Is this years team better than last years team

kenny and chuck are lucky they were gifted with a basketball. they suck at everything else.

 

oh nice. I hope the rockets stomp the mavs and the defense continues.

 

sample size too small.

 

We peaked a bit early last year and D Antoni should have sat our guys out in those last meaningless regular season games..

I like our trajectory now in that we are going to peak in the playoffs even we need to

 

Defence is poor

 

we are better than last year... we added the depth that we didnt have last year. only reason we aren't rated as good defensively is because of injuries... we did not go through the same injuries last year to key players non stop.. and also James Harden is on ANOTHER level compared to last year.. he solidified himself as the BEST basketball player in the world this year.

 

we still need a 2way wing. D Hizzouse

 

This is very interesting. Last year’s team was special no doubt and we all know it was the rockets championship for the taking. But the league has also gotten much better this year. Thus with last year’s roster this year they probably wouldn’t compete this year. The recent acquisitions minus house make them competetive and deeper. My only concern is the 3 spot and Ariza brought that high level of defense every night filling in the 3 and D wing spot. I contend House is overall better than Ariza and more versatile. Without him the rox are imbalanced with Gordon at the 3. But still this team can gi very far.

 

Harden: better.
CP: worse.
Capela: better.
Gordon: worse.
Tucker: same.
Green: same.
Nene: worse.
Rivers + Faried + Shumpert + Clark vs. Ariza + Luc + Anderson + Black: weaker interior defense, better perimeter defense, better ball handling, similar shooting.
Chemistry: down.
Defensive speed: up.
Susceptibility to injury: up ... but in playoffs TBD.
Intensity: down.
Consistency: down.
Confidence: down.
Clutchness: TBD.
Warriors: down.
Rest of league: up.

So I would say: No, we're not better. And we're more at risk to teams other than the Warriors than we were last year. But even without home court, we might stand a better shot against the Warriors than we had last year. And that tradeoff might be slightly beneficial to our chances overall.

 

We are better than last year, after the Faried and Shumpert additions.

 

I'm saying yes for one simple reason. This years James Harden is better than last years James Harden. The Rockets are only going as far as he takes them.

 

disappointed. Chiozza is the Key to a Championship Formula. you of all people should know that. Last year? no Chiozza. This year? Chiozza.

I rest my case

 

I would have to say this year’s clutchfans is better than last

 

I am so ashamed right now.

 

Sometimes better doesn't mean best. We didn't win last year, personally I think Cp3 going down, the refs and an over reliance on 3pt shooting cost us.

This team I'm seeing now, seems hungrier, slightly angrier and playing with a chip on their shoulder.

This team can be better than last year....... By winning it all!

 

DM is amazing. For keeping the core, we have surrounded them with totally different players. Defensively last year's team seemed much stronger, especially on the wing, but once Shump gets going that advantage may wane a bit. Rivers brings a dimension we sorely needed last year--back-up PG and defensive pest. We cannot discount the difference he can make saving Paul's minutes in regular season and making life difficult for opposing PG/SG in the playoffs. Faried was ok as a Capela fill-in, but I believe he found a perfect spot in his more natural PF role. Hopefully, he comes back strong because he gives us the 2nd rim protector/finisher that we needed. His energy is also infectious and is 2nd only to PJ on the team. Shump is the wild card, if he can get in a groove these last 17 games then we'll be looking very strong headed into the playoffs. Although he doesn't have the length we had last year he gives us another solid defender who can hit the corner 3.

I hate to mention him, but House would give us a dynamic wing, who can also bring energy. Would love to have him available, but we'll see what the Basketball Gods say about that.

In the end, I actually like this team better than last year. It's very weird the metamorphosis this roster has undergone since that last game in GS. DM has literally taken the talent from Melo/MCW/Ennis to Rivers/Faried/Shump in the course of a season. He also shed the dead weight and has us ready to run.

This year started out like crap, but with Harden's run into history and the above changes we are suddenly in the hunt for the trophy. It's been truly a roller coaster kind of season, but the ride just keeps getting better.

 

Make me, homer.

 

No last year was better all around. From start to end. We would pretty much had the Championship locked up if it wasn't for an injury and missed shots. This year I still question the team. But they are showing some hope.

 

It's not a better team than last year ...but it is a better team than i gave it credit for coming into the season. What's the difference between this year and last year? I think defense, rebounding and depth. I think we've addressed the rebounding with Manimal. I think we are just gonna have to acknowledge that we lost length and defense with Luc and Ariza that we are not likely to get back. Morey has tried to improve the depth with a move here and there, but it's at least fair to question the quality of our depth. Harden's other worldly season has likely helped mask the drop off between this year's team and last year's.

I guess i'd say that we have a chance to beat Golden State (something i wouldn't acknowledge going into the season -i hated our off-season), but i wouldn't give us as good of a chance as last year.

 

idk if they are, but they pretty much have to be, because the other teams at the top got better.