It's early, but anyone else skeptical about Harden + CP3?

They won't play at their maximum ability together, to be honest I don't really care. All I care about is them staggering minutes and still not lose offense.

In fact when we sit Harden and run CP3 with Gordon, Tucker and Moute the defense is incredible without loving much offense. So basically we don't have a bench unit. No team have the luxury of sitting their star and still have the same impact, but now we do.

Neither Harden and CP3 move well without the ball, it's going to look awkward at times, but Chris Paul more than makes up for it on defense.

 

Just curious does anyone have any advanced stats on how the offense performed when harden sat last year? I think projecting their improvement during this period of time and assuming a noticeable improvement in their defense with Chris, PJ and Luc might help me to set expectations on if the changes to the roster this year have been effective.

 

It's early, but anyone else skeptical about @RocketStan ?

 

the Rockets had an offensive rating of 113.6, TS% of 59.3%, an eFG% of 55.1%, and an AST% of 63% when Harden was on the court...those numbers fell to an offensive rating of 106.5, a TS% of 55.5%, an eFG% of 52.7%, and an AST% of 61.6% when Harden was off the court

our turnover percentage also slightly increased from 14.6% when Harden was on the court to 14.8% when he was off

to put things in perspective, that 113.6 offensive rating when Harden was on the court would’ve been the best offense in the NBA if maintained over an entire season, while that 106.5 offensive rating when he was off the floor would’ve ranked 14th...the Rockets went from elite to average offensively when Harden left the court

now that we have CP3, the hope is that the offense will remain elite at all times since 1 of Harden or CP3 will always be on the court

 

by the time the playoffs come, chris paul is going to be handling the ball a lot more! harden is far superior as a spot up shooter, and the secondary play maker, and can be shut down on the perimter. chris paul has the handles to not turn the ball over, and get the ball to harden in space. All we are watching right now is practice. paul needs to shoot as many spot up 3s as he can int he regular season. we are going to have to beat a lot of good teams, and it looks like you may as well add the clippers to the list too. beverley can't guard both of them. so whoever he is guarding, the other should initate the offense.

 

I've always thought they don't complement each other.

 

Not skeptical of their talent meshing at all. Literally 0%

I am skeptical of cp3 staying healthy this year tho

 

Thanks for this. I’m optimistic about marked improvement in our offense and even more hopeful about our defense which is where we needed the most improvement.

And as jcmoon pointed out, having to spread thin opposing defenses with having to cover either harden or CP3 should yield dividends that don’t show up on the stat sheet

 

What I'm hoping for is MDA incorporates CP's style of play into the offense. Harden will get his. But maybe take some of what the Clippers used to do and implement it in our system thru stretches. Harden needs to be offball more, which means he needs to come more offscreens and do more cutting

 

Really?

I always took you as someone who usually trusts things to work.

 

I really do not get the timing of this thread.

I am sure the Rockets will struggle at several points during the season and there will be legitimate concerns about Paul.

But now?

Chris Paul has played in only one of our two games. In the game he and Harden played together, the Rockets dropped over 120 points AND Paul was clearly hurt.

In the game where the two played together, the Rockets beat one of the best basketball teams ever on the road, on opening night.

In that same game Harden and Paul combined for 21 assists and only 4 turnovers. They also combined for 15 rebounds.

Further, Chris Paul and James Harden are going to be on the floor together for 16-18 minutes most games.

The timing of the thread is just really, really odd.

 

not really bc all these knee jerk reactions people are getting on the 2nd night of the nba are pretty ridiculous. especially with him only playing one game.

 

2-0 including a win in Golden state. Harden being himself 27-9-6 so far and Paul even on one knee in limited minutes averaging 11 assists.-

 

We haven't even seen Chris Paul yet.

 

I've never seen the cognitive dissonance this bad.

These posters are behaving like they didn't watch the season opener because they are hearing people on TV say there is a problem.

Stunning revelation of the impact TV has on people tbh

 

http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php?threads/debunking-medias-myth-that-cp3-doesnt-fit.285825/

Check out my thoughts. The media hates Houston.

 

Yes.... and it isn't even based on the pre season either because the Rockets were 4-1 in the preseason.

The Rockets are 6-1 in all games played since they added Paul, and that loss was to a very good spurs team.

What is going to happen the first time this team loses to someone like Dallas or God forbid OKC?

Seriously, the goal is to be healthy and improve.... if the Rockets win 60 games this year, they still are going to lose over 25% of the time.

I really do not get it at all.

 

"All I am saying is that it looked like Harden and Paul didn't fit in the Kings game. Paul was invisible, I am guessing he was just standing in the corner. I don't remember a single memorable play from him. It felt like Harden was out there playing without Paul." - BBS Posters

 

Eh, I wouldn't sweat it. The season just started. We've got a 3 day layoff between games. And the entire Houston sports fanbase is on edge because of the Astros' struggles. We're just looking for stuff to nitpick and be nervous about.

I really like what I've seen so far from the team as a whole. Tucker and Luc are terrific additions, surprisingly even at the offensive end of the floor. Capela continues his maturation at the center position. EG is putting up All-Star caliber numbers again(and that's without him hitting the outside shot). And Harden is Harden.

Just wait til Paul gets healthy, the team gels, and they work out the kinks like their transition defense.