At the end of last season. 1) roster was a train wreck 2) Harden/D12 combo didn't work and we were going to lose D12 for nothing. 3) Coaching situation was dumpster fire 4) Was Morey on hotseat? 5) Les was getting ready to get more hands on 6) People were crushing Harden on his defense. He did not make an all star team 7) Team Culture was in serious question 8) Media narrative was Rockets were in a bad place 9) Were FA's going to consider Rockets? (Rockets did not get their 1st choices) 10) Rockets did not have a 1st round pick and did not have any value/asset for that pick Last year was ROCK BOTTOM compared to the previous year. The Rockets fixed almost all of those problems this season. Do not let 6 bad quarters of an NBA game cloud your judgement. Feel better.
Yes we had a great regular season and the coaching situation seems to be settled, but I just think there are more questions and concerns surrounding our "superstar" than ever before. What's the media narrative after Game 6?
Clutchfans, where you're only as good as the last game you played. God forbid Corey Brewer went 10/10 as his last game as a Rocket, we might be seeing a flood of "Bring Brewer Back" threads.
Question: Does James bear too much of the workload? Answer: Yes he does. Question: Who do we bring in as a viable second option? Answer: Someone who fits the role, ie. Hayward, Griffin, Millsap, or a disgruntled star of another team. Question: Do we have the cap space to do so? Answer: Not exactly, but Morey does have assets and maneuverability built into this team. Nope, I think we got it all covered.
Exactly! I dont understand these posts about "I'm over it - rah rah for next year!" Yer over what? That your 'cornerstone player' might have gotten an attitude and decided to just blow off an elimination game with no real explanation? You're over and fine with the focal point of your team may have just combusted and had a total mental collapse/breakdown? You're good with the possibility that your star player may have partied so much prior to an elimination game that he rendered himself nearly incapacitated? "but he's such a talent... and i dont think we could do better... normally he's great..." ...talk about battered wife syndrome - lol I've said it before and I'll say it again... denial is more than just a river in Egypt... lol
The one issue we didn't fix in the MDA transition was usage. Harden's usage is still far too high. That's a legitimate attack that I think is underplayed in this.
shoutout to @RocketsFido for posting this video in the Dish starting at 21:20, Jared Dudley mentions that guys would like to play with a Lebron, Harden, or Wall, but they would not want to play with a guy like Westbrook...this video is from after Harden's game 6 Players will look at the entire body of work while knee jerk fans will focus on 5 bad quarters. The team overachieved. Mike will likely win COY, is a player friendly coach, and has a system that many players would like to play in. Morey might win EOY, and Harden will finish 2nd in MVP voting for the 2nd time in 3 years. Players have a ton of respect for his game, and he's well liked. Houston weather is not bad during the season, and taxes aren't as big of an issue like they are in places like NY or LA. The cost of living isn't crazy high either. We have some good things going for us. Will that result in us landing a legit star? Maybe, maybe not. We'll just have to wait and find out.
They brought Lou Williams in and he was to inconsistent. He was good one game and sucked for the next 3 games. Lou was not a playmaker. Gordon had his moments and Harden seemed fine defer to Gordon on some sets but whilst Gordon was pretty good for most parts he still was not a natural playmaker. MDA mentioned in his exit interview we will look to get another legit playmaker.
Harden showed enough that he has the ability and the want to make the game easier for his running mates
See, EG in the first half of the season was spectacular. So was Houston's defense. When those two fell off to levels of mediocrity Harden carried a bigger burden. We need to shore up one, or both those things.
I'm not trolling bro. I'm just more of a Rockets fan than a Harden fan. I'm not sure I've ever been more disappointed than I was after game 5 and then game 6 happened.
It's like saying... My gf is great! Love her death and she's always been top knotch! Of course, last night night she just disappeared and showed up the next morning all ragged n sticky with no explanation... but I'm good with it!
Glad I am not the only one who noticed this as well because I thought Gordon was playing like an all star before the the all star break. He was aggressive and assertive but with the arrival of Williams it all changed..
False, sir! We have at least two big problems to solve based on the existing squad alone: Ryan Anderson's production, and Nene's injury.
I would argue it happened early January. Regardless, getting Lou into the fold, actually having a training camp with him, and bringing on some more talent will help this team dramatically.
Lou is gone either by the start of the season or the deadline cause noway morey will let his cheap and attractive expiring deal expire
Great post. Same here made my peace as well. Hopefully this a strong learning experience for Harden and his teammates. The fact that MDA is saying they need to improve the defense and find a second play maker is exactly what I wanted to hear. I didn't think at the beginning of the season they would be as good as they were and outside of the game 6 no show you had to be proud of being a rockets fan. Looking forward to next season believe it or not.
