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Simmons: Rockets struggling because the League got gooder

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Carl Herrera, Nov 28, 2010.

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Carl Herrera Contributing Member

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The following is a couple weeks old, but interesting:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmonsnfl2010/week11picks/part1&sportCat=nba

12. HOUSTON
Preseason Prediction: 42 wins (8th)
Revised Prediction: 35 wins

As recently as four or five years ago, if your best players were Luis Scola, Shane Battier, Aaron Brooks and Kevin Martin, as long as they were flanked by average role players, you could win 47-49 games. You know how I know this?
2007 Raptors (47 wins): Chris Bosh, T.J. Ford, Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani (a rookie), Anthony Parker, Mo Peterson, Jorge Garbajosa.

2007 Bulls (49 wins): Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, Andres Nocioni, Ty Thomas, a semi-washed-up Ben Wallace, P.J. Brown, Chris Duhon.

2006 Grizzlies (49 wins): Pau Gasol, Shane Battier, Mike Miller, Eddie Jones, Bobby Jackson, Chucky Atkins, Lorenzen Wright.

2006 Nets (49 wins): Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson, Nenad Krstic, Cliff Robinson, Jason Collins, Jacque Vaughn.

2006 Clips (47 wins): Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, Sam Cassell, Cuttino Mobley, Chris Kaman, Vlad Radmanovic, Shaun Livingston.

You know the phrase "40 is the new 30"? In the NBA, "47 is the new 35." As in wins. We're in the middle of such a talent boom right now, a team like Houston could look solid on paper and it doesn't matter. Credit the influx of foreign players, the success of the rookie salary cap (preventing any Kenny Anderson/Derrick Coleman-type career meltdowns), the swollen career arcs of stars like Nowitzki/Nash/Kobe/Pierce/Garnett (still thriving after 12-14 years) and a sorely needed talent boom (from 2003 to 2009: LeBron, Melo, Wade, Bosh, Howard, Josh Smith, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Granger, Lee, Ellis, Roy, Gay, Rondo, Millsap, Aldridge, Durant, Horford, Rose, Love, Westbrook, Mayo, Gordon, Lopez, Griffin, Evans, Curry and Jennings) for creating a significantly deeper league. Four years ago, No. 27 through 29 in my "Who has the highest trade value?" column were Shaun Livingston, Kirk Hinrich and Andrei Kirilenko. I just named 28 guys from the 2003-09 drafts alone who are better right now than those guys ever were.

The other problem for Houston that doesn't involve the words "Yao," "Ming" and "holding us hostage": GM Daryl Morey had spent the past three years accumulating assets so he could pounce if a potentially disgruntled All-Star like Bosh, Melo or Paul came on the trade market. Unfortunately, he couldn't have predicted the "Ocean's Eleven" Decade of under-30 stars only wanting to play with each other. I'm not sure you can land a superstar for multiple pieces unless (A) you're New York, Los Angeles, Miami or Orlando, and/or (B) you have a second superstar already. The days of stealing T-Mac in his prime for Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato are over. Bad news for Daryl.
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I agree with Simmons that the league has gotten harder during the last 4-5 years-- not only were new talents added to the league, a lot of the stars have aged pretty well into their 30s (Kobe, Pierce, Ginobili, Duncan, Garnett, Kidd, Dirk, Nash, etc.). Unfortunately, two that did not age well are McGrady and Yao and the Rockets missed out scoring another huge star during this time. The guys they got are a step or two below the superstar level.

#1 Carl Herrera, Nov 28, 2010

durvasa Contributing Member

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I would say: Rockets struggling because their defense got badder.

#2 durvasa, Nov 28, 2010
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durvasa said:

I would say: Rockets struggling because their defense got badder.
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Part of that is the opponents adding gooder offensive talents, no?

#3 Carl Herrera, Nov 28, 2010
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durvasa said:

I would say: Rockets struggling because their defense got badder.
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True. Better defense can lead to better offense,but we lack two-way players.

#4 saleem, Nov 28, 2010
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Sounds like a nice way of saying the Rockets suck.

#5 Mr. Clutch, Nov 28, 2010
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The other problem for Houston that doesn't involve the words "Yao," "Ming" and "holding us hostage": GM Daryl Morey had spent the past three years accumulating assets so he could pounce if a potentially disgruntled All-Star like Bosh, Melo or Paul came on the trade market. Unfortunately, he couldn't have predicted the "Ocean's Eleven" Decade of under-30 stars only wanting to play with each other. I'm not sure you can land a superstar for multiple pieces unless (A) you're New York, Los Angeles, Miami or Orlando, and/or (B) you have a second superstar already. The days of stealing T-Mac in his prime for Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato are over. Bad news for Daryl.
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That's correct, the dream team virus has hypnotized stars into wanting to turn their job into a cakewalk, so we need to build though the draft, and that means we need to lose as many games as possible, so we can have a decent chance of getting a top three pick.

#6 Raven, Nov 28, 2010
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It's about team chemistry. The Rockets have none. We are the Miami Heat without the talent.

#7 Mr. Clutch, Nov 28, 2010

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i never realized gooder was a word, you sure he didnt mean, rockets struggling because the league got gooden?

#8 Rocketboi, Nov 28, 2010

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Carl Herrera said:

Part of that is the opponents adding gooder offensive talents, no?
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100% correct. But getting the understanding of anyone who doesn't see the need for balance is an impossible task.

#9 GATER, Nov 28, 2010
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Carl Herrera said:

Part of that is the opponents adding gooder offensive talents, no?
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Maybe a small part. But of course there's more volatility in a single team's defense year-to-year than there would be in the entire league's offense. And that's the main issue right now. Our defense is bad, and it would be bad 2, 3, or 4 years ago too.

#10 durvasa, Nov 28, 2010
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This is irrelevant information (no offense).

The only thing that matters is how good you are relative to your competition.

#11 pmac, Nov 28, 2010
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So the rockets need to get badder to be gooder until the league is no longer gooder than rockets. Inception

#12 BradMiller, Nov 28, 2010
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better...

#13 marky :), Nov 28, 2010

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Got *Better

#14 Dandamanz, Nov 28, 2010
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marky :) said:

better...
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u need gooder gramer

#15 BradMiller, Nov 28, 2010
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I thought it was because of Kevin Martin?

Seriously, there are multiple reasons why this team is struggling and the biggest issues are not external ones.

#16 Dave_78, Nov 28, 2010
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Carl Herrera said:

Part of that is the opponents adding gooder offensive talents, no?
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Part, maybe. But the entire league didn't get gooder at the same time while we got stuck in the mud. Our execution on defense being worse is probably a lot more indicative of why we're a worse team than the entire league got better all at once (or at least most of the teams we've played).

#17 Dr of Dunk, Nov 28, 2010
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its better, not gooder.

#18 k-money, Nov 28, 2010

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Mr. Clutch said:

It's about team chemistry. The Rockets have none. We are the Miami Heat without the talent.
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I agree. If this team is healthy for 10-20 games then we can get a gauge as to how good they are.

#19 BEAT LA, Nov 28, 2010
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Our defense is one of the baddest. We need to get gooder.

#20 mms, Nov 28, 2010

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