Starting a topic on the Rockets to discuss what’s going on with them.
So, this may be an unpopular opinion, but I’m genuinely excited about this team for next year. Everyone seems down on D’Antoni, but one thing he brings is an offensive system which the Rockets haven’t had since Adleman. If he can get Harden to buy-in and the new defensive coach can also get buy-in, the Rockets could be sneaky good. Need the new additions (Anderson, Gordon, Nene) to stay healthy as well as the holdovers (Beverly, D-Mo?), but I believe if they do there are a lot of weapons. I also believe that Dwight is an addition by subtraction.
Anyway, just my thoughts; long way to go until the season starts.
I think it’s an ish show. We got old past their prime role players to go into a run and gun system. I could deal(BARELY) with Harden being the centerpiece of a D’antoni system (although clearly what we needed was D not O) as long as we kept our young guys on the court to grow and get better. But now it seems like our young guys are going to be pushed aside. Capela needs PT to get better. He needs to make mistakes and play through them. He has so much potential, especially with Hakeem on staff to guide him.
I see Capela starting, even with Nene coming in; he should fit in so well in D’Antoni’s system with his agility.
Note: Harden signed an extension today - 4 years, 118 million (last year is a player option). Shows that he’s committed and the team is committed to him which will hopefully lure free agents in the future. I’m still high on James Harden; his D was putrid last year, but the entire team lacked effort on that side of the ball. I think it will be much improved this year with the new staff.
There’s a pattern with Jeff Bzdelik; the teams he has coached are consistently top-tier defensive teams. He has earned a reputation for being a coach that instills principals and gets results out of players. His teams have played tough, hard-nosed basketball.
That’s the main thing, is getting players to play with effort which was severely lacking last year: too many transition buckets, too many offensive rebounds, lack of communication in half-court defense. Dwight’s already come out and said he phoned it in much of the year and I believe he’s not the only one. I don’t expect this team to be top of the league defensively, but they weren’t as bad as they looked last year.
Team does still need a PG to either start over Beverly or be a back-up. None really out there in Free Agency so hopefully Morey can pull something off. Rubio may be available, and while he can’t shoot, he can initiate plays and is strong defensively; might fit well in D’Antoni’s schemes.