I am disappointed, but what can we do? Eric Gordon had a breakout year where he was healthy all season so did ryno well for the most part. I know Ariza is a glue guy, I just think you move those pieces given their history. Ariza we had replacements that do the same thing he does except his chemistry, but you would have had 2 other stars. With three stars there are combinations to put out there where one or 2 are on the court all the time. That's the reason we needed Eric gordon off the bench last year. He is a borderline star when healthy when harden went to the bench. I just think all of those things are replaceable but, a legit third star is not. Congrats to Daryl Morey for fumbling on the 2 yard line. Ps if I was Carmelo Anthony I would have felt disrespected by the Rockets a long time ago. You tell me you want me on your team and don't go all in. That was disrespectful in that sense.
I just hope clutchfans learned one thing this summer. The meaning of the word "leverage". Tried to warn guys but just got flamed and called an idiot. Sucks we lost melo but I've been off the hypetrain as soon as rumors were leaked about no one wanting Anderson unless 2 1sts were attached. For some reason C.F. ignored all reports from valid sources but believed guys like Burt steele
Tier 2: The superteam standard Oklahoma City Thunder Stars: Three (Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony) SuperPoints: 22 (Westbrook 16, George 3, Anthony 3) Anthony may be 33 years old, but he's still a star in this league who averaged 22.4 points in a broken system in the Big Apple. In OKC's system, he should see much better looks alongside Westbrook and George. And don't be surprised if a fourth star emerges from the mix: Steven Adams. The 24-year-old could be a monster this season as the benefactor of all the attention paid to the star trio. Tier 3: Super duos Houston Rockets Stars: Two (James Harden and Chris Paul) SuperPoints: 21 (Harden 13, Paul 8) Say what you want about New York's haul in the Melo deal, but the Rockets seem to be the biggest losers from that trade. Not only did the Rockets whiff on Melo, he went to a conference rival in OKC. The Rockets failed to put together the team's first big three (by this measure) since 1996-97 team featuring Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and Charles Barkley. The Ryan Anderson contract, which pays him $61 million over the next three seasons, obviously proved to be too onerous for New York's taste. The Rockets can hope 23-year-old Clint Capela becomes the third star on the roster.
The main reason I posted that bit, was to demonstrate what I said was coming, and that was that the national media will SHIFT away from the Rockets and onto OKC this season as the main challengers to GSW.
I mean...I agree. I think you could very much make a case that OKC is better than Houston and better suited to challenge Golden State. It's pretty close.
I'm really not afraid of OKC. George and Anthony are on the bubble as far as star players go. Westbrook is a beast, but it's not at all clear he can do a good job of incorporating George and Anthony into his offense to get a result that is even as much as a sum of its parts. Houston, by contrast, has 2 real stars who have both already demonstrated an ability to leverage the other guys on the floor. I don't think it's so bad. Anderson gets paid too much for what he brings. But, he is a useful rotation player that's going to help open the lane for Harden and Paul.
So does Melo move to PF where he would have played in Houston or does he stay at SF, moving PG to SG and PPat stays at PF? This is going to go a long way in determining the effectiveness and efficiency of Melo. If Melo doesn't work at the SF, what then? Will the coach bench PPat and move Melo to 4 or will Melo come off the bench?
PP just had knee surgery. I dont anticipate okc putting him in the starting lineup just like that. Pretty sure they're going to roll out their lineup of Adams, Melo, Roberson, pg, wb to start the year
I actually had some problems in 2k with kanter and Kris down low. Alot of 2nd chance points. They could actually be a 8th seed , i mean comon the east is crap.
