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D'Antoni gone

trojanfan12

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That's fair, but he is a loser when it comes to being able to get over the hump.

Ohn and don't forget how he quit on the Knicks.

I see him as a Del Harris type coach. He's a good coach who can get a team turned around and get them back to the playoffs, but just can't get them to that final step.

It's what the Lakers did when they first got Shaq and Kobe. Del Harris got them back to going to and advancing in the playoffs again...but they had to get Phil to make them champs again.
 

Wamu

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Morey should be fired. He has no ability other than "who is the biggest name that might be available and how can we cram contracts around to get him". Instead of trying to build a team of complementing parts, he just gets as much offense on the floor at one time. It's as if he thinks at some point a second ball will be put on the court.

Gotta question for you. Is there any chance the Cleveland Indians current logo could be changed?
 

tlance

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What true small ball team like the Rockets or Suns has ever won a title? I suppose it could happen. But a team coming back from 3-0 could happen too. It just never has.

When has there ever been a team with 0 interior players in the rotation?

I am pretty sure this is a first.

So obviously no team has ever won a title playing like this.

Doesn’t mean it can’t be done.

IF you have right players.
 

tlance

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That's my take. Houston would've needed to shoot 18/33 from 3 if all else stays the same in game 4 to win the game. It's not at all reasonable to expect to shoot at that clip in a best of 7. And that was with a massive advantage in free throw attempts. They got basically zero second chance efforts.

I still say the team was better with Capela even if you go with Westbrook.

But you guys are also using an example of a very flawed team to prove it can’t work.

I don’t care what the other pieces are, a team built with Harden and Westbrook as the 2 best players is going to have a hard time meeting expectations.
 

tlance

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That's fair, but he is a loser when it comes to being able to get over the hump.

Ohn and don't forget how he quit on the Knicks.

I think there is a lot to that story behind the scenes.

Did he really quit on them? Or did the organization choose Melo over him?

Because it never seemed like Melo bought in. That partnership did not work.
 

tlance

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Wait, who else is playing his style? Are you saying everybody has copied him? Because I don't think that's the case at all

Sure.

Not so much in Houston, but the Phoenix offense is the basis for what many teams do today.
 

Geems

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I think there is a lot to that story behind the scenes.

Did he really quit on them? Or did the organization choose Melo over him?

Because it never seemed like Melo bought in. That partnership did not work.

Even if so, they can both be wrong.
 

Stakesarehigh

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When has there ever been a team with 0 interior players in the rotation?

I am pretty sure this is a first.

So obviously no team has ever won a title playing like this.

Doesn’t mean it can’t be done.

IF you have right players.

The closest example you have is golden state using the death lineup before Durant. But even Green is 6 foot 8 and they didn't use it for long stretches often.

I'd have a hard time thinking of a team build that could use a player at 6 foot 5 at center and win a title.
 

tlance

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The closest example you have is golden state using the death lineup before Durant. But even Green is 6 foot 8 and they didn't use it for long stretches often.

I'd have a hard time thinking of a team build that could use a player at 6 foot 5 at center and win a title.

Again though, depends on the players. And if Draymond is 6’8” then PJ Tucker is 6’7.

Also depends on the matchups.

AD was brutal for them. He had the size to punish them for being small, and the lateral quickness to defend their best guards.

This year’s title goes through AD and the Lakers, so any champ would need to figure that out.

But put the right pieces together and I don’t see why they couldn’t beat a team like the Lakers.

The rockets just don’t have the pieces.
 

Stakesarehigh

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Again though, depends on the players. And if Draymond is 6’8” then PJ Tucker is 6’7.

Also depends on the matchups.

AD was brutal for them. He had the size to punish them for being small, and the lateral quickness to defend their best guards.

This year’s title goes through AD and the Lakers, so any champ would need to figure that out.

But put the right pieces together and I don’t see why they couldn’t beat a team like the Lakers.

The rockets just don’t have the pieces.

That's fine but as I said it wasn't like they played Dray at the 5 like Houston was. And I'd imagine they'd be even less inclined to run that lineup against AD
 

tlance

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That's fine but as I said it wasn't like they played Dray at the 5 like Houston was. And I'd imagine they'd be even less inclined to run that lineup against AD

Nah, I disagree.

Dray is their best option to guard AD.
 

