Sources: Dwight doesn't see himself as a Rocket next year

What plenty? The only one I can think of is the one I made about his defense. And if he has taken a backseat, then why are ppl clamoring to give him more touches? Also, has he taken a backseat in defense too? 'cause his D just flat out sucks right now

 

if you read enough threads then you would know Dwight get plenty of blame.

What does ppl outside of the team have to do with Dwight taking a backseat? Its built around Harden. That's just what it is. The ppl clamoring for more touches is irrelevant because that not how this team has been now built and operates

This entire team sucks defensively, some more then others. He is no longer the defensive monster hes been in the past but it's definitely not just on him. Ever single person has regressed on this team.

 

Great info to hear about Harden. Certainly not the way other media portray him. I always though he was tight with players and they respected his game. Hence the players MVP award.

If the Rockets have designs on KD...then it sounds like the coaching situation will be resolved before free agency. Should be interesting.

 

And that's why going after someone like Al Horford would be beneficial. No one thinks about Horford as a "stretch PF" but the fact remains he has a mid-range game and has expanded it to the 3pt line. He hits his FTs so you can play him late. He is a solid rebounder and good team defender. He checks a lot of boxes.

 

Funny, I don't many members of this team do.

I also don't see others paying him what he thinks he's worth. Hey, maybe the guy takes a paycut, goes to OKC, SAS or GS, but I don't think that's what he wants.

 

Pretty much this. Repped.

 

You gotta watch the games.

Analytics are nice. But analytics should only be used to verify what we see on the court. Capela is a case in point. Strip out all his minutes when he isn't on the floor with Dwight. Then strip out all the games against lottery teams like Philly, Minny, Lakers, etc. Now take a look at his play and his metrics.

It's a whole different story. And before you say, "well, we play the whole league so you gotta count all his numbers", just let me tell you if you're trying to win a championship.....the games against the lottery teams don't matter. The games that matter, the metrics that matter, the numbers that matter...are those games/numbers/metrics that are accumulated against teams you're going to have to beat to win a championship.

When you put Clint in the pivot and surround him with 4 smalls and put us up against a playoff contender.....he is terrible.

Will he ever get it? I dunno. But..........I do know he has been awful when playing the primary role as paint/rim defender against teams we need to be better than to be able to win a championship. And defending the paint and the rim is a KEY skill that ANY TEAM THAT IS ASPIRING TO WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP HAS TO HAVE.

Clint, at this point in his career, is much better served playing defensively at the 4, where he can use his quicks......which extend clear out to the perimeter........to play all sorts of 4's and still help Dwight weakside. The problem is Clint has ZERO offensive game outside of picking-and-rolling. And the problem also is when he has to go up against bigger, stronger guys.....which he is not very big or strong.....then he has trouble even in the pick-and-roll grabbing the ball and finishing. And another problem.....he's a slow learner. He gets burned at the 4 as well, not because he isn't athletic enough....but because the offense outsmarts him. And that's a huge red flag...long term.

Clint got on a roll last year.....playing off the bench....alongside a defensive ace in Josh Smith. Smoove is another example of the type of defender Clint has to play with to be effective. Because Smoove is a primo-defender that covers up a lot of mistakes by the other players....just like Dwight. So, Clint had a good run in that particular setting. And....he could very well duplicate that performance is paired up with Smoove once again coming off the bench. But putting him at the 5 with 4 smalls or with a 4 man like DMo that is only an average to slightly above average defender doesn't work. Because Clint is too slow, too inexperienced, too raw, and too small to hold down the middle at this time.

In my opinion, just like I called for with Terrence in December of 2013, we should have traded Capela last summer when his trade value was spiking. I said that multiple times here. I don't think Clint will ever be great because he doesn't have any outstanding characteristics at the center position. Sure, he's got springs. So does Whiteside, DeAndre, WCS, Noel and a host of others. Sure, he's got length. So do a ton of other bigs. Sure he can finish. So can a ton of other bigs. What else does he do outstanding at the 5? Nothing.

