...is the right strategy. But I guess you've got to roll the dice on something given the personnel available. And it very much is in D'Antoni's wheelhouse.

>Seems like one of the only possible strategies of beating
>them, other than crushing them inside (the tack the Pelicans
>seem to have taken).

And that's what I imagine Memphis will do as well.

>However, the only real loss in this deal is the pick; Brewer's
>plus/minus might say he's a decent defender for the Rockets
>this season, but he's one of the worse heavy-minute rotation
>players league-wide. He's a horrific long-range shooter, can't
>create a good shot for himself almost ever, has lost several
>steps defensively and takes so many chances on that end that
>he will inevitably be a defensive liability against better
>teams in the playoffs, and has even gotten significantly worse
>at his one once-elite skill, finishing in transition.
>Replacing his shots and touches with Williams's can only lead
>to higher offensive efficiency. And the Rockets have the
>league's second-best offense already, so, yeah.

Fair enough. I figured the real loss was the pick, but even in a deep draft it won't be THAT huge of a loss. It might have been nice for the team to have though rather than a few months of Williams.

>Williams will obviously not be the force in Houston that he
>was in LA, but his shooting and creative abilities against a
>defense likely sloped away from him because of Harden or
>Gordon's creation on the other side of the floor will make him
>fit fine.

I guess I see it as a move that will help them solidify where they are right now, rather than make them appreciably better.