Then…i can fully understand Harden's concerns about being in a winning position. Just not good enough.
If you are going to force my hand, then will say worse (hate being pessimistic) only because team lacks quality depth and length on bench. And just too early to determine how good the defense and chemistry will be.
Yes, we tried to get him or someone like him ever since Prince Luc was injured and fell off the map. Trading Covington was a real risk. He stepped up his game during the playoffs, and despite playing out of position much of the time as a 5 was a plus defender. Offensively he shot a high percentage where we wanted him to - at the basket and from behind the arc. He was also on a good contract, signed for this season and next without options for an average around $12.5 million over those two seasons. This season will tell us whether it was a good move. I certainly hope it proves to be.
The OKC series was 50% on our perimeter defense, 50% on our inability to rebound. It basically only went past 5 games because we couldn't contain Paul, Schroeder, or Acronym when they wanted to drive past the 3 point line. If you match up with the Jazz you have to contain Mitchell; Portland has their guards; the Suns now have a few good guards. You have to also focus on getting TO the Lakers, not just past the Lakers. The LA series was a unique beast. We need different players to match up with Anthony Davis, but that's not the whole story of how a team needs to be built. Our offense also went to hell in that series. Everyone was dribbling off their feet and and Westbrook in particular went full r-word. Our offense should have at least been able to stay within 20 points, but the wheels just completely fell off the bus.
OKC was unique in how many quicker point guards and combo guards they had on their roster. And since guarding quicker guards wasn't one of RoCo's strengths, I'm not sure the Rockets are any worse off in that kind of a situation than they were a few months ago. You could even argue that adding Wood, with his ability to affect shots around the rim and lateral quickness to switch on guards, they're better equipped to handle a team like that today. Brown and Nwaba are wild cards in this conversation, too. We don't really know what the Rockets have in them yet, but if either guy pans out, it could end up being the answer to your question.
Hard to say. We got better and worse at the same time. We will certainly miss the help defense and quick hands of Roco. We lost depth and experience at the backup point guard position and Jeff green was a serviceable backup 4/5. Woods gives us a lob threat and a legitimate 3rd option who can dribble drive abs shoot the 3. Cousins can provide is big lineups against bigger teams and a stretch 5. I am just concerned with our back pg situation and think we need a veteran at that position. I like Napier and Reggie Jackson. I also would love to see we pick up Taj Gibson another veteran presence that can guard the paint in situations. If we make a couple additions I think we are in the mix again.
They seem to be so high on Nwaba though even when he hasn’t players in months. The scouts must know something we don’t.
I think the offense will be better. Wood is a perfect fit for a team that has Harden who is also stuck with Westbrook. He gives Harden a lob option that they lost when they traded away Capela while still giving the spacing and 3 point shooting of Covington which is important so that Westbrook can be the only scrub on the floor who can't shoot. When it comes to defense....yeah, we'll see.
Overall, I think the talent is about the same (slightly better?) as last year, but we have diversified our lineup allowing us to win in more than just one way. So yes, we are better.
I don’t believe head coaching experience has anything to do with it. Too much emphasis is put on that. Remember Silas took over as head coach for Charlotte before and has been an assistant for 20 years or so. He has learned everything he needs to learn and is ready. It’s not as if he is a GM jumping out to coach his first year. Nurse, Ty lue, Kerr and even doc rivers all won their first years and none of them had as much experience as Silas. I wouldn’t be too worried about this first year stuff.
Lots of question marks. We need to reunite Reggie Jackson with harden and taj Gibson. Need to fill out the roster with vets. Rookies and unproven aren’t going to cut it.
Wood is but one player. And in the process, lost RoCo. We lost Jeff Green, Austin Rivers, and seemingly Tyson Chandler. Yes, I believe Christian Wood improves the roster a bit from RoCo because he's not afraid to go to work down low. But our rotation is spread super thin, and we need players to step up. I'm not even counting on Boogie Cousins. Dude tore his ACL last time during practice. All-in-all, this looks like a net-zero. I don't expect much difference between this season and last the way this roster is currently constructed.
Losing Morey is an absolute loss man. Morey is one of the best GMs in the game. Unless stone is top GM in this league, he'll never measure up. Losing Morey was a terrible blow to the Rockets.
Ok, thought you meant signings. We just reached the bottom of the barrell with no real NBA level depth. If you could successfully unload Ego and WB, yes, then of course you would get some pieces back at least to 'save face' this season and worry about the future later. Giving away Covington would haunt us no matter what on the defensive side. How much are we willing to give up for James Harden without giving up everything in a future without him.....
