Houston are LEGIT!!!

[reamily]

There's a possibility that reed sheppard be the best player of this team base on potential..for amen play making still a concern as he is a recipient of hockey passes from his team mates..look at the sacramento game where kings back court expose him and green..

[hauntedcomputer]

Looks good now but when you suddenly pay Green/Sengun $70 million instead of $17 million, what are you gonna do? I guess you get rid of FVV but then you need a point guard. The rise is not the challenge-- it is when your young core gets paid.

[lethalizer]

I think "won against" would be a better thread title compared to "dismantled" when they have won those three games by 7 points combined, but that's just me.

Moving that aside, this Houston team is fun to watch with their grit and grind style. Offense is just "whatever goes for that night" and that might be a problem later on, but watching them on defense is so satisfying. Especially Amen flying everywhere.

[hardenASG13]

There's a possibility that reed sheppard be the best player of this team base on potential..for amen play making still a concern as he is a recipient of hockey passes from his team mates..look at the sacramento game where kings back court expose him and green..

Care to explain your logic on that? Amen is a freak athlete among freak athletes, and is already showing an improved midrange/pull up game. His on ball defense has been insane lately. What has Sheppard shown to make you think that? Shooting at a good clip at Kentucky for a year? This isn't a knock on Sheppard, but Amen has some of the highest potential in the league.

[Helsbyte]

Fun team to watch but will struggle during the PO offensively. Might not get out of the first round depending on their matchup. A veteran team like the Mavs or Wolves would grind their offense down.

[Celts17Pride]

It took 10 three pointers made from Dillon Brooks with DWhite, Horford and Hauser all out for the Celtics for the Rockets to pull out a 2 point win against the Celtics. I give Houston 100% credit but I wouldn't use the word "dismantle".

[JRoy]

Very promising.

It starts getting tough when a team has to sign all that young talent to non-rookie scale contracts.

[Moahst]

I'm very interested to see this team in the playoffs. As Rockets fans we've spent the last 10 years watching the Harden iso offense fall apart in the playoffs. Now we have a tenacious defensive identity and an unserious offense. I feel like this is a better formula for success. Eventually talent can be consolidated to give the offense a focal point.

[jasonxxx102]

Yea I think they are a really fun and really good team. I love the suggestion of swapping Green for Lavine, I think that would improve the offense tremendously.

They are really going to struggle in the playoffs in the halfcourt on offense when the game slows down. They are definitely a piece away from being a legit title contender.

[toooskies]

Houston's a good team. They're 2nd in the West for a reason. Do not read the below as me making excuses.

Houston was better than Cleveland on each of those individual nights. Mobley was out for one of those games and not himself for the second in his first game back from injury, and Cleveland had to play a game in between those Houston matchups while Houston didn't. The Cavs were also missing Okoro and LeVert, which meant that the Cavs didn't have the length to contest many 3-point shots.

Houston shot 44%, 46%, and 41% from three in those games. They are a 34% three-point shooting team on the season. Did Houston figure something out as a team, or are they just on a hot streak that could fade at any moment? How reliably does Dillon Brooks go 10/15 from three?

[jasonxxx102]

Houston's a good team. They're 2nd in the West for a reason. Do not read the below as me making excuses.

Houston was better than Cleveland on each of those individual nights. Mobley was out for one of those games and not himself for the second in his first game back from injury, and Cleveland had to play a game in between those Houston matchups while Houston didn't. The Cavs were also missing Okoro and LeVert, which meant that the Cavs didn't have the length to contest many 3-point shots.

Houston shot 44%, 46%, and 41% from three in those games. They are a 34% three-point shooting team on the season. Did Houston figure something out as a team, or are they just on a hot streak that could fade at any moment? How reliably does Dillon Brooks go 10/15 from three?

and without Dean Wade in the 2nd matchup

[ryan in Maine]

Drug test Brooks lmao

[Shock Defeat]

Eventually a disgrunted superstar is going to see how good this team play and that's when Rafael Stone is going to pounce. Good position to be in.

