HOUSTON ROCKETS Thread '14/'15 - Offseason - Picks (+ Jason Terry)

[rosegoldsluggs]

 
better defensive effort from Harden last night 

He needs to incorporate more midrange shots, not just threes and drives to the lane

Tjones 

Harden seems money some games with that midrange jumper after the PnR.

You rarely see players on the Rockets shooting midrange tho. That's of the past, Morey has implemented its either 3s or shots near the basket.

 

[hongcouver604]

a midrange game would help both Harden and Lin. That's why both of them are turnover prone, because they both drive to the basket with no place to go at times. If it isn't a drive, it's a 3. A midrange game would help both of them.

 

[Peep Game]

I love this

https://24.media.tumblr.com/252dd541f04e3616dbca8a0ab4ba3d9b/tumblr_mxijunjzqn1rmciwwo4_1280.png/img]
[img]https://24.media.tumblr.com/bc587f70391f86a3aabd773534038123/tumblr_mxijunjzqn1rmciwwo5_r1_400.png
lmaooo

#PopIt4Parsons

 

[Humbled]

Parsons is such a ******g G. #mancrush

 

[markangelo]

Lin is going to b playing against Portland 

 

[Peep Game]

15-7, feelsgoodmayne...even though at this very point last year, we were 14-7 Have a tough road trip ahead of us, but let's go ahead and knock out Portland tomorrow. They're a better team than last year, but so are we, and we can very well beat them up there again.

Though I don't care much for Bleacher Report when it comes to the NBA & NFL, here's an Asik trade article from there:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...-of-houston-rockets-latest-is-changing-agents

 

[franchise3]

Sucks to see Asik go, but it is what it is at this point. Anxious to see what Morey can get in return. Hopefully a first rounder.

 

[markangelo]

Sucks to see Asik go, but it is what it is at this point. Anxious to see what Morey can get in return. Hopefully a first rounder.

In Morey, we trust….
Sidenote, Sampson is currently handling the coaching duties for today and tomorrow as McHale is out due to "personal reasons".. Hope everything is ok with coach

 

[Peep Game]

Man, that "personal matter" is the death of McHale's mother

 

[markangelo]

Man, that "personal matter" is the death of McHale's mother

Last year around end of November was when he lost his daughter, now his mom? 

Prayers go out to coach and his family..May she rest in peace

 

[do work son]

as much as i hate mchale sometimes, i love him too man. he's not as bad as a coach as we sometimes make him out to be, and the team loves him. we have a real interesting chemistry this year

 

[markangelo]

*sigh*

GSW tomorrow, Sampson's rotations were extremely questionable 

Cant believe he rolled out the beginning of the 4th qtr without Harden/Howard/Parsons

 

[puglife]

terrible game by everyone offensively except Dwight

no one could consistently hit a shot and the defense was god awful

tjones with a friggin -26
Beverly had like a -21 til we scored a couple garbage buckets at the very end. he also airballed like 3 layups
parsons played like ****


hopefully we bounce back tomorrow. I always think we play terribly after we have a long rest

 

[Peep Game]

*spits in disgust*

 

[Peep Game]

Frustrating loss given Dwight's performance and the fact that we had plenty of chances to step on the gas and leave them behind. Rockets cut two big leagues, and even towards the end they still had the chance to win. It was just a handful of possessions that went wrong, whether someone made the wrong pass on a fast break, blew a dunk, didn't close out on a 3, or didn't finish an and1 play or something. That Parsons/Howard debacle was terrible, and just gave an already unstoppable LMA free points. he sure would be a nice addition...

TJones
Harden
Howard
Parsons
Bev

Lin
Casspi
Garcia

Brooks, Brewer, and D-Mo could have and should have be put in there in spurts, as well as Asik since I have no doubt he's faking injuries. Greg Smith needs to be healing up too. I've been hearing the same update on him for a long time now.

GSW tonight. Hopefully this is just like the last home game against them. 3-1 against the Warriors last year, so I'm down for a 2-0 after tonight.

 

[do work son]

Our 8 msn rotation is decent but lacks size. When we trade asik, we potentially could be 10 players deep. I'm expecting trading asik, then using a piece we get in that deal to package something else together for another deal.

Do it Daryl.

 

[Peep Game]

NBA trade rumors: Anderson Varejao could be option in Omer Asik deal

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/12/13/5206790/anderson-varejao-omer-asik-nba-trade-rumors-rockets

Spoiler

The Houston Rockets intend to trade disgruntled center Omer Asik next Wednesday or Thursday, and Cleveland Cavaliers big man Anderson Varejao could be a target, according to TNT's David Aldridge.

Aldridge went into further detail on the TNT broadcast of the Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night:

"Philadelphia and Milwaukee have been mentioned as potential destinations for Asik, but don't count out the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have a veteran big man in Anderson Varejao who doesn't need any plays run for him and could provide the kind of defensive play next to Howard that the Rockets had hoped Asik would provide."

Ever since it became clear the duo of Asik and Dwight Howard wasn't going to work, an Asik trade has simply become a matter of when not if. Houston is waiting until after Dec. 15 to make a deal because players who signed as free agents in the offseason can't be included in a trade until then. However, the Rockets want to consummate a trade before Dec. 20 so any player acquired could still possibly be dealt before the February trade deadline.
Deeper look: Fear The Sword on a possible Varejao for Asik swap

The idea that Varejao could be a serious target for the Rockets is a curious one. While the duo of Howard and Asik was a bit disappointing defensively, the real issue was on the offensive end. In the 93 minutes those two have been on the court together, Houston scored just 87.3 points per 100 possessions per NBA.com's stats page, an especially galling number given the generally high-powered nature of the Rockets' offense. Varejao is certainly more skilled than Asik, but he still wouldn't provide the optimal floor spacing playing next to Howard.

