Around the NBA III

[Sleepy51]

Not sure Houston's problem is Morey at all. He built a team that made the conference finals last year. He built a team that was a credible contender until we ruined the league for everyone. Are the Spurs gonna have to "hold Buford accountable" when we blow their doors off this year? If the league keeps writing off everyone that the Warriors break there's gonna be no one left for us to play. Only one team gets to be the Warriors. Everyone else has to play the hand they've been dealt. Morey will take it apart in the summer and most likely rebuild another really good also ran on it's ashes. That's probably where other teams expectations should be set until Curry retires.

[old rem]

Godzilla did tend to stomp the competition.. but Nobody is perfect. Harden..... SCORES. Is also a No Defense ball hog. How's that working?

[Left*My*Heart]

Not sure Houston's problem is Morey at all. He built a team that made the conference finals last year. He built a team that was a credible contender until we ruined the league for everyone. Are the Spurs gonna have to "hold Buford accountable" when we blow their doors off this year? If the league keeps writing off everyone that the Warriors break there's gonna be no one left for us to play. Only one team gets to be the Warriors. Everyone else has to play the hand they've been dealt. Morey will take it apart in the summer and most likely rebuild another really good also ran on it's ashes. That's probably where other teams expectations should be set until Curry retires.

There isn't any comparison between what Buford has done with the Spurs and what Morey has down with the Rockets. I don't think Morey is a bad GM, but he isn't a good GM either. Up until last season, his Rocket teams won one playoff series. Yes, they got to the conference finals last season, but they are setting themselves up for another season of not winning a playoff series, if they even make the playoffs. Morey built this team and with all of his cutting edge analytics, has put together an ill fitting team. He tried trading Dwight, because he is afraid he is going to get nothing for him this off season, when the player he should be finding a new home for is secure in Hardin.

I found it funny when Pop said he was glad Buford wasn't waiting for him in the locker room after the Warriors blew them out.

I also understand what Golden State is doing to the league and they are responsible for getting coaches fired. I just think a GM, who thinks he is great and gives you ho-hum results, should be held accountable. McHale was fired for under performing, why not Morey? (I'm not a fan of McHale by the way)

I think he should be fired, if they don't make the playoffs. However, I would prefer Houston to continue with Morey, one less team to worry about.

[Sleepy51]

So they didn't win a playoff series ... until they did ... and then went to the conference finals. Morey built a very good roster that achieved at almost the highest level. That's not a ho-hum result. Specific to the GM's work product, Houston has been better off than the vast majority of NBA franchises for the vast majority of his tenure.

If Morey is ho hum, who you gonna go hire that's gonna be better?

[Mylie10]

Houston's problem seems to be the enigma that is James Harden. He is just so ball dominant on offense, which wins the lots of games. But defensively he's a train wreck. Which sucks for them because he could be a good defender. He just doesn't seem to care enough.

[Mylie10]

Here's a Morey article in regards to him and the situation in Houston.

http://www.sbnation.com/2016/2/19/11059338/daryl-morey-rockets-geiuns-dwight-howard-trade-rumors

[Coxy]

Houston's problem seems to be the enigma that is James Harden. He is just so ball dominant on offense, which wins the lots of games. But defensively he's a train wreck. Which sucks for them because he could be a good defender. He just doesn't seem to care enough.

Harden doesn't give a rats ass about defence, he really doesn't. There's an article out there p[pointing out an entire games worth of Hardens defence, and offence for that matter, where Harden just takes the majority of plays off. On D, he just lets players cut behind him, he leaves corner 3 pnt shooters open cause he's hunting for stat pad rebounds and doesn't even try to fight through screens. On offence, if he doesn't have the ball in hand, he mostly stands pat waiting for the chance to get the ball so he can pound the hardwood with it.

Harden is my all time worst basketball star player. The absolute epitome of selfish, disgusting basketball that is driven to pad stats and glorify his own agenda.

[Quazza]

Houston's problem seems to be the enigma that is James Harden. He is just so ball dominant on offense, which wins the lots of games. But defensively he's a train wreck. Which sucks for them because he could be a good defender. He just doesn't seem to care enough.

