I think some folks also forgot how good the teams in the west are. While we improved from a basement level team, we are still a below average team in the west. If Tilman wants the playoffs next year, he needs to kick Stone in the azz and get him to do something substantial.
Why are you grading the Rockets based on their season standings just 3 yrs in their rebuild? You should be grading them how they position themselves to be better in the immediate future. Rockets can trade all the picks, Jabari, Sengun, Cam and Amen for a collection of guys like Demar Derozan, Nicola Vucevic and Jordan Clarkson and they'll make the play in for sure. Is that an A season according to you? Lmao. Did you forget the core Rockets players are 21 yr Olds and rookies? Plus you already know West is a tough conference so why are you not even taking that into account? So it's Stone's fault the Rockets are in the West instead of the East?
Stone already did something substantial, which is get Steven Adams for next season. Stone did a lot of things right this year and the Rox were deep in the playoff standings before injuries hit. Next year his job is to get team depth so we can still be good despite injuries, he already took a step to that with Adams and he'll have Landale and Bullocks off the books as well as the Nets pick so he can get more depth at other spots.
What I meant by making the playoffs does not include the play-in, which means being top 6 in the west. This team + Adams doesnt get you there IMO.
Top 6 in the West 4 yrs after a rebuild? Seems way too high of expectations. Other than OKc takes other teams that long just to get a 0.500 team. Basically you are saying the Rox should get a Luka Doncic talent on year 1 of their rebuild just so they can hit that top 6 mark by Y4.
I am just sharing the goal that I would like the Rockets to have. I suspect their goal post will be much lower than mine.
Not necessarily. We can progress some by subtraction. Having scrubs like Landale, Bullock and Boban (sorry dude) off the teams will help in of itself. As pointed out, were adding Adams already. So no, I don't think we need Jokic. I am not going to try to predict who the guy we need will be, but whatever the Nets picks are worth plus Jalen and maybe one of (Tari, Whitmore, Smith or Amen) will fetch, that is what we will have. Part of it is, I just cant imagine going through next season with basically this team + Adams, and thats it. But also keep in mind, while I state top 6 in the west as a goal, if we fall short of it a bit, i wont complain too much. But the play-in has to accomplished. A must. Or else next season would be a utter failure IMO. And if we go down in the play-in, I hope we at least look good in doing so.
Sitting here watching the Orlando OKC game. Haven’t watched a non-rockets nba game in a while. It’s so glaringly clear how much better both these teams are relative to the rockets. We need another offseason of good acquisitions and we need a team-improving trade. We simply have to improve the roster. We’re still pretty far away.
What do you mean not necessarily? You said top 6 in the West by Y4 that's Luka Doncic. Doncic level rookie or a generational level rookie is the only one who can get you a top 6 seed in the West in Year 4. Otherwise it's just not possible. 6th place right now are the Suns so in Y4 you need to have a team that's better than current Mavs, Sacramento, GSW and Lakers each of those two teams have 2 All Stars each. If you are the owner and you told the GM these kind of expectations your GM will laugh at you. That's why I say here most people set up unrealistic expectations. Give out Cs and DS but don't have a clue what is required to hit their goals and standards.
OKC have is ran by Presti who is probably the goat GM despite not winning a ring. Orlando has had 15 yrs to tank and collect draft assets so I guess if you give Stone that same time frame he can also make a pretty damn good team. Rockets see far away that's cuz injuries hit the team and we also have a couple of 21 yr Olds. Pretty sure if Banchero and Wagner goes down that Orlando Magic team will also look like trash.
OKC easily wins a chip without Lebron making a superteam playing GM. So yeah, the league being super shady with those moves...... So in any ordinary setting, OKC wins a chip. So they are doing things right. If they were a city like Chicago, they would win even more chips......
It’s all about taking advantage of opportunities and having the flexibility to do so. I am satisfied with the way this team is being re-built and the Rockets are positioned to get a difference maker if the opportunity is there. Also, Amen and Cam may outperform, in a big way, next year and a big move would not be necessary. There are a hundred ways this team can compete for a solid position in the playoffs next year. Let’s say Amen and Cam become NBA starters next year. Would we then have sufficient depth with the possibility of FVV, Brooks or Jalen, Adams, and Tari coming off the bench. This team is headed for greatness. Patience is key.
i went B- advances have been made - but there has been quite a bit backsliding from night to night... lack of consistent effort dropped it from a solid B to a B-
this season was a C- at best, maybe even a D+, before the 11 game winning streak…that streak was enough to push it up to a B
We were 1-1 vs Orlando and 2-2 against OKC. Injuries de-railed our season. Not only will we be adding Adams, we will be adding full years of Tari, Amen, and Cam. We are behind OKC, but they have been re-building longer than us. I would much rather have our future than Orlando’s.