Furthermore, the Rockets have a really good thing going with Terrence Jones at the power forward position. Not only is Jones himself playing well, but the Rockets' starters have been brilliant together ever since the youngster was inserted into the lineup. According to NBA.com's stats page, the lineup of Howard, Jones, James Harden, Chandler Parsons and Patrick Beverley is outscoring opponents by 16.9 points per 100 possessions.

So while an Asik trade is inevitable, the goal shouldn't necessarily be to find that "perfect fit" next to Howard. The Rockets may have already found that.

From the Cavs' point of view, a Varejao/Asik swap doesn't seem to make much sense either. Andrew Bynum is obviously a health risk, but he has shown signs of returning to his former self and it's doubtful Bynum and Asik could co-exist. There's also a high likelihood the Rockets would want a first-round pick back in the deal as well, which probably wouldn't be worth it for Cleveland, although a third team could get involved to make things work.

 

[markangelo]

Lets get this

 

[hongcouver604]

Start Lin instead of Bev.

 

[markangelo]

feels good man 

 

[puglife]

i dunno if i put too much emphasis on the +/-, but harden played 42 min and finished with a +19.

that means the team finished -15 in the 6 min he didn't play :x

 

[Peep Game]

Fantastic win last night. Definitely needed that since we had an opportunity to take the Portland game too. Dwight and Harden did there scoring, though Harden still could've been more efficient, and Dwight should've gotten more looks, but the effort and clutch scoring from Bev, Casspi, and Garcia was much appreciated, with Parsons being the glue that holds everything together. Still need for the rotations to get better, and Lin to round himself into shape. Hopefully here's some energy left for tonight for some reason I thought we played the Kings tonight. Glad we dont

 

[do work son]

Dwight is quietly playing like a monster.

 

[markangelo]

I hope Morey gets a nice piece for Asik… 

Sidenote, Mchale really liked Casspi 

http://blog.chron.com/ultimaterocke...tment-by-rockets-boosts-confidence-of-casspi/

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Then with one voice message that he still won’t delete from his phone, everything changed. With that call, he not only knew where his career was headed, the confidence that had become so fractured, taking much of his game with it, was revived. All that had gone wrong seemed to have been made right again.

“Coach (Kevin) McHale left me a message over the summer when they started recruiting me and we started talking,” Casspi said. “I still have it. He said he wanted me to play the three and the four. He explained I could spread the floor and help the team win and that he liked the way I compete. That was one of the main reasons I came here. I still have that message and I still listen to it once in a while.

“It was the first time I really talked to a coach that really talked to me. This team was obviously was supposed to be good whether I was going to be here or not. But to be a part of the team that can compete and compete for a championship, after what I’d been through, and then he left me this message that said he loves me and wants me to come and play hard and help and do the things I do. That was just an emotional day, you know.”

 

[Peep Game]

For those who missed the game, this terrible terrible game


SACRAMENTO – For all the harm the Rockets did to their chances on Sunday, the damage of the Rockets’ latest loss to a team scraping the bottom of the standings could last much longer than just another bad afternoon.

With the Rockets offense already reeling, largely because of self-inflicted wounds, guard James Harden sprained his left ankle and struggled to move through the rest of the 10 remaining minutes he tried to play before limping to the locker room with six minutes left.

With Jeremy Lin already there with back spasms, and the Rockets breaking down badly with waves of turnovers and missed free throws, the Sacramento Kings easily finished them off, 106-91. Just as the Rockets went from a road win in San Antonio to a loss on the road to the last-place Jazz, they followed a stirring win at Golden State with an equally deflating defeat to the second-to-last Kings.

This time, however, they could be returning home shorthanded.

The Rockets had been struggling to get out of their own way from the start, missing free throws and turning the ball over to give the Kings much more help than they needed. But barely a minute into the second half, Harden stepped on Kings guard Ben McLemore’s right foot, turning his left ankle, and things went from bad to much worse.

Harden remained on the court for the duration of the time out. He got up to make both free throws, giving him 22 points in 22 minutes, but the Rockets had to take a foul for Harden to leave the game and head to the locker room.

He returned, but was limited almost entirely to launching one-legged 3s.

With Harden effectively removed from the Rockets offense and the Rockets unable to knock down 3s or free throws, it was all they could do to keep to close. By the fourth quarter, they could not even do that. They made just 7 of 27 3-pointers and just 22 of 38 free throws. They had 17 turnovers, with 16 in the first three quarter when the Kings began to pull away.

The Rockets had seemed disjointed from the start, with Howard in rapid foul trouble and the turnovers piling up quickly. But they still led by as much as seven and were tied at the end of the first quarter. The wheels did not come off their offense until midway through the second quarter, when they did all they could to give a good offensive team extra chances to punish them.

It was not just the turnovers, though the Rockets had 11 with six minutes left in the first half. They Rockets missed a few layups and nine-consecutive free throws to go 4 ½ scoreless minutes and give the Kings a kick start they did not need.

That helped Isaiah Thomas get going, as he put up 11 second-quarter points to help the Kings push their lead to 10. A few buckets by Harden stopped the bleeding and gave him 17 in the first half, but the Rockets still trailed by eight.

They would close that gap to one, but really had not repaired anything. Instead, more began to come apart.