Harden doesn't give a rats ass about defence, he really doesn't. There's an article out there p[pointing out an entire games worth of Hardens defence, and offence for that matter, where Harden just takes the majority of plays off. On D, he just lets players cut behind him, he leaves corner 3 pnt shooters open cause he's hunting for stat pad rebounds and doesn't even try to fight through screens. On offence, if he doesn't have the ball in hand, he mostly stands pat waiting for the chance to get the ball so he can pound the hardwood with it.

Harden is my all time worst basketball star player. The absolute epitome of selfish, disgusting basketball that is driven to pad stats and glorify his own agenda.

I have him in my fantasy side. he slays and and I hate every **** second of it

There's not a player in the league I hate watching more

[Coxy]

Houston's problem seems to be the enigma that is James Harden. He is just so ball dominant on offense, which wins the lots of games. But defensively he's a train wreck. Which sucks for them because he could be a good defender. He just doesn't seem to care enough.

Harden doesn't give a rats ass about defence, he really doesn't. There's an article out there p[pointing out an entire games worth of Hardens defence, and offence for that matter, where Harden just takes the majority of plays off. On D, he just lets players cut behind him, he leaves corner 3 pnt shooters open cause he's hunting for stat pad rebounds and doesn't even try to fight through screens. On offence, if he doesn't have the ball in hand, he mostly stands pat waiting for the chance to get the ball so he can pound the hardwood with it.

Harden is my all time worst basketball star player. The absolute epitome of selfish, disgusting basketball that is driven to pad stats and glorify his own agenda.

I have him in my fantasy side. he slays and and I hate every **** second of it

There's not a player in the league I hate watching more

Yep.

He's made me hundreds through Sportsbet this season, so he does have his upside I guess.

[turk3d]

AD going off on Drummond: 59 and 20.

[Coxy]

AD going off on Drummond: 59 and 20.

Very much wow.

Never knew he had it in him. I still think he's overrated.

[Left*My*Heart]

So they didn't win a playoff series ... until they did ... and then went to the conference finals. Morey built a very good roster that achieved at almost the highest level. That's not a ho-hum result. Specific to the GM's work product, Houston has been better off than the vast majority of NBA franchises for the vast majority of his tenure.

If Morey is ho hum, who you gonna go hire that's gonna be better?

I think Morey has put together an excellent team on paper, without regards to how the fit together on the court. There is a different expectation for a Houston team, that was projected to be one of the best teams in the West, than the majority of teams in the league. Those expectations forced McHale out and IMO that in time, it will force Morey out.

I agree if you look at the NBA as a whole, that Morey would be viewed upon as a solid GM. If you are the owner of the Rockets, you can't be happy with the results. Yes, they played in the West conference finals, but they are more likely to miss the playoffs this season than repeat that feat.

Maybe my expectations were too high for Houston, when the signed Howard?

[Left*My*Heart]

AD going off on Drummond: 59 and 20.

Very impressive for a guy who didn't have lot of offensive skills prior to coming to the NBA.

[Sleepy51]

So they didn't win a playoff series ... until they did ... and then went to the conference finals. Morey built a very good roster that achieved at almost the highest level. That's not a ho-hum result. Specific to the GM's work product, Houston has been better off than the vast majority of NBA franchises for the vast majority of his tenure.

If Morey is ho hum, who you gonna go hire that's gonna be better?

I think Morey has put together an excellent team on paper, without regards to how the fit together on the court.

But didn't it fit together on the court well enough to make the conference finals?

Morley has become a lightning. Reactionary anti analytics old guard because he has been at the forefront. He has talked analytics publicly and at Sloan and he makes people like Barkley feel stupid because they are scared of facts and math. His actual work product as GM of the rockets has been quite good. The fit was fine until McHale hurt Harden's feeling by benching him to win a vital playoff game.no one was trying to punch holes in the Rockets roster with "fit" until Harden's little sulky mutiny.

[Coxy]

How very awkward for an already dysfunctional locker room in Houston.

