When Popovich tells a floor reporter at end of a quarter, "We're just not making our shots." I dare you to ask him, "well, what's your plan b?"
Toronto Raptors 2018-19. How many of us booked them to go through any round last year?!?!?!? It is a long-season, most important is being healthy. If JJ Redick was here, we'd be 1st-tier contenders. We can't shoot 3s with consistency, only if we have a 3 point deadly shooter.
While I agree they will try harder in the postseason, I think you’re downplaying the importance of getting used to playing with effort. They already play heavy minutes and it’s only getting worse in the playoffs. The way I see it, one of our biggest problems every postseason is playing harder than they are used to + even heavier minutes. They clearly get tired and we blame the coach for the tight rotation (which I agree), but we forget to blame the players for not having built the stamina to overcome this issue.
they got Kawhi Leonard and Lebron James was no longer in the east who became their roadblock for the last several years. plenty of people thought toronto would go deep in the playoffs
Our playoff run will hinge entirely on Westbrook and whether our shots fall or not. I know many people here think our defense is good but I think its mediocre at best. The offense will be good with Harden. But it will need to be amazing to outscore people in the playoffs and that comes from Westbrook breaking down defenses in 4 on 3 situations and shooters make their shots. Everything else is kinda immaterial and this regular season doesnt really matter much because we just need to perform in the playoffs
Yep. That deadline will show how cheap Tillman is, and how smart Morey is, in finding a way to upgrade the forwards we are starting now.
we are currently the oldest team in the NBA, and we play a short rotation giving the starters heavy minutes...they give more effort vs the good teams and coast against the scrub teams, it is what it is we are 18-7 against teams below .500, but CF would have u thinking we’re 13-12...other than seeding purposes, I really don’t care about how they play against sorry-below average teams...I care about how they play against Milwaukee, the Lakers, Clippers, Jazz, Sixers, Nuggets, etc...Idgaf about how they play against Atlanta, PHX, Sacramento, Orlando... I mean, we’re consistently smashing teams we face in the playoffs not named GS
why wouldn't they be, considering they're inside a top 5 offense and inside a top 10 defense. other actual contenders such as the lakers/bucks/celtics bolster similiar ratings
Clippers have 2 clear Top 10 players, both of which are elite defensively. They have a quality coach, not great but not bad. They have significant depth. They lack a real rim protecter which is their real kryptonite, but they are certainly contenders. They have far fewer question marks than the Rockets do.
Just one game. Hemorrhaging seed position putting the team in unfavorable playoff matchups. Sure. Keep pinching those pennies Tilly!
Toronto should of lost to the 76ers if not for that immaculate 3 point shot by K.Leonard. If I recall, they were trailing most of the game. Actually, I only caught the last seconds and I didn't watch NBA after my Rockets lost in the playoffs.
Difference then and now is there was only one team in the West the league would sell out to make sure they made the conference finals. Now there are two. The Rockets are going to have to be very, very good to push past the league's finger on the scale, and they aren't there yet. Despite wins against the Clippers, Nuggets and others. To make the WCF, the Rockets are going to have to beat either the Clips or Lakers. Probably the Clippers. Yes, the Rockets can do it, but not if they play like they did last night. They need another creator and another big to defend, plus get his own shot too. They aren't going to win with black holes offensively at the 3 and 4. Poor P.J. He must be exhausted.
Double tap. But as long as I'm here...man can the Rockets use someone like Bertans, or Morris, or Washington from Charlotte, or anyone else shooting at/near 40 percent from 3.
We are standings wise almost exactly where I thought we’d be: 5th / 6th behind Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets and Jazz. My only mistake was Blazers who I thought might be above us. However, we have played like a 2-3 seed most of the year. We can go toe-to-toe with any of those teams in a series, though Lakers and Clippers could definitely beat us badly. The LA teams have more talent, size, better defenders and a deeper roster. There’s no shame in losing this year, but some evaluations have to be made of both MDA and Morey. You get Westbrook, want to run more, yet get all these old timers who cannot do that. We needed to improve defensively and on the boards, failed at that. I understand everything stands and falls with our new nitwit owner, but we cannot change that. So even for Morey’s sake it might be better to go to a place where he can thrive. MDA is a dinosaur, set in his ways and we hopefully will not re-sign him. We could still have an amazing run, but unless Morey performs a miracle at the deadline and or we get lucky with a buyout or two who can help immediately, I share the sentiment that we’re one injury away from disaster and need to concede we’re probably not contenders.
Even money pick'em. Will Harden or Bill Obrien has a longer stay with the Houston sport franchises before getting traded or fired?
Same as most years of the Harden era... We have enough talent to win it all... just a question of whether or not our guys are willing to do the heavy lifting and thankless tasks... ...or are we gonna be the team that tries to cut corners resulting in poor defense, halfhearted rebounding, ill advised chucking and starters logging too many minutes... we'll see... fingers crossed...
Depending on how the bracket shakes out, WCF seems possible. Moves or injuries to competitors would be needed for a realistic shot at a title.
Not trying to be the best team in January. Struggling now is a good thing, because we know where we need to improve before the trade deadline.
