our scrubs better get there asses together at game 2, meanwhile jimmy is a machine he won us this game bigtime
you know there are only 8 teams who give up less 3 pters than the rockets for the season? top 9 in 3 pters given up IS pretty great
Agree wholeheartedly with the switches. You cant just switch for the sake of switching. Here are 2 situations we just CANT switch: 1.When Nene is out there. Dont switch of his man fight through the screen. Go under the screen on everyone except maybe Jamal Crawford because they aren't amazing shooters. Know your opponents. 2.When KAT sets the screen. I am not too worried about capela vs the guard as much as the guard vs KAT. We got lucky game 1 because the wolves somehow preferred the guard isoing on CC than KAT getting the post up. We double teamed the post alot but he still could've gotten it much more. I know its scheme, but we need to have a few tweaks here and there depending on the opponent. We arent playing the warriors, we dont need to switch everything.
We played the absolute worst game we could have played. 3 for 25 from 3 for everyone other than Harden. Many of those were wide open. Make 5 more of those and it’s a double digit win. Minnesota hit some 3’s but they were contested. The knock on us all year has been “what will the Rockets do when the 3’s aren’t falling”. Now we can’t go 3 for 25 against the Warriors, but I’m optimistic that everyone sucked, the shots were there, the defense was tight 90% of the time, and we still won.
The Rockets need to keep switching for one simple reason. IT WORKED. When it stops working THEN you make adjustments. Every defensive strategy has its positives and negatives but until the other team is able to actually exploit the negative then you don’t change. Stop listening to Charles Barkley. He doesn’t even watch basketball.
The whole idea behind switching is that if they always take the post match up, we’re going to outscore them. KAT would have to have a Hakeem esque series to make up for their 3 point deficiency. Not going to happen, and the proof is in the pudding. If we had hit 9 more 3s for 12/25, KAT would have to drop 36 points just to tie us.
Concerns about Harden lasting a full 4-7 games in the first round let alone the entire playoff schedule. He looked exhausted to finish the game.
I mean it worked in certain possessions. We did get entirely lost on many occasions giving up wide open threes and almost costing us the game
That’s probably the best the Twolves are gonna play. Maybe KAT ends up with a better game but D Rose not gonna keep that up. 18-20 pts from Gordon this not even a game.
The problem is that KAT doesn't have to be Hakeem to score 36 against CP3. What will likely happen is that if KAT gets going in the post against our guards, we will start doubling thus opening up their shooters. We would basically be trading a scheme that involves switching on the perimeter for a scheme that involves doubling in the post.
He looked exhausted because he played 41 minutes, not due to being worn out this season. Don't forget he has played significantly less minutes this season than last. The Rockets also play at a much slower pace, and the defensive gameplan is focused on switching, so Harden overall expends far less energy than last season. Despite playing 41 minutes, Harden still had his best quarter in the 4th quarter. This tells me Harden still had plenty in his tank. Overall, I believe this game was about getting over the nerves and rust. Had the Rockets shot slightly closer to their season average from 3, the game likely wouldn't have been close.
I actually agree with the OP that we need to stop switching. Switching works well against teams that don't have good post up players but against players of KAT's caliber he's gonna punish you if Minny gets smart. I remember our defense failed miserably against Cousins when he was healthy. Same can be done with KAT. KAT was just subpar yesterday. It was like he was caught off guard by our double teams and was not able to find the open men. Next game I bet he's gonna go to his moves quicker and will be ready to pass the ball. I have seen Minny play better in the regular season than they did yesterday many times and they will respond. IMO if we keep switching on everything it's gonna us the series.
EGo's defense was fantastic yesterday. His defense is very underrated. Despite his lack of height he is one of best defensive players. Good fundamentals, quick enough to stay with most guards and strong enough to hold his own against stronger and taller players. Ariza is playing too much IMO, some of his minutes should to EGo.
KAT had the ball in the post what seemed like several times with a guard on him and he would pass out of it. Unless that’s what Thibs wanted, that’s on KAT. He was very underwhelming last night and I’m good with that.
Rockets shortcomings were glaring in this game 1. @basketballholic and I talked about the Rockets flaws going into the playoffs; the T-Wolves couldn’t capitalize in this game. If anyone saw the game on TNT, Barkley called the T-Wolves the dumbest team in the league. 1st time I agree with Barkley. If the opponent was the Thunder or Warriors last night, the Rockets would be down 1. Rockets can make some adjustments and be ok vs the T-Wolves. I’m now concerned going beyond the 1st round. I would now rather face the Jazz instead of the Thunder in the second round.
People will keep their head in the clouds. Including the idiot Bzdelik. The rockets defense was not good at all. Lots of shots in the paint and open 3s were given up. Minnesota just played terribly.
