NBA Free Agency Roundup: Rockets Are The Biggest FA Loser In The West? | Bleacher's report

The increasingly disappointing offseason of the Houston Rockets underscores the importance of seizing the moment.

A little over a month ago, the Golden State Warriors and back home for game 6 of the Western Conference finals. The Rockets had two cracks to eliminate any champions, probably should have advanced … and have not.

Houston missed his moment. And now, the biggest challenger that the Dubs (Kevin Durant version) have ever faced is backing up in the rearview mirror.

This may sound too dramatic. we are only talking about Houston losing Trevor Ariza to the Phoenix Suns and Luc Mbah to a Los Angeles Clippers Mouton, according to a report by ESPN Adrian Wojnarowksi . No player is a star, and the Rockets were significantly better against the Warriors in the playoffs when these two were on the bench.

Yet at a time when the entire league is scouring the landscape for the defensive Aces that can also hit a three, the Rockets have just lost two of them

Ignore the small sample of conference finals suggesting that Houston does not need its two best defenders of the wing. The length and versatility have kicked off a switching Rockets system that has stifled most opponents, contributing to a No. 6 defensive rating during the regular season. Mbah a Moute could credibly protect five positions. Ariza handled four. Both were integral to an approach designed specifically to disrupt the Golden State attack, and it's worth asking if the Rockets will even try to employ the same strategy now as its defenders the most useful are gone.

-33 season, and physical breakdowns are now waiting for his playoff trips. James Harden may well resume his MVP efforts, but if he suddenly sees himself entrusting additional efforts both end? There is a good chance that his attack will take a hit if he can no longer do badignments via switches and / or hide while others perform the real face lift of D.

What if Clint Capela the empty pockets and the general unfairness of the restricted free agency – is not the happiest camp if it comes back? next year on its qualifying offer or on a market below the Rockets, who have not even considered making an offer yet?

Carmelo Anthony, a target reported Rockets, simply can not see the floor in significant minutes against Golden State. Oklahoma City Thunder was 2.6 points per 100 best-defense possessions without Melo last year, and it ranked 72nd out of 82 forward-thinking in the Defensive Real Plus- Minus from ESPN. Twenty-four players took at least 1,168 shots last year; The percentage of goals scored by Anthony is 24th in this group

In the absence of Ariza and Mbah a Moute, Houston will either have to play objectively worse wings, or eliminate an already painful rotation. slim. Will Ryan Anderson see high-impact minutes? Gerald Green?

As bad as it may seem, it beats the alternative of looking even harder at Paul and Harden, who did not resist last year to the arduous demands of a rotation Seven-player playoff at the time the Rockets met Golden State.

Houston is perhaps the second-best team in the West, but it lost critical pieces while the Warriors retained all their core and pocketed a playoff wildcard in DeMarcus Cousins. It's deplorable on many levels, but the fact that money seems to be the driving force behind Houston's loss of staff just makes it more disappointing.

Because the Warriors plunge into the tax ($ 40 million), adding Cousins ​​and re-upping with Kevin Durant, Houston runs more carefully. How else to explain his failure to beat the one year bids for Ariza and Mbah a Moute?

Houston owner Tilman Fertitta said in February that he would pay the tax to line up a contender at the championship. To his credit, he lit a new business for Paul and will have to pay more for Capela. But Ariza and Mbah a Moute are gone because the Rockets chose not to spend what they would have cost to keep them.

Ironically, the Rockets will pay a heavy price for their savings. They fell from the warrior level and back into the group of non-threatening pseudo-suitors.