ClutchFans Game Thread: Cavaliers @ Rockets 3/1/2015

Could have just asked them to change it like I did at a restaurant today.

 

​

Tristan was outstanding today, the best bench player in the game today. But he needs to figure out that the game is full of losers that didn't or couldn't take advantage of their opportunities. No one looks at the Play-offs last year and says, "Only if Dwight had made his free throws in game one the Rockets would have won the series".

 

Isn't the nba meant to be giving us the ref results on close games? It'd be hilarious if that Lebron hold is a correct no call. Harden already took him off the dribble and their arms got locked because Lebron reached in after Harden makes the crossover

 

Watching NBA tv and brent barry saying that its still a cavs win b/c kyrie is out. Okay what about dwight? He's saying they should had won but lebron missed the last 2 ft's. WOW brent STFU pissed me off

 

Good Win.
Good Weekend!

Rocket River

 

The final score of the game disagrees with Brent's assessment. If the Cavs had been good enough today then Lebron would have hit his free throws or made more of his shots. He averaged almost 1 shot per 1 point. Harden averaged almost 2 points per shot. The Rockets led almost the whole game and the Cavs only got back in the game because our Band of Brothers had an uncharacteristically bad game today.

 

Rockets didn't score 105 points Cleveland just gave us 105 points just stfu.

 

No player bothers Lebron more than Dwight and they outreboundeed us by 17, but by all means think Kyrie is more important than Dwight in that matchup

 

Yes Kyrie may be more important, but Dwight is our defensive anchor.

 

Dwight could have gotten those rebounds for those and those might have led to points. He could have prevented layups. Can't really say Kyrie is more important b/c it can be skewed both ways.

 

If you look at the team stats we got dominated on the boards and stil won. Geez if we only had a better inside presence to control the boards better.....guess we'll never be a legit contender.....oh wait we happen to have one of those types of players....

No point in listening to the media.....they rarely think through the comments they make.

 

 

 

Another bright side of this win, Rockets guaranteed another non-losing season with win #41.

 

Live by the FT defense, die by the FT defense.

 

CLE players embarrassed, clearly trying to do damage control HAHA

No one cares about excuses. That's the difference between soft and tough

 

I know I hadn't been happy with Beverely's recent performances, but he played great against the Cavs and brought a big smile to my face. He won the game for us against the Nets too.

His toughness is unmeasurable.

 

wait, Bev is getting dinner with LeBron? How random.

 

Such a great game, the sloppy ending kept it from being one of the best games of the year but it was definitely a fun one.

James Harden: What more can you say about this guy? He dropped 33/8/5 and could've easily had 3 more assists in this one. He was able to get to the rim at will. Shumpert had absolutely no answer for him, LeBron did better but Harden was still able to cross LBJ up and get to the rim/create easy shots for others. The 30+ point outburst is to be expected but I really thought he did the little things extremely well today. He played great D, he had a couple of huge boards late, he was very smart as a passer. This game had a playoff feel to it and I love how COMPLETE this perfomrance was from Harden. LeBron might still be the best player in the league but Harden showed no fear today and outplayed him.

Pat Beverley: Talking about no fear... even though we all know he is a bit limited as a PG, I appreciate the hell out of Bev for what he brings to the table. No, he's not a pure PG or a pure shooter or even great defender this year. But he's a tenacious hustle player who isn't scared of the big moments. I'd prefer him as a 20-25 MPG player instead of a 30+ MPG guy, but he earned all his minutes tonight.

Trevor Ariza: Another guy who brings so much toughness to the table. He only scored 4 pts on 1-4 shooting, but he definitely had a positive impact on this game with his hustle and defense. 7 defensive boards, 4 steals, 2 blocks... ALL team highs in this game. He played excellent D on LeBron down the stretch. He might have an inconsistent shot but he is a consistently great defender and someone who I'm happy is on our team.

Terrence Jones: Damn... I was one of those guys that was fine with trading him for a PG upgrade, but he is proving his worth lately. 19/7 on 60% shooting tonight and averaging 17/10 on 56% shooting his last 5 games. Straight up, the guy is a skilled offensive big. He's the best PnR partner for Harden on the team and he seems to be playing stronger this year. Really pleased with his progress.

DMO: This was one of those games where he showcased both his strengths and his weaknesses as a player. He scored 16 points on 50% shooting including two 3 pointers and a couple of gorgeous low-post moves on Mozgov. I also loved seeing him take the ball up the court on one play, he is so much faster than the avg NBA big and he showed it there. His combination of 3 point range, speed, and low-post prowess for a guy his size is rare. But just 2 rebounds and he was constantly getting worked by Tristan Thompson on the offensive boards. That's just weak. I'm a big fan of DMo and I think his offensive ceiling is pretty huge, but he needs to play stronger and do better on the boards.

Josh Smith: Not his finest offensive showing for us. He shot 4-12 and 0-4 from downtown. But he was an overall positive for us on the floor today because of his defensive versatility and his ability to create for others (4 assists). Usually when your PF gets switched onto LeBron James on the perimeter, you get scared. But not with Josh. He did a great job contesting LeBron whenever he was switched on him and he just brings so much to the table defensively.

Corey Brewer: He didn't explode for 20 in this one but he had a decent 8 points off the bench and hit a couple of big 3 pointers. It's just fun having him on this team, he plays with so much energy.

Jason Terry/Pablo Prigioni: Going to be interesting to see how the Mins get sorted out at the backup PG spot the rest of the way. Terry got 14 and Prigs got 6. I think it will depend on the flow of that particular game as to who McHale decides to bring in. Both guys are old and limited but Terry is a guy who could drop 15 in a playoff game and Prigs is a guy who can add life to our offense when things aren't working.

Great game in Primetime. 41-18 record. 5 straight wins. This team is really playing well and I can't wait until Dwight gets back because there's no way we get outrebounded 53-36 if he's playing. Our PG rotation might be lacking, but we have the MVP at SG, and a tremendous 4-headed Bigs rotation in Dwight/DMo/Jones/Smith. Can't wait for the playoffs.

 

I don't mind getting out rebounded as long as we win.

DD