We would have been close to a 50 win team in the East last season. We blew so many games and AB absolutely destroyed the chemisty yet we were still in the chase. The Rockets had a great draft on paper. I was with you last season but we're close to contending this season. Only time will tell. Btw, Dalambert is exponentially better than Brad Miller.
Dalembert would choose between Heat and Knicks and he will sign a full MLE (if it would be) so no chances for Rockets without any type of solid cap space
1. I'm so tired of the "if we were in the East" discussion. I've been hearing that since the Steve Francis era. It's enough already. We're not in the East. We were not contenders last season...no matter how many games you think they might have won had the played in the East. 2. "Still in the chase??" The chase for the 8th spot....the chase for the 8th spot in a conference of 15 teams. I thought we said, "contender." 3. I agree that Dalembert is better than Miller...I don't think he and Morris magically transform us into title contenders. I honestly can't believe anyone believes that.
would rather trade for a center than sign one in free agency we already have too many players on this team on the bench instead of adding salary would rather replace their salary in a 2/3 for 1 deal and get a center. of course thats a lot harder to do convince a team that some of the guys off our bench are worth in a 2/3 for 1 deal for a player (or similar player/contract) like dalembert
Really? There are really more than one people who think we're a Samuel Dalembert away from being legitimate title contenders? How is that possible? Look, I love each of our players. They play with heart and generally leave it all on the floor. But our team is mediocre at best. I LOVE LOWRY. He's probably my favorite player on the Rockets - and if he plays to the best of his ability this season - he MIGHT become one of the top ten best point guards in the league. If he averages 20 and 8 like he did for a stretch this season, he might even move all the way up to the 5th best PG in the league after Paul, Williams, Rose, and Nash . And Lowry is our best all around player. Our best player doesn't have a shot to crack the top 5 best players in the league - he has a very slim chance of being the the 5th best at his position (and most would even say that's absurd with guys like Westbrook, Rondo, etc). Please, somebody explain to me how a team whose best player is Kyle Lowry is going to contend for a championship. PLEASE. I'd love for it to be true even. I'd love nothing more than to see a rough and tumble squad like ours knock off teams like the Thunder and Mavs to get to the Finals - and if we beat a team like the Heat or the Bulls there with nothing but role players? Oh that'd be the most beautiful thing I could even imagine. But I'm pretty sure it could only happen within someones imagination. Get real, guys. Our best chance is to have cap room in 2012. Until we get a franchise player, all we're contending for is an 8th seed and first round exit.
Yeah, Dalembert is so valuable that despite not having a dominant center, Philly had been trying to get rid of him for years. And despite not having a dominant center, Sac-town would rather play Cousins part-time at the 5 than sign Dalembert. There is a reason why the two teams that have slept with Dalembert do not want to get in bed with him again. It wouldn't be such a big issue except he'd be the highest or 2nd highest paid player on your team for the long-term and will hamstring your ability to sign quality free agents or take on big contracts, so you better really like him. And btw, signing Dalembert does not make us a contender!
You and me both. If we were in the East, yes, we'd have easily made the playoffs. We also would have been just as easily knocked out of the playoffs by the Heat, Bulls, Magic or Celtics.
The 8th seed took the Thunder to game 7 in the semis and were a win away from the final four. Being in the elite 8 would qualify as a contender but not technically a favorite. Contender and favorite are different words. The Mavs were contenders coming into the season but nobody outside of Dallas thought they were going to win the title. Dalembert can block/alter shots and is a damn good rebounder. Brad Miller is a scrub in these areas. Obviously, we also differ about Marcus' potential even in his rookie season. Dalembert is a no-brainer around the MLE. All a moot point bc I doubt he chooses us. Nene around 10-12 possibly seems more realistic.
If you see the 8th seed as being a contender, good for you. I don't. I don't think anyone outside of TN had any illusions that the Memphis Grizzlies were going to win the NBA title this season, no matter how hot they got at the end. My point about Miller is only in that I heard the very same thing said about him last year. That he was the difference...that all we needed was a backup center to give us minutes in order to be a true contender. I disagreed with that then...and I disagree with the notion this team is a Dalembert away from challenging for an NBA title. Hell, I dont' think Morey even thinks that...you do hear them using the word, "rebuilding," right?? Marcus is a rookie. If we had some elite player he was coming in to support, that would be different. We don't. And Marcus isn't THAT kind of player.
Is Dalembert worth the full MLE? I'd rather go with Krylo Fesenko. Dude can play when given a chance.
No need in arguing with these guys. They are too busy swinging from superstars nuts to realize how close this team really is to contending. Doesn't matter to them that Dallas just won a championship playing against a team with two and half superstars. They forget about the run we made after the deadline. Superstar this, superstar that!!! This is what i am tired of hearing. When are we going to start talking about team this and team that??!! It seems to have worked for Dallas.
I edited my post some to better explain my reasoning. The bottomline is that this is the Western conference. All 8 teams are legit. The Grizzlies this past season. The Thunder the season before who gave the Lakers all they could handle. If you make the playoffs in the West, you have an oppurtunity to contend. Nobody outside of Dallas thought they were going to win a title. Dirk wasn't all that in the Finals. We're more than set at every position besides center. That's what it boils down to.
Miller was brought in with the expectation that he was going to be playing behind Yao for the entire season. With Chuck in the mix. Also, Morey's definition of rebuilding is way different than yours. Your definition of rebuild is mostly rookies playing and less vets. That is not the current make up of the Rockets. I don't think many here are expecting Morris to do much as a rookie. We are, though, expecting a lot from players like Patterson, Hill, Williams, Chase and Thabeet.
There was still more team play than Dirk alone. If you look at the make up of our team, we have more scorers than the Mavs. Our problem has always been not having enough defense. Dalembert would add that.
Dirk carried that team. In the playoffs, he averaged right at 28 ppg and 8 boards. There is NO Dirk Nowitzki in our lineup. If there was, I'd be right there with you talking about contender. Dirk is an intensely difficult matchup every night...an historically bad matchup for other teams. He is the kind of player you assemble pieces around. He is 1st and 2nd team All NBA type talent. The Rockets have nothing close to that. Nothing even remotely close. I don't believe we're "set" at all. There's nothing on this roster I wouldn't trade to land a player of Dirk's talent, no matter what position he played.
