The more I see this team play the more I realize that Ime is here to stay for many years. Pop helped create a system for the Spurs that players bought into to win year after year, and I feel Ime is capable of doing the same thing for the Rockets for the next 10+ years. The Spurs became a blueprint of how teams can win without overpaying superstars that carry the load throughout the season, instead relying on a core group of players that can each step up depending on the game played and have several rotation guys that can fill in that would normally start on other teams. This is why you won't see a Booker or KD type added to this team that becomes the offense. The key to this success going forward is for the Rockets management to continue finding guys to bring in that want to buy in to win as our current bench eventually leaves for a bigger payday or playing time. Win this year or not, this is an exciting time to be a Rockets fan (for now and the next decade to come).
Let's not get ahead of ourselves! I'd like to see how we do on offense and playoff runs for the next two years. Not buying Ime for a decade yet.
I like the idea of a system not built around superstars, but superstars certainly help. Love what Ime has done installing a physical, hard nosed culture. And most of our core are hardworking kids that are extremely coachable and love basketball. I think “the system” eventually gets built around Amen. He’s our future superstar and there are no nba players that can do what he can do. Maximizing Amen is essential. But I’m with you that developing our own talent is probably a more sustainable way to build a championship team that can contend for a long time as opposed to endlessly star chasing. That approach didn’t work out for Brooklyn, Phoenix, the Clippers, etc. I truly love our guys, even if the fit isn’t perfect. Ime’s “system” is working
That's what I hope, but couldn't disagree more right now. He's been disappointing offensively and exceeded expectations defensively. The sum of that means we've improved, but the Larry O trophy doesn't ignore half the court. That doesn't work for winning titles. Coaches that win titles tend to be balanced on both ends of the court. The offensive geniuses and defensive tough guys rarely ever win a title. He is building something valuable in the bigger picture of a pursuit towards a title. What he's done with the defense is not meaningless, it's something to appreciate. For our future though, either he steps up offensively or we bring someone in like Mazulla who easily carries over his defense and adds the offensive creativity required. People claim he just needs a superstar, but he fumbled a Finals series with two superstars and elite role players because of his lack of creativity on offense. He lost to a lesser team. So for me the fact that we want go-to scorers is irrelevant in this analysis - he hasn't shown himself to be able to win that way either. He has to learn how to do better with what he's got offensively. I don't put it past him to improve or feel secure enough to allow an elite offensive assistant on his staff.
I agree with you Ime is a bit lacking right now, but you also have to realize Ime is a young coach he is in his 40s and only had a year as Boston HC before he got the job in Rox. He is a lot like Jalen and Sengun, he has a lot of untapped potential compared to other coaches in their 50s and up. At the very least he got something more established coaches like Vogel never had, he manages to get the respect of players and is able to build a culture similar to Marc Jackson, Rudy T and Tyron Lue. Whether he can be more than the culture guy remains to be seen, but IMO he bought himself time with this 2nd seed showing. As for half court the double big lineup is for half court and if we can beat GSW and OKC with it then we can beat anyone. In fact Rox are one of the few teams with winning record vs contenders. It hasnt been perfect but Ime did his job overall IMO.
Is our offense lacking, or is our offensive talent lacking? I'd argue it's more of the latter than the former.
System, Culture, Dedication to both ends of the floor, Whatever you wanna call it - i like it! I didnt like the years that our team was led around by the short hairs... yeh, we got a lot of wins - but couldnt win it all... I love the fact that we have a balanced Pistons championship type team - and not 'cornerstones' and 'roleplayers' type bs - lol! THIS is the brand of basketball that I enjoy watching! Although we do need to work on free throws... lol
I’m a huge fan of Ime and all he’s accomplished with us so far, but let’s temper our excitement, higher expectations usually lead to bigger disappointments. We’re already ahead of schedule, and the playoffs will reveal how effectively Ime makes in-game adjustments based on the situation. I hope he avoids being overly rigid with substitutions and minute distributions. Our offensive identity needs clearer definition, and I’m eager to see how he envisions this team performing in a high stakes, competitive environment. When JG and Sengun face double teams, can he devise solutions to keep our offense flowing smoothly? We’ll get some answers soon.
No true point guard needed. Everyone is expected to handle the ball and pass it. Tony Parker, Ginobili, Patti Mills, Corey Joseph, Kawhi, Tim Duncan, Kyle Anderson. Boston: Marcus Smart, Kemba Walker, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Tatum, Jrue Holiday
I think it’s both, and if your offense is lacking it will have the impact of making your offensive talent look lesser than it is. A player will not look the same under Udoka as they would under MDA for example. I always use the Cavs as the example. Atkinson inherited Bickerstaff’s team and simply improved the offense. Last season the talk was all about that they need another offensive star. Now they’re the #1 or #2 offense. Another example is Bickerstaff stumbling onto extra spacing when Ivey went down. Cade didn’t improve overnight. He just found that drives opened up, which made defenders have to back off, which made him more of a threat as a shooter and passer. Combined with other shooting role players, they made his life easy. Another example on the inverse is Banchero. Their atrocious offensive tactics are making him shoot worse. Has he regressed? Not really. It’s just that they have some historically bad spacing + he can’t shoot that well. Another is Morant who scores less efficiently when Edey plays. He was feasting on elite spacing with JJJ drawing the rim protector out of the paint. Now Edey’s defender is in the paint to challenge him. Lots of factors go into this but it’s clear if you have terrible spacing, you don’t really know your talent’s true ceiling.
The Spurs were different, other than their Big 3 Top dogs, the Spurs are known to turn rejects into Spurs super role players....only the Spurs could use, once they signed with other teams they were not that potent! Remember Gary Neal or Matt Bonner? Fabricio Oberto? Our Tiago Splitter? Even Bones Brent Barry. They were all pretty instrumental to the Spurs franchise. The Recycling of playoff caliber role players.
I still think we need a true star. Without a star we will never be a true contender and this playing style is not sustainable in the long run.
I agree, Ime is heck of a coach but is he visionary.......it remains to be seen. Houston is a much bigger market, to do a Dynasty with the Spurs would be monumental as they are mini spot on the map nobody really cared about.
