Without major changes, what do we need to make the playoffs

[rocketsballin]

yeah i know what you're thinking [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3-eavMSBnk[/youtube]

none of us excepted the rockets to be hovering around .500 this season. they been a nice surprise. right now they are 3rd highest scoring team at 104ppg, behind thunders and spurs, and ahead of the knicks, lakers, and heat. lmao seeing our team in the mix with those i mentioned just makes me laugh

before the season, who in their right mind would say something like "derp derp rockets are gonna be a high scoring team, in the mix with the heat, thunder, lakers, knicks and spurs." lol

we're also 6th in rebounding, 6th in steals, 2nd in 3pt makes and attempts...but 1st in turnovers (dont look at the opposing team stats, you dont wanna see that).

the 2013 draft is looking to be weak according to most nba talent staff and scouts. so if we didnt make any big roster moves what needs to happen to make the playoffs?

1 - gotta find a way to keep the turnovers down. just one less from harden and asik is enough. asik's to's are way too high for his role. not entirely his fault, his teammates keep giving him bounce passes or passing it low below his waist.

2 - a consistent defensive effort for the whole game, instead of just a few spurts here and there. someone pointed out that we're a good man to man defensive team, but in transition we're terrible. a big part of that is the high turnover rate. we dont need to be elite on defense. just not a top 5 worst defense in the league.

3 - lin and harden have to co-exist and merge into beardsanity! lin got 38 and 7 vs the spurs, followed it with 3 mediocre games. lin has to stop deferring to harden and dominate the ball for most of the game. harden needs to work more off the ball.

4 - MOVE THE DAAM BALL (forgot about this)

the rockets do those things, they are playoff bound

[TMU]

Move the damn ball and we'll be half way there.

[madbucky]

1. for the coaching staff to figure out how to maximize Harden + Lin. Hint: the answer is to have to Lin initiate and Harden to play off the ball.

[carayip]

You don't want your best player off the ball. Harden is at his best and most comfortable with the ball in his hands. Lin should learn to play off the ball and hit those open jumpers if he wants to stay at this team!

[zapatasblood]

Screw the playoffs unless we can get the 4th-5th seed

[Mr. E]

Look at the first two games of the season and the games against the Knicks. Use that as a template for the 713 backcourt to coexist. It doesn't have to be one primary ballhandler - utilize both and keep the opposing team on their toes the entire game.

Sit Chandler for a couple weeks to rest up the shoulder. Take care of the problem now so that it isn't an issue in May.

Stop passing low to Asik. Throw the ball high and let him work. The low pass is killing us on TO's.

[rocketseagles07]

1) Consistent defensive effort: Once again we have a team averaging over 100 a game and giving all of that back and then some. If anything I expected Asik to impact our team more on the defensive end and less on the offensive end, that hasn't happen and we will continue to struggle until pat gets back because mook gets lost a lot especially on rotations.

2) Lin/Harden situation has to be figured out: Basically everyone already covered this. I think it's better if Lin handles the ball and Harden plays off just because I think Harden has more of a chance of being successful than LIn. I also think we need to play both of them separate from each other more often and the coaching staff needs to emphasize how important it is that Lin plays aggressive. The better he plays the higher his confidence and it's evident during the games

3) Consistent POST scoring: Honestly I doubt we see this. Patterson and Mook have played good but you can do more damage when you can play inside/out as opposed to patterson and mook roaming the perimeter and knocking down shots. I can't think of any player on our roster that could improve this RIGHT NOW but we'll see.

4) Turnovers: The best teams in the league don't turn the ball over, it's just that simple. A lot of this has to do with Harden and that leads me to my fifth point.....

5) Harden needs to develop a mid-range game: When I say develop one I'm not implying he can't shoot the ball from mid-range he just doesn't do it often. Everything with him is a 3 ball or driving to the hoop and against the better defensive teams it hasn't worked all the time. All of the great sg's have a good mid-range game. Even players like Russell Westbrook(I know he's a point) can stop and hit that mid-range jumper and he's not a great shooter. With Harden's penetrating ability, if he could get some consistent moves in the mid-range area and attempt more shots there he could be unstoppable...