This is why I say Capela will only be a great player if he develops a 3-point shot and plays the 4. Because a man with his size and athleticism at the 4 with a 3-point bomb could really do some damage. But without that jumper he is LIMITED to being a 5. And he's going to have to gain a lot of weight to pound with the big boys. And he's not going to get longer and there's already a lot of other 5's that are longer than he is.

You gotta be realistic with our talent. We'd all love Capela to be super special. But look at the talent in the league at his position. Is it realistic to really think he's going to be special when there are a bunch of guys with more skills, length, size, etc. than he has? Be realistic about Capela.

You gotta watch the games.

 

I still believe the Rockets are a separated team. There's no team chemistry with the Rockets, and there never was at the beginning of this year. I see Dwight And his group, and also see Hardens and his group. The good news is James Harden's group is the one that may lure Kevin Durant.

 

Thank you.

I don't understand how some people can't grasp this.

It turns into ignoring that the rockets have a **** record to---oh wait look at this advanced stat!!

The results speak for themselves.

 

Year 3. #workingonit

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rockets?src=hash">#Rockets</a> Bickerstaff on Harden and Howard: They are working at it. Give them credit. They haven't packed it in on that. Relationships evolve</p>&mdash; Greg Bailey (@GregBailey13) <a href="https://twitter.com/GregBailey13/status/712766614375038976">March 23, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

thanks for clarifying things J.R.

 

Thanks for the update J.R--finally someone in the org. has addressed it.

You remember how the tension was being reported by everyone and the same old posters continued to deny it? "Oh its just Fran being Fran"
"Harden and howard high-fived each other they luv each other"

Common sense is harder and harder to find in the GARM these days. Nobody is happy with losing, and a player who is sacrificing his touches is especially not going to be happy about it.

 

Howard sucks dude he's sacraficing his touchs because the whole org. Knows it's a wasted possesion 75% of the time.

He's just not good offensivly other than lob passes and put backs and even the put backs are getting less and less because he can't seem to score through contact. I can't even remember the last and 1 dwight had.

Why is their so many ppl that don't want to blame this big fella. He's the highest paid player on the team. There more ways then scoring to impact a game. Set some solid screens for his teammates. Run hard down the court to get easy dunks close out on bigs that shoot outside.

I mean maybe he's hurt I don't know but if he is that's just another reason to show why dwight is not thinking of the team and only his pocket book.

At some point he's got to look at himslef in the mirror and realize that he's the problem. He can't be serious that he thinks he can lead a team as the number one guy.

The fact remains that outside of year one the rockets have been better without him and the sample size is almost 50 games so its not that small.

 

Hypothetically speaking. Howard was a drama queen nutcase and the way he left the Lakers telling their GM that he wasn't coming back. I initially never wanted Dwight on this team. Imagine retaining Asik before he started slitting his wrists and wasting away to the point that a move to the Pelicans was in order but the damage was done. Remember Asik tore the Bulls a new ******* every single meeting. His stone hands at least put in the effort night in and night out which would equate to bigger success for the Rockets in the long run. Not only that the $$$$ to sign others to compliment Harden. What an awful mistake given the 'signs' of a demented Howard to begin with.

 

Yep, sometimes it sucks being right.

DD

 

Last year, we had better record without Dwight than with him. The same goes for this year.

It's time to move on.

 

what is your infatuation with being right? it adds nothing to the conversation.



anyways - two egos at play here and unfortunately one of them is 30 years old. So we will have to pick the younger one. That's what sucks. We have to bank on Harden drastically growing up and that is a coin flip.

 

Not everyone can be as mature as Dwight I guess...

 

oh dwight is also at blame and still has some growing up to do. Just sucks that the criteria has to be, build around Harden because he is younger.

but that's how sports works, especially in the NBA.

 

Build around Harden because he's better, build around current Dwight and you're going absolutely nowhere.