ClutchFans Game Thread: Spurs @ Rockets 12/10/2012

well that and as a knick fan who's seen plenty of TD, the man is an undersized SG who plays point cause he's not 6'5''.

The way they've been playing Lin (camp out for 3s) is exactly how Douglas should be utilized.

 

Good. I don't want him to be satisfied with his own stats. I want him to want the W more than
Anything else and be a competitor.

 

Barkley said it best " if a PF cant get more then 6 RBs a Game , you're a SF

 

This has happened before. Asik has to finish these types of situations with a dunk.

 

TD as a PG is the worse player in the League

TD as a SG ia a serviceable roleplayer

Every Knick Fan:grin:

 

I like to see Greg Smith more. Strong guy who rebounds. Explosive Jumper. Sticks around the lane for drop off passes from guys penetrating.

 

Yup...only way not to ensure Harden will get some rest and make it through the season without any injuries.

 

Of course I'm sad for this loss, but definitely I'm not mad as I was on the last game against the Spurs. This was a good game, and our team showed heart and energy. The increased aggressiveness of Lin (finally), constantly driving into the paint, created several opportunities for either a lay-up, assist in the low post or passing the ball outside with the Spurs' defense collapsed, thus making the passing hit an open man.

Overall, I'm very happy with what we accomplished. It showed our potential, and the importance of team ball. If we can replicate that with Harden on court, and with Parsons fully healthy, we have potential of beating very good teams.

Another highlight tonight was that we were able to draw faults, and get to the line with high %. Asik, besides some clumsy plays at the OT, did this very well, and Lin also. Toney Douglas showed great chemistry with Lin, and played well.

Our defense was not the best it could be, however, in my opinion, it improved very much from the last games. Despite Parker's points, I really think we did a much better defense on him. Several times you could see Asik covering the paint when Parker passed through his defender, forcing him to pass the ball out or dribble out reseting the play. In the last game, Parker made his points much easier and concentrated on the first half. We pretty much controlled Duncan and Splitter, and the only big fault on our D was to not being able to control their perimeter shooting. Neal and Manu were the ones who kept the Spurs in the game at the end of the 4th.

Overall, a lot of improvements, and I liked very much the coach McHale's attitude with Lin. He was pushing him t be aggressive and take over the game, and I think that was the key for Lin's performance tonight.

The players:

Lin: fantastic. He started like before, deferring too much, timid. However, when he was subbed, apparently McHale said him to be more aggressive, because he came back in the 1st driving to the basket, and never stopped after that. If that was indeed McHale's instruction, props to him for giving Lin confidence. Tonight Lin was also making his shots! High 3pt %, that could be even higher if he didn't step twice on the line. He was making the bank shots from midrange, and after he was going, layups with both hands and drawing faults several times. That was linsane. Let's keep Lin as the primary ball handler, and let him drive coaches!

Delfino: off night. He was really a non factor offensively and made 2 errors that cost us big time. That TO at the end, and a very bad choice on transition just before that. He was, on the other hand pretty much better on defense than Harden usually is.

Parsons: is shoulder is clearly bothering him. Not a very good night in the offense, until the end of the 4th, when he was clutch and hit three 3-pointers, and was the usual very good defender.

Patterson: Quiet night, not hitting the usual efficient midrange shots, and neither rebounding (2 rebounds for our 4?).

Asik: Very good game, besides the lost balls in the OT. But I was very happy to see him being more aggressive, drawing faults in the low post, and converting them! He made a hook, a bank shot, some layups, and VERY well defensively, holding their centers. I don't mind, for now, about his errors, since I can see improvements and foresee a bright future for him. Yes, Asik can end up becoming an offensive threat too! Chicago can regret now.

Bench:

Very nice production from Toney Douglas. He actually played the third most minutes from our side, and was very energetic and hitting his 3s. He showed a lot of chemistry with Lin, and one was feeding the other several times, while both were driving to the paint. Honestly, that was the kind of chemistry I was expecting that Hardin and Lin could achieve. Getting the defense to collapse dribbling pass defenders, using some PNR, and passing to each other for and open jumper or another drive with a layup. TD is starting to become an important part of this team, and really playing well.

GSmith was good holding their centers on defense, and was a shame that he had 3 fouls too early. Aldrich, well, no comments.

Morris playing well, contributing on defense and offense.

Coach: I know that several fans here are going to criticize McHale, but I think he did a damn good job tonight. Just look how the team improved on every aspect tonight compared to Friday. We defended better Parker's penetrations, we moved the ball much better, he was able to change Lin's mind when he benched him by the mid 1st quarter (and probably told him to be more confident). Once, the TV showed him talking to Lin when someone was taking FTs, and clearly urging him to get to the rim and keep attacking. So, we made a very nice game, and I would not blame him for taking out Lin for a rest early in the 4th. Clearly Lin needed, by the way he was gassed at the end of the 4th and OT. He has to adjust our transition, that was very odd tonight, and get a better defense on the perimeter shooting. But he showed that he had a gameplan for what went wrong against the Spurs last time. Overall, despite the loss, I thought McHale did a good job motivating and improving our team from the last game.

As I said on Friday, San Antonio is a tough team to beat, and I really think that, by now, we would lose 4 out of 5 games with them. They are experienced, talented, balanced and have a nice bench. So, this loss is normal and do not bother me much. We were also on a abnormal night, hitting 3s above average. However, the potential we showed tonight with passing, and specially, the glimpse of Linsanity, made me feel good.

I really hope McHale can keep motivating Lin and giving him confidence. A bad Lin is worst than a average Douglas, but a linsane Lin bring a spark, and an environment where everything seems to fit, which Douglas can not provide. Mediocre Lin is nothing special, but he can be very special and show star potential sometimes, like tonight. That shows an upside that is very promising, and for the first time it was here in Houston.

When Harden comes back, I expect Lin to keep this attitude, and McHale to enforce it.

 

Eagerly awaiting highlights.

 

honestly, he should feel bad. Not getting a shot up, no matter how bad, in that situation is unacceptable.

 

Lin and Douglas should have no trouble playing together because Toney Douglas is a shooter. He only has to run point cause he's short.

 

No, that's not what I did. Please read the context in my original post. I used it as an example to express my wish that Lin only fans would lay off of the Harden bashing on a night when Harden played well and the opposing SG had a stellar game.

 

Yeah but give him credit for a very good game. I think he was gassed. More conditioning drills needed. They played really, really hard so we have to cut them some slack. Also more subs could have been made although a lot better than last game. I guess even McHale is learning. I'm excited! This team will be interesting the rest of the year if everone stays healthy!

 

Two small points:

1. Lin didn't play a perfect game.
2. Where's Calderon when you need him

In other news, congratulations to Omer for his new career high

 

Hilarious, look for any reason to play down his amazing night.

 

I watched the NYK games last year, and I would agree.

 

That's not correct. Even in the Harden thread where I defended Harden, I came down on posts that were saying Lin sucked. That was before tonight's game. Like I said, I love Lin. I want him to do well. I want the Rockets to win, and I believe the best chance for that to happen is to have both Lin and Harden playing at high levels.

 

Douglas doesn't even have to run point, he can spot up like a shooter. All he would need to do is guard the opposing point guard.

 

No sh** Lin didn't play a perfect game who the fu** does. What a stupid point after a great game by him and the whole team!! I think I'll put you on my ignore list.

 

How infuriating... the game was blacked out in Austin, and Lin has the best game of the season. I really HATE the NBA.

Add that to the LONG LIST of reasons why they suck.