Now that the dust has settled/ adjustments for game three

When in doubt, go small. We need better decision makers and ball-handlers out there. Smith is an X-factor, but he's been too erratic. I don't have confidence in him. I say we reduce our rotation down to:

PG - Terry, Prigioni
SG - Harden
SF, Ariza, Brewer
PF Jones
C - Howard, Capella

We can slide on of our wing players down to guard Blake Griffin.

 

Is not energy lackimg, its mental toughness. Double team blake and make Prigs the primary handler

 

We can't win without Smith's defense. If he plays near the basket, he will be successful on offense and this will help our rebounding too.

 

They are probably going to start running a lot of pick and rolls with Griffin and Paul hoping to get Dwight to come up and help off of Jordan. They'll be looking for alley-oops.

 

I agree with this to a fair extent. Prigs definitely takes pressure off Harden, and makes it easier for him to shoot. There will be times when James will have to be the primary ball handler too.

 

DeAndre Jordan is extremely important for the Clips. Not sure why Doc left him out for so long, despite the hack-a-Jordan. It's not clear that the hack-a strategy was net positive for the Spurs, and not clear if it will be for us. If DAJ time on the floor is limited, we win the series. Easily.

If Doc stops cooperating, and keeps DAJ in, I say we need to run more DH12 post ups against DAJ. It's not pretty, it's not terribly effective, but at least gives us more opportunities for fouls on Jordan. We need him off the floor.

 

Agree

 

Keep Brewer on Crawford, was pesky. Need that on him.
Double Blake from the weak side.
If CP3 plays, they will be doing tons of pick and rolls with Jordan. Their bread and butter.
Dwight should guard Blake, DeAndre doesn't post a offensive threat outside of lob dunks.

 

They have to take better care of the ball. Also we can consider ourself fortunate that we got the W despite 5/26 from the 3 pt line. If we don't get up to at least 33% life will be very tough.

What I am hopeful for is that Harden's little micro sabbatical to start the third he did a little soul searching and that is why he came out in the fourth and played like he wanted it. I hope that carries to game 4. Without that we don't stand a chance.

 

Start making their three-pointers.
Keep feeding Dwight. For the second consecutive year he is been our best player on performer.

The first 2 games the Rox have shot terribly from 3. They are bound to go off in game three or game four.

 

It took them 6 quarter before they actually played with energy and intensity. I'm hoping that's a good sign. If they can play every game with at least 3 quarter of high energy, they should win, right, I hope?????

 

Could it be (hopefully) that the Rockets are FINALLY up to speed? Have they awakened from their slumber for six and a half quarters of the second round? Maybe, maybe not. Game three will answer the question. However, our PG situation is such a glaring weakness, I am not sure it can be overcome, even with a hobbled Paul. Even Cliff Paul could present problems for our point guards. Howard has come to play. He has been at "playoff level" throughout. Harden, on the other hand, has been in "funk city" since the beginning of the playoffs, only showing up occasionally. But last night he may have broken out. Also, Brewer and Smith are under performing, and TJ is also in a funk. Maybe a change of scenery and the Rocket's exceptional road record will help.

 

I agree with the OP and some of the other "realistically optimistic" fans on here. I felt last night turned out to be exactly what the Rockets needed. Sure a convincing blowout would have been nice for obvious reasons.

But the way the Rockets built a lead (as usual), lost the lead (as usual ) and then came from behind dating back to the latter 3rd quarter and gutting out a win....this in my opinion does wonders for the "psyche" of a team. Rockets didn't fold and now know in this series that they have played pretty terribly for the most and still won a much needed game absolutely.

Don't know if I'm in the minority on this, but I am also feeling pretty good about the Rockets going on the road tied 1-1. In fact, in some ways, I feel better about the Rockets playing on the road in a hostile environment. Rockets are a great road team and being an underdog on the road could actually turn out to be a good thing.

Rockets should/can take at least 1 of the next 2.

 

The Rockets need a counter for the double high screens that the Clippers are setting. Usually their four and 5 come up to "sandwich" screen the guy guarding either Crawford or JJ, and completely pancakes the Rockets guards. We havent been burnt yet, but their guards are getting free.

 

I agree. I was really puzzled by that move too. Can anyone explain to me why Doc kept Jordan out for so long, other than the avoid the "Hack a Jordan" scenario? Coz having Jordan and Griffin out there proved to be deadly for us. We can't guard both of them at once. If you double on Blake, he'll just lob it to Jordan. If you double on Jordan, then Blake will just take it to the hole.

I think that move proved costly for Doc because with Jordan out, everyone started passing the ball to Blake and expecting him to carry the load, which ultimately proved too much for him. Clips started playing a lot of iso ball and things fell apart. Again, I'm not sure what Doc was thinking. Maybe he's resting his key players for the 2 home games coming up.

Mentally, I think the Clips know that they can beat us. They're really not afraid at all. And they know if they rest their key players, they can blitz us in the next 3-4 games. They're just too good. We have no answers for them.

 

Wasn't Jordan in foul trouble (4 fouls at that point)?

The Clips are too good? They're very talented no doubt, but the Rockets have 2 beasts and a very good cast of their own. Not flawless by an stretch, but the Rockets can certainly win this series. Rockets have shot themselves in the foot more than ANY other team in the playoffs so far. That is the X-factor in my opinion.

 

Jordan was in foul trouble - Doc trying to save him for the game's final stages.

 

Make Griffin hurt. The Clippers are the biggest bunch of twat waffles I have ever seen. Make Blake Hurt. This is where Josh Smith needs to man up. Bang him up. If he is going for a dunk make sure it Really Really hurts going up and hurts even more going face down. Physical 90's ball is how we're going to win this.

 

Yes but like others have been saying, the Clippers not only have the talent that we have no answers for (Griffin, CP3, and yes, even Redick) but they execute flawlessly within their sets and their overall system. They have the mental fortitude they didn't have in years past. They showed this in the Spurs series.

In terms of mental readiness and also execution, we're not even on the same level as the Clippers.

 

The reason they have been terrible is because they are taking the bad kinds of 3s. The offensive player isn't set or it's a very rushed shot or is contested well. The flow of the offense has largely been gone and we have the type of shooters who are good flow shooters - rhythm guys. The only way our 3pt percentage is going to improve is if we re-establish that flow and it's hard to do that when James is literally the only guy on the roster who can attack off the dribble. We need some more creative offensive play - that much is obvious but something we haven't really seen from this team all year.

I would also like to see Houston practicing more patience - passing up a decent 3pt shot for a great look somewhere else on the floor. The best shot is NOT the 3pt shot but is the open one. Seeing James get a foot from the rim and pass out to a 3pt shooter is an example of not making the right opportunity assessment.

I would like to see Houston freeing up Terry a little bit more as he is creative in space. I wouldn't lean on this too much but when Houston is having a hard time finding a bucket, these are the types of plays we need to get a few down and take the pressure off.

....as for Blake, I say you defend him as best you can and live with the results. As we saw in the last game, Blake was getting his at the expense of a rhythm for the shooters surrounding him. You also got to make Blake work on the other side of the ball. Terrance Jones needs to be more aggressive plain and simple. I would also play with some PF/C screens to get Dwight on Blake and force him to work on that end.