Bleh ... the OP is right , something's off with this team. Sure , they are 4 games back from the Flakers in the 4 spot .... they have been better than that the past couple seasons and expectations were high coming into the season. I dont think they have been met at all. To start the defense was a disaster which seems to have at least stabilized and has actually been good at times but the offense isnt up to the standards we've come to expect either. When Harden isnt going off for video game numbers , this team struggles to beat even poor to middling teams much less the better ones. When teams double Harden early they struggle to put points on the board playing 4 on 3 .... where they should be punishing teams for doubling Harden so far from the basket. They are missing .... something.
the problem is the bench production. The second unit has struggled mightily this season but once Eric gets back into shape by mid January and maybe a upgrade via trade things should get better. This team is extremely weak right now off the bench.
I'm not so sure that's all ... or that EG solves even most of the issues. Hell we don't know what EG will look like when he does come back. He could continue to suck the wind out of the sails shooting 20something percent. That upgrade via trade or whatever you speak of better bring in a quality 4 that can give Tucker some rest. Secondly - much of their poor play comes with Harden on the floor , particularly when he's doubled
nope... Mind telling me why our starting lineup of Russ-Harden-House-Tucker-Capela has a net rating of +13.4 in 304 minutes? If u swap House with McLemore the net rating jumps to +20.1 in 101 minutes. Could u also tell me why the team’s offensive rating is 115.3 when Harden is on the court, the 2nd best on the team behind McLemore at 118.2? Could u also provide reasons for why Harden’s net rating is the 2nd highest on the team among regular rotation players once again behind only Ben McLemore who gets most of his wide open looks because of Harden shooting 40% on 8 threes a game in December? I just need to know how much of their poor play is coming with Harden on the floor. The majority of lineups including Harden have very positive net ratings. the reality is that the bench sucks (it’s actually the worst in the league providing just 24 ppg which ranks 30th), the defense and shooting is inconsistent, and the team isn’t that good when only Russ is on the floor without James...EG will help tremendously once he’s back unless he continues playing like the absolute scrub he was to start the year...he is another player that will be able to take advantage of a 4 on 3 via driving to the rim or spotting up for wide open threes...the only question is if he will hit them or continue to brick...he is a career 37% shooter from deep so law of averages dictates that he will and won’t continue to shoot 28% from beyond the arc just like how McLemore and Harden started hitting at a good clip from deep to offset their garbage percentages to start off the season
Hey Brian, 9-7 AFC South champion. So shut your mouth and just enjoy our first round exit again. Sincerely, Bob.
Those numbers are for the entire season ? I'd like to see them for say .... the last handful of games starting with , which one was the first where they started doubling Harden as soon as he crossed half court. Was that the loss in Sacramento ? I cant recall ... Anyhow , they do seem to go thru stretches where they couldn't hit a barn with a shotgun from point blank range. Harden or no Harden. We know the bench is weak .... minus GG and EG with Nene's mummy and Chandlers corpse. Those offensive stats are kinda empty when they lose to scrub teams like GSW , Sacramento , San Antonio , Detroit , & Brooklyn. Maybe its just me .... IDK.
4 games is a big deal in the West and especially hard for this Rockets team to overcome when we struggle against tanking teams.
The loss against Sacramento? So you’d like to see the numbers over a 9 game sample size in order to start making conclusions, especially when we’ve gone 6-2 since? That’s how people operate these days I guess... No, those stats aren’t empty at all. So let’s ignore their win at LAC, their win at Toronto, etc so we can focus on the few losses they have against bad teams when the Rockets are currently 15-4 against teams below .500 which is 3rd best behind the Lakers and Mavs... people really need to start paying attention to the rest of the league...like the Rockets are the only one with embarrassing losses to bad teams...
unless the original post somehow gets tattooed on a strippers backside - i dont think James is ever gonna see it... lol i'd ask what happened in that meltdown game against SAS a couple years back... never did get any explanation on that one...
Attention!!! James Harden..... is somehow having the best season of his career for the 4th year in a row.
