Other than the 09 team, which ended up being like all role players by the end, the Rockets just have not had luck with role players stepping up in the post season. It was the major reason for losses in 05, 07, 08, and 14. Major reason we finally won a series in 09. It takes role players to win playoff series. Someone has to step up. We had the Josh Smith game against the Mavs. That's it. We need someone to have an Austin Rivers game.
no one's steppin up on the back court..harden's forced to do lots of things..to score, playmaker, be a PG and defend...
I expect Ariza to really step up this game. If the Rockets are going to win, its going to be on the defensive end with harden and the shooters (including Ariza) manning up and taking care of the offense. Ariza has not had a good time in these playoffs but the one thing he can hang his hat on is elite defense. I expect he will play on CP and still be effective on the switch to Griffin if they PnR. He has guarded both players effectively this season IMO and he could really stifle the Clippers offense. I expect our offense to be there for the most part. It's lockdown defense that will win this for us and Ariza is the key.
what about ariza's playoff averages of 34fg% and 23 3pt%? shall we give him a free pass cuz he "plays defense"? nooooooooooooo
No, he needs to step up his shooting. Definitely. However, we have other shooters. We do not have another defender as good and versatile as Ariza can be.
Also, he may be old but we have the guy who made the 3rd most threes in the WHOLE FREAKING nba history Can this man atleat get like 7 to 10 catch and shoot attempt from the 3 just to keep the defence honest,
While I agree with this, Jason Terry was one of the only guys clicking in game 3. Harden & Howard collectively have to have good games & our role players just need to hit their open shots. Josh Smith has been absent as of late and that's a problem. We don't win that Mavs series in 5 without Smoove playing like he did. We need that against the Clips, as well as Brewer just playing like he did in the regular season.
I may be the only one who notice this but, for reason players havent been passing brewer the ball on the break in my eyes though is if brewer is past the half court with just 2 to beat he will score.
He has a been a spectacular dud for long stretches all year. He has had some big time games and stretches as well, but it's been a while, Howard and Harden cannot carry the load offensively against this Clipper team 2 other players have to step up and its unlikely to be anyone other than Smooth (who I have given up on for the balance of this series as he has been awful) and Ariza. Brewer could be the guy but he has been playing erratically and low IQ ball during this series so not expecting it out of him... Ariza has been very disappointing so far
you can always point out a few things here and there, such as role players or we didn't have enough firepower stuff like that. to me the biggest thing is this team individually (that's on harden the leader of the team) and collectively lacks of mental toughness, which is a must-have ingredient for playoff success and ultimately winning it all. this is the fundamental reason why we have lost 2 out of 3 games in the series in an extremely embarrassing fashion. and that's the thing i as a fan absolutely cannot swallow. you can go down, and one good team has to lose in any series. but you cannot go down w/ a mental meltdown like a sissy.
As much as I love Ariza's defense, his offensive ineptitude makes me miss Parsons. We really need him to start hitting shots. And Josh Smith needs to get his head out of his ass, and stop playing so out of control.
If you want better luck with role players, you might need to prioritize paying them over maintaining 'flexibility'.
Couldn't agree more. How about Morey stop wasting time to get that "third star" and get a JJ Redick or Kyle Korver like shooter to help out Harden and Dwight. It's ridiculous that were such a high volume 3 point shooting team with such mediocre or below average shooters. It drives me insane when Harden makes a perfect pass to a wide open Terry, Bev, or Ariza, and they brick it.
