first three paragraphs below (it's a long story, and does discuss about some of the rox defense problems and issues with fitting in t-rob). plus i'm adding one bonus graf about MIDRANGE JUMPERS!

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8989580/is-rockets-gm-daryl-morey-plan-working-houston

The Rockets Reach for Greatness
After another deadline steal, Daryl Morey's plan may finally be working.

It was only eight months ago that the perception of Daryl Morey and the Houston Rockets in some NBA circles had shifted from ahead-of-the-curve trailblazers to borderline laughingstocks who accrued little more than burned-up cell phone minutes. Dwight Howard had joined Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony on the list of superstars who had eluded the Rockets, despite iPad presentations and a nonstop flurry of gain-an-inch deals that had netted Houston some prime trade assets. By August, the Rockets had parted ways with two starting-caliber point guards, splurged on two unproven free agents in Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik, and on the surface looked like a franchise without a clear path up from mediocrity. The vultures (and critics) were circling: Perhaps Daryl Morey's approach just didn't work in real life.

Eight months later, after the stunning acquisition of Thomas Robinson � a top-five pick Houston nabbed without actually losing enough to get that high in the lottery � the Rockets are among the league's most-envied franchises. Their out-of-nowhere deal for Robinson drew a giant collective gasp around the NBA. They're 31-27 against one of the league's toughest schedules, a strong no. 4 in John Hollinger's power rankings, and a very good bet to make the playoffs for the first time since 2008-09. They have reinvented themselves around a superstar and an offensive system that represent the on-court actualization of NBA advanced stats � all 3s, free throws, and shots at the rim, accomplished at a hyper pace that makes Houston perhaps the league's most entertaining watch. "I've become a believer," says Kelvin Sampson, Houston's lead assistant. "It's fun to watch, and it's fun to coach."

Best of all: Houston should be able to carve out enough cap space this summer to make a run at any free agent, including Howard. And if they strike out again, the Rockets can simply carry over all that cap room to 2014 or 2015, both loaded with potential franchise players who might be happy to join up with James Harden. Heck, even if Houston splurges this summer on an almost-star such as Josh Smith, doing so would not necessarily prevent the team from reentering the free agency sweepstakes for a real star the following summer. "I don't think it's mutually exclusive," Morey says when asked whether spending this summer would take them out of the 2014 derby.

U LIKE MIDRANGE JUMPERS GUYS?

The results have probably been even better than expected internally: Houston is fifth in points per possession thanks mostly to a shot selection profile that represents the next phase in what teams like Orlando, San Antonio, and Denver have done over the last few seasons. Houston is second in the league in 3-point attempts, third in shots from the restricted area, first in corner 3s, and in the top 10 in free throws per shot attempt. Houston is on pace to average the fewest midrange 2-point shots in recorded NBA history, per both Hoopdata and NBA.com's stats database. It is just about the exact vision the front office and coaching staff outlined in a series of meetings that started after last season, and it's something they began to execute in the preseason � before acquiring Harden. "It started to come together in our last two preseason games, and we got really excited," Sampson says. "And then we got even more excited when we got James."1

i didn't want to steal your thunder, unlike darryl morey, who stole FROM the thunder.

----
bshelly

"You (Fisher) could get fired, Les Snead could get fired, Kevin Demoff could get fired, but I will always be Eric Dickerson.” (c) The God

you're on the right side of history.

seriously I logged back on last night after a weekend away and almost killed myself. I couldnt even find myself to post in that wasteland.

You pretty much guaranteed another day going in cirlces with the same arguments, and same cast of characters as yesterdays Harden/TP 1st team post.


We need one day or half a day on this board to be like Agenda Free Tuesdays.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

but put those two words together, and i have no idea what you mean.

