[Deveney] Scouts, Coaches Have Their Doubts on Rockets’ Pairing of Westbrook and Harden

Nah...his rep is pretty low because he came to Houston. If he would've been traded to the Lakers instead of Davis the Lakers would be considered better than the Rockets.

 

Do these same scouts and coaches share their opinions about every NBA team?

 

Who knows? But to say definitely “they are not better than Utah and Denver” is ridiculous. Time will tell, but I see no reason to assume something like that right now.

 

Most people dont know sh#t about basketball.

 

These concerns are totally legitimate.

 

I'm so sick of talk about the Lakers. They finished 37 - 45 last season with the addition of Lebron James. The year before -- without him -- they finished 35 - 47. Now they've added Anthony Davis, who's never won anything. Oh, yeah, they added Howard. A huge difference maker there. Whoever thinks they're better than the Rockets is nuts. They're the very definition of overrated and I won't be surprised if they can't finish better than fourth or fifth..

The Rockets and Clippers are going to be the teams to beat, in my opinion.

 

If the Lakers can stay healthy they will be a tough out. Before LeBron’s injury, the Lakers were very much in the mix. I was never crazy about the Westbrook trade and the concern over fit is legitimate. Basically, either this is going to be great or the Rockets are going to blow it up.

 

There's no doubt that they aren't better than the clippers, but all this Laker love is comical. I could see Portland coming out of the gate with something to prove and slipping ahead of Houston especially if we have some growing pains to start. That's it. It's hard for me to envision 4/5 teams being in front of this one. Even if Harden and WB have ZERO synergy, and even if they were to literally play only when the other was not on the court, this team is still in a great position. What plagues this team right now is defense, and that monster won't show its ugly head until after the regular season is over, if Houston for some reason doesn't address it between now and then.

 

media conspiracy

 

I don’t think we finish 5-8. I can’t complain about the rest. A lot of us have the same concerns. Defense and defensive rebounding are huge question marks. Westbrook’s 3 point shooting and late game decision making is also a huge concern.

In 17-18 we played high level defense, we rebounded and were efficient shooting. Turnovers went down assists went up. I’m hoping we can get back to that form with Russ, and I’m hoping Thabo has some Ariza/Luc left in the tank.

If coaches and scouts are doubting the team there is only one way to prove them wrong. MDA, Morey, Russ and Harden all have their collective legacies on the line. They can shut everyone up (media included) by just winning.

 

IMHO It could be possible we are 5th or 6th. Rockets, Warriors, Nuggets, Lakers, Clippers, and Trailblazers are all good teams this year and the seeding could be a matter of a game or two. Not saying we will be bad or anything, all those teams just have that much potential for it to end close.

 

I mean the article addressed some real concerns but the certain Western conference assistant saying that all those teams are better than us is ridiculous and there's no basis for those claims.

 

Season hasn’t started and we’re already in their heads!

They’re scared......

 

rewatching harden's highlights and it seems that the man is a very smart player. I fear that rockets might drop off in production and cohesiveness if House does not come off the bench first as the 6h man of the team!

 

Bron load manages the regular season grind, and when he can't, he demands FO to blow the team up.

Yeah... This is 2014, and they'll place higher than the Rockets

 

So who is scouting their closed session pre training camps and why are they leaking?

 

I've heard this on the radio from a couple of people now. I can see why there's doubt, to be honest, so it's not as far-fetched as I wish it were that this could flop. The odd thing to me, however, is that many think the Lakers are almost a guaranteed top-3 team. They could be, but I don't see how you can't have much doubt about the latter, but doubt the Harden-Westbrook combo will work.

In my opinion, this is one hell of an unpredictable beginning to a season with all the injuries and player movement.

 

So, what’s guaranteed??? And where?..

 

I’m the only one you need to listen to:

Rockets will have you pulling your hair out during games (especially after Westbrook bricks); but have enough
skill and athleticism to win most games in the regular season. 57 wins is 65 wins a few years back since
this years West is hardcore beasting !!

 

I read the title of the thread... and thought to myself 'yep... there's gonna be some triggered folks up in here..."

lol!

I'd say we're about due for a predict how the season goes thread,,,

Personally... I'm concerned about the defense without Bzdelik... and I'm concerned about our lack of size and how that equates to rebounds and getting to the rim in crunch time...