Greetings clutch fans from Ramstein,Germany. Been a Rockets fan since the Finals run vs. the Celtics in 86 and I gotta admit last night was about as bad as I felt after a regular season loss in a minute. A couple observations: 1. The Rockets have some serious trust issues with one another. I counted 3 or 4 times that Terrance Jones looked off the starting point guard of the team in order to try and initiate the offense himself. I also saw Harden refuse to pass the ball to Lin just so he could take contested threes that had no prayer of going in.Now love him or hate him I think that any fair minded individual would say that as far as pushing the pace of the game and actually Running a play(Dwight) he is by far the best at that. It's cute that Tjones and Parsons can handle the ball at their size but they do not push the ball and get us into sets quickly. The Boston game from the 2nd quarter on is the template for how we have to play. everyone having a specific role and not getting out of character just because you had a hot first half. 2.That was probably the worst coached game of Mchale's tenure at Houston. All the Thunder did was keep Ibaka in the lane to help on Dwight and Drives.The only thing that Mchale had to do to counter that was go completely small with Parsons playing the 4 and inserting Casspi.People say Dwight had a terrible game when in actuality he was completely sorrounded.As good of a game as Tjones was having he can't shoot from outside at all. Mchale has got to recognize that and break up the Thunder's defensive rhythm in that third quarter. 3.Please more Dmo,but in the post! the guy has got a ton of talent it would be awful to let him go and see him blow up with another team.
On the T Jone part. I couldn't believe it when he tried to do a Harden ISO dribble and step back for a failed 3 point attempt. At first I thought it was Harden because I was watching with poor quality stream but when I realise that there is no beard on the shooter's face I /Facepalm.
The other thing to point out is that we do not have an enforcer on this team, no tough guy. We need someone to step up and push people around when they are getting to aggressive with our guys that same person also needs to get in their teammates face when they aren't doing their jobs. It's tough for a bunch of young guys to do that, but someone is going to have to or we are going to have to acquire that player.
what they're doing is a product on how the team play is structured . . . give that to young guys and all hell breaks loose... yeah, trust is not there, when they are in panic mode, they are afraid to pass. person holding the ball looks to score... smh.
A young team like this needs structure, not a free flowing offense. It works in Miami because they have 2/3 hall of famers in their prime. As of now we only have one player in his prime in Dwight, and he depends on our guards to get his shots. McHale needs to enforce a structure. Both defensively and offensively. And for those of you harping that getting back our injured players will fix the issues you are wrong. Beverly is not a starter in this league and Lin is inconsistent without proper coaching and direction. This team needs a trade desperately.
Interesting. I also noticed Lin getting ignored a lot. I think it was because Lin wasn't hitting his shots. This team needs to be less selfish and pass the ball to the OPEN player regardless of how they are shooting thus far.
Took the words right out of my mouth. Perkins and Adams were roughing up Howard to keep him from a good position down low. Ibaka was roaming the paint to double up on Howard and Lin/Harden on the drive. This strategy left Dmo/Jones on the outside, because they can't shoot 3s. McHale needed to insert Casspi, our best 3 point shooter at the backup 4 to draw Ibaka from the paint, but no Casspi only got 6 minutes. At half time, he needed to sit down with Howard and say, "You don't like the PnR, but you're not muscling past Perkins and Ibaka is swarming you. Come out and do a some high PnRs in the 2nd half so you can create some space. Then go back to your post moves in a game where you're not getting shut down." Dmo needs to play closer to the rim. It's frustrating that McHale camps him on the 3-point line. Dmo got lucky and went on a 3/4 hot streak at the 3pt line when the rest of the season he's 2/20 from the 3pt line. He's best at the post and transition. A 7 footer that will run with you on transition is a valuable asset, but no let's camp him on the 3-point line.
Good points. People need to stop understating how poor of an in game coach McHale is. I have no idea why Garcia is still getting playing time at all. Casspi is the superior player right now and should take all his minutes at the 2/3. TJones has had some very solid games of late but if teams are packing the paint JVG/Thibodeau style and daring us to shoot, he can't be on the court since he's a poor jump shooter. Lin is clearly not an alpha male type of character so it's up to the coaches and players to ensure Jeremy is allowed to lead the team. When Lin isn't able to command the team, he gets completely disengaged.
http://http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1927532-houston-rockets-inconsistency-will-be-their-undoing I normally avoid BR articles but this one does give decent commentary and percentages for reading. It's about our Jekyll and Hyde performance. Happy reading
At this point, TJones is a great bench player. I think D.Mo is ready to start playing a lot more minutes. I don't know why they've slowed his development but D.Mo has fire in his gut. I've watched for most of this season how players have steadily made it a point of ignoring Lin or not refused to let him lead when he calls plays. The team is dysfunctional.
The real problem is our coach unable to indentify problems and making changes both during the game and between the games. They just ask everybody to believe flow attack and be free style.
if you have observations from last nights game then why not put it in the thread for last nights game? Your opinions are not special and don't require their own thread. Not going to read w/e you wrote.
I don't think your opinions are special either. Too bad I wasted time to read and reply to it. My fault.
Agreed on all points. I think TJones is still play with some D-League mentality - every man for himself, it's all about personal stats, in order to return to the NBA. Hopefully with time he'll learn to be more unselfish and play more team ball. On the other hand, I think DMo is buying more into the team concept and is playing within the system. Both are good kids with great potential so hopefully they'll get developed.
His post was 100x better than most of the crap I read on the game thread. Therefore, his opinion is special. Yours though, is anything but.
