Zach Lowe/Chris Herring: "Are you worried about the..." Houston Rockets Chris Herring: No. Only thing that would worry me is if Harden gets hurt. Expectations for their defense was so low coming in. Great offense where you'll run up the score & figured they'll be in shootouts. Not shocking where they'll have blips or 2-week span where the defense isn't good. The names are not good defensive names. Even Ariza, his best defensive days are behind him. As they're struggling, they've won a decent amount. I'm not worried. I feel they'll snap back. If they can score, they'll be OK and hold one of those top spots. Lowe: Not worried. Brutal schedule in January. Anderson/Gordon missed a couple of games. Not worried. That said, Gordon & Beverley injuries showed you they're scary thin on the wing. They're playing Dekker at the 3. Numbers are OK but doesn't feel good to me. Brewer being bad again is hurting their depth & KJ McDaniels hasn't gotten a chance. Overall, OK. CH: The guys that replace the people that get hurt, there's a big drop off because they're different types of players. As long as they're healthy, they'll be fine.
We can all dream about trades, right? "Some birds, or a moose . . . would help us checkmate the Kings." Why not? Cousins and Monroe don't fit on their teams at all. Both need fresh starts, and Cousins is going to walk. Hou - Cousins Sac - Monroe + rights to Gentile + Houston 1st Mil - Brewer, McDaniels, Nene, Houston second
