the fact that the OKC young players made Lebron looking like a real 40 year oldman, AR looking like a scrub not worth 30 million a year and the other players worthless tells u that our young players are even worthless than this stupid laker team
They still beat us, bro and we probably would’ve gotten swept too. I hate the Lakers with a burning passion, but as a Rockets fan this isn’t **** to boast about.
The Lakers are the worst of all 16 teams in the playoffs. Knicks, Pistons, Cavs, Nuggets, Wolves and Spurs would have swept them too. Ayton, Smart, Kennard, Hayes, Vanderbilt - these are throw-away role players you can find in the bargain basement any summer. Lebron is 41. In addition, we had them without a healthy/available Austin Reaves. We had an easier opponent than the Thunder. We decided to play slow and methodical against a team that can't think fast and can't run fast. We had Okogie guarding Lebron. We had Amen Thompson on Luke Kennard. Further, while playing slow, we also decided to go small. Who the F goes small and slow? Why on earth wouldn't you attack an old team that's getting tired in transition? We went from extremely slow pace to slow pace. I don't know what the F he's taught these guys over 3 years because we do run plays but when they execute the plays they look like they just learned it before the game. It was the most idiotic thing I've ever seen in Rockets history. Udoka's adjustments are always late or forced by injuries. His initial strategy is always off base. His first adjustment is always stubbornly stupid. By the second adjustment, he's good. By then, you've lost half a series. This is clear now across 4 seasons for 2 franchises. You can give Udoka and Dignault the same exact rosters and Dignault would win the series easily. Same for JJ Reddick and Steve Kerr. Can't wait to be rid of him. Unfortunately it won't be very soon.
We knew this Lakers team wasn't s**t without Doncic, even with him they weren't a title contender. The fact that the Thunder B- their way to an easy sweep over a team that beat us in 6 should tell you everything about how far away we really are from the mountaintop. But I'm sure the only real difference is Fred Van Vleet
Well, Lebron could have mailed it in against the Champs at 41.....but didn't. Hachimura is shooting like 56% against the Rockets and Thunder.
I was actually impressed by the lakers. They had a decent strategy and knew what they were doing. They were swept but mostly stayed in the games somehow. Okc was the much stronger team and they won naturally. I just can’t stand the difference in coaching levels when I watch nba games. The current era of nba is about coaching and the coach being able to play a solid 8-9 men rotation with each player contributing. The time of a 6 men rotation with a superstar is over. You need a deep team, you need to develop those players and use them. To do that you need a good org and coaching. Lakers could do that to some extent even without Luka. That’s respectable. The rockets would look like a team that doesn’t belong there, not as individual players but as a whole. And it starts with the gm and the coach.
Definitely the exclamation point on an incredibly frustrating season. Fertitta will do nothing in response, or will do something blindingly stupid like trading a massive haul for Giannis.
I think you misunderstood the thread. This isn't "ha ha the Lakers suck". This is "wah wah the rockets suck even more". And yeah we do kinda suck
Not trying to give them a pass but I would say having close to a $100mil on the bench and having to play a super young team in the playoffs against a shitty, but still a very veteran team in LA is not an unexpected result. There is definitely A LOT of room for improvement - we all saw this coming between the continued lack of offensive creativity and slow adjustments by Ime and the unbalanced roster Stone sent out there.....but the team also isn't THAT bad. Alpi is still young and a top 35 guy on most nights, Amen is still young and one of the best one on one defenders in the entire league, Reed is still maybe one of the best pure shooters in the game, Jabari is still a fairly young and promising 3 and d guy who is developing some basic creation skills, and Tari is still a good young rotation player if he can even out the inconsistencies. We definitely still need ceiling raisers on this team but the situation is only bleak if Ime and Stone aren't listening....lets pray they are seeing what we are seeing and are working on it and aren't believing the crap they say in media pressers.