2018 Houston Rockets Offseason Thread

[A Tribe Called Quest ™]

It can work. Melo as a 3rd option and PnR player with CP3 or Harden is better than any 3rd option we had last year, outside of hand spooned lobs to Capela.

Before Melo, any switch by the defense meant that CP3 or Harden had to hold the ball and go iso on the switch, but with someone like Melo you can throw him the ball to post or shoot over whichever point guard had to switch onto him during the CP3/Melo PnR. That means less workload for CP3 having to dribble dance, and less tasking on Melo having to iso against bigger or similar sized defenders.

As long as Melo can learn how to switch everything/not get lost on the switches on our own defensive end, Melo can be a positive. Assuming he can still score on mismatches that are skewed in his favor.

Gordon>Melo

 

[Primetime]

Gordon>Melo

Last year sure, we'll see what CP3 does with Melo as our 3rd option this year

 

[Mike_Pipeson]

James Ennis replaced Aiza and Carmelo replaced Luc.

That's honestly not bad at all. If CP3 can't work magic on Melo, then that's stll
Paul, Harden, Ennis, Tucker, Clint / Eric, Green, MCW, which is comparable to last years team minus still needing a replacement for Luc. I'm at peace with the gamble, esp if Ennis is truly as comparable to Ariza as we've heard

As long as Boomhower can let off the gas at the end of the season (this is assuming San Antonio only gets a little better DeRozan) and keep CP3 and EG fresh. shyt, if we can't get rid of Anderson and he at least becomes half the player he used to be, that will open of the floor a lot off the bench as well.

 

[FaTaL]

View media item 13026

 

[Primetime]

As long as Boomhower can let off the gas at the end of the season (this is assuming San Antonio only gets a little better DeRozan) and keep CP3 and EG fresh. shyt, if we can't get rid of Anderson and he at least becomes half the player he used to be, that will open of the floor a lot off the bench as well.

Facts. Part of me worries that we may once again be too caught with getting home court advantage, even tho we showed we were more than capable of taking 2 on the road vs GSW (i still believe we route them in game 6 with CP3). It'll be a 2 team race between us and the GSW, and will likely come down to which team goes through the least nagging injuries. But like you said, SAS could be a pain in the ass if they keep it close.

We gotta keep CP3 fresh and healthy at all costs. I don't expect MCW to be great but i hope he's solid enough just facilitating and playing defense to where we really don't have to play Paul extended minutes vs the trash to mediocre teams. shyt like that is key. Even if Anderson is trash in the playoffs, if he's at least decent in the regular season, every little bit helps.

 

[Mike_Pipeson]

Facts. Part of me worries that we may once again be too caught with getting home court advantage, even tho we showed we were more than capable of taking 2 on the road vs GSW (i still believe we route them in game 6 with CP3). It'll be a 2 team race between us and the GSW, and will likely come down to which team goes through the least nagging injuries. But like you said, SAS could be a pain in the ass if they keep it close.

We gotta keep CP3 fresh and healthy at all costs. I don't expect MCW to be great but i hope he's solid enough just facilitating and playing defense to where we really don't have to play Paul extended minutes vs the trash to mediocre teams. shyt like that is key. Even if Anderson is trash in the playoffs, if he's at least decent in the regular season, every little bit helps.

Besides our forward issue, what we gonna do about our backup big? Nene old af and wasn't used AT ALL like we used him until he got hurt the previous year. Black too iffy with scoring as well. Joe Cheese getting faster and more fluid but he still 25lbs away

 

[Primetime]

Besides our forward issue, what we gonna do about our backup big? Nene old af and wasn't used AT ALL like we used him until he got hurt the previous year. Black too iffy with scoring as well. Joe Cheese getting faster and more fluid but he still 25lbs away

That's our other big question mark that isn't talked about as much as it should. Our team is waay too small without Capela, and that was before we lost Luc. We don't even need someone fancy but just a stiff who can rebound, hustle, and hit some freethrows in 10-15 minutes of work. I don't want to put all this energy in preserving CP3 only for Capela to have to play 35+ minutes a game and he ends up pulling something

I haven't been watching summer league but from what you're saying we may have to pick up something cheap bc our work in progress bigs seem to still be work in progress

 

[Primetime]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rahath...ht-move-for-the-houston-rockets/#5b2537af5e7b

Anthony had the worst season of his career last year with the Thunder. While it was expected that his overall scoring average would drop, playing next to Russell Westbrook, Anthony had the worst shooting percentage of his career at 40%. However, he shot 36% from downtown, which is around in line with his career averages.

Interestingly, Anthony shot more threes as a percentage of his overall shot chart than ever before in his career, taking 41% of his shots from beyond the arc. In 2016-2017 with New York, only 30% of Anthony's attempts were three-pointers. This probably isn't too surprising considering the fact that Anthony was not the first option on his team for the first time in his career.

88% of Anthony's three-point field goals last year were assisted upon, a figure which, while higher than Anthony's career average, was not the highest of his career. In 2008, 98% of Anthony's makes from beyond the arc were assisted. This is all to say that Anthony is tremendously comfortable as a catch-and-shoot option, most famously evidenced during his time with Team USA.

The main question pertains to his defense, which is only notable due to his inabilities. Last season, Anthony finished 73rd among all NBA power forwards in DRPM at -1.25. However, for comparison's sake, Ryan Anderson was 81st, with a DRPM of -1.96. Elite teams like even the Rockets themselves hunted out Anthony in the pick and roll, feasting on his slow-footedness. But presumably, he would be replacing Ryan Anderson in the Rockets rotation, a player he isn't any worse than on the defensive side of the court.

Even with his baggage and the issues presented due to his defense, I'm of the strong opinion that Anthony's scoring ability in the mid-range would be a boon for the team. He still shot 46% on shots taken between ten and 16 feet last season. When the threes completely dried up in Game 7 last year for Houston, they could have desperately used someone who could score from somewhere else, with Chris Paul sidelined.

 

[Primetime]

If CP3 can PnR with Anthony, get the switch, and get Anthony the ball in the ten to 16 feet range on a mismatched smaller defender... Anthony already shot 46% last year from that same range, in a less high powered offense. He also shot nearly as well as Trevor Ariza from 3 as a spot up shooter (35.7% vs 36.8%), and again in a less high powered offense.

Defensively, he's only slightly better than Ryan Anderson... which isn't saying much. But we already know teams are going to hunt him down in PnR.

Really comes down to betting on CP3 to amplify Melo's offensive production.

 

[Primetime]

 

[Ben.]

RIP

Thought this was the Melo signing thread

 

[Charlie Broadway]

Hmm that means the full mle is left. Guessing it partially goes to Melton and not sure who else. Hartenstein? Wonder if they would’ve locked in LMM with part of it if they knew Melo would take the minimum.

 

[Primetime]

Hmm that means the full mle is left. Guessing it partially goes to Melton and not sure who else. Hartenstein? Wonder if they would’ve locked in LMM with part of it if they knew Melo would take the minimum.

That's what i'm wondering. Luc seemed like he wanted to stay but we couldn't offer him anything respectable.

I also thought it'd be silly to pay Melo more than the minimum if he was going to have a buyout and still get paid most (and apparently *all*) of his 20-something million. It'd make sense for Melo and Houston to take the mininum for this 1 year rental, and use the remaining cap space to get one more quality player to boost our chances at a championship.

 

[Primetime]

Gotta hope Melo from that corner Ariza 3 works as well during the season as it does here

 

[Versa]

Gotta hope Melo from that corner Ariza 3 works as well during the season as it does here

How recent is this video?