Rockets fans are desperate to talk themselves into this being the case, but objectively, it is not. Against the Warriors, Melo and James Ennis are not going to be as good of options as Ariza and Luc. Ariza and Luc's defensive versatility cannot be overstated in matchups like that. Do I understand Tilman wanting to go with the cheaper options? Sure. I think in terms of pure value, the Rockets probably made wise moves. But in terms of competing? No, there's no way you can argue that these are better options against the Warriors in the playoffs and that the Rockets took a step forward this offseason. Rockets will still absolutely dominate the regular season, but I am talking purely in a Warriors prism.
Luc did not play against GSW and we were up 3-2. He was a non-factor. Ariza's defense will be missed. His offense? not so much. Get some one that allows an extra bucket, but score 2 more and it is a + to let him go. or get some one that that allows 1, makes 1, and is cheaper so you can get an extra rotation piece is a win.
Fans value the known (Ariza/Luc) than the unknown (Anthony/Ennis) I trust Morey/Paul more than posters on this one. Why? Because the Rockets were within a qtr of being in the finals without Paul. Without Ariza totally sucking they would've been in the finals without Paul. I'm betting that Ennis will be better than Ariza was that game, not to mention Anthony. I really think Ennis is a young, unknown Ariza.
CA isn't some unknown. Ennis is somewhat just based on where hes played and lack of exposure. There's a bunch of hope and assumption here rather then proven play youre disregarding posters but at the same time telling us as a poster what you "think". the irony
1) Andre Iguodala was a non-factor as well. Luc was great when he was healthy, and I would bet if he was healthy, he would have been a huge factor for us in the playoffs. 2) Did you watch Carmelo Anthony this past season? "allows an extra bucket but scores 2 more?" That is most certainly not what happened. 3) Who is this "extra rotation piece" that Melo is allowing us to get? And hey...I am a fan of the Ennis signing, and Melo is probably going to be better than he was on the Thunder just because Harden > Westbrook. But I do not see how anybody can realistically argue that against the Warriors, we are better off, other than pure speculation and hope, in which case, I hope y'all are all correct. That would be fantastic. There's just no evidence that shows that, so I'm skeptical.
Somebody explain to me why Atlanta would release Anthony after paying off his 27.9 million. Call me stupid, but I don't get it. What do they get out of letting him go when paying that amount?
1. Luc was great, but I don't trust his shoulder. There was no mention of it getting fixed. That makes me think you get playoff Luc, which was a liability the limited time he played. 2,3. Melo, MCW, or Melton can be the rotaion piece, takes mins RA should have had. I tend to trust DM with Ennis being close to Ariza. I admit, I did not watch Ennis, but stats seem close.
As if we saw Luc against the Warriors in the playoffs. Dude didn't even play except garbage time. If Melo or Ennis clock ANY meaningful minutes in next seasons playoffs against the Warriors then 'objectively' there is clear argument they're better options.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/feature...best-last-hope/amp/?__twitter_impression=true Really good read.
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...he-rockets-and-5-more-nba-offseason-thoughts/ Can Melo help the Rockets as much as they can help him? If I'm trying to be optimistic about Anthony in Houston, I think about Luc Mbah a Moute. The 31-year-old defensive specialist stretched his wings last year with the Rockets, looking more aggressive on offense than at any other time in his 10-year NBA career. Look at all these drives: My favorite clip in there is the second one, in which he calls for a clear-out against Doug McDermott. You are forgiven if you thought Mbah a Moute had never done such a thing as a professional, but the evidence is right there: He told center Tarik Black to get out of the way, then hit McDermott with a crossover, attacked the basket and finished off the glass. Mbah a Moute felt the freedom to do this partially because he played for an empowering coach, Mike D'Antoni. The other, more important part of it is the spacing. Mbah a Moute didn't all of a sudden turn into the type of player who would routinely dribble into crowds; that will never be his game. He simply realized that, with shooters surrounding him, he was good enough to make one-on-one plays with little danger of help defenders bothering him. This is the confidence that comes with playing for the Rockets. Not only are you given freedom to make plays, you are playing in an environment where playmaking is easier than elsewhere. The pristine spacing is what separates their isolation-heavy attack from the ISO-ball of the late 90s and early 2000s. If this can make Mbah a Moute a threat with the ball in his hands, it is not far-fetched to imagine it revitalizing Anthony. He should be a much more efficient scorer than he was with the Thunder, and, in a simple system like D'Antoni's, he might even be able to rack up some assists again. He will never again be the star of the show like he was with the Knicks and Nuggets, but as long as he understands what he's there for, he could remind people of the days when defenders dreaded being matched up with him. It is less clear how Anthony helps the Rockets in the big picture. The best thing he brings is the ability to punish switching defenses in the playoffs -- opponents will not want to put a small guard on him in the post. Houston was already a top-notch offense, though, and giving him the ball in situations where Chris Paul, James Harden or Eric Gordon would have otherwise had it isn't necessarily going to make it more efficient. If Anthony was a good defender, however, I wouldn't be all that worried about the fit. In the playoffs, it is hard to argue against having multiple playmakers on the court, as long as they can all stretch the floor. It will be incredibly difficult for opponents to hide weak defenders against Houston, and I'll bet Anthony will be a solid pick-and-pop partner for both of its Hall of Fame guards. Of course, Anthony has never been a good defender. At his very best, he was inconsistent in terms of effort and activity level. Last season, he was at his worst, causing problems with his poor help defense and abysmal pick-and-roll defense. No one knew this better than the Rockets, who targeted him without mercy whenever they played against him. At 34 years old, there is little reason to expect him to suddenly become an aggressive, disruptive or even non-harmful defender. The question is whether or not Houston can limit the damage Anthony does. Assistant coach and defensive coordinator Jeff Bzdelik had the luxury of teaching a switching system to a team that had P.J. Tucker, Trevor Ariza and Mbah a Moute -- three virtuosos -- on the roster last season. Now he has to try to push Anthony into at least understanding the concepts and executing them with effort, the way that Ryan Anderson did. Anderson, by the way, barely saw the floor in the playoffs, despite being able to space the floor to 30 feet. Regardless of what roster moves the front office makes between now and May, D'Antoni is going to have some difficult decisions to make when balancing offense and defense in the postseason. My take: Individually, Anthony will look more like Olympic Melo than he did with the Thunder, and he'll have fun winning tons of games in the regular season. If I was the Golden State Warriors, though, I'd be only moderately concerned about him catching fire in the second quarter of a conference finals game.
To add to what everyone else is telling you, Carmelo still has his No Trade Clause. He would only waive it to go to a team that will waive him.
It is the cost of doing business that allowed the Hawks to dump Schoder's 3yr contract onto the Thunder.
