ClutchFans Game Thread: Pelicans @ Rockets 2/2/2020

No idea but tucker is a hot head so it could have been anything random as the weather

 

How come its helping our turnovers, schematically?

 

This was a quality win, as NO is a team that would present matchup issues normally. And, they've been playing well.

Had the sense with James, Russ, and EG that we were always in control...

 

when teams are posting us up when we are small we are winning

1) not that many great post players anymore ( or at least guys used to doing it)
2) Harden , PJ are great post defenders despite being undersized ( gordon is pretty good too )
3) We can mix in doubling strategies to induce TO's

Now, despite that , there are still a lot of potential problems when we go small. The pelicans looked at their scariest not when they were posting up zion , but when they were attacking the basket. No shotblocker means higher fg% , If they are bigger/more athletic than us at multiple positions ( not just us playing a small 5 , but the 4 being small too ) then thats when things can get out of hand. The "volleyball to each other" in the paint is what you really wanna avoid , because that **** just breaks your defensive spirit and the crowd too. The pels managed to use their springyness a bit , but not enough to win.

Ill also say most of NOP turnovers were not generated on the entry pass, they were in other situations like too ambitious on the fastbreak or just bad bad passes to perimeter players.

 

No its not the only thing that counts. But i'd feel much better about a win if that was the case .... that would mean WE raised our level of play vs the other team dropping theirs.

 

I know you didn't ask me, but I think all the passes that go into the paint are passes that have to go by a lot of hands. Those are the hands that end up causing turnovers. Plus, centers don't exactly have the best hands and they lose the ball because they're being bumped and wrestled as they receive the thing. So passing in a 5 out environment is passing towards the undefended spots on the court. Hence the fewer turnovers?

 

This line up is not going to hold a candle in post season which is what you work to do good in? So the playoffs are just an afterthought? But why?

 

I get what you're saying, but sometimes what we're doing is what causes mistakes. It's okay to take credit for other teams mistakes. This was something to be happy about. They were healthy, they dominated the boards and we still figured out a way to keep it close. After we kept it close, we started putting on the clamps and squeezing out a sure thing. I thought the character of our guys was tremendous. They had to fight extra hard all game to stay afloat and eventually the Pelicans legs gave out. Probably because they only have two. We don't have legs that can give out. That helps.

 

no we didnt lose... thats why i said I'm happy with any win...
I do believe small ball will ultimately be our undoing - for the reasons given...

It's just another gimmick...
When you are a poor to mediocre team... you should employ whatever gimmicks may help make up for your teams shortcoming in talent...
When you are a true contender... then you play an even keel game and let your superior talent be the deciding factor...
We're still taking high risk/high rewards propositions - when we should be shoving it down our opponents throats with our superior talent...
...imo....

 

Nice win, but this team is going nowhere in the playoffs as presently constructed. Should be obvious to everyone. However, the right addition could be huge game changer.

 

Who’s the right addition?

 

Quite a few, hence my previous post about New Orleans having a lot of unforced turnovers. When they did feed it to Zion in his spots, he was very effective. I don't know for sure if that is a good play for them long term (nor do I really care). Fortunately for us, the New Orleans guards were too stupid to do that consistently.

 

They had a ton of entry pass turnovers and were genuinely confused at our switching.

We certainly need more players that can play this style.

Clint ain’t one of them.

 

Robert Covington.

 

Maybe. Perhaps Harden and Westbrook has been making a concerted effort not to drive headfirst into double teams or through high risk, low reward passes?

 

Nah he ain’t the answer. Y’all overrate the hell out of that guy. Smh. Y’all complain about inconsistent shooters but want us to trade for him? Lmaoooo

 

I do agree that Clint doesn't take us to the next level. That, combined with his free throw percentage, lack of an offensive game and injury history, makes me think he won't be here that much longer.

 

He would also EASILY be the best defender on the team and it wouldn't be close. All of our shooters are inconsistent anyways, I'll take the much better defense myself.

 

We have nothing to offer for him so it's really a moot point. He's Golden State bound imho

 

I love Clint man.

But Westbrook and Clint makes it too difficult for James. And WB isn’t going anywhere.

I’d rather have 2018 CP3 and Clint tbh.