Actually, all the "stat geeks" had the Rockets at mid-30s team even after the trade. Vegas line was also mid-30s. I don't know how different Morey's projections are, but it's probably not far off. In other words, I think the Rockets were still thinking top-10 pick territory. And if Harden weren't doing his best Micheal Jordan impression the past two games, we'd be 0-2 with everyone thinking we're still rebuilding.
He is a great defender. He is more than capable as a back-up PG. Stop passing down judgment after 2 games, guys. Imagine if we had lost these 2 past games (which were both amazing games by the way). Then each and everyone of you would be holding flamethrowers searching for Toney Douglas' house.
Tony Douglas is NOT a tweener combo guard. He never has been. It's unfortunate that he's not, because an NBA player of his diminutive size really needs to be able to play some minutes at the point, not just at the two. But it's not all bad news! This is what he is: - An undersized two guard with adequate enough handles to advance the ball upcourt and initiate the offense - An excellent outside shooter - A player competent enough within his own abilities and strengths who only really gets into trouble when coaches try to make him into something he's not. Namely a player who can run offensive sets and exercise some decision-making at the point. If Tony is used properly and is not asked to do things that are outside the scope of his ability, then he will be a solid addition to this Rockets roster, just as he's been to countless others.
I watched every single Knicks game last year and Douglas was pretty bad overall especially at the point. Knicks fans are very relieved that he and Landry Fields are gone. Has Douglas even made a basket in these two games, I know he's missed a lot of "clutch" shots including wide open 3's when we really needed it.
Playing Douglas at the point reminded me of the (failed) experiment the Celtics used to try, of playing Tony Allen at point. That was always a guaranteed turnover if the other team trapped, too, until eventually it took a team like Memphis to realize what Tony Allen was (a gifted perimeter defender) and what he was not (a point guard in any way, shape, or form). Perhaps Houston can provide that same clean slate situation for for a different Tony, Toney Douglas? I guess it remains to be seen, but a step in the wrong direction would be letting him fend for himself without any other ballhandler on the floor.
I am not a capologist but I'm guessing that the reasons Livingston was cut and Douglas retained was for salary cap reasons. Livingston's $3.5m contract was not guaranteed and Douglas' $2m contract was guaranteed. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but for the Rockets to trade for someone like Josh Smith with his $13m expiring contract, they need to make sure that they are far enough below the salary cap so that they can take on his contract in trade while not going over the cap. That is the only way that they could trade for a large contract like that since the Rockets don't have any large enough contracts on their current roster to match salaries.
We're keeping things as flexible as possible. This isn't the team that will take us to the promised land. Still 1-2 moves to make.
Who's eating what now? I'm not eating a damn thing over some put back dunks. Morris has a long way to go before that.
I dunno. We're undefeated, despite playing Tony "Give-up-the-lead" Douglas and not playing Terrence "Steal-of-the-draft" Jones. Livingston at the back-up PG spot might be all we need to compete in the playoffs. That is how elite Harden is!
keeping douglas is the most perplexing move in morey's entire tenure for the simple fact that morey is the godfather of advanced statistics and that should have told him that douglas was just utterly atrocious at running point. His plus minus is approaching moochie norris level. We should have kept shaun livingston.
definite over reactions after two games. I mean Morris trash one day, and treasure the next (well maybe not treasure, but worth getting some minutes). TD may suck, but give it a little more time. You don't need to look for another pg. I think if TD keeps playing like this, then Machado just hastens his way to backup pg duties, instead of D league. This year he might as well be learning on the fly. We know he can make some nice passes and alleyoops, he'll just have to learn quick on D, but better to learn here than D League (not sure how much you really learn due to the upgrade at quickness at this level).
A lot of you guys are thinking "win now" and I don't think that has been Morey's focus. He is still trying to get those final couple of pieces to the puzzle and that takes precedence over keeping a guy like Livingston. Morey probably feels like he can easily get a back up pg but he's not going to let that get in the way of getting a bigger fish (with more salary).
Morey's building a team of nice young fellas with class and grace, no way thug douchebags are playing for this team. It's obvious Morey's trying to create a certain type of culture too with all the acquisitions.
i disagree wholeheartedly. the book is out on douglas. do people forget Lin replaced him in new york and birthed linsanity? Lin is still recovering from knee surgery and its a bad idea to lean on him for minutes because douglas sucks ass so much. douglas is a finished product. there is no upside. talk of him improving as pg is utter rubbish.
To me the bigger question is why Morey traded Camby to the Knicks at all, since Douglas and a 2nd rounder is all that he has to show for it. Would have been better off just letting Camby leave for no return than taking on Douglas' deal.
