This is intentional with the giant lineups. With FVV healthy we might have played differently, but with so many tall players on the roster and no natural point guards this might be the best style of play we can hope for. I don't know if this kind of offensive rebounding is sustainable, but one thing I like is that it is less reliant on the refs. We can compete on physicality. I loved the 17-18 roster, where we were also #1 in offensive efficiency, but it relied a lot on Harden getting calls. Once the refs swallowed their whistles in the playoffs, unfairly IMO, it was harder for us to get a bucket and defend. Harden would get fouled by GS on a 3 point shot and get no call, so GS was off to the races in transition and all we could do was complain. It happened multiple times and swung the series. This roster should be less susceptible to ref shenanigans, as KD has shot 53% from the field and has an eFG% of 59.1 over the past five seasons. If the refs swallow their whistles he's still amazing at getting a bucket. And even if he misses there's a decent chance Adams is going to get us another possession.
I like that JSJ has been more aggressive, but there is so much going on with the Rockets offense that I would likely not mention it. Amen, his shot is off right now, but his on-ball stuff has been better. Okogie can't miss. Adams...Halfcourt offense is 18th. We got a peak at him at the end of last season, but he looks even better this year. Sengun is finishing inside and settling less for mid range shots.
Shawn Bradley is one of the only players 7'3" or taller to have a significant career longer than 7 years. He averaged 23 mins per game over a 12 year career and even with that low mileage he still had 3 seasons where he played 40 or fewer games.
Yeah, Wemby looks delicate. Like a stiff wind might snap the guy. Hope he has a long career but it seems unlikely.
Who would have thought Sengun and Okogie could shoot 3s like that. Amen's midrange that was so promising at the end of last season has been missing. I am actually not that surprised by Adams's success. He's got to be much closer to 100% now than last season. Jabari's aggressiveness if sustainable will make this team so much more dangerous.
Okogie has been doing it for almost a full season now. I think he has found a home. His defense makes up for FVV’s absence on that side of the ball. Backup guard is still an area of concern, but Sheppard does look to be improving especially on offense. We miss Dillon a little more than I thought on the defensive side, but hopefully DFS’ return will cover for that as well.
So you don't just think the refs will scam us on the defensive end instead with all the physicality? If the league wants to screw us, they deffo will. Just hope we don't play the Warriors, between the Rockets and KD the narrative writes itself.
That will always be a worry. NBA is corrupt. I hope the FBI can find solid evidence of the ref fixing for the Warriors and the Lakers. If the league gets hurt with a scandal for a few years maybe the Rockets will get a more fair playing field. Even with the great players and coach, the Warriors are not a dynasty without the refs.
It's legit so bad and happened to us so many times as their main non-Lebron rival for their "Dynasty" that as soon as we're playing them I just think "ok, more bullshit again."
I said we're less susceptible to ref shenanigans, not immune. And I was specifically talking about the offensive end. The more your offense relies on free throws the more easily the refs can take it away. Some players like Jokic, Curry, and KD would still be efficient even if you took literally every free throw away from them. KD is 7 feet tall and has shot 50%+ from midrange for over a decade straight now. So if the refs swallow their whistles like they tend to do in the playoffs, we at least still have an efficient halfcourt option to go to. We had that on the 17-18 team with CP3, but once he got injured it was a super uphill battle. During the regular season we averaged 112ppg. In the five games against GS with CP3 we averaged 102. In the two games without CP3 we averaged 89. In game 7 we had 22 free throws to their 14. Curry had zero free throws, but 27 points on good efficiency. Even without free throws those bastards could still score.
Yeah I get the point, I just hope we don't come up against them because the rigging will be in hard to put glory boy Steph over KD.
