The Detroit loss was a tough one, but last night against the Cavs that was pure trash. The 6 turnovers to start the game just showed we weren't mentally prepared. The rotation. On nights where CP3 is getting rest MDA has to get more creative. I'm not sure why Hartenstein didn't play more. His size and hustle inside could have helped us stop them from getting so many damn offensive rebounds. GG should have played more than 17 minutes. While he has been wildly inconsistent, he/we might have benefited from him getting more minutes. Is Chriss totally useless or couldn't he play some minutes at PF or C? We had no meat under the basket last night and two big guys riding the pine, just didn't make sense. I expected a halftime adjustment, but it didn't happen. The bench. We definitely need another 3/D wing and a back-up PG. You would think there is someone in the G-League that could fill both roles and at least give us some minutes to rest the starters. Morey time to gets those miles and jet over the Spain one last time. Nene strained calf is an old man's curse. I tore both of my calves, once in my 30s and the other time in my 40s. It takes time to get them right and then you're always worried it will happen again. Clint and PJ are going to wear down if we don't give them so more rest. The Roller-coaster season. This year has been down, down, up and then down. Melo, Knight, MCW, Chriss--money wasted. I keep hoping that this is part of some greater plan DM has, but when Butler went to Philly that shattered a potential turnaround. With Plan A gone, it appears we're holding for something to develop probably in mid-to-late Dec. Not sure there are any great options and we have only a few tradeable assets. Jeff B is back, let's see what he's able to do to help us make adjustments over the next few games.
Rockets roster breakdown. STARTERS PG: Chris Paul SG: James Harden SF: {VACANT} PF: PJ Tucker C: Clint Capela BENCH PG: {VACANT} SG: Eric Gordon / Gerald Green SF: James Ennis / {VACANT} PF: {VACANT} / Gary Clark C: {VACANT} / Hartenstein (5) Wasted Roster spots - MCW - Chriss - Knight - Melo - Nene (if he can't be counted on due to health/age) - {Open Roster Spot} (though likely to be used on Clark's conversion) Morey needs to fill the {VACANT} slots. 1 starter and 3/4 bench players.
Almost three weeks until December 15th. I still wonder if we are waiting until that time for a trade that can include more expirings and flush our DNP dudes (MCW, Melo, even Green if necessary [I’d hesitate on him]).
Well, I don’t want to give Carl Herrera any ammunition (not that he’s lacking for bullets when it comes to this issue), but I’m sure Morey was operating under a “don’t-put-us-hopelessly-into-the-luxury-tax” guideline. Still, Moute has been hurt in LA and Ariza has been less than Ariza in Phoenix. So Morey went to work at the margins after CP3 and Capela got paid. He came up with Dog S**t, Horse S**t, and Carmelo. Melo was the proverbial square peg, round hole. The Butler pursuit failed. Soooo.....we’re probably bound for frustration, at least until December 15th (I’m guessing; with apologies for repeating my post above, my IPad is not cooperating on copy and paste to merge the two posts). And that’s IF we find a team ready to tell their ticket buyers what they already know: this roster ain’t working (Washington? Brooklyn, Boston maybe?) Right now there are too many teams hovering in and around .500 and hope for the playoffs.
I wasn't blaming MDA, also cause after he saw how it went in the first half he didn't even try MCW in the second, but i'm just saying, the guy looks super negative out there, completely out of place...going forward it would be better to play Gordon at the pg and put another wing on the court.
So what? How much do you think Cousins is gonna help them? We will Iso him to death, itll be fine with him. I'm glad Morey isnt listening to you because rebuilding right now is a horrible idea...sheesh.
