What must this Rockets team answer to be a contender?

were there multiple players to count that needed improvement in your previous post? i call only seeing Lin's name. do you have trouble with cognition?

 

No, I listed other areas where the "TEAM" must improve in order to be contenders. Remember, basketball is a team game, something that eludes fans who only root for individual players, like a lot of NBA fans these days.

SMH

 

yeah, keep assuming i'm an _OF cause clearly you're the sharpest tool in the shed. haha.

 

I think it would help if you elaborated a bit. "Needs to improve" is very vague.

 

He needs to shoot the ball better from 3pt, he needs to turn the ball over less, he needs to remain active on the floor when the ball isn't in his hands and atleast "pretend" like he's doing something other than just standing around.

The entire team needs to turn the ball over less, its one of the most critical issues that need fixing, that's why I listed it first. But, I hold Lin more accountable for this because he's our PG, floor general, the guy who you least want turning the ball over.

I would like to see his assist numbers go up too, but even if they stay the same im fine with that so long as he improves the 3pt shooting and TURNOVERS.

 

This Rockets team needs to learn to play as a TEAM, no more Hero ball, whoever has an open shot should take it, if no shot is available he should pass the ball.
On defense, we need to play defense as a team. In the NBA, nobody can defend one on one anymore, if someone is beaten by a well executed play, someone needs to help.
We were terrible defending the pick and roll last season, because the defense did not communicate screens, switches, or help. All anyone needed to do to break down the Rockets defense was to run a simple pick and roll set.

I don't anticipate getting beaten in the low post, we were pretty decent at defending the block last season. Howard and Asik got that covered. But Terrence Jones, D-Mo or whoever needs to step up too. And I'm not just talking about shot-blocking, but getting in position to clog the lane.

 

Sorry if I had you pegged the wrong way. Obviously, every player on the team needs to improve. But, I think Lin's improvement is the most critical. Even if Harden, Parsons, Dwight, etc all stay the same we are still a 4th or 5th seed in the west. If Lin can improve, we could be top 3.

 

it's all good. i agree that turnovers and D are two of the largest focal points for the team. i would like to add that, although lin is our PG and much of the turnovers are attributed to him since he's supposed to be the one handling the ball the most, his usage rate was actually 20.6% whereas harden was at 29% (apparently lin's usage during linsanity was 27%). as a result harden had more turnovers than lin and was #2 in the nba for most turnovers.

i understand that last season was a hodgepodge of players that didn't all have a full training camp together so he probably thought to just give the ball to harden since he's the best. now that he knows what the core is capable of, i'm hoping for more defined roles and set plays that'll work with individual players' strengths.

if lin can buckle down on D without gambling as much, make better/quicker decisions and be solid behind the 3....we will be top 3.

 

*edit*

i understand that last season was a hodgepodge of players that didn't all have a full training camp together so Mchale probably thought to just give the ball to harden since he's the best. now that Mchale knows what the core is capable of, i'm hoping for more defined roles and set plays that'll work with individual players' strengths.

 

Usage rate also implies that Lin chose to defer rather than have defense focused on what he is doing. When you have a player like Harden, its easy to defer and just watch him do his thing. But, there are times when Lin needs to keep the ball and create something for the team or himself. He's the PG, not Harden.

He also needs to get better at not becoming a snowcone once he gets rid of the ball. Lin without the ball on offense basically means our team is playing 4 on 5. Which is unacceptable, imo.

 

agreed. i'd like to see him more confident in accepting the pg role but he'll also need continued support from coaches and teammates to be confident that he's not being underminded and about to lose his role. unfortunately, a lot of people on the GARM think harden's a better pg than lin.

he def needs to stay active once the ball leaves his hands. hopefully he watched the finals and picked up on how tony parker cuts and curls along the baseline and around screens.

 

Lin's biggest weakness isn't even shooting or defending its his ball handling in general.

Puts some pressure of him and he'll cough it up. A large portion of his turnovers are mostly because of his terrible handles.

It's why he struggled in the playoffs, against good ball pressure guards and whenever he plays the Heat.

The rest of his game is good to great.

 

If Lin could hit that open three at 40% or better, he wouldn't have to worry about finding an open target because he already has the quickness to get to the rim and distribute. Now that we've added Dwight, he doesn't even have to make it all the way to the rim but just to the elbow and he's got the defense on their heels.

But, when he's airballing it, and when Harden is making the shots Lin becomes an eyesore on the court. Teams don't feel like they have to respect his jumpshot and can just shut off his dribble penetration and driving lanes. He has to make those 3's damnit.

 

It still doesn't change the fact that Beverley's making 800k while Lin's making $8mil(10x salary). In fact, Lin by far has the worst production-to-salary ratio on the team.

Harden, even if he doesn't improve a bit, is severely underpaid. Howard is the same even if he repeats last year's production, which is unlikely since he's healthy now. Everyone can agree that Asik more than earned his pay last year. And every other Rocket is making less than $2mil.

Fans expectations of players is always partially affected by salary. Switch Lin and Parsons salaries, and fans here would be talking about Lin being one of the best contracts in the NBA while putting a ton of pressure on Parsons to play better next year.

 

There is so much talent on this team success will now depend on blending all the talent into a well-oil machine.

I am very curious to see if the coaching staff is up to the challenge of designing effective offensive strategies that maximize everyone's potential.

Some questions to ask:
- Are they going to still have a free flowing offense or a more set half-court offense?
- Will/Can they keep up the pace?
- Will they still rely heavily on Harden?
- What role will Jeremy play (i.e. usage)?
- How will they scatter Howard and Asik's minutes?

We saw them use a lot of different lineups last year, so I am curious to see what variations they present next season.

 

Harden (when paid at max), until he bucks up his defense, is overpaid.

 

A legit four who can make their outside shots. After that, it's just roster tweaking.

 

I'd like to point out that harden averaged more free throws per game in the playoffs than he did in the regular season last year. (haven't checked usage/pace, but it isn't like he wasn't sent to the line after April 17th.)

 

Harden brought Howard.

He is now officially underpaid.

 

I would love to see what Mike Miller could bring to this unit