Rockets weren’t winning anything with a supporting cast featuring low BBIQ Wall who can’t shoot, Wood, and a bunch of weak shooting role players, so I think this tweet is dumb
the Rockets weren’t gonna win a damn thing for sure with Russ still on the team, I can guarantee that...so if this tweet was referring to a Harden-Russ squad, I’d think it’s even dumber Russ shot 33% from the field and 25% from 3 these playoffs his shooting splits the past 5 playoff runs 39/27/80 40/36/83 36/32/89 42/24/53 33/25/79 u are not winning anything with that the Lakers weren’t the only team capable of successfully trapping or doubling Harden at halfcourt and leaving it up to Russ to make decisions, then the rest of the supporting cast would be out there hoisting up threes on mediocre percentages...the Rockets weren’t gonna do anything this year...only reason we squeaked by OKC in 7 last year is because their offense was horrific and we were able to successfully play off Dort and not even have to worry about guarding him until game 7
In his defense look at Russ during the season before the injury. He finally had adapted when we played 4 out and carried us and did it in efficient fashion. After covid and injuries, he lost us in the playoffs. but if we got mid season russ and 4 out maybe hes better. obviously come playoff time its tougher but i would've at least liked to see that. But in any case we downgraded each time From paul down to Westbrook, tfrom westbrook down to wall whose now has played 40 or so games in 3 years total at 31, furthermore looking at in an asset point of view. The right move was always keeping cp3, but even westbrook might havea small trade market this summer, wall is close to hopeless unless we trade some sigficant assets with him
at this point, we gotta throw out anything Russ does for a 1 or 2 month stretch during the regular season Russ post-ASB this year: 24, 13, and 13 on 45/33/70 shooting splits with multiple MONSTER games...in the playoffs when things get serious and the games really matter: same ol’ horrific play...dude went 3-19 in game 4, and 7-20 in game 5 finishing these playoffs 10-39 from the field...u simply can not win with that in 18-19: 45% from the field and 34% from 3 post-ASB In the playoffs that year? 36% from the field taking 22 shots a game
Russ carried the rockets in the second half of the season while harden was getting doubled. Russ just happened to sprain his quad before the playoff. but russ is better than wall tho...
Its usualyl not as random as a 1-2 months. It seems last 3 years hes started slow, gotten his groove and then rocked out the rest of the year mid season on. He did that in houston. Then after injuries wassn't the same. He started that in washington finished it out and they were just overmatched by a better team and he didn't have any magic, he failed in the playoffs. I agree, you can't win with the way he showed out in the playoffs, but I still think a better suited roster and a 4 out doesn't remove hope that he can at least do better in the playoffs. ITs a ashame we ddint see a healthy russ in houston in hte playoffs bc he was killign it and was finally letting go of his pull up 3 game when the roster complemented that. It is what it is. I agree with the wall trade bc we got a protected pick, something, and that theres no way with russ we're sniffing the worst team in the league. He is one of the elite floor raisers even with his failings in the playoffs. so didn't fit us at all I'm just not going to sweep with a broad brush and apprecaite some of the good along with the bad of westbrook.
I agree in someways. We have too many knee jerk reacitons. Many were screaming paul was terrible and we needed to be saved from his contrat and the tune chagnes from year to year. There are so many variables. So If we just respected the team building like the spurs, paiad our bird rights for ariza, who was a glue guy and helped locker room of Paul and Harden and kept building on that we'd still be in that window. 18 we were one game form the finals. 19 we watered down our team, let go of our depth and that began the first domino to what happened to be the splashy westbrook trade. By then our depth is gone, our glue guys are lacking and we're hoping for luck. If we stayed on course, built on all our assets in the first place. Don't forget in 18, we had bird rights to all our players to bring back to trade keep, build as assets, we had several picks that we ended up using to get under the cap, we had TPE over 10 million to play with, we had the MLE that we ignored....we essentially ignored all of that, went cost cutting and doing gymnastics to save money, that was the first domino way before the westbrook trade. What could've beene, and now harden and MDA are in brooklyn still in the playoffs with a team taht spends big at every front. Tucker is playing them with the bucks in a team that spends big. Westbrook was even in the playoffs. Cp3 is moving to the 2nd round. Rockets spent the year as the worst team in the league, we are hoping 52 percent works in our favor that we can actually see the fruits of our labor with a top pick like most terrible teams.
his pattern ever since KD left is that he plays much better for a few months after the ASB, and then is complete garbage in the playoffs his TS% has increased anywhere from 2-5% post-ASB every single year, and then nosedives in the postseason to horrific levels if he didn’t get hurt in the bubble, he wouldn’t be as garbage as he was, but I bet he’d still be subpar, and his lack of shooting and low BBIQ would still doom the team there’s a few good things about Russ, but at the end of the day, if you’re talking about trying to win a championship or go far in the playoffs, he absolutely kills u
No I agree, theres no way his game works for the playoffs. My only hope is that he changed his game with the rocket for that 2nd half in a way that he hadn't for any other team .Even wizards russ tahat carried them into playoffs from lottery was still shooting dumb shots and doing the frustrating things. but rockets russ before injury was ignoring the 3s and just going all inside all the teim. he wasn't getting his triple doubles, but he was averaging 32-8-7 on a 50 percent clip and taking less dumb shots. the focus is on the less dumb shots that maybe we would've had hope with him and harden. Its a hope, thats all
lol what a stupid tweet. Tilman gave up on it a long time ago when he traded cp3. talk about being completely lost And now they will never be as close for a very long time
Wall was an Allstar reserve in the lower East in his prime. That says it all. There is no reason to mention Wall at all here. (I mean we are not Washington yet there are still ppl who overrates him and have high hopes.)
Exactly. Tell me about any Rockets pivot time period and I’ll always mention that moment where I was at happy hour and got the Woj tweet that the Rockets didn’t just trade for Westbrook, but gave up the farm in the process. I cussed and threw a huge fit and everyone in that Dallas bar thought there was something wrong with me. If the Rockets miss out of a top 5 pick this year... it’s the Westbrook trade. The Rockets not still having a second star player to at least carry the team for periods after the Harden trade... it’s the Westbrook trade. If in 2024 the Rockets again lose their top 5 pick... it’s the Westbrook trade. The Rockets killed their window much much longer than 4 months ago. They killed it July of 2019.
