The analyst understands the the Rockets have only taken a step or two backward and mired themselves deeper in mediocrity. That's why the team gets a bad grade. He knows the Rockets aren't rebuilding, just treadmilling some more.
Well, at each position we arguably got rid of two better players than the guys we replaced them with. At this point in time, no doubt in my mind that Dragic and Lowry are better players than Lin. Lin's young and might have more potential, but he's still unproven over the course of a full season. Hard to say if Asik is an improvement because he's never had a chance to prove himself as a starter. In both cases, I'd say we downgraded somewhat, especially if you factor in depth now that we don't have decent backups at either position. The rating they gave (between average and above average) seems appropriate considering who they're replacing. Even if you do think it's an improvement, it's not a big one.
People think that being the #14 seed, a winning but mediocre team treading water just outside of the playoffs, is the worst thing that you can be. I'd argue that being only slightly worse, a losing team that's still stuck in the low lottery, is worse. You're still not drafting in a position where you can expect a game changing star, only now instead of the team being kind of good, they kind of suck and are even less fun to watch while being stuck in mediocrity. The worst thing this team could do would be to downgrade slightly while continuing trying to win.
No not really. I don't think we downgraded that much at all. Omer Asik is being severely underrated on this board. Asik is an amazing defender. Nobody is smarter defensively, and I absolutely means that. The guy just doesn’t make mistakes and is always in the right position. I honestly love just watching him play defense, especially off the ball where you can appreciate his remarkable quickness and anticipation. And Lin and Lowry match up favourably particularly on the pnr. The pnr is something that Lin has been running since college, that isn't something that goes away. In fact, I would say we upgraded because Lin just fits in better with the rebuilding process. And you know that he won't but heads with McHale and will do whatever he says.
