How do you feel about the offense next year and the defense? Will net rating improve?

I don't think we can rely on Canaan.. that is a sorry state we are in if so..

We need some sort of creator, as you say TJ might be called to do it but im skeptical of putting such a role on his shoulders at this point.

I'm thinking it's going to be someone more like Papa to sparkplug at 6th man. Morey seems to believe he's got something here and he certainly is a highly touted prospect.

We could have a more solid bench than many give it credit.

DMo, Daniels, Johnson, Papa, Dorsey could all have great years and be very solid additions


The rest of your argument is solid.

 

I have no confidence whatsoever on this coaching staff. Switching from Asik to multiple DPOY Dwight made minimum defensive improvement (106.3 to 106.1), not to mention they had an extra elite center for almost 1000 min. They changed their defensive systems like we change our undies. One game perimeter defenders switched, next game, they fought over picks. Dwight and Jones iced picks but Asik and DMo hedged.

Do you know which game Dwight started consistently hedging on pick? 5th game vs Blazers!

After 86 games into the season, they finally told Dwight to hedge on picks! This is not about being a whining fan, it's just frustrating.

Asik might not have as big of impact as expected but his present still contributed to wins. Despite his injuries (or pouting), his NetRtg was still +3.4 and if you replace him with just an average NBA center with 0 NetRtg, it still means 2 wins difference with his 12 min/game based on 82 games. If Rockets didn't have Asik last year, they were certainly to finish at 5th place. In a tight WC, a couple of games could be the difference between lottery and 6-8 seed.

It's not about Asik's impact but more about his replacements. Can Dorsey and DMo step up their game?

 

I would love to see a Beverley, Ariza, KPap, Adrien, and Dwight lineup all the defense and hustle

 

We are a much different team with a shooting stroke like Daniels' that demands attention coming off the bench. We'll see how it translates to a full season. Wing depth that wasn't a virtual 0 was a real problem for the Rockets last season.