The harden steals were ariza like heads up plays in game 3. No the rockets are not better without ariza. Shumpert and house didn't necessarily upgrade the team from last year IMO The moves made by management compensated only for lost personnel but not necessarily better.
Shumpert hasn't done nothing since leaving Cleveland except warm the bench :/ Has shumpert seen game action with this team? :/
I would do exactly that. But for 3 things. 3. I like basketball too much. I'll be watching all the games even after we're gone. 2. I'm always hoping for a miracle. Even if we win a championship and it's tainted by injury to our opponent. I'll take it. Don't like to see any players get hurt. But it's part of the game. 1. The Rockets are my team. I die with them. I don't jump ship just because I know it's going down. I'm always hoping for a miracle. K?
Why don't you be a bit more rational then? I once wrote a thread on here during the Yao-Mac era that we had too many scrubs to win a ring and got blasted for it. But I was right. I've been watching basketball for well over 30 years, and I watch a lot of ball. And I am going to tell you - you say a lot of stuff that is just plain wrong. And while GS is the favorite, the Rockets have enough firepower to upset them and they know it. It doesn't take a miracle or an injury to beat them. It just will take us playing at our best, and that's in the realm of possibility. Ariza and Luc were not key cogs last year. Ariza was big time in one of the games yes, but again, our switching style meant he wasn't guarding Durant that much of the time as you think. Instead we have House who is long and athletic - more so than Ariza. Rivers is also a good defender. And Faried is not as bad as I expected. All of them are an upgrade over Joe Johnson and Ryan Anderson. And offensively, we are better. Harden is a better player. Paul is just beginning to return to form at the right time. Gordon is playing better on both ends. Rivers, Austin, and Green are hitting threes. Tucker is the same as last year. This is a very dangerous team we have.
I am still very appreciative how Ariza outperformed Parsons here for half the price, but... we just need a better version of Ariza replacements than what was provided in last year's Game 7:
Ariza gave us an extra wing defender to take the load off of PJ which is key against the warriors who have so many guys he could be effective against due to his wingspan and good b-ball IQ. It won’t take a miracle but warriors are heavy favorites for a reason. They are as good or better than last year. (Extra rotation players in bogut and iguodala, also looney is slightly improved.) none of the players they lost were playable against Houston in the first place. Meanwhile we may be slightly better than last year in depth, but ariza is more effective against the warriors than any of the individual players we acquired this year.
This is fantasy that Ariza was somehow this elite defender: https://www.forbes.com/sites/rahath...ston-rockets-value-trevor-ariza/#63464fb17e53
Great post, SL42. I would argue that this particular Rockets team doesn't even have to be at our very best to beat this year's Warriors, who have shown a distinct talent for self-implosion that they lacked in recent years. They can be blindingly great at times, but it's also likely they'll melt down at the wrong time, especially against a team prepared, mentally and roster-wise, to go toe-to-toe with them. It seems almost absurd to say, but the Warriors were a much better team before they added Durant. They tempted the fates by taking a perfectly running Ferrari and sticking a Lamborghini engine in it, and have had mixed results since. Two titles in three years would be great for most franchises, but they've averaged three fewer wins a year with KD than in the three years before he arrived (despite one of those years being a 51-win Mark Jackson team). While they did an admirable job of adding an elite player to an existing mini-dynasty, bringing another superstar ego into the mix has caused just enough friction to make them unpredictable, chemistry-wise. These guys can absolutely be beaten, just like they would have been beaten last year if not for a fluke injury.
I've never said nor do I think Ariza was guarding Durant much of the time. Another manufactured claim by you. What I have said is Ariza and Luc gave us the ability to switch everybody and SPREAD THE WARRIORS OUT on the other end. You are flat wrong on a whole bunch of stuff.
Luc wasn't serviceable in the playoffs last year and was sitting on the bench with a bum shoulder. Ariza was a net negative on defense last year (ranked 17th of NBA small forwards) and shot 33% from the arc in the post season - and he couldn't drive or ball handle... House is outperforming Ariza on both ends of the court. So your argument hold NO WATER. House is an upgrade over Ariza - anyone can see that but you. And Rivers/Faried/Imam are an upgrade over Anderson/Johnson/Luc with bum shoulder. Why are you trying to deny this? Both the data and the smell test both say your argument is poop.
House is an offensive upgrade to Ariza. He is not a defensive upgrade to Ariza. If we were just playing offense, then I'd say a 5-man combo of Harden/Paul/Ego/Pj/House....would be crazy good against the Warriors. I like all those matchups. But you gotta play both ends. And that's where House isn't going to work.
