2019 offseason

[EDUTEXANS]

Westbrook's been awesome. Gotta admit I was wrong about the guy when he was in OKC. I thought his triple doubles were nothing but stat-padding. It might be a little, but he's averaging a triple double right now, and it looks like pretty natural. He had 2 rebounds late against the Wizards. He ended up with 10, and the Rockets needed every single one of them. Those offensive ones in particular, especially the one that got reviewed for goaltending, were amazing.

And yeah, I agree that Harden has been kind of disappointing, especially when he enters the game and takes the ball away from Westbrook, just to kill the flow of the offense. Nothing that we haven't seen, though. When he's on fire, like Wednesday night, it's amazing, and you're reminded just hot good he is. Still, when he and Westbrook are on the floor together, I'd like to see him playing more in the flow of the offense and not step back 3 over and over.

Also, I'm happy with how well House has been playing as a starter. He looks like a solid NBA player for years to come. He fits perfectly next to PJ. Rivers has also been good, Gordon will eventually find his rhythm, and I guess McLemore has been OK. Backup 5 has been a question mark, though. It looks like there's not a lot of room for Chandler. During the few minutes Capela doesn't play, Dantoni seems to prefer going with more shooting, and rebounding continues to be an issue. Anderson got killed on defense against Washington, and both Clark and Hartenstein haven't seen the floor yet. Hartenstein hasn't even been activated for games.

Sorry to hear about AB. Hope he gets a job with the Rockets down the road. Dude was amazing that year he won MIP. One of the few bright spots during that time.

[Roxsince96]

Is it too soon to hit the panic button? Harden and Gordon have been abysmal and the defense has been even worse. We might need a tough minded coach to help harden understand that he can’t take 25+% of the shots and shoot that woefully. I am not really sure what else this team needs. I am sure some of the chemistry will come, but the west is super loaded and even teams in the east aren’t slouches. We have struggled against teams we should beat (Washington, Brooklyn, OKC) and we can’t fall behind like last year and expect to stay competitive in the west!

[Saddletramp]

What the everloving H was that in Miami? I had to fast forward 10 minutes at a time and they never got on track. Gordon has been so bad and House got benched for him to get going. Didn’t see him getting going and it (amount other things) killed the Rockets from the start.

And there might not be Westbrook for tomorrow’s game so that’s awesome.

[EDUTEXANS]

I know it's only been 6 games, but I'm sick and tired of watching Harden clank a step back 3 every single time he has the ball, play with zero effort on defense, and then complain with his teammates as if it was their fault. It looks pathetic.

[Saddletramp]

I know it's only been 6 games, but I'm sick and tired of watching Harden clank a step back 3 every single time he has the ball, play with zero effort on defense, and then complain with his teammates as if it was their fault. It looks pathetic.

That’s what I was saying last week. There was (at least) one play last night where he was almost at half court and someone passed the ball to him, he immediately passed the call back with a scowl like “I’m out this Play” and just stood there while everyone else tried to run a play. I’d never see a guy like Curry do that. That’s some end of the line McGrady ****.

[Dade County]

I know it's only been 6 games, but I'm sick and tired of watching Harden clank a step back 3 every single time he has the ball, play with zero effort on defense, and then complain with his teammates as if it was their fault. It looks pathetic.

Some questions...

Has D'Antoni tried to run a better team friendly offense? Ball movement...etc

Or is going through Harden the only option because of Harden?

[Saddletramp]

Gordon just had surgery and will be out up to 6 weeks to clean his knee, which had been bothering him since last year which begs the question: WHY THE HELL DIDN’T HE HAVE THE SURGERY IN THE SUMMER?

[EDUTEXANS]

Yeah, that's weird, but he's been so awful this season that some time off might actually be a good thing.

What an amazing win tonight. Harden has been unbelievable as of late. I almost feel bad for criticizing early in the season, though it was certainly deserving, IMO.

Hope Capela is okay. 3 straight games with 20 boards. Don't remember the last time a Rocket did that. Maybe Dwight?

And I hate that I have to hate Beverley now.

[Saddletramp]

The Rockets are releasing Ryan Anderson. I’m wondering if they’re going to add another center. And where’s Nene?

[EDUTEXANS]

Yup, just saw that. Tim McMahon is reporting that the Rockets have no immediate plans for the open roster spot. They actually have two open roster spots right now. It looks like nothing more than a financial move. Starting next week, NBA contracts start to pro-rate. I actually wonder why the Rockets signed Ryno in the first place. They'll have to eat the $500k guaranteed in his deal.

Nene is officially still nursing that adductor injury. But it's quite possible we don't see him at all during the regular season. He could sit out, get traded or waived. If he hits even one or those bonuses on his contract (that the league ruled illegal or whatever for trade purposes), it would make it impossible to avoid the luxury tax this season.

On a related note, Hartenstein looked great against Towns and the Wolves Saturday night. And Chandler has looked fantastic in limited minutes.

[arnchise]

Disappointing loss especially in a game they should of won. Capela not finishing strong at the ring and Westbrook’s bad 3 point shot at the end of the game and lazy transition defence were all disappointing. Just one thing I noticed. I don’t think the Rockets do a good enough job altering their offence when Harden gets doubled early. I would like to see them let someone else dribble the ball up and setting up an off ball screen to free up Harden and not allowing that double team to happen. Just something to keep the defence on their toes.
Just quickly, does anyone go on Clutchfans forums much? Because I was checking it out after the game and it might be one of worst forums I’ve ever been on. The Doris Burkes a ***** post was horrible. It was like a bunch of 12 year olds who found out they can swear on this forum without getting into trouble from their parents.

[EDUTEXANS]

Russell Westbrook's basketball IQ is pathetic.

[Saddletramp]

Russell Westbrook's basketball IQ is pathetic.

When he drives he has no touch and he settles for the mid range way too much. And he loves that mid range banker but can’t hit it very often. And he can’t control his drives for ****.

Wonder if Morey can work his magic again (although there comes a time when all that magic being made is just fool’s gold).

[c.c.]

I’m not impressed at all, this team needs a leader.

Russell Westbrook bricks those mid-range shots too much! He might as well test his luck with the 3 or just go run to the basket to hustle for the offensive rebound.

I hope he’s not injured.

[Roxsince96]

This is a tough place for us. Would pulling the plug on Westbrook make free agents hate Morey more, especially with the poison pill Chris Paul is throwing around. Also, if we trade Westbrook (I think Morey took him because he would be easier to trade than Paul), would you lose harden? I would love to see Westbrook to Cleveland for love or SA for larmacus (just to see pop try to control him, I know pop would never take a selfish guy like him). I think it would be nice to have a post guy that can also shoot the 3 (kinda what we hoped Anderson would be) to throw the ball into when shots aren’t falling from deep.

On a side note, I love how harden played against Toronto. He didn’t force anything, took what came to him, and showed he is capable of playing team first. The other guys didn’t let us down with 29 assists and many found their rhythm. If harden could buy in, maybe Westbrook will get the memo. If not, he may need to go.