I mean, the Rockets might be waiting for that date. It certainly opens up OTHER teams as well for trading for pieces. Not sure the Rockets have the luxury to WAIT until the FEBRUARY trade deadline for a deal. Team record might be tough to overcome at that point
I think MDA felt like Gordon at PG with a "non-dribbling" wing wouldn't work. It puts TOO much on EG's plate to initiate offense and create for himself. I think there would be just as much negative out there as having MCW. Harden played in the 2nd half because the team HAD to have his scoring. Rockets have 3 players that can score: Harden, Paul and EG. The rest are COMPLETELY dependent on getting shots from the others. The LACK of MULTIPLE ball handlers that can realistically be able to competently put the ball on the floor kills this team. Quite frankly, the Rockets should have THREE ballhandlers on the floor at ALL TIMES. It is what drives this offense. And it is why making a move for Jimmy Butler made a TON of sense.
WAS the December 15th trade date for free agents signed over the summer moved to February? I remember reading about it but a lot of websites haven’t updated to that, if so. There are a few teams out there that might be willing to deal ballhandlers, depending on what we give up of course. We can only bide our time and it’s frustrating AF.
No the Dec 15th is still the date for summer FAs that were signed. That is the key date to open things up.
Eh, i agree but it is what it is...and i mean, teams like OKC have been doing ok lately with only George and Schroder on the roster, no reason why we shouldn't beat the Cavs with Harden and Gordon being the only ball handlers out there. The problems yesterday were a wrong attitude from some players which led to turnovers and no defense for at least half of the game...that gave the Cavs enough confidence to beat our ass. As for MCW, i don't know, to me he looks/is just that bad that i'd rather have Gordon handling the ball all the time with one more shooter on the court, might not be ideal, but it's better than having a dead body only creating caos out there, for me at least.
OKC's offense isn't as dependent on PG's as the engine as the Rockets. That is why they can survive a bit more without RW with Schroder on the floor. And half of OKC's offense is just rebounding misses. Rockets don't have Adams/Grant controlling the paint.
Hell, Ryno’s been sitting on his ass as a $20,000,000 per season “mentor” for the Suns’ young’uns, apparently. That late-season swoon hasn’t turned around.
Welcome to MDA basketball... you either deliver or get relegated to the bench - end of story... MDA doesnt tolerate 'growing pains' or developing guys... deliver or disappear... just like when Trez got knocked outta the rotation and he expected Harden to cover Pau and LMA in the playoffs...
It’s not that big of a mess: =>A starting level 4/5 cleans up the rotation. 4/5 starts at 4 then move Tucker to the 3. 4/5 spills Capela, too. =>3rd string serviceable point 3&D that is okay with DNP
nah we arent going to have 15 quality players thats wishful thinking. Not even the warriors have ever been that stacked. They need a starting wing and backup pg. Thats pretty much all you can ask for at this point
I've been saying that for more than a year, ever since Bev is gone. Morey seems to think that the likes of Bobby Brown and MDW are enough to back up our PG spot. Chris Paul is great. But his health is not reliable. He is like that expensive luxury car that constantly needs to be in the shop.
I didn't watch the Cavs game and only caught the Charlie Foxtrot that was our overtime performance against the Pistons, BUT... We only had the same 3 ball-handlers last year too, yet it worked perfectly because we had competent role players who could D up, hit the 3-ball, and provide us with depth. I don't buy into the notion that our lack of ball-handlers is our Achilles Heel. It has been since the beginning of the season and will be for the foreseeable future, our lack of serviceable 3&D players and bench depth (especially playable bigs). I see some posters saying that just because Luc and Trevor have been underperforming on their new teams that they wouldn't have been able to help us this season...they are underperforming because their skill sets are PERFECT for our team and NOT for their new teams. However, I can't blame them for getting their bread while they can. This Rockets team as currently constructed is doomed to be a middle of the pack team. We maintained the majority of our offensive output from last season but lost the majority of our defensive capability along with a huge chunk of the "intangibles" in chemistry and locker room leadership, the latter two components of which were a HUGE part of our 2017 campaign. At least we could foresee this catastrophe before the season started, unlike Boston...
