I think it was a game that we could have and should have won. Even without both Jeremy Lin and Chandler Parsons which are both important contributers to the team no doubt it we should have pulled this one out. Seems like most of the players were pretty much complacent and it damaged us, Utah is not a team you can underestimate. Howard didn't dominate in this game like he could have done, he is way better than Derrick Favors and should've done a better job in my opinion. There was also a miss-communication between Casspi and Harden in the last minutes where we could've performed a comeback. Omri Casspi and Garcia are players which are need to be complimented, both looked decent and were almost the only ones who played with energy on the floor. Garcia did a wonderful job on defense and blocked 4 shots and when Casspi was in the game the game was more "flowing" for Houston, he is the leader of the team's +/- index in tonight's game and I think also in general. I hope we will win the upcoming game so things will be better because losing to Utah is certainly disappointing.
i worked ot yesterday and decided to skip the game was disappointed to wake up and see the score. based on what i saw the team as a whole can make it as long as they play as team and seeing that harden scored 37 not sure if that happened because didn't see game. but i do know if houston will win a ring chandler has to be a part of it and 90-100% and playing.
i think that could be said about this team as a whole -- a long way to go, both offensively and defensively. it hurt us in this game that greg smith is injured as well. we could have used a weakside rebounder in the 4th. casspi just doesn't have the bulk. maybe TT would have been more effective during that stretch, who knows. imo besides the lack of rebounding, brooks getting torched on D was just as bad in the 4th. and in general, not being able to get dwight involved more offense.
i agree with rebounding as a whole in the stats it shows we rebound well but there are many times it seems that balls are right in front of our players and they can't seem to grab it and it goes to the other team and winds up as a 2nd or even 3rd opportunity in many cases.
Is there any good literature discussing the effects on a subsequent playing when a player is pulled immediately after he makes a mistake or two or "looks cold".My intuition is that it may reduce his subsequent performance as it induces a decrease in confidence in his play. In addition, it may induce resentment if a player has played well in the previous games, such as TJONES.
Casspi, Brooks, Garcia, Tjones, Beverley, Asik, Dmo - there you have a better team than jazz...our bench proved it can score and score big...they just need to be more involved and allowed to get into rhytm....any of them except asik is capable of 20pts on any given night if the ball movement is present enabling for enough scoring opportunities... better yet and more important, were it not for the harden hole on defense, the jazz chuckers would never get into rhytm and got wings and confidence to outshoot themselves...
I think if we were to get a backup SG it should be a different type. One that runs around to get free, like Rick Hamilton or Reggie Miller and drains shots, not a creator. Lin will come back and serve the role of creator when Harden sits and hopefully more when he's with Harden.
I expected more from Beverley. Brooks was way off from the 3PT range and his playmaking skills as well as Beverley's were extreamely poor.They did not do a good job breaking down the Jazz defence.
Lin is needed to "shake things up". He attacks and is fouled a lot. When he attacks, rotations get screwd up and our players get free to get good looks. Br and Bev. are linited in this respect.
I agree. Harden (or any other Rocket) shouldn't have too many games in the high 30s. When others are in the high teens or low to mid 20s and Harden is in the mid to high 20s, then there's more team-involvement in the scoring and game. But I think Harden needed to score in this game with Parsons out. Garcia and Casspi needed to score more and T Jones had an off game with too little playing time. There was no x-factor scorer either, Brooks didn't drop 25, so Harden ended up scoring in the high 30s.
They provide an offensive punch,the ability to shake up the defence, and ball movement. They also have a high BB IQ.
It would not be ok if that is what actually happened. However, the reality is Harden didn't give up that many points.
Glad that Utah didn't choke in the 4th. This team needs more losses like this one to learn & get better. The motivation to learn & get better is hampered when you escape with a win playing poorly, not just due to not executing but not starting motivated & ready to play hard. Parsons & Lin were missed but its better to lose & learn against non playoff rivals like Utah, Dallas, Philly, Lakers & show that you can beat the playoff rivals (@ Spurs, @ Blazers) when they mentally show up & give 100%. Just a matter of time until they learn to play hard for ALL 4 quarters night in & night out & learn that TEAM defense is key to a winning culture. Team is a bit physically beat up at the moment but that will help the role players improve too. Can't wait till it's playoff time.
I was disappointed that Brooks was taking shots in the last 2 minutes rather than our All-Star center... There is something wrong with that.
Also, we pretty much get everyone's best game night in and night out, like the Heat do, not saying we are the Heat, but we are high profile enough to get all opponents to perk up and go the extra mile when playing us. Not an excuse for losing but gonna continue to happen, leaving our margin for error super slim.
