Who is and isn't showing up?

[smith&wesson]

It's hard to say in Houston since they've only had the full roster for one of four games, but obviously Harden and Wood have both been monsters so far. Wall has looked pretty damn good, especially in that second win against Sacramento. Gordon's shooting has been off, unsurprisingly, but he was huge in the 4th quarter in that second win against the Kings, pretty much running the offense when Wall sat and helping increase the lead late in the game.

Cousins looks lost at times, and I do worry he might be washed. I worry about Tucker fitting into this team offensively, but defensively he's been solid. All the role players have looked really good—Sterling Brown has shot lights out, Tate and Nwaba are tenacious as hell. Caboclo is terrible. House has also looked terrible, and I'd love to see more of his minutes go to Tate, Nwaba and Brown.

Around the league, I haven't watched much basketball outside of the Rockets. But both Giannis and Doncic have posted some really mediocre numbers, and their teams' records seem to show it's a problem. Same with Siakam. Lilliard hasn't played well either. And then there's Russell Westbrook...

Put Wall in that show up column.. it’s amazing to see him play the way he is after 2 seasons of not playing at all. Wall & Wood got Harden thinking twice..

[R. Johnson#3]

Put Wall in that show up column.. it’s amazing to see him play the way he is after 2 seasons of not playing at all. Wall & Wood got Harden thinking twice..

John Wall and 7 foot Scottie Pippen have been great for the Rockets.

[warfelg]

I'd say Houston's risk in the trade that I suggested being the upside is paying off.

[mightybosstone]

John Wall and 7 foot Scottie Pippen have been great for the Rockets.

I'm totally confused by the "7-foot Scottie Pippen" comment. Who said that? Pippen is a horrendous comparison to Wood. Two completely different players in pretty much every possible way.

[R. Johnson#3]

I'm totally confused by the "7-foot Scottie Pippen" comment. Who said that? Pippen is a horrendous comparison to Wood. Two completely different players in pretty much every possible way.

Calm down there sugar ****. They look like each other was what I was getting at.

[mightybosstone]

Calm down there sugar ****. They look like each other was what I was getting at.

OK? You know anytime you say "7-foot [insert player name here]," that everyone's going to assume you're talking about their game, not their look, right? Probably ought to add some context if you're going to make that reference moving forward.

To be fair, I can see the comparison. They could be brothers or at least cousins.

[JAZZNC]

Conley has certainly showed up this far. Bojan hasn't until last night. Mitchell has been pretty bad until last night. Clarkson has been just as good as last year off the bench. If Mitchell and Bojan can get back to par I think we'll be fine but I like what I've seen from Conley early on. Looks like what we had hoped we were getting last year.

[R. Johnson#3]

OK? You know anytime you say "7-foot [insert player name here]," that everyone's going to assume you're talking about their game, not their look, right? Probably ought to add some context if you're going to make that reference moving forward.

To be fair, I can see the comparison. They could be brothers or at least cousins.

I gave you the benefit of the doubt. I was wrong for doing so and I’m sorry.

[mightybosstone]

I gave you the benefit of the doubt. I was wrong for doing so and I’m sorry.

It's not as obvious as you're making it out to be. Also, I don't spend a lot of my spare time studying the faces of NBA players to draw facial comparisons. I don't care what Wood looks like; I care how he plays.

[R. Johnson#3]

It's not as obvious as you're making it out to be. Also, I don't spend a lot of my spare time studying the faces of NBA players to draw facial comparisons. I don't care what Wood looks like; I care how he plays.

That’s nice. Was just having a little fun and all.

[mightybosstone]

Back to the topic at hand, one guy who absolutely would have been on the "not showing up" list prior to last night would have been Steph Curry. For Golden State to make any kind of a postseason run, he's got to be that kind of guy the rest of the season. I'm not expecting him to put up 60+ a night, but he should be averaging 28-30+ with the elite 3-point shooting we expect from him.

He hasn't done that prior to last night, and I was legitimately beginning to wonder if the Warriors' dynasty may be officially dead and if we'd never see the same version of Curry we saw from him at his peak. Last night was a good first step, but dude's got to keep it up, or else the Warriors are doomed, and his legacy is going to start taking a hit.

[R. Johnson#3]

Back to the topic at hand, one guy who absolutely would have been on the "not showing up" list prior to last night would have been Steph Curry. For Golden State to make any kind of a postseason run, he's got to be that kind of guy the rest of the season. I'm not expecting him to put up 60+ a night, but he should be averaging 28-30+ with the elite 3-point shooting we expect from him.

He hasn't done that prior to last night, and I was legitimately beginning to wonder if the Warriors' dynasty may be officially dead and if we'd never see the same version of Curry we saw from him at his peak. Last night was a good first step, but dude's got to keep it up, or else the Warriors are doomed, and his legacy is going to start taking a hit.

It’s the Draymond effect. Steph can create for himself off the dribble but he scores more frequently when he’s able to move without the ball in his hands. Draymond is the engine of that team. Oubre and Wiggins had been hot trash too.

[smith&wesson]

John Wall and 7 foot Scottie Pippen have been great for the Rockets.

I would have loved for Masai to go after Wood, even before seeing Wood have this hot start, I thought he would be a great fit. Part of my frustration with our offseason is why we didn’t even look at some of the options that where available ..

[smith&wesson]

Calm down there sugar ****. They look like each other was what I was getting at.

Scottie Pippen minus the busted nose lol

[R. Johnson#3]

I would have loved for Masai to go after Wood, even before seeing Wood have this hot start, I thought he would be a great fit. Part of my frustration with our offseason is why we didn’t even look at some of the options that where available ..

It’s because Masai thought he had his guy in Serge. By the time Serge made his decision all the good big men had already been dealt/signed.