----
bshelly

"You (Fisher) could get fired, Les Snead could get fired, Kevin Demoff could get fired, but I will always be Eric Dickerson.” (c) The God

We gave him another one of those Morey Dleague special deals that doesnt cost us shit if he sucks, but is great if he doesnt suck. WHo needs 14th picks (c) SPM when you just keep manipulating the system.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

only playing 15 minutes a game, but has a .57 TS%, with around 13 pts, 6 rebs, 7 assists and 2 steals per 36. shooting 40% from three too.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

I thought the Heat had a steal when they drafted him

He is one of those Chitown players that hustles without an off switch like Will Bynum but far better work ethic and dedication like D Rose. (Not saying Bynum doesn't have work ethic, just comparing him as a solid contributer off the bench who could be a starter in the league)

Sherron Collins was the opposite. So much talent but no work ethic.


I am big on T Rob and Beverley and love to see them get tick and play to their potential.


...also, the thing that stands out with Morey is he has common fuckin sense...

...from a comparison to the Bulls, when we got Boozer, we didn't HAVE to spend that max contract money at the time. There is nothing wrong with having money available to spend and being meticulous shoppers

���������������������������������������
http://s17.postimg.org/6r7bfqpnz/kyrieglass.jpg - They Call Him Mr. Glass

he'd be a stud. But dude does a bit of everything, and does it well. He keeps his mouth shut and just plays.

Since youre here giving Bev props I wont up any Rudy posts from last night lol.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

and actually I'm one of the few people who has ever bothered to defend D'Antoni's record in Phoenix, but let's not act like there's a revolution going on in Houston just yet. they still need to be better than an 8-seed before they really start crowing on the results of their different approach. they can shoot all the corner 3s they want, I'd still bank on Memphis' insanely boring brand of basketball to knock them off in 7 games.

___________________________________________________________________

Morey has correctly noted that small-ball lineups tend to improve a team's offense and hurt the defense, though the gains on offense typically outweigh the vulnerabilities on D. He sees the league evolving to a point where the curveball and fastball can switch places. "It's just math," he says. "There are a larger supply of good players who are shorter, and getting more of those guys on the floor just works." Morey admits the game slows down in the postseason as defense becomes more important, but he's convinced small ball could succeed in that environment.3



3. He points to the Mike D'Antoni�era Suns as evidence. "Phoenix won 60-plus games multiple times and was a win from the Finals," Morey says. "Every year, 10 or 15 teams playing traditionally fail to make the Finals, but we don't make them a referendum on whether that kind of system works."

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HOPE!
https://vine.co/v/i7JjIBL3Qix
https://vine.co/v/i7JtqEFwxDu

the suns won tons of games and had the best offense in the NBA. what perverted world do we reside in when those are bad things? are we pretending d'antoni didn't popularize/pioneer the 3-ball/PNR/small ball offense that so many teams are using today at a slower speed?

should knicks fans be pilloried for admiring the oakley/ewing/starks teams despite their lack of titles? should fans of the kemp/payton sonics be taunted?

FOH

oh you'd bet on the more-talented grizzlies who also have a better record? how brave!

and simply achieving offensive success via an advanced metric based offense doesn't mean that success is inherently superior to Lionel Hollins trying to reinvent the Pat Riley era Knicks.

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HOPE!
https://vine.co/v/i7JjIBL3Qix
https://vine.co/v/i7JtqEFwxDu

>and simply achieving offensive success via an advanced metric
>based offense doesn't mean that success is inherently superior
>to Lionel Hollins trying to reinvent the Pat Riley era
>Knicks.



^^^^^^bang....

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

<---https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DL9AVTQ

<---https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DL9AVTQ

3. He points to the Mike D'Antoni�era Suns as evidence. "Phoenix won 60-plus games multiple times and was a win from the Finals," Morey says. "Every year, 10 or 15 teams playing traditionally fail to make the Finals, but we don't make them a referendum on whether that kind of system works."

But HURR DURR CHIPS.

You keep on fighting the good fight--I can't do it.

