How far away are we? You can't really answer those kind of questions - with Bosh and Parsons we'd surely have been there but still could lose. Now with our team NOW we could win, if everything goes right. If we are talking about how good we feel about our team, well then there are several question marks. Our starting 5 looks good - PG and PF could be upgraded though. Our bench is one big questionmark. And our coach is as well - he clearly got outcoached last postseason. I'd say our roster is two pieces away: another playmaker and another stretch 4 that can defend. We need to get someone else but Harden to create scoring opportunities and we need someone who can stop LMA while provide good spacing on offense. Now, DMo could be that PF and Daniels could be that playmaker - but we shouldn't bank on it.
Next season the Blazers are gonna eat the rockets for breakfast. How are we better than The Mavs and Spurs currently? Can we still sweep the Spurs and make GSW looking foolish? Not with the current D-league bench.
Very far away. Our starting 5 is still pretty good, even with Ariza replacing Parsons. But our bench is non-existent and we have McHale sans 2 assistant coaches(including Sampson) on the sideline. We've got a lot of holes to fill. Also, what concerns me more than the team's shortcomings is that management's mentality that's kept the Rockets mired in mediocrity for nearly 2 decades persists to this day. Even after the Bosh/Melo debacle, we still have Morey and Les deciding to make minimal moves in order to maintain cap space so they can either trade for or sign some elusive 3rd star. They need to get over this obsession and fast. We got very lucky in landing Harden and Howard without ever having to officially go into tank mode. Take advantage of that opportunity and surround those guys with quality role players before one or both of them bolt for greener pastures.
First tier is obviously OKC,SA, and LAC. Rockets might be in the second tier with Dallas, GS, and Portland
Since our starting line-up is the same as last year except we lost about 1ppg (but added defense), what holes opened up in the starting lineup?
Based on the playoff performance last year, I don't think we are even close. I think the Rockets will be fighting for the bottom 4 playoff spots, and lose in the 1st round again. The GS will be a much better team with a healthy Bogut, and Livingston can really help them with his nature PG ability, and solid defense. Spur OKC LAC GS ----- Mavs Rockets Blazers Suns Griz
We have James Harden and Howard with McHale as the coach... That's like putting cheap gas in a $100,000 car, or wearing white gym socks and sneakers with a suit.
Why do you say that? Unless you think Ariza is just going to flat out suck. 1. Big time upgrade behind Beverly and Harden from last season. 2. The Rockets record with and without Asik baking up Dwight was virtually equal. This season DMo and TJones will both be better. Stronger bench this season with Nick Johnson, Canaan, Daniels, DMo and Dorsey. The only downgrade would be from Asik to Dorsey. I'm not sure who will back up Ariza yet but regardless if it's Adrien, Gee or someone not on the roster yet, it's hard to imagine they will be worse than Casppi/Garcia from last season. More team chemistry, better defense and the Rockets should be just fine.
Why are the Rockets significantly worse than last years 4th seed team? Because we lost Asik? Lin? Is Ariza that much worse than Parson that he'll cost us 10 games? I'm confused by everybody's negativity. I suppose that's just how Rocket fans are. Last season, it took about 2 months to get Howard integrated into the offense. That won't be an issue this season so we could conceivably be better simply because this team has 1 year under the belt. It took the Heat two seasons to win.
I'm not too down on the Parsons/Ariza downgrade, I think you can win a title that way. I'm also not too down on the starting five; it takes a T Jones leap to be title-caliber but it's a possibility. I don't trust Milk Hair one bit to make the right calls when it counts. I don't think the bench is a playoff caliber bench after losing Asik and Lin. The Asik departure will be a bigger deal than most are making it out to be. So I think we're one coach and two or more depth signings away. Don't need another home run though.
In a place far, far, far, far, far away. The transactions before the season are now more critical than ever. We need an exceptional supporting cast to even contend. The Rockets took a huge step backwards. No back up PG, no legit back up center, no Parsons, Trevor "I only play good in contract years" Ariza, no veteran bench…..a lot of work to do to even get back to square one.
We will be closer when we stop talking about championship. It's going to be a long process, and let us get consistent and go deeper in playoffs first. I am sick and tired of Les or Morey talking about titles while we were on and off playoffs and then exiting on the first round. What has this "big picture" talk brought us so far? How about we stick to some more feasible goals like improving our team year after year, so that responsible parties can be more accountable on actual targets? Teams competing for conference titles are in serious championship talk with their action and results, while the rest are just doing the empty talk.
When your organization openly says you are not contenders this year, you know you are not even close.
Just compare it with the Clippers. Good coach, young and improving PF, improving centre, top PG at his prime, 6th man of the year off the bench...
