I think the Rockets are going to run all over the old ass Spurs. Their plodding front line is going to cost them.
I don't understand the Gasol signing. He won't be what Diaw was to them a few years ago. He is basically David West to the Spurs 2.0 but older and bigger. He cannot be on the floor with Aldridge really either, because he has to be in the paint.
The way I see it... Contenders Warriors Spurs Playoff Locks: Clippers Grizzlies Trailblazers Playoff Hopefuls: Utah Jazz Houston Rockets Oklahoma City Thunder Dallas Mavericks Minnesota Timberwolves Lottery Bound: New Orleans Pelicans Phoenix Suns Sacramento Kings Denver Nuggets Los Angeles Lakers --- We definitely have a shot at the 6-8 seeds, but anything higher will take Harden having an MVP type year and carrying us that far.
The Jazz still remind me of the Rockets before we got Harden. Solid group, but with no star I don't see how the are any better than they were last year. Clips will probably be projected as the 3 seed, but I think we are deeper. Rockets, Grizzlies, Blazers, and even OKC could all challenge the Clips for the 3 seed. I also think Minnesota will be a playoff team next year. My way to early projection- 1. GSW 2. SAS 3. LAC 4. HOU 5. OKC 6. MEM 7. POR 8. MIN 9. UTA 10. DAL (lol) Honestly, 3-7 are all very similar.
Pretty much this. With healthy rosters we are around 5th-10th in terms of talent and expected performance. I would have the Jazz and Mavs as playoff locks (only Rocket starter that would start in their teams is Harden). Houston has the advantage over OKC and Minny for the last playoff place. Jazz and Mavs can fight Grizzlies/Blazers for 4th seed. OKC lack of 3-point shooting will hurt them.
Regarding the Warriors, I think they are going to have a tougher time than people think. They have no bench.
all they need is a 7 man rotation with 2-3 other guys playing spot minutes. i think they have something close tot hat
There's a lot of factors that make a lot of these teams difficult to judge, on paper I think that Clippers, Thunder, Grizzlies, Blazers and to some degree the Jazz & Rockets look very good. Even the Warriors it's difficult to say what will happen with a weaker bench. Also the Spurs because Diaw and perhaps no Duncan / off the bench / limited role might have a bigger impact than some think. It's very interesting to say the least and while I don't have any hopes for top 4, I could see us fighting for 5-8. Let's hope the roster is not set and Morey makes at least one good deal for a PG/C and maybe signs some guys to veteran minimums. I have little faith in any of the following players: Harrell, KJ, Onuaku, Beasley, Dekker and D-Mo if he comes back.
I think those EASY SHOTS Durant things he going to get are going to be there but not as much as he thinks I think everyone will try to run THE CLEVELAND PLAN which is nothing more than a modified JORDAN RULES Teams will force the refs to call all the bumping and pushing just like the warriors force the refs to call illegal screens The refs in typical ref fashion will get maybe every 3rd of 4th one Also . . . Durant will probably average at most 20 a game While he butted heads with Westbrook to be the Alpha He concedes the position to Curry So for me. . that means No More MVPs . . no More Scoring titles now you are Durant .. . just another guy I wonder how long will he be good with that when he no longer talked about in those TOP PLAYER convos Rocket River
Rocket River, Pass the cool aid this way. In my opinion, if you do an honest evaluation on the impact Dwight Howard had on the Rockets regular season and particularly the last two seasons, it was less than what we got from Omer Asik when he was here. Dwight was an elite rebounder, very good shot blocker, a dynamic defender in spurts but gave inconsistent effort, was horrible in transition and wasted tons of offensive opportunities by being pathetic in the post with his back to the basket. I think the Rockets actually had a better record with out Dwight the last 2 seasons. My point is that I don't see losing Dwight as anything negative. But if I look at the additions of Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson to the Roster and compare it to the last 4 seasons (2 of which we finished top 4 in the West), this roster is better. There certainly look superior offensively then anything they have rolled out in previous seasons. Add that to the fact that I think you are going to see the 2014 /2015 Thunder all over again where they don't even make the play-offs. We have seen what that team looks like without KD and it was not pretty. So I see the Rockets vastly improved from last season and certainly better on paper then what we started out with in 2014 /2015 when we were starting players like Tariq Black and Poppalukalas (?). I absolutely think the Rockets offense is going to be dynamic. Not just top 10 or top 5 good but truly dynamic. So I'm drinking the cool aid right along with you.
The Spurs added Gasol but lost West, Diaw and probably a guy named Tim Duncan. Don't sleep on the Jazz.
I recognize the Jazz's talent but they have to prove they can put it together enough to finally be mentioned as a play-off team. Until they do that I can't put them equal or better than a team with James Harden.
I'm rather bothered by the Kool Aid business. It was one of the few beverages I had available to me as a child.
Utah needed veteran leadership and got a starting hill and johnson. Timberwolves have a good coach for the first time that can mold that young team into a defensive powerhouse
right now its too early to tell, but I can see us having a chance to finish as high as #3, but also as low as #10. we still probably have another trade coming for a PG, and other teams aren't done creating their roster either. plus the durability of ryno, gordon, and nene will be a HUGE factor. if we get a PG better than beverley, and stay healthy, i think we can win 55ish games and take the 3rd seed. if all 3 of ryno, gordon, and nene miss a significant portion of the season, and we only sign a vet min PG to backup bev, we will miss the playoffs.
this looks just about right to me as well. Although if we upgrade at PG, truly upgrade, I think we get closer to being a playoff lock, although still in that 5-6 seed range.
I didn't say they would be better than the rockets but much more improved. Objectively they should have made the playoffs this last season. The rockets still need to add another rebounding Big and PG.
