Key adjustment made in Game 5

Smith starting.

Less switching on defense

Changed the pattern of Harden's minutes

That's the 3 most obvious. But let's just keep the stupidity going and say it was only effort.

 

Def was, but still not as good as we want it to be, Josh on Blake and ariza on redick really made a big diff tonight, we seemed to have better communication all around, this move should have been made after game 3....terry is still playing too many minutes, The reason James minutes were spread out was because of him being sick not mchale being smart lol ....but he shouldn't stick to the same script every game and should do that more often, When DJ is in the game foul him plz for the love of god every single time....USE DORSEY!!

I had no hope after Game 4 but its creeping back a little, Lets go get this W and see how they react man put them under pressure play with discipline play with emotion come on HTOWN

 

We always come out strong in the 1rst quarter. The second quarter is usually where the Clippers started their run. nice change by McHale to have Harden start the 2nd instead of bringing him in at 8 minutes left in the second. It forces Doc Rivers to change his game plan on Harden.

 

He was traded to Sacramento.

 

McHale finally tweaked some things and they seemed to work. I'm just glad the Rox didn't go out like p*****s on their home floor. That would have been sad. Hope they have built some good confidence and momentum going back to LA.

 

The real CH died 20th of February 2013.

 

Best adjustment was someone made this team finally play with some urgency, energy and fire period. If this team played this hard in game 1 they would have blown the Clippers out. Even Reggie Miller commented multiple times how the rockets are finally playing with some energy, they've looked apathetic in all their 4 prior games IMO.

 

Obviously, McHale doesn't have control of player energy. He can beg for it, but the players made that adjustment. It was nice to see.

Ariza deserves a ton of credit for chasing Redick off some shots. The staff made the right call for having him back on the perimeter rather than trying to stay with Griffin.

That and getting Harden out of those crazy match-ups with Griffin helped too.

And there's nothing like having a plan to get a big man (Jordan) in foul trouble. When that happened early, the Clippers knew they were in for a long night.

I sure hope they can get Josh Smith out of whatever fog he's playing in. Nice that he made a couple of shots, but they were those: "Oh no don't shoot that!" kind of makes. We might actually stand a chance in Game 6 if he gets his head clear and plays with some confidence.

 

We cleared the paint and created more spacing so Harden could drive more.

Howard on the low block on every possession with Jordan guarding him creates too much congestion. The more Howard moves around, the more spacing it creates on the floor.

It is a lot easier to draw fouls on Jordan or he's less effective if he has to rotate to help rather than already be in position.

 

He doesn't say "I dont know why happened, if I knew it it wouldn't happen".

 

Smith did start but I felt like he reverted back to his old lineups and rotations.
If you're gonna start someone you might as well play them together with the starting lineup more than the bench or else what's the point of starting

 

he should have given harden the flu from game 1!

 

I'm not sure what Josh Smith brings to the table in terms of being in the starting lineup. I like how we kept the supporting players under control and only let Paul/Griffin beat us. That's key.

 

Nothing. Rockets won cause Clippers see themselves far superior and didn't come with the right mentality to close the series at a competitive game.

 

He's a better passer so our ball improvement is instantly better.

 

Nothing. He's still pumping out the truth with his sarcastic wit most of the time. What happened to you? You used to talk some basketball around here. Nowadays you only show up to start a chicken pecking.

Only it isn't garbage. You're like the new breed of college student who doesn't even know who Patrick Henry was, can't tell facts from fiction, and wouldn't know the truth if it slapped you in the face.

Carl doesn't need a chance at redemption. He's dead on the vast majority of the time. The folks that need an opportunity to redeem themselves are the 60+% of poll responders who voted Harden as the starter who has been the most energy deficient in this Clippers series. Not only did they swallow down all the "lack of energy" bologna, they then took that garbage and slapped it on Harden, the player who has expended the most energy throughout this whole season and these playoffs, including this series. Talk about needing a chance at redemption.

 

Something I suggested as an adjustment before Game 5.

I finally see Harden moving around on the court on offense, not standing on the perimeter line. He was active even without the ball. Made it harder for the Clippers to zone him out.

 

Did you not see the turnovers in the first quarter from Smith?? I'm glad McHale pulled him out after like 5 mins.

 

You have to watch the defense. Smith is a superior defender and rebounder to Jones. With him and Dwight going against Blake/DeAndre we at least have a chance to control the boards and get out on the break. Jones is too much of a mismatch against Blake.