Breh, I wish. Going to be in Vegas for the summer league instead. Perhaps I'll catch a game with @tinman!
From the aspect of firepower, it seems tempting to acquire Carmelo. However, the pursuit for Carmelo should be approached cautiously. When you guys shipped out Patrick Beverley, one of your best defenders left. Replacing your top defensive player should also be a priority. I watched the first Spurs versus Golden State Warriors game this year in the playoffs, and the Warriors were in big trouble early on in that game. The Spurs had one of the top-two defenses in the league and it was shutting GSW down. There can be an argument made that the outcome of that series could have been different if Kawhaii was not injured. GSW has one of the best offenses in the game, but every good offense can be neutralized with a stellar defense. Part of what gets teams is the concept of a "Big three" or forming a "super team." However, what needs to be taken into account is whether these players compliment each other. Carmelo would add firepower to make this team comparable to GSW in that regard, but the trade-off is with Carmelo's big contract, how much is left to get defensive additions that would balance out this team. This will pose a challenge to the Rockets.
beverley's defense has already been replaced. every good offense can be neutralized with a stellar defense is not true in GS's case.
Well we are going to disagree here, but since San Antonio lost Kawhaii Leonard in game one we won't know until this year.
elite players are not going to be stopped from scoring. that's the point of being called elite. especially when you have multiple ones on the same team all in their primes. that should really just be understood and not something unknown and to do it atleast 4 times in a series enough to win. odds are heavily against that
You simple as hell. Carmelo would form us an incredible superteam with James Harden and PAUL. I think ppl know how great he is but of course carmelo pending trade talk is going to dominate. Dafuq is wrong with boys
the rockets lost pb and replaced him with cp3. last i checked he is one of the best defensive pg's in the league. they just picked up tucker who can guard multiple positions. he has a much more versatile defensive approach and has a similiar no fear attitude. pb's defense has absolutely been replaced. the only real thing you are missing with PB is the player himself as he is a fan favorite and for good reason. but as far as skillset all replaceable
Elite players can't be stopped from scoring true, but the goal is not to stop them altogether, that's not possible, but what you do want to do is slow them down so they don't have free reign to do what they typically do. If you can disrupt their game, that will help you. I remember what Beverley often did against other players, especially Curry. I honestly think the best teams need to have a balance, rather than just being loaded on one side of the ball.
yes i've said that over and over. you can only hope to get stops when needed but you still have to be able to score enough to give yourself a chance. the rockets are loading themselves up with defenders that can guard multiple positions, its not just one side of the ball. of course balance is a big key.
CP3 is a good defender, but not not as good a defender as Beverley. Now hopefully, my post doesn't get twisted and misread to mean that I think Beverley is a better over-all player than Paul, he's not. Of course, Paul is more valuable because he brings more elements of the game than Beverley does like assists, steals, and rebounds. However, if we are talking about man-to man defense, Beverley does that one element better than Paul. Houston's addition of Tucker is definitely a solid addition, and hopefully he can replace what Bev brought for you guys.
Agreed, great post by the way. Aside from the obvious suggestion of a third star, what pieces do you feel your team needs to compete with or dethrone the Warriors?
actually I'd say cp3 is a more preferred defender for me over PB. Not that I think PB defense is bad bc it isn't but I like cp3's overall defensive leadership and iq. one on one defense yeah i'd give bev the edge but the majority of a game doesn't really consist of that.