__________
YARDS

They had much better personnel than the Rockets currently have.

And D'Antoni hasn't won much since.

So great, model yourself after that.

<---https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DL9AVTQ

who don't come close to sniffing a title each year

phx not winning a title doesn't make discussing whether that style can work pointless

And pretty much every year teams that win have a strong focus on defense.

<---https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DL9AVTQ

i guess 5% > 0% but there's almost no basis to even be able to compare. how many teams have actually tried to run like that? meanwhile there's plenty of slow n steady teams that do nothing each year


i will agree that doing it with absolutely NO defense is an extremely difficult task, which is why most champions have been top 10 in both offensive and defensive rating

Kinda trolls the whole idea of NBA coaching.


----------------------------
Same as it ever was!

and I thought it was funny the article also mentions how Golden State must be "killing" the Rockets brain trust for having success "despite a negative point differential." what about the part where they shoot lots of jumpers from off-ball action and having one of the lowest drives per game #s in the league? they're not doing ANYTHING Houston is doing, yet they're having more success this season than Daryl Morey (oh yeah, they were a 23-win team last year, too, Houston was a 34-win team). Golden State also didn't complete a deal for a presumed franchise player with eye-popping advanced metrics either.

why aren't we reading articles about the secrets they know, hmmm?

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HOPE!
https://vine.co/v/i7JjIBL3Qix
https://vine.co/v/i7JtqEFwxDu

11th best offense, 18th best defense. expected W/L according to basketball-reference is .500.

by the way, the warriors are 9th in the league in 3s attempted with the second-best percentage. so yes, their better than average offense is benefitting from taking and (importantly) making a lot of threes. they'd be better if they stopped doing the shit you described.

lol @ attributing something as scientific as wins + losses to "luck"

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HOPE!
https://vine.co/v/i7JjIBL3Qix
https://vine.co/v/i7JtqEFwxDu

winning close games is mostly luck. beating teams by a lot isn't.

those NASA scientists in Houston have yet to flip all of basketball orthodoxy on its head. they might get there, they also might not.

I'm interested in watching, but only a fool presumes to know the outcome before the tests have been completed.

___________

HOPE!
https://vine.co/v/i7JjIBL3Qix
https://vine.co/v/i7JtqEFwxDu

if remaining skeptical of efficacy of #s that have yet to keep pretty orthodox teams from having the best record, winning the chip, year by year is 'idiocy', then yeah -- that's me.

___________

HOPE!
https://vine.co/v/i7JjIBL3Qix
https://vine.co/v/i7JtqEFwxDu

i mean, those losses!

----
bshelly

"You (Fisher) could get fired, Les Snead could get fired, Kevin Demoff could get fired, but I will always be Eric Dickerson.” (c) The God

___________

HOPE!
https://vine.co/v/i7JjIBL3Qix
https://vine.co/v/i7JtqEFwxDu

----
bshelly

"You (Fisher) could get fired, Les Snead could get fired, Kevin Demoff could get fired, but I will always be Eric Dickerson.” (c) The God

do I really need to explain this?

making baseball analogies w/r/t the value of advanced metrics between the two games is pointless and dumb. it's like saying "size wins in the NBA, therefore MLB teams should try to build around the biggest guys they can find." it's fucking stupid.

___________

HOPE!
https://vine.co/v/i7JjIBL3Qix
https://vine.co/v/i7JtqEFwxDu

history shows that

1) close games are basically a coin flip, and
2) there is a stable relationship between a team's point differential and their winning percentage.

what this means for the warriors is that their winning percentage is extremely unlikely for a team with their point differential and that it's not because of some close game skill, which makes sense when you consider that their crunch-time guy is jarrett jack.

they've been lucky. end of story.