If Jimmy Butler were 6 years younger he'd be a scary addition to that team

[cgf]

Not sure dismantled is the word you meant given that their average win margin was just 2 1/3rd pts. But the rockets are having a really good season.

[ocelot17]

Eventually a disgrunted superstar is going to see how good this team play and that's when Rafael Stone is going to pounce. Good position to be in.

Anthony Edwards this offseason.

[HumbleRen]

Amen is my favourite player in the league at this point.

A modern day Shawn Marion. What a joy to watch.

[Jadoogar]

Amen Thompson was a home run draft pick. He's going to be a star.

[cgf]

Yea I think they are a really fun and really good team. I love the suggestion of swapping Green for Lavine, I think that would improve the offense tremendously.

They are really going to struggle in the playoffs in the halfcourt on offense when the game slows down. They are definitely a piece away from being a legit title contender.

My problem with that idea is…despite some of my fellow Knicks fans accusing me of being Lavine’s agent for how often I ended up having to defend him on our board…that Zach is a bad decision maker in crunch time and in the playoffs Houston’s going to need a closer who they can just give the ball to & ask to win them the game.

Green could still figure things out enough to be that guy for them…whereas with Lavine we know he’s not that guy. He’s a great 3rd best player / 2nd option when healthy, but he makes too many ridiculous decisions to be the guy down the stretch unless he’s just unconsciously hot & it doesn’t matter if he’s chucking up garbage.

[infinite11285]

Jan 22 - Houston 109 - Cleveland 108

Jan 25 - Houston 135 - Cleveland 131

Jan 27 - Houston 114 - Boston 112

Now Boston did destroy Houston not too long ago, but it needs to be mentioned, Houston did not have Amen Thompson and Tari Eason to play that night.

Amen Thompson has broken out, it seems like Houston has likely solidified that their 2 franchise pieces are Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson. Fred Vanvleet is the perfect veteran PG to play between these two. Plays great defense, stretches the floor, gets the job done. The key here is that Freddy can stretch the floor, but here's the scary thing. Houston just selected a guy #3 overall (oh look Brooklyn's pick!) that is an undersized PG like Fred, and projects to be an EVEN BETTER SHOOTER. That's why I think Reed Sheppard is here to stay in Houston and he will get worked into the rotation slowly.

Ime Udoka has proven now that he is capable of developing players as Amen has now broken out under him.

So I'd hazard a guess that Houston eventually moves Reed Sheppard to their starting 1 and with Tari Eason and Amen Thompson guarding the perimeter and Dillon Brooks being the tough enforcer, what lack of defensive ability Sheppard has, it won't matter in this team. Sengun was not good defensively either and now he's a starter on an elite defensive team because this roster construction and drafting is all time great.

Then there's Jabari Smith Jr. This is a guy that Houston did select #3 overall a few years ago. If he is willing to accept that he is not a star, but a role player, he has a place on this team moving forward. The physical size, defense, and shooting will get him a spot in Udoka's lineup.

Jalen Green is the most curious piece here, does it really make sense to have someone like him on this team? You know who I would really like to see in Jalen Green's place? Someone that's young and WAAAAY more efficient and that's why I wonder if Zach LaVine could be a really good fit in Houston as the hyper efficient scoring machine to upgrade where Jalen Green is. I guarantee Chicago would be very happy taking Green in return.

Merged

[cgf]

Eventually a disgrunted superstar is going to see how good this team play and that's when Rafael Stone is going to pounce. Good position to be in.

If Jimmy Butler were 6 years younger he'd be a scary addition to that team

Yeah. If they could get him for cheap enough, I’d roll those dice in there shoes, even with present Jimmy. He could coast enough on that team to still go Himmy once the playoffs start…especially with him wanting to prove he’s worth that last pay day.