As the Rockets blew another winnable game, especially one at home to a very bad team, I couldn't help but wonder if this would have happened if we had a fully healthy Kyle Lowry. It got my brain thinking and since Kyle hurt his knee in the win against Portland at the end of the January, the Rockets have gone 3-5 with wins at home against the Warriors and 2 road wins against Memphis and Milwaukee. Note that he actually played against the Grizzlies and then he hurt his ankle against the 76ers and hasn't played since. So throwing out the Memphis game, the Rockets have gone 2-5 in games that Kyle has missed or got hurt in. In those 7 games, the Rockets have averaged 104 points while giving up almost 106 a game. Losing to sucky ass teams (especially at home) like the 76ers and Pacers are going to come back and haunt us when we finish as the #9 team in the western conference and just out of the playoffs. And I know there are people who would rather see us tank or avoid the playoffs altogether because it would mean us matching up with the Lakers. But I don't believe that the Rockets should ever tank - keep playing hard and hope that no one else important gets hurt. Besides we have already won too many games to get a decent lottery pick. As it stands, we would probably be in the mid teens with our pick. So is there any hope that Lowry comes back, maybe not tonight but against the Magic?
Lowry has been missed, but that doesn't change our interior defense. Were were already 10th in the west before he went down.
i think missing lowry hurts big time because he really controls the offense of the second unit and as well as temple has played (compared to conroy) he is no lowry on the defense end and getting the pace up. hopefully he gets back soon he has been out for two weeks almost now we cant let him stay out longer when we are trying to push for that 8th seed. 3 games out of it which is a very do-able makeup in the last 25 games, but the team really let some chances slip out losing to philly and indy at home
We do need his aggression off the bench and someone to push the 2nd team though. However, you have NAILED the problem, we have no interior defense....Rick needs to try one of our new guys...Armstrong, Jeffries, or Hill and see which one is ready to play down there. We need some interior defense and shotblocking...stat ! DD
I agree that we're really missing Kyle and sure could have used him last night, he might have been the difference maker (someone to actually guard Ford??), but Bull said he was still wearing a boot and that it meant he wasn't going to be ready soon. I'm not optimistic we're getting him back this week. Sure hope I'm wrong.
Rockets need a playmaker. Brooks is a score-first guy. He is never a qualified playmaker. Regarding defense, RA is never a defense-oriented coach.
I could swear I heard Lionel Ritchie singing 'Penny lover don't you walk on by' on several of T.J.'s drives last night. you can put that on Brooks bt T.J. got started while Ritchie was out there guarding him.
TJ Ford had his way with Brooks. the team looked better when Temple was covering Ford. Game could have been won.
Patience. Lowry is crucial since Brooks and Martin are defensively challenged but Martin looked surprising last night. We sometimes forget that Adelman knows what he is doing and will work these new guys in as they are ready. Throwing them in too fast when they are clueless on the offensive/defensive schemes would cause more havoc than help. That said, I can't wait to see what they can do.
We have a playmaker now in Martin unfortunately Brooks and Ariza decided to try and show martin and Adelman last night: "HEY!!! we don't need him, look at me try to win the game" and blew it for us. Sure Martin missed a bunch of open shots but when he tried to create something, he drew fouls and scored or got an assist. Martin needs to be handling the ball at the end.
Martin was a very good facilitator last night. Didn't keep the ball too long, passed it if he was covered, shot if he had a clear look at the basket off a screen. Turned steals into breakaway layups at the other end, hit the open man for an assist off a made shot.
We really missed Lowry. He could have controlled Ford a lot better than Brooks did. Once Ford got the confidence against Brooks he thought he could do anything. Lowry would have been able to be a bit more physical with him. Not sure what to do with Granger though. Maybe let him get his and shut down the rest. Hopefully the new big guys can learn fast and make a difference inside defensively.
I don't think Lowry could stay in front of Ford any more than Brooks did, Ford just got lucky and hit shots he usually misses. The guy hit a crucial 3pt shot and is shooting 16% from there this season...sometimes NBA players get hot, and hit shots. It happens, heck, their entire team hit shots yesterday.....the Rox scored 115 points, that is a lot, but their defense was pretty bad.....especially on the interior...reverse jam for Troy Murphy...really? DD