----
bshelly

"You (Fisher) could get fired, Les Snead could get fired, Kevin Demoff could get fired, but I will always be Eric Dickerson.” (c) The God

too long to swipe, but if you haven't read Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis #1 you should and #2 just read the link below until you get the full book, I think it's worthwhile (no agend-o at all, just passing a link here, actually):

http://www.curatedalpha.com/2011/excerpt-from-liars-poker/

___________

HOPE!
https://vine.co/v/i7JjIBL3Qix
https://vine.co/v/i7JtqEFwxDu

and the overreaction to exploit wouldn't be to not drive or shoot 3s (and GS does shoot threes) but rather which types of players are getting passed over in the draft or free agency.

what happened to your brain today?
-----------
It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

which are still very much in development in basketball in my opinion.

as much as there is a "defense wins chips / live by the three, die by the three" dogma which needs to die, some of y'all are starting to get equally dogmatic about the fact anything a box score tells you is bunkum and basketball can only be properly understood by dudes with spreadsheets and advanced math degrees. neither is entirely right, neither is entirely wrong, and both should be regarded with a healthy amount of skepticism.

and if you're looking at baseball as the analog, quite frankly you're doing it wrong. soccer is the appropriate statistical analog to basketball -- it's a team game, not all shots generated are statistically equal (even if they are recorded as such), and passing, positioning, teamwork, and coaching can have just as much influence on an individual's success as the individual's skill set.

and any time you think there's an "us" and a "them" as far as basketball philosophies go, you're probably doing it wrong.

___________

HOPE!
https://vine.co/v/i7JjIBL3Qix
https://vine.co/v/i7JtqEFwxDu

and that they sometimes go further than the numbers suggest

this isn't even close to one of those times, on either what morey has achieved (it's clearly very good) and what level of team the warriors have been to this point this year (average, maybe a little above). those two questions are answered pretty definitively by the data available.

----
bshelly

"You (Fisher) could get fired, Les Snead could get fired, Kevin Demoff could get fired, but I will always be Eric Dickerson.” (c) The God

>this isn't even close to one of those times, on either what
>morey has achieved (it's clearly very good) and what level of
>team the warriors have been to this point this year (average,
>maybe a little above). those two questions are answered
>pretty definitively by the data available.

I was merely remarking upon the irony in the line that it must be killing the Houston "brain trust" to see Golden State succeed, because the line suggests that they are incapable of understanding any path to success which is not their own, which would indicate close-minded thinking on their part, not open-minded as they are so frequently championed. remarking upon this irony apparently warrants a lecture these days.

and seriously -- using baseball as an analogy to basketball in any sense is a clear indicator of loss of objectivity. I can't stress this enough.

___________

HOPE!
https://vine.co/v/i7JjIBL3Qix
https://vine.co/v/i7JtqEFwxDu

----
bshelly

"You (Fisher) could get fired, Les Snead could get fired, Kevin Demoff could get fired, but I will always be Eric Dickerson.” (c) The God

anyone who cares a bit about numbers knows there are too many unknowns and variables fior absolutism.

but it's frustrating when we're arguing about NON-ADVANCED stuff like point differential, TS%, and the inefficiency of midrange jumpers that are established concepts within the basketball community. we should be beyond such flat-earthery.

i don't even troll anymore (it's true!) and i'm still getting in squabbles with these dudes.

That makes it, what, like 2003 in basketball?

I sort of miss those in baseball. Spoiler alert: the dumb ones will all get fired or turn out to be smarter than they seem and then the smart ones will start spinning their wheels.

______________________________

"Walleye, a lot of things are going to go wrong in your life that technically aren't your fault. Always remember that this doesn't make you any less of an idiot"

--Walleye's Dad

people who think Daryl Morey is analogous to Billy Beane just aren't looking that closely.

note: that doesn't devalue the potential insights advanced metrics can provide basketball, but comparing the value of baseball data to basketball data is either ignorant or dogmatic (which, not coincidentally, oftentimes are one and the same)

___________

HOPE!
https://vine.co/v/i7JjIBL3Qix
https://vine.co/v/i7JtqEFwxDu

I didn't make that analogy.

