Quote:
Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart
Both he and Harden play undisciplined basketball, and it's never going to change. Westbrook was never able to shoot though.
Thunder are winning now, but Russell's game will tank them in the playoffs...again.
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Shooting is huge. Drawing fouls is huge. If they actually surrounded Harden with defensive players that could keep the opposing team to 85 or 95 points while rebounding the majority of available rebounds, they'd be a lock for the playoffs. Rockets just decided to trade all of their defensive guys not named Capela for guys that can't play defense. They're fine scoring the ball-- 8th in the league in offensive efficiency (Mavs are 7th). They just can't defend or rebound.
Rockets 2017-2018 (65-17)
2nd in offensive efficiency
7th in defensive efficiency
14th in rebound percentage
Rockets 2018-2019 (?)
8th in offensive efficiency
26th in defensive rating
25th in rebounding percentage
With how bad the Rockets are rebounding and defending, I half expect that the Thunder will be the better team .
Thunder 2018-2019
25th in offensive efficiency
1st in defensive rating
4th in rebounding percentage
They're terrible scoring, but they can defend and rebound as well as almost anyone and occasionally Westbrook will be efficient enough to win a lot of games. It's funny-- Rockets and Thunder are two completely opposite teams. Rockets can score but can't defend or rebound. Thunder can rebound and defend, but can't score. Still, Rockets can be slowed and they will lose a lot of games. A defense as good as the Thunder have will be hard to beat all year. They just have to find the points on the other end, but with how many second chance points they're getting, I'd half expect them to be top 3-4 seed.
Mavs 2018-2019 - just for fun
7th in offensive efficiency
10th in defensive rating
6th in rebound percentage