"Welcome back Donatas and Marcus, we didn't really want to trade you guys to Detroit so we are glad Monte's back resembles Swiss cheese!" - Morey.

[Left*My*Heart]

So they didn't win a playoff series ... until they did ... and then went to the conference finals. Morey built a very good roster that achieved at almost the highest level. That's not a ho-hum result. Specific to the GM's work product, Houston has been better off than the vast majority of NBA franchises for the vast majority of his tenure.

If Morey is ho hum, who you gonna go hire that's gonna be better?

I think Morey has put together an excellent team on paper, without regards to how the fit together on the court.

But didn't it fit together on the court well enough to make the conference finals?

Morley has become a lightning. Reactionary anti analytics old guard because he has been at the forefront. He has talked analytics publicly and at Sloan and he makes people like Barkley feel stupid because they are scared of facts and math. His actual work product as GM of the rockets has been quite good. The fit was fine until McHale hurt Harden's feeling by benching him to win a vital playoff game.no one was trying to punch holes in the Rockets roster with "fit" until Harden's little sulky mutiny.

There is no doubt that Morey was the cutting edge guy when it came to analytics. He truly is a brilliant basketball mind. He has put together a team that was expected to be one of top 5 teams in the NBA. The team is underachieving and that cost McHale his job. As you pointed out, McHale benched Hardin to win a critical game. That is where analytics do come in, Houston is actually better this season, with Hardin on the bench. His offensive efficiency is down and he has never been a good defender, so he starts to hurt your team when he isn't scoring efficiently. Houston is actually better with Howard on the court, than with Hardin.

So from a truly analytic standpoint, wouldn't you try to move Hardin and build around Howard? I don't think you build around either and that is where Morey is today. There are real issues surrounding an extremely talented and extremely selfish and sensitive player in Hardin. They may lose Howard for nothing. I think Howard is on a steep decline. I think Morey has painted himself into a corner by possible ignoring the human side of his players.

I have no horse in this race. I really can care less about what Houston does. As a fan of basketball and an admitted late comer to analytics, I follow Morey. I was curious to see who he went after in free agency, draft picks etc. What trades he made or attempted. I wasn't following him to see him fail or be his critic, but more a case of I wish the Warriors had a GM like him who was so well regarded around the league. Morey now puzzles me. I struggle with a lot of his decisions, that don't appear to be analytic driven, but old school philosophy of having at least 3 stars on your team, regardless of how the fit. His pursuit of Carmelo for instance. I like Carmelo, but you already have one ball stopper and now you are adding another? Where does that leave touches for Howard? What offense are you going to run? Was McHale capable of coaching 3 very difficult personalities? There is more to the game than putting together 3 stars and some scrubs and then expecting them to win a championship.

I think the Warriors now have the best analytic team in the league. I never thought I would say that, but Kirk Lacob IMO is the man when it comes to understanding analytics and the Warriors' organization for adding the personal/chemistry side to it. Granted, the draft is where the Warriors made their mark, however I'm sure analytics played a part in who they drafted. They now have a formula of what fits and what they are looking for. They have left the league behind with their playing a style that takes full advantage of today's rules. They have added pieces that fit that mode of being able to play multiple positions and are typically bigger than their earmarked positions.

[Left*My*Heart]

AD going off on Drummond: 59 and 20.

They are saying AD's performance was in the top 10 of all time.

[RSCD3_]

AD going off on Drummond: 59 and 20.

They are saying AD's performance was in the top 10 of all time.

Well it was the 6th highest game score since 84 ( when bballref starts to track it )

[Coxy]

AD going off on Drummond: 59 and 20.

They are saying AD's performance was in the top 10 of all time.

Just a regular day out for Wilt. He almost averaged this for a season.

[510TWSS]

AD going off on Drummond: 59 and 20.

They are saying AD's performance was in the top 10 of all time.

Just a regular day out for Wilt. He almost averaged this for a season.

Then AD and the Pels get destroyed at Washington by 20. He had 9 Pts and 20 Rebs on 3/9 shooting. At least he kept the rebounding consistent. lol