ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Celtics 2/29/2020

The Capela trade was made to open the lane for Westbrook because he cannot shoot and to improve the defense.

I have seen all but 3 Rockets games this year, and yes - this is Harden’s team and that isn’t changing anytime soon.

 

he needs to be load managed or sent to germany like Kobe

 

There are couple things one can take away from the games. Aspects about Harden and his 'deference'

He will be continuing to getting clobbered by younger defenders......

'Speed and explosion' Things Harden never relied on and it seems he is even getting slower.

Harden never relied on athleticism, but even then, this aspect seems to be declining.

I am not saying that the defender Harden has become, isn't something positive.

But let's be honest, the defensive anchors night in, night out are still PJ, Covington and others.

He's even lost some elevation on his shots when he is fatigued and that happens more often.

The real question is, Russell Westbrook, the leader for now, displaying this kind of production on the Offensive side.......will it be enough?

 

Harden had some glaring issues trying to pass Brown and Tatum on defense. He definitely has lost a step. It's very noticeable from watching his 14-15 and 17-18 highlights(his two best seasons imo) compared to this season.

During the off-season he needs to find more creative ways to score such as a post up game where he can take advantage of his strength over younger and quicker defenders when losing a step. No shame in it. Guys like Jordan followed that route when they lost a step.

 

That is high quality **** talking by DM.

Respect.

 

Man this is a game I thought the league would allow the refs to do extra crap to ultimately take the game from us. Like Brad Stevens said... the right team won. We out played them physically and took the game. Big win. I’m happy we pulled it out.

 

Harden dropped 42 points on this team just a couple of weeks ago.stop trying to divide the board with harden v Russ flame war. It’s obvious what you are doing. Give it a rest .?thats like every post you’re u are making.

 

heres a celtics fans views from a celtics fansite

Spoiler

@don grahamleone these are not my personal takes in any capacity

Kanter should have had 80
Sorry I’m not buying Stevens explanation of physicality. First rule of sports "play your game," last night I watched as the C’s played Rocket Ball?

The opposing team played with a 6’5" center and the NBA is supposed to be a league match ups and mismatches. Instead of pounding and forcing the Rockets to adjust we tried to shoot 3 pointers with an undersized small ball team.

Unless Kanter was injured I don’t understand last night’s approach at all. It’s nice to try and develop the first round picks Grant 14 minutes, Langford 13, it’s also a known fact that Kanter would have been unstoppable in the post last night against a bunch of tiny guys.

I don’t get it at all??!! Just didn’t like the Kyle Shanahan approach at all, Hayward was obviously looking to pass first much of the night, max player, be a max player every night. The better team lost because they played into the hands of a two star team and Westbrook and Harden dictated play for quarters 2 thru 4 both coaches were just spectators last night especially Stevens

They are very good team indeed - a bad match up for us
It is just a surprise, how many times we had to run one-on-one vs PJ Tucker tonight (who played good hustle game).

I am amazed we are not able to isolate Tatum on Harden or Westbrook. he had to constantly go vs Covington and/or Tucker. It seems like all other teams are able to hunt for perfect match instead of us.

There is really very little movement after the initial few seconds on offense.

HOU out-small-balled BOS tonight. We played right into their style and lost.
Brad was out-coached. The game plan should have emphasized getting our jumbo wings on the block or in good seal position off pin down screens but there was really none of that. Just a lot of iso, over-dribbling, and turnovers.

Westbrook had a monster game. I’m interested to see how Westbrook can produce if he gets the Simmons/Rondo treatment and a team just packs the paint with an extra defender. I think that would muck up HOU attack.

BOS matches up really well against teams who play bigs because of their ability to capitalize on mismatches, but HOU has good sized wings/guards and are able to switch across 5 positions. Theis could not make them pay consistently with seals and plays inside.

Tucker is their 3rd most important player behind Westbrook/Harden. He allows HOU to play this crazy style and out-hustled everyone.

Tatum wasn’t as dominant this game and a lot of that has to do with HOU ability to switch and take away the PnR. By playing no bigs, HOU neutralized a lot of Tatum’s downhill attacks off PnR and more importantly, the pull up 3.

I think BOS offense was sloppy in general because screens were rendered ineffective by the switch. They got super scrappy in the paint and I realize referees allow more contact with small ball, especially with active hands. Jaylen and Hayward were not getting their normal sets or looks. Out of rhythm.

Overall, great game to learn from for this young BOS team. This was the second time we’ve seen Tatum struggle a bit during the past 6 weeks. I think the second half of the LAL game he never saw constant double teams. These are learning experiences and BOS will improve.



https://www.celticsblog.com/2020/2/...ockets-in-overtime-thriller-111-110-td-garden

 

Haha this guy obviously did not watch the previous matchup in regards to Kanter.

 

Put him on ignore. I just did: he only shows up after a bad harden game to gloat. This guy has issues.? It’s downright insane

 

Kanter’s defense is all time NBA unwatchable. Stevens decided he wanted to field a full team instead of playing 5 on 4.

 

I would of loved seeing Kanter in the game.

 

he has a lot of trust in his team mates. that is a crazy statement that he doesn't. People bring that up when he only ever has a bad game.....bring it up when he dominates. He has been playing very good lately

 

Russel would light his eyes up even more seeing Kanter defending the paint.

 

I woke up still thinking about how exciting that nailbiter of a game was. Wow, clutch plays by James at the end to seal the victory, and fantastic performances by Russ, Tucker, and Covington.

Now that was the best game all year. I was a nervous wreck, and did NOT want to sit through it for more minutes in overtime. Heart racing, nerve wracking stuff for sure. That's the kind of win that makes you scream "Yes!!!!!" when that last second rolls off the clock.

Our Dynamic Duo of James and Russ scored another 62 pts and our Double Hustle team of Tucker and Covington just meant business with 29 rebounds and 6 blocks. They are the Power Pair for sure.

I absolutely LOVE watching our team right now!
Go Rockets!!!!

Spoiler

I just hate all the bickering and comparing of Russ and James, and who is MVP, who's team it is, blah blah. Comparing them is like saying "What is better, Country or Rap?" They have different styles and skills, but are the best in what they do best. They are a Dynamic Duo in a team sport. Enjoy it.

 

@daywalker02
Wants dwight back
@fchowd0311
Wants lin back

 

Explains their agendas

 

They call me the looper. I went forward in time knowing that Lin was going to be a Rocket and joined Clutchfans three years before he name a Rocket.

You are pathetic. It's really that abused for you to believe real Rocket fans can hold an opinion where they don't like Harden's style of play.

 

What I hate most about the NBA is how radically different the calls are, depending on the officials. It's like, ok, tonight you can't do what we let you do last time, or tonight, we're just gonna turn a blind eye to the "little fouls". Even worse is when it is called really one sided.

The game can be so easily manipulated. I get so excited, but know deep down that when the NBA wants a team like the LAL or LAC to win, that blind eye will pop out like a sore thumb when it matters most. Ugh. As good as we are, that's such a disadvantage against us.

Last night was a perfect example. I mean we got to the line 18 times against the same team we got to the line against 42 times a couple weeks ago. That's nuts. Crazy stuff for sure.

 

Celtics clearly got much better at not fouling