to compete for a title?

And mind you, calling them 4th in the west is disengenous. They are tied in record with 2 other teams in 4th through 6th place. They are 1 game ahead of the play-ins. If they dont' turn it around, this time next week they can easily be in 7th place.