______________________________

"Walleye, a lot of things are going to go wrong in your life that technically aren't your fault. Always remember that this doesn't make you any less of an idiot"

--Walleye's Dad

baseball + basketball aren't comparable. period.

___________

HOPE!
https://vine.co/v/i7JjIBL3Qix
https://vine.co/v/i7JtqEFwxDu

That's an emphatic "period" you have there. The people you're arguing with might really need to know that you're putting your foot down, for good, about their poor analogy making.

Putting it under my post, since that's not what I'm saying, risks your brave stand going unnoticed.

______________________________

"Walleye, a lot of things are going to go wrong in your life that technically aren't your fault. Always remember that this doesn't make you any less of an idiot"

--Walleye's Dad

G-State has lost 13 of their 23 losses by double digits.

While only 10 of their 33 wins are by that margin.

So basically, when they lose...they LOSE. When they win, they execute and play decent D.

So of the remaining games they are 23-10 meaning in games decided by 9 or less. That's not luck, that's execution. You don't get lucky at a +.600 clip.

Also if you delve into their schedule a bit more, you can see that outside of a few flubs to Orl and Sac, they've lost to teams that could be considered on-par or better than them.

Before their recent struggles (since 1/2 they are 11-13) they had a +3 point differential which was better than all but 6 teams in the NBA.

Not to mention they've played 31 of their 56 games on the road (with 4 of a 5 game road trip currently pending). After this trip their schedule gets VERY home friendly and their record should improve.

The reason for their dip wasn't regresssion to the mean...it was because they're schedule got tougher+a big chunk of those games were on the road.

Before 1/2: 13 of 32 games their opp scored over 100
After 1/2: 12 out of 24 over 100

But even through that, they are a better road team than half the league.

Advanced metrics might be wrong about the Warriors. They just seem to be a young team that flat out gives up if they're outmatched (hence the blowouts that skew the point differential).

And I didn't account for injuries (Steph got hurt, bogut not playing, etc)

____________

by the way, point differential isn't advanced at all (unless you adjust it for strength of schedule, etc). we're just mentioning it as a better marker than win/loss record -- and they naturally are similar anyway.

as i said before, this is a composite number for the whole season. we would be able to better determine how good GS was at different times--with curry hurt, pre-bogut, by strength of opponents, during road trips--if we narrowed the point-differential fields. which is also imperfect because of small sample sizes.

that said, losing by a lot when you lose is probably a bad sign.

your continuing inability to interpret stats with even a smidgen of nuance is mystifying.

adjusted point-differential is the best way to gauge how good a team is, not record. is it the end-all-be-all? no. does it account for a team getting hot, having players return from injury, other teams suddenly struggling? no. it's just a better way of measurement than looking at the standings (and one that usually dovetails with records anyway). note that these are for the season, not the last ten games or whatever recent bloc of games might be most indicative of how a team is currently playing.

best five teams in the league by differential:

OKC
SAS
MIA
LAC
IND

best by record:

SAS
MIA
OKC
LAC
MEM

and the difference between IND, MEM, NY and DEN is tiny in differential.

but when we see a team like GS with a record that's 10 games over .500 but has been outscored, it's a red flag. the same could be said for both ATL and BK, but neither are actually in the negative.

and I was actually just being facetious in harping on the fact that the "brain trust" wouldn't be able to accept that a team with a different model might have more success than them. which is, not coincidentally, exactly what you did in response -- impossible that the GSW approach is actually effective (despite evidence to the contrary in the standings), stats will win out over 82 games.

which might prove true (I'd expect it to prove true, personally), but it's pretty presumptuous to begin writing it as fact when all the evidence from the first HALF+ of the season doesn't support it.

