That first quarter last night was just a great display of selflessness, ball and body movement, helping each other out to get easy buckets. I think we had maybe 1 three pointer, by TJ. With our reliance on 3pt shot being a serious issue, I hope this is a lesson learned. We can be so much better if we just focus on getting the easiest shots in or around the paint / bucket. We are 9th in 2p%, 18th in 3p% and 1st / 2nd in attempts and made 3pt shots. Those numbers need to come down for the percentages to have even a choice to go up. Agree or disagree?
No doubt! Get the ball inside to Howard early, get the ball to D-Mo. Those are huge reserves for Rockets.
Been saying this for a while. Dwight is not the best post-up option... but you gotta feed him inside, not only to keep him happy but to keep the defense honest.
Last night was the first time we saw the team that made it to the WCF last year. TJ even looked live J-Smoove from that playoff series. With D-Mo making his return to form, this team could be turning the corner. Also, is it worth noting that it was Ty's first suspension. Coincidence??
Lesson learned: the Rockets now officially own the Clippers, who used to be Rockets kryptonite. They have won 5 straight and after wining for the first time in awhile in March 2015, have won 8 out of 11.
They are still better than many of the other teams the Rockets have lost to... like the Nets, Nuggets, Kings, etc. And they looked pretty cohesive. Even in many past wins they looked disjointed even though they won. Last night, they were playing well together as a team. It was a very encouraging game.
Lesson learned... play defense. We know they can put up 105+ points, the difference is we didn't allow 110.
It helps when the opponent is sleep walking and missing shots. That first quarter was more about the Clippers than the Rockets.
Well, we shot 25 threes, no? Defense and everyone run after rebounds. Quick strikes, just like last year. Damn Rivers brought the game to a crawl in the 2nd Q with hack a shaq. Would like to have seen how long we could sustain it. Wasn't it the Ariza, Terry and Bev threes that secured the win, though?
Lesson learned play harder. There's not some master strategy to improve this team. We did the same ish last year on offense and it worked. The difference is we played hard, played d and got out in transition. This team is mentally weak, we need to get off to good starts to keep momentum. They played harder last night than any game I can remember this season
There is nothing wrong with shooting a ton of threes. The problem is that we lack the personnel to shoot them. We have 2 good shooters and the rest are average at best. Defensive effort and ball movement to get open looks is what will win games for us.
