ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Blazers 4/27/2014 (Playoffs Round 1, Game 4)

We could have still gotten Howard even if we had Dragic, we would have to have shed about 1.5 mil in salaries, possibly by not picking up certain players not in the rotation.

 

Not sure I agree about Dragic, but what's done is done. From this point forward, Morey needs to rectify these problems. Point guard is obviously a major concern for this team. Bev is serviceable, but if they're gonna keep him around, they better get a competent backup who can spot him and be trusted to handle the ball in key situations late in the game. Lin clearly is not that guy. And unless Canaan can be developed into that, someone else will need to be brought in.

Also, Morey needs to admit to himself(assuming he hasn't already) that the McHale hiring was a bad decision. It was maybe defensible at the time it happened because this was a team going nowhere. Now though with two superstars and title aspirations, the Rockets need a real head coach. The Spurs have Pop. The Mavs have Carlisle. The Clippers have Doc. The Heat have Spoelstra(underestimate him all you want, but those years under Riley have prepared him). Unless Morey fixes this problem, the Rockets are going to continue to underachieve.

 

Is that true about the timeout? If that was discussed and Lin didn't, it's a boneheaded play.

 

Give it up. Dragic is better than Lin, but cap flexibility to add a 3rd top 10-15 player is the real reason Dragic is not here.

 

According to both Lin and McHale, it was discussed and it was the plan.

 

It'd be so nice to be able to go through history and cherry pick your moments.

If you go back even further, Michael Jordan could have been a player for the Rockets, you know.

 

That costly mistake is on Lin but can't anyone else call a timeout?

 

When we were up by two I wondered why are they putting in Lin for defense, Daniels is longer and a better defender. I had no idea he would ignore the coaches instructions and not call a time out and try to dribble the ball.

Mchale has to take some blame too because he could have called a time out when Lin grabbed the rebound.
We nearly made another mistake when Howard grabbed the rebound and proceeded to pass to Parson's instead of calling a timeout.

Harden and Lin get beaten of the dribble very often and Harden does not make a strong effort, that maybe why we are losing. Hats of to Portland they attacked Harden from the first game because he is a lazy defender. We should have had Howard and Asik guard Aldridge from the first game after he torched us in the regular season. Portland prepared better for this series. Whether the Rockets make a come back or not its been a good learning experience for a young team.

 

You hit the nail on the head in the other thread.

Something so simple as calling a timeout is difficult for this coach/group of guys.

Ha, unbelievable.

 

Sounds like it was the ballhandler's responsibility, since he was to determine if there was a clear lane or not.

 

Portland could have had Kevin Durant. You did not get the point, I was saying I think that not keeping Dragic I think was Morey's biggest mistake.

 

No. We should be 3-1. Portland is lucky

 

Daniels looks pretty bad on D and Jeremy was playing tight all game

 

Depressing as well...only good thing out of this is we found a true 3 pt shooter in daniels that isn't afraid of the moment. Both bev and lin showed their handles are not good enough for high pressure situations, both dribble way to high and out...really need to watch video on how CP3 handles the ball.

 

It is so convenient to blame all problems on Lin!

 

In fact, Portland could have had Michael Jordan too.

It's all been discussed before.

Dragic wasnt lighting it up as he is this season, so who's to know.

He was a v good player then but nowhere near what he is doing now.

And also, he's no 1 banana there. Everything goes through him.

He wouldnt be that here and that will affect his numbers.

But it is all speculation, isnt it?

 

blazers have much better role players this series. they are also on fire from downtown. amazing really. They are hitting all their big shots. rox arent deep enough to make a deeper run in the playoffs. finally, we just play soft. even last game, our players just dont seem to want to be bothered with diving for free balls on the floor. they are above that kinda 'get down n dirty' plays... Dont wanna mess up that hairdo now.

lin and asik and probalbly parsons will be gone for a superstar ImHo.

entertaining series for sure but coaching is rather suspect. not sure what lin and mchale were thinking. flabbergasting

 

as tired and disappointed as i am what i am proud of is the board isn't as toxic as i thought it would be this morning.

in a way part of me just wants to see the season over and to start fresh next year with a bigger role for daniels and let management evaluate the season and delete and add where needed and go from there.

i'm really proud to see some understanding and way more sensible posts than thought i would see.

 

every good pg in the league knows this also. this is why bev is a somewhat better than lin with handles was picked to start. lin has improved in a year but still has a couple years to go and needs to continue to work on his ball handling skills over the summer.

they can get away with it in regular season but high pressure period of the game you need a true pg that knows how to seriously handle the ball.

once the rox get a true all star caliber pg the team will struggle. basically we have 2 backup pgs in sharing the duties.

 

Most of us are not blaming Lin for all the team's problems. But he did make a crucial mistake that cost them the game. And unless the Rockets come back and win this in 7, that could be the difference not only in winning and losing Game 4, but the entire series.