___________

HOPE!
https://vine.co/v/i7JjIBL3Qix
https://vine.co/v/i7JtqEFwxDu

this whole thing is over a flippant Zack Lowe line? Look, the GS example is an anecdote, but over the course of the NBA, it's clear their success is an outlier--any successful system will lead to both a positive point differential and a good W-L record. GS's one season of success isn't evidence of shit (and neither is the houston example, but Lowe's not saying it's succeeded already, is he?).

edit: the GS approach. which is what? because if it's midrange jumpers and 3 pointers and not good defense, that's been tried by a lot of teams and hasn't worked. so what's this "approach?"

-----------
It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

golden state has the 11th ranked offense. if that's reason to celebrate their "approach," then fine. as i said, a large part of their success is that they shoot a good amount of threes and make more percentage-wise than any other team.

here's their shot chart. click on the 2/3/paint tab and points/shot.

http://vorped.com/bball/index.php/team/shotchart/golden-state-warriors/season/2012-2013-REG

here's the rockets.

http://vorped.com/bball/index.php/team/shotchart/houston-rockets/season/2012-2013-REG

golden state's "approach," as you've termed it, is only slightly more effective from mid-range than houston's (and nearly identical pts/shot from the paint and 3-pt). but they take a ton from there, which is the reason that the rox offense is superior -- the other being that the rox are 6th in FT/FGA and GS is 16th.

the best offenses in the NBA:

OKC
miami
NYC
houston
denver
SAS
LAC
LAL

these are also the teams that keep showing up in FT/FGA, threes taken and three-point percentage leaders. not a coincidence. GS is not among those teams because they don't go to the foul line. scoring is hard, and it's very tough to be a elite offensive team without getting high-value opportunities via threes or foul shots. GS does one, not the other.

i'm tired of trying to convince you to believe something that everybody fucking knows, especially when the math is comically obvious.

I'm not arguing that GSW has a better offense -- the math is obvious, as you say. I'm simply saying that reducing the game of basketball to discrete statistics and then declaring victory because they work out best in Daryl Morey's favor might not be the only way to understand the game, and please don't declare victory until the final results are actually in.

I think it's a fairly mundane point, but apparently questioning the Morey dogma in any way is dangerous, heretical nonsense to some.

___________

HOPE!
https://vine.co/v/i7JjIBL3Qix
https://vine.co/v/i7JtqEFwxDu

-----------
It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

-----------
It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

and subtracted Monta Ellis' dumbass. that's some big changes.

-----------
It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

but they're still a pretty average team, and their recent slide is mostly a regression to the mean.

historical records for the rockets:

28-54
43-39
45-37 (L 1st round)
51-31 (L 1st round)
34-48
52-30 (L 1st round)
--- morey made gm ---
55-27 (L 1st round)
53-29 (L 2nd round)
42-40
43-39
34-32
31-27

plea cop below

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

...if his team had made the playoffs more than once since Obama became president

but the rockets being @ or above .500 3 years in a row and missing the playoffs, is like some unicorn shit. Either it's only happened once before in league history, or they were the first to do it.

they're also cursed by geography, being that if they were in the east any of those years, they likely get in.

Shit.

<---https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DL9AVTQ

there's a quote out there of him saying Lin has to make the ASG for him to keep his job or something or another (ppl forget THAT was his big strategic planned acquisition lol. harden basically fell in his lap due to circumstance and presti suddenly deciding he wanted to offload em quick....also remember harden only had a 5 mil cap hit this season...presti could have dumped him on anybody there was no mastermind manipulation on moreys part other than having a perfect replacement on the roster(kmart) )

