Alot of the national media has continuously spoken about losing Ariza and Mbah Moute has caused us to regress( especially defensively). 34 year old Ariza received a one year 15$ million dollar deal from Phoenix. Let’s say Morey matched that offer and matched the soon to be 33 year old Mbah Moute’s 4.3 million dollar deal from LAC....true they are above average defensively, also well into their 30’s and won’t be getting better than they already are.I believe with that group we had last year we maximized our team potential by pushing GS to the brink and obviously if CP3 doesn’t get hurt we may be talking about defending the title. If we held on to Trevor and Luc I don’t think we head into this season equipped with the team to push GS again. However this year, I am optimistic about our chances. I love the Ennis acquisition. Younger(28) 3 & D guy and much cheaper who in my opinion will thrive in his role with our Rockets. I believe he will replace Ariza just fine knocking down 3’s and play solid D. Melo obviously is our wild card. I like to remind people he didn’t choose OKC, he wanted out of NY and Houston was his first choice. He practically begged for a trade to Houston and it fell through. Now he’s with CP3 who is his close friend and will hold him accountable on a close knit team and expect him to understand his role. It’s about winning a ring now. James and Chris are hungry for it, Melo claims to be and he wanted out of NY to compete and I believe coming to Houston with Chris and James our locker room is much better than OKC’s. Lastly, we are all waiting to see what happens with Ryan Anderson but many have speculated Morey will be able to flip him and a couple of other “assets” to acquire someone to help this year especially on the defensive side. The truth is we honestly have one of the top GM’s in the league and I believe he will find another piece to fill the role we need, at the very least someone who can out produce Mbah Moute and knock down threes. Before the season starts, I believe we will feel confident about the team we head into 2018-2019 with. I believe in Morey, I believe in the Rockets, and I believe in this city. Once Morey pulls off this Anderson trade, instead of them talking about our regression, the talk will be how we improved. The season is about 66 days away and I guarantee our boys are ready to run it back and get another crack at GS!
Mbah was never a factor did nothing for us in finals Ariza offense is unpredictable and while his defense is good he did nothing to effect Durant
I don't agree about Ariza. I remember a game where he got into foul trouble and had to come out. Durant took off after that. I think GSW and Durant will have good offensive stats no matter what; the problem is how much better those stats might look now without Ariza. Bothering Durant on defense is important and I don't know who can do that now. I do think (hope) that Melo is being slept on by many. He can be very good if he accepts our scheme. But our defense will take a step back.
It doesn't matter that we couldn't afford Luc and Trevor, we are still significantly worse from a defensive talent standpoint and this was not a team that didn't give its maximum on that end in the playoffs. Further, we're not getting career average Melo. We're not getting 4 years ago Melo. We're getting last season's Melo with a better offensive coach and better fitness coaching after training camp. But the brain that has led his career to where it is, is still inside that skull. The likelihood that he will improve on last season is high. The likelihood that he will improve on last season to the degree that he negates losing 2 of our top 4 defenders is low. It would require him to be the equivalent of 2 of our top 4 scorers on of the best scoring teams in NBA history. Because defense doesn't win games, and offense doesn't win games. The combination of the 2 wins games. The likelihood is low. It's possible and I hope it happens, but the chances are just low.
Morty's off-season plan must've been to find bodies to throw at KD. Enough to tire the b**** out at least. I wasn't too happy with Prince not signing or not taking surgery. But the media is being media with that bit... Curry is a legit threat but at least we can make him unfomfotable.
We would be a better team if we keep Ariza and Moute. Why? We can deal them with 2 first round picks for a big contract like Otto Porter Jr or other ..... Our biggest strength is that we have an owner who wants to pay 150 million or 200 million luxury tax for a chance to win a championship.
The Rockets aren’t winning 65 games again next year. It is very hard to win that many games for anyone and the Rockets second best player is old. Will the Rockets beat the Warriors in the playoffs? Maybe. Right now they aren’t as good as they were last year but let’s see what happens with Anderson. If Morey flips Anderson for someone like Batum or Johnson or Bazemore; then the Rockets are likely a step better than last year. Ennis is as good or better than Moute. Anthony will fill a hole the Rockets had last season.
I am so tired of the, “he did nothing to affect Durant” take. Well by this logic just put harden on him since it doesn’t matter right? He did A LOT to affect Durant, when a guy like KD is on he’s on. It’s possible for y’all to say we’ll be fine without trying to diminish how good ariza was for us defensively. Yes watching him dribble was cringeworthy and he went 0-12.... defense is what took gs to 7 not offense.. bob Myers said that out f his own mouth
Ennis more than makes up for Moute. I am not concerned about losing Moute. The Rockets will also get better defense at back up point and back up center. The only defensive issue is replacing Ariza, who was not a lock down defender but a pretty good defender at switching in Houston’s system. We don’t know who the replacement for Ariza will be so we don’t know what the defense will be.
It still baffles me that the media and haters bring up Luc Mbah Moute as if we didn’t get through the first two rounds with 4-1 victories and go seven games against the warriors more or less without him. The Ariza comment is a little harsh. I’m not high on his offence and definitely think he’s replaceable; but I wouldn’t say he did nothing against Durant. KD will get his no matter who’s covering him; Ariza played his ass off covering him and did as good of a job as anyone in the NBA could.
Love your enthusiasm, but NEVER underestimate the media narrative! The majority of the media still doesn't want to give our team credit for winning the two championships! Somehow or another they always bring up the "Jordan wasn't there to defend the title" crap! Remember, "Stupid is as Stupid does". Go Rockets!!! ....... ....... .......
I'm on the optimist side of things and will wait until after some tough games against good competition to make the declaration. Trevor deserves credit for the man to man and help defense he provides. This allows James to rest on defense and I'm not sure we can allow both him and Carmelo to be liabilities on defense? Tucker is effectively the new Ariza and Melo the new Anderson. Ennis is definitely a better 3 point shooter than Luc, so hopefully we get an uptick from him. If Morey can flip Anderson for a 3D Wing then we are definitely better off.
