All of those guys, plus Gobert, were on the team last year and they got beat by this same Denver squad in the first round in five games. Their improvement came internally from ANT (their best player at 6'4") getting better, not from them getting taller.
I know I can count on you to take postings out of text or misrepresent them knowingly or due to ignorance of basketball. Taking Jabari was mostly for outside shooting as was a Brady Manek.....which in turn opens up everything. No Jabari because we take Ivey meant I had Brady Manek as 3-pt shooting big guy spacer. The tandem of Jalen Green and Jaden Ivey would have been dominant down the line for years. Per-36 minutes (23/24) Jaden Ivey.......19.2 pts......4.8 asts....4.3 rebs Jalen Green.....22.3 pts......4.0 asts....5.9 rebs I know it's over your head kid, but neither had spacing or their numbers would have been greater with their respective teams. Non the less in most postings that year I said Tari Eason was my pick in the later rounds while others were saying Sochan.....I got the pick I wanted and wouldn't change it for anything.
You're not factoring in Cam or Eason here, though. Or the long-term, switchable positional versatility of this roster. I don't think the answer is always "add a bunch of 7-footers." I think having guys with length and strength who can defend multiple positions is every bit as important (if not more important) than just overall size, and the Rockets have a few guys like that. When Hartenstein got into foul trouble, you know who was playing center and guarding Embiid on a lot of those possessions in that Philly/NY series? 6'7" OG Anunoby. So, overall size is still important, but I don't think that's the only factor in why teams succeed or not in today's NBA.
The 05 playoffs 1st round Houston beat Dallas the first two games in Dallas and then embarrassingly lost game 7 by 40 to lose the series. Thanks for the memories lol
I think you are missing a very important nuance - its not about having bigs on the roster - it's about having the most SKILLED, tallest players on the roster. That's the reason why the big man all but went away a decade ago but the resurgence we are seeing is that now the bigs know that in order for you to play in the NBA as a 6'10" guy - you gotta be able to pass a little, you gotta be able to shoot with range, you gotta play decent enough defense against multiple positions, you gotta be able to handle the ball and maybe even drive when the situation merits it. If Duop Reath for instance learned to play basketball in the 90s - he wouldn't have ever learned how to shoot the ball - no one was asking bigs to do that at the time. ....the trick is - as tall and 'position'less as possible. Guys like Giannis and Jokic being the biggest, strongest most positionless guys is proof of that. We no longer live in a league where the guards can play one way and the forwards/center another way - everyone has to at least have the threat of being able to exploit a weakness at any moment - hit a three, hit a cutter, drive to the hoop, block a shot, take away passing lanes. That is the lesson we have learned really since Milwaukee started drafting only 6'6' and up positionless guys trying to build an uber athletic, uber tall lineup and then by accident discovered they had the next NBA MVP in Giannis and players have teams have followed suit and guys like Jokic and KAT and Embid can do everything on the court good enough that they have gravity all over the floor.
Apache doesn't seem to realize that Brady Manek isn't remotely an NBA player and compared him to Dirk Nowitski, on top of comparing his per 40 stats to Banchero straight up. Banchero is an all-star in his second season, by the way. Something that neither of Apache's "dominant" backcourt players have been close to yet. Apache will keep doubling down and acting smug.
If I trained these guys they would be. I would've been training Sengun to shoot 3's day one. That's more important than post up game., Rockets would be much further along than they are now if Sengun offered spacing. Manek is more than likely used wrong where he is now. They may be using him as a post up threat or if they have no facilitators, defenders might be glued to him which makes getting off a 3-pt shot more difficult . I'd have as a Olynyk role.....but the knee kick is there for Manek if practiced enough. That's the Nowitzki skill I meant. You are so clever in finding a posting two or three years ago.....find the posting of me saying Brunson would be elevated to contender to appeal to more of the masses.....for NBA ratings.
I think we can win a championship with a fringe superstar or a bunch of all stars like Sengun and Jalen, along with the others like Amen, and Cam. I think what we need is vet defenders and shooters and to fill a reliable bench. We have a nice young core talent that just needs more development with the coaching staff.
The Playoffs are showing us that you need a Batman and you need tons of Super Alfreds, the Bench quality and depth should be key...... Other than that, you need 4 bigs like the Wolves.That's extra.
I believe that’s why Boston got Porzingis to be that stretch 5 to move gobert out of the paint. The Rockets issue is if you put Sengun at the 4 he isn’t a stretch 4. He doesn’t stretch defenses and now you’re stuck with 2 bigs clogging the paint. That’s why it likely won’t work with Adams or a big like him. To play this way they need a stretch 5 or unless Sengun improves his jumper/3 pt shot.
I think you could make the WCF if lucky with a fringe superstar at best. We have seen with KD that he could not lead a team over the Warriors....... Minny is too tough, and OKC will be too tough to beat.
History would say that is borderline impossible. If you look at the last 30 years, exactly one team won a title without a top 15 all time player, the 04 pistons. The next worst guy is probably dirk or giannis, and the giannis one is obviously a joke. Kawhi probably isn’t a top 15 guy either but they won only because of injury. If you can consistently win 55 games and give yourself chance after chance, it’s possible you will get lucky once. If the goal is a legit run of real contention you need an all time guy
I agree with the Sengun statement. If he was a stretch 5 that would open up driving lanes. He could also operate out of the high post position like Jokic where you can run screens or slip screens with a variety of players or look for cutters. This pulls their opposing bigs out of the paint and they have to play close to Sengun in these spots.
He would be more like Jokic then I criticized the KAT-Gobert pairing last year because defensively I found it hard to see them in switching defense. How would it work? What they (T-Wolves) do is use Gobert in "Drop Coverage" and take their chances with KAT defending the 3-point line. Last time I looked (about 3 weeks ago) KAT had a Def3P% above 40% while Gobert was 0%. Denver hides Jokic in much the same way. The KAT defense of the 3-point line being an "Achilles Heel"... If a team can exploit it? *If a team has 3-point shooters that can hit 3's as they cross mid-court. *If the league implements a four point area or line. So I'm not against a drafting of Zach Edey (find another home for Steven Adams)......if I can add a Jalen Smith (over 40% from 3). Jalen Smith as insurance that Jabari Smith hasn't added 10 pounds of muscle over the off season. So we can have a "Hampton-5" lineup. I want the Rockets to have all bases covered.
Yes watch the Knicks I think the NBA might be setting up this scenario. Brunson is "Super Saiyan" now with 40-point games
We aren't competing with Minnesota as currently constructed. KAT and Gobert will be washed or retired by the time we contend for a championship. Ant, sure, but who knows what the roster around him will look like in the future. Also I give even odds that their franchise moves to the East as soon as expansion happens.