[phoenixx]

Play good defense.

[Tim Horton]

and have fun

[jwise44]

it would be cool to see us in the playoffs again, but unless we are above the 8th seed i don't want to be there

i would rather our pick than 4 games getting blown out by the thunder....and i would rather it be a pick lower than 13

[rocketsballin]

they should have a meeting between the lin, harden, and the coaching staff. they gotta figure this out somehow

[LarsV8]

As is they will be fighting for the 8th seed.

Should move Lin/Patterson for Williams/Milsap which is a good short term and long term move.

[madbucky]

You don't want your best player off the ball.

So the Knicks should be having Carmelo play point forward? That's what D'Antoni tried at the beginning of the season last year when Baron Davis was out. It didn't work at all.

Harden is at his best and most comfortable with the ball in his hands. Lin should learn to play off the ball and hit those open jumpers if he wants to stay at this team!

That's the old way and the approach that the Rockets coaching staff has been taking this year, and where has that gotten us?

Old thinking says to focus on your weakness and spend your time and effort improving your weakness. New thinking says to focus on and maximize your strengths... understand and minimize your weaknesses. There are lots of bestselling books these days about this concept. And it makes perfect sense, in fact it's basic economics that total production will be greater when each entity produces what they're best at and then trade.

I'm not saying take the ball entirely out of Harden's hands and turn Harden into a spot up shooter. Just to maximize each player's natural talents, and let them work on their weaknesses gradually.

[BaYBaller]

We're going to be in playoff contention for most of the season most likely anyway, so IMO it is much better to get this young team some playoff experience than to have a slightly higher draft pick. Honestly if we just cut down on the TOs and improve our transition defense we probably have a good shot.

And seriously I don't know why people keep talking about Lin/Harden ball/off-ball cr@p. Do people really think NBA offensive schemes are this simple?

[kam_soluusar]

As is they will be fighting for the 8th seed.

Should move Lin/Patterson for Williams/Milsap which is a good short term and long term move.

Can't be done. They are Utah, therefore they are tainted. That poison will spread through the team, will eventually effect the local community, and well, that will start the zombie apocalypse. And then the world is screwed!!!!!!

[spaceballer]

it would be cool to see us in the playoffs again, but unless we are above the 8th seed i don't want to be there

i would rather our pick than 4 games getting blown out by the thunder....and i would rather it be a pick lower than 13

You guys traded your pick away (top 14 protected till 2017, to become 2nd round thereafter). So unless you intend to stay in the lottery and suck for the next 4 years, Atlanta is getting your first round pick at some point. The sooner you make the playoffs, the sooner you finish your obligation to Atlanta. Until you do that, you are not allowed to use your 1st pick pick in any future trades (unless it's a draft day trade and you know you're in the lottery and can keep it), since it conditionally belongs to Atlanta for the next several years. That means if a big opportunity like a Harden-type trade comes up suddenly, you're not allowed to use any of your future 1st round picks in the trade package. To regain that flexibility and the use of your pick in a trade, you need to make the playoffs (even if it's an 8th seed) and satisfy your obligation to Atlanta (or whoever they trade your pick to).

[jwise44]

I knew we owed our pick to atl if we made the playoffs and I was thinking it would be nice to get another young prospect hopefully in the 10-12 range..its always fun to have a rookie to cheer for

But I never thought of it that way spaceballer..very good point

[inquisitive]

keep feeding Asik and Smith the ball down low....Harden needs to be a playmaker first and then scorer 2nd...

[Mr. E]

spaceballer is right.

I'd rather convey the pick this year and get our flexibility back for the future.

[M4P]

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1210222

about half of the GB (me included) thought we would be .500 or better so haha!

If we can upgrade our PF position then we should be able to fight for the 6th seed. Might also need a more capable backup wing with size because of Derpino.