Shanemansj13

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Dray is 6'7" tops. His height is listed as 6'6". He was playing center at times but like others said, this wasn't a starting lineup a lot or a lineup they used consistently over a season or postseason. They had bigs too...Bogut, Ezeli, David Lee, Looney. Bogut started most times.

This Houston team had literally no bigs. Tucker is not a big. They had Tyson on the bench...nobody else. Hard to imagine any team trying to play like this again especially with no bigs on the roster.
 

Stakesarehigh

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Nah, I disagree.

Dray is their best option to guard AD.

Is this the part where you acknowledge the Warriors didn't play him at the 5 for long stretches?

You keep saying with the right pieces and Dray is probably the shortest "successful" Center who didn't even play center for long stretches.

I'd have understood if they traded Capela for a 5 that can hit threes but they didn't do that...they basically traded him for a 3/4.
 

Shanemansj13

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Is this the part where you acknowledge the Warriors didn't play him at the 5 for long stretches?

You keep saying with the right pieces and Dray is probably the shortest "successful" Center who didn't even play center for long stretches.

I'd have understood if they traded Capela for a 5 that can hit threes but they didn't do that...they basically traded him for a 3/4.

A short lineup with no bigs on the roster will never be successful and for one reason only...everyone has bigs and even if they play 4 positions small, a team usually always has at least one big playing significant minutes. This is unlike anything we've ever seen. Playing a small lineup at times isn't considered a small lineup roster..like you said, it's just for small stretches and we really see this as well. Like I said, the W's had plenty of bigs and it helped them on their run. Bogut was a great rim protector. So basically it won't happen bc a roster just isn't constructed that way...I don't even think Houston intended too they just couldn't find a big man in FA once they made the Capela trade.
 

tlance

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Is this the part where you acknowledge the Warriors didn't play him at the 5 for long stretches?

You keep saying with the right pieces and Dray is probably the shortest "successful" Center who didn't even play center for long stretches.

I'd have understood if they traded Capela for a 5 that can hit threes but they didn't do that...they basically traded him for a 3/4.

I never said they did.

All I said was that no team has ever tried to do what the Rockets tried this year.

Someone else, maybe even you brought the Warriors into this.

It is awfully foolish to say it isn’t possible to win without any bigs. Because I think it can happen if a team has the right guards/wings.

And yeah, that would probably include a couple PJ Tucker enforcer types and a KD or LeBron type star capable of guarding bigger guys.
 

Stakesarehigh

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I never said they did.

All I said was that no team has ever tried to do what the Rockets tried this year.

Someone else, maybe even you brought the Warriors into this.

It is awfully foolish to say it isn’t possible to win without any bigs. Because I think it can happen if a team has the right guards/wings.

And yeah, that would probably include a couple PJ Tucker enforcer types and a KD or LeBron type star capable of guarding bigger guys.

So basically a team that isn't the Rockets whatsoever and that has a top 5 player in the league as well that is 6 foot 8 or taller

That's changing the entire scope of the argument lol
 

tlance

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So basically a team that isn't the Rockets whatsoever and that has a top 5 player in the league as well that is 6 foot 8 or taller

That's changing the entire scope of the argument lol

Not at all.

Multiple people on this thread have said it is impossible to win a ring playing small ball.

I said it isn’t if you have the right players.

The Rockets don’t. They are the only team that has ever tried.

Pretty simple logic.
 

Shanemansj13

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Not at all.

Multiple people on this thread have said it is impossible to win a ring playing small ball.

I said it isn’t if you have the right players.

The Rockets don’t. They are the only team that has ever tried.

Pretty simple logic.
I think the point is nobody has constructed a roster that way for a reason. Anything is possible, but if you never try...it’s impossible. They’ve tried it once in over 70 years...the game is changing but it’s difficult to even attempt this small ball roster. Like I said before, I dont think the Rockets planned it, it just happened. Two guys making $40+M/year and trading away their only big man put them in a corner and they said fuck it, why not, especially with an unorthodox coach like Dantoni.
 

Stakesarehigh

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Not at all.

Multiple people on this thread have said it is impossible to win a ring playing small ball.

I said it isn’t if you have the right players.

The Rockets don’t. They are the only team that has ever tried.

Pretty simple logic.

But youre considering KD to be a small player...he isn't a big but that's like...well if the rockets had Paul, Harden and Giannis they could win a title

Please ignore the financial ramifications.of this btw

I get what you're saying but it's never been done for a reason.
 
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