ClutchFans Game Thread: Timberwolves @ Rockets 3/15/2013

really!!!Probably you have a better idea?let's see what you come up with...

 

Sit Harden.. Start Brooks alongside Lin?

 

FIFY

Harden says he'll sit, that there's a bigger picture (my own health/career). Pain? He'll rest, he says.

I wish. Get well James!

 

if harden can't go, we'll have a very difficult time beating this team.

Defense will be a bit better without harden but will sacrifice too much on offense. we're simply not used to playing without harden.

but if harden is in pain and can only contribute half of what he normally does on offense then i'd sit him. with him hobbling we'd give up way too much on D - it would be 5 on 4 every trip down the floor. he won't be able to keep up with ridnour. our D drivers our offense - with a bad D our offense suffers.

without harden, lin is the only one that can create his own shots and for others. wolves will crowd lin and make him give up the ball. if harden can't go, we really, really need d-mo to step up, dominate the paint, and loosen up the perimeter with his inside game; a tall order for a new starter.

this will be a very difficult win - i see it coming down to the wire. we generally have a hard time with quick, shifty guards like barea and ridnour. gotta really watch our help D here and make sure we account for those two throughout the game.

 

i'd start beverley and make sure ridnour/barea doesn't get hot. lin will be okay with rubio. the big will really need to make sure the protect the paint without too much help D from the guards.

on offense, the key will be to get D-mo and parsons going early and get them hot. without harden, they will key in on lin and make him give up the ball. getting d-mo and parsons going will be critical early on.

 

Rubio is an amazing defensive guard. He has incredibly long arms and makes it difficult for the opposing player to bring the ball up the floor. He had a triple double against the Spurs and a 20/10 game against the Pacers. Tough matchup for Lin.

 

Really....you nicknamed McHale, "McHale the Coach" and are asking others to come up with a better nickname?

 

Harden should rest tonight and be ready for the Warriors game on Sunday.

 

Game doesn't start until 7pm? GHey... they should start when I want them to start pshh

 

Um, most games' start times range from 6:30 to 9:30 CT. You must hate any given season of basketball if you dislike the 7CT start time.

 

I fixed it for you. Rubio is five times the player Lin is!

 

My night shift changed an hour earlier to 9pm from 10 at the beginning of the year. *Sigh*, another 4th quarter I'm going to miss.

 

why? it's positively stupid idea to begin with.

 

He's better but 5 times, not even close. A few breakout games from him lately doesn't make up for an overall underwhelming season. Spurs game aside they're still losing a lot, even against bad teams.

 

sore foot? what's the worst that could happen?

(sit the man, let him rest.)

He'll probably play a career high, 63 minutes in triple overtime.

 

I think Rubio is wildly overrated around here. For the second straight season, he's bottom three in the league in effective field goal shooting among starters. I've got love for the Jason Kidd style of play where you're setting up your teammates brilliantly without being a big scoring threat, but Kidd still cracked 42% EFG every season of his career. Rubio makes Kidd look like Ray Allen in that regard.

Now, Rubio's defense is formidable and I like that, but people act like he's Magic or something in terms of passing. He's got flair, but he's got the same assist rate as Tony Parker, Jose Calderon or Jrue Holiday without all the scoring skills they bring to the table.

That said, I will not touch the Lin comparison, it's a pointless debate that won't bring anything positive.

 

Let Harden rest. He has been a workhorse, but the Jazz are falling and Kobe has sprained ankle, so he doesn't have to play today. Let Jeremy run the show and we could see Linsanity. Linsanity is not just big numbers for Jeremy, but it's everyone getting involved and contributing.

 

rockets are gonna nguyen tonight.

 

hope you are not truong.