ain't got a lot of time to back and forth with niggas today but guinness feelings got hurt like shit yesterday just because i broke down how the rockets aren't overachieving
improvement has been marginal at best and everything is reliant on best case scenarios playing out like Howard leaving 30 mil on the table to play for a non title contending team with no post plays putting up 120pts every night in a half empty building
reality is josh smith about to eat good down in sugarland and rockets fans will be counting the minutes until Lin falls off the books
an overly optimistic fluff piece commissioned by Moreys personal friend (simmons) changes none of that

~~~~~~

Dudes get heated if you can't get behind his movement.

But unlike music there's a measurement in basketball that gauges if you're doing we'll and that's wins.

They spent seasons re-arranging seats on the Titanic trying to get big names. Ended up with Asik & Lin.

Then got lucky with Harden, who can definitely pick up where Lin is lacking. But they're still an 8th seed/fringe playoff team.

So they're gonna stall and re-arrange some more seats hoping they can strike gold again.

We all see it,

<---https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DL9AVTQ

yup. total luck.

----
bshelly

"You (Fisher) could get fired, Les Snead could get fired, Kevin Demoff could get fired, but I will always be Eric Dickerson.” (c) The God

Houston not being able to work out any deals in the off season with all of their draft picks and assets they've compiled.

And nobody in the league realizing Harden was ready to be a superstar.

<---https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DL9AVTQ

and there are how many other teams?

and they didn't get harden because...why, again?

oh right, because the rockets had the correct combination of assets to throw into the trade and understanding of harden's value.

some of you are so scared of math it compromises all other areas of your thought.

----
bshelly

"You (Fisher) could get fired, Les Snead could get fired, Kevin Demoff could get fired, but I will always be Eric Dickerson.” (c) The God

I believe he does some work in math and stats.

He just is in a long running feud with Guinness and hates Jeremy Lin so the Rockets are a good target for him to waste his work day and troll. He gets angry then act like everyone else is angry --I mean he knows whats up. He's on the same side of an argument where his main wingmen are Truth and Sev.

Like I said in some other post I wouldnt be surprised if SPM trolls Rockets posts and uses the same arguments he's battling against in Philly Barbershops when everyone is like "naw man fuck that advanced stats shit. Thats that nerd shit" Best believe his AFrican, Indian, Sri Lankan and Cambodian bols know whats up.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r126/trailboss99/Goats/Goat-King-60021.jpg

I don't care how you build the team really.

I just want to see the shit work.

If you're gonna give praise to him, then at least have some results.

Not just the Rockets.

When people try to give the Nuggets praise for having a great team and a roster that's 10 deep, I side eye that shit, because they're not competing for a title.

<---https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DL9AVTQ

This is where you cats kill me.

The true contenders in this league have some collection of the top 10 or so players basically.

The rest of us fight for the scraps and try to make the best of what we've got. Houston was stuck in NBA purgatory post-Yao/McGrady and has actually made the best of it.

Hating on Morey is fine I guess, but at least do it with context. Morey stacked assets for a few years and it finally paid off. Sometimes it doesn't (and without Harden on the market it wouldn't have for yet another year), but hating on that strategy without offering a different path shows a serious lack of understanding of the NBA.

Unless you advocate straight tanking, which is also fine, but comes with plenty of criticism as well. Morey might have been fired by now by going that route.


Anyway, POINT BEING: Winning in the NBA is hard as fuck and Morey's strategy is paying off. So be mad, I guess.

But imo, the Rockets aren't that much closer than the Hornets, Raptors, Pistons.

The Pacers have done a great job of building a team. By drafting players. Grooming them. Then using them. And picking up useable Free Agents here and there.

That's it.

Not a novel approach. But it's worked.

<---https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DL9AVTQ

>But imo, the Rockets aren't that much closer than the
>Hornets, Raptors, Pistons.
>
>The Pacers have done a great job of building a team. By
>drafting players. Grooming them. Then using them. And picking
>up useable Free Agents here and there.
>
>That's it.
>
>Not a novel approach. But it's worked.

I think that's what irks me about this -- I don't deny Morey's success, but there are plenty of teams that have developed into winners using orthodox methods, too. no need to anoint this Rockets team just because they're scoring a lot of points.

___________

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