Cuban and Carl are right. Cuban is right. They are one-dimensional. They are Harden-dependent. *Hope for the whistle* *Hope their 3PT shots fall* *Hope they hit their free throws* And if Dallas(or should they get past Dallas, another team) takes away that one-dimension (or if someone is killing them offensively ala LMA/TP), don't fool yourselves, you know you don't trust McHale to make adjustments on the fly, offensively or defensively.
Im so tired of all you Rockets fans bashing the team, coach, Gm. It almost sounds like you guys want us to get embarrassed and lose.
The idea that the Rockets are significantly worse without Harden is of course correct. Harden is the offense. Without Harden there is no single player who impacts the game by breaking down the defense and either drawing contact or being the facilitator. Ariza is a good spot up shooter but rarely beats anyone off the dribble and always settles for a pass except when he creates a wide open 18-20 footer for himself off the pump fake. Terry is essentially the same as Ariza, spot up shooter who will rarely create his own shot. Both of them rely on Harden breaking down the defense for their open looks. Dwight of course is much less efficient when receiving the entry pass in the post as opposed to receiving passes while cutting to the rim. Jones is not a stretch 4 although he can knock one down on occasion. He is usually a good finisher around the rim so his value is his presence down low rather than as a stretch 4. The bench relies on defense and outlet passes to create offense. They are usually very stagnant and poor in the half court. Josh Smith can usually find a shot, but he's obviously not efficient as a jump shooter or spot up shooter. Corey Brewer is a relentless attacker of the basket and finishes very well but he is not a spot up shooter, Prigioni doesn't seem to ever want to shoot and everyone will go under the screens unless he hits a few open looks. Then of course you have the greenhorn Capela who is still adjusting to the game or Joey Dorsey who is a liability far too often to make up for what he brings to the table. However, it is a bit of a flawed statement to say without Harden the team is not very good. Each player has good NBA qualities but they are all complimentary to what James does. Without Harden they are still a very good defensive team but obviously would be very poor offensively with the lack of a creator.
I thank Cuban for the James for MVP plug. As far as his other stuff, good try We will see starting tomorrow. PS if you want to try to get a James Harden you will have to tank for about a decade and get a bit lucky as you are not smart enough to trade for one. Too bad about failing to get Dwight, also. Congratulations on overpaying Chandler and acquiring a washed up Rondo.
Yes please. Morey...shut up. This is bulletin board "They ain't even that good..." stuff right there. Just shut up and see if your team is going to respond to this.
You know what every team is going to do. It comes down to the players doing it. We know EXACTLY what the Mavs are going to do. Just got to stop them. The Mavs were 20th defensively and despite some struggles 5th offensively. Now the Trailblazers weren't amazing defensively last year, but they were better than this year's Mavs. Moreover they had a player at least somewhat capable of guarding Harden one on one. I suspect the Mavs will make the rest of the Rockets beat them. Which they should, and is fine. Dirk isn't turning back the clock and becoming LMA of last year. Ellis isn't turning into Damian Lillard all of a sudden. It makes absolute sense why everyone thinks the Rockets are the top seed to go down early. The Warriors, Clippers, Spurs simply have more talent, better coaching, or both. But as a Rocket fan, there is no team I'd rather play in the first round than the Mavs, including the Pelicans (8th seed) and Blazers (slumping, but bad matchup)
I was wondering when Cuban was going to start the trash talking like this. I see you, Cubes. Get that grudge match hype going.
The key to beating Dallas really is just limiting them offensively. You have to do enough on Ellis to keep him away from the rim and let him settle for mid range shots. Sometimes he will bury them anyway, and sometimes he will start clanking. With Dirk you have to face him up and put a body on him wherever he is because he will still drain open looks on the floor consistently and get whistles when he drives. Keep them off the offensive glass and don't give them extra possessions. They have scrappy guys like Aminu and Barea who will fight for those extra possessions. You need to be able to match their hustle and intensity to have a chance at shutting them down.
Rockets won 2 championship using one play called dump it down to the Dream. Utah ran one play for two decades with the same two players and no one ever "figured them out." People make way too much of teams being too predictable. The NBA is predictable. You think the Rockets don't know what are the Mavs favorite plays? Of course they do. It still comes down to execution.
Meh.... He really didn't say anything of substance if you break it down. The Rockets are predictable on the offensive end..... so are the Spurs, so were the Miami Heat, the Lakers title teams, Bulls championship teams and most NBA teams. It doesn't matter if you are predictable, what matters is execution. If you are in the playoffs and have to scrap what you are doing on offense or defense, then you have some serious issues. The Rockets are very dependent on James Harden on the offensive end. However that is a problem that the Mavs wish they had. They lack anyone capable of carrying an offense and as a result won't go far in the playoffs. At some point (my guess is the second round), the Rockets will lose and Harden will not be enough. However, it won't be because of the system or coaching, it will be because they run into a team with a second or third creator that is too much to overcome.
That has been the main platform for fans here when making the case for Harden as the MVP. When it is why Harden should be MVP, the rest of the Rockets are no good. When it is discussing a playoff matchup, the Rockets have a really good supporting cast.
