Come on, man. Let's take 2019. Harden, Paul, Gordon, Tucker, Capella, that's a damn good starting five. You don't think Capella is a good player? That narrative that the Rockets sucked other than Harden is BS. Harden was the MVP, but he played with some damn good teams. Telling the truth doesn't diminish him as a player.
I’ve no idea why. iPhone works in mysterious ways. Actually I was trying to like your post. Agree about CP3. Then an ad popped up and froze my phone, but whatever. My post applies to what some other guy wrote.
Some damn good teams? as opposed to what? Do you think he consistently played with top 10 talent around him? Top 5?
Yeah. I think over a five year period the Rockets had the best lineup, along with the Warriors and arguably Cleveland. By 2019 you can count out Cleveland, so lets compare the 2019 Rockets to the Warriors: Harden = Curry (I think most of us will argue for James over Curry, but it's debatable, and since we are discussing the rest of the team, let's make them equal, to leave them out of the equation.) CP3 > Klay Gordon < KD Tucker < Draymond Capella > Looney Austin = Old Livingstone Old Shumpert < Old Iguodala Old Nene = Old Bogut Faried > Jordan Bell House > Quint Cook GGreen > McKinney Really, not much different. I'd say KD gives them a slight edge, but CP3 is not far behind. Plus, CP3 is always a team leader, and I don't think KD, as good as he is, was ever a team leader. It was Westbrook's team at OKC, Curry/Green's team at Golden State, and now Harden's team at Brooklyn. It's really close, and if we agree for James over Curry then the Rockets do have the edge. Not surprising then that - if both teams were healthy - Rockets would have likely won.
Which one do you not agree with? Do you think maybe old Livingstone was better than Austin? I'd say not that season, and definitely not during that series, at the very least. I find it sad that in a Rockets board we have so called Rocket fans who are constantly putting down the team, the players, and the old ownership, (the new one deserves to be put down), just to try to make one player look good. James Harden is good, he is a generational talent, and we don't need idiots to constantly, post after post, page after page put down the rest of what was - over the last few years - a very good team with a very good ownership in order to justify the fact that, as good as James was, he was never able to lead the Rockets to a title. And especially now that he bailed and will likely win a title elsewhere with a super team, maybe it's time that we stop worshipping just one guy and start appreciating not just what he did here but also the other players too, because the good run we had - (and although it's lacking in championships it was a very good run) - happened because of the teams that the Rockets put together, not just because of one single player - even one as good as James.
Let me start this by saying, I love CP3. Don't think we ever should have traded him and I felt he was not fully healthy his second year here. These last two years proved that because he's now playing way better especially after he went vegan. But if we are comparing 2019 Rockets Klay was better than CP3. That was easily his worst season ever and why him and Harden had tension. If he played like he is now he'd still be here.. The problem I see with your logic, while I agree with your assesments is that you are missing some >>> signs. The difference between certain players isn't the same. For example Gordon <<<<<<< KD. KD is soo much better than any player on the Rockets. Can make an argument he's better than Harden and he's definitely better than Curry. You also forgot to factor in fit. KD is soo versatile he can play any position. Our three best players were all guards and we had to play soo small. Not a recipe for winning. Our first year CP3 was playing out of his mind. He was easily a top 10 player in the league. But of course he got injured in game 5 and we had no real chance after that..which is why we played the Warriors soo close.
Yeah, that's true about KD and Gordon. But the Warriors were the supposed (well, the real) super team. My point is that the Rockets were not that far behind. All teams have scrubs, even the Warriors did, but overall Houston had a very good roster, not just James. Maybe the Warriors were better, but not by much, and who else was? I'm tired, but tomorrow I'll look at Houston 2018 vs Cleveland 2018 - cause they were the other top team of this era, until Lebron and Kyrie bailed - and lets see how that one comes up. We can take out James and Lebron and compare the rest of the guys. The only point I want to make is that the Rockets other than James were not as bad as some people here claim. And especially when CP3 was here.
2018 was our best team ever. Ariza made a huge difference in our lineups. Luc also too bad he wasn't healthy in playoffs.
“Paul has a $44.4 million player option, which according to several sources, he intends to decline with hopes of inking a new multiyear deal (perhaps in the $100 million range over three seasons),” wrote Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. “It’s unclear if his recent shoulder injury changes his plans. Gordon Hayward, who has battled more severe injuries than Paul, made a similar decision this past offseason, opting out of his final year with the Boston Celtics to sign a four-year, $120 million contract with the Charlotte Hornets.”
James Jones, friend of LeBron, is the general manager in Phoenix. Chris Paul is also a friend of LeBron. For me, this shoulder/arm/nerve injury is just Paul laying down for LeBron, but even if it's not, what it is is another reason to not trust that Chris Paul will be a good neighbor and be there for you when you most need him. If he gets a 9-figure extension, completely undeserved, if he is laying down, or nonsensical, if he is really injured, then you gotta credit his relationship with LeBron for it. It pays to serve that dude.
Harden and 70% of Clutchfans wanted CP3 out too because he couldn't get by his man in the system... smh.
What evidence do you have that Chris Paul is ready and willing to "lay down" for Lebron at a moment's notice? I see you post this a few times and am genuinely curious on how you reached this conclusion.
