ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Magic 12/23/2015

Well the next few days will definitely CONFIRM your position either way that's for sure as the BUZZSAW cometh

 

Rockets can't overcome key mistakes as they fall to the Magic
By Eric Spyropoulos  @ericspyros on Dec 23, 2015, 7:00p 2 2


Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Rockets fell back to .500 with a loss to the Orlando Magic in a game filled with defensive breakdowns and sloppy fast breaks (and plenty of Dwight Howard dunks).

The Rockets run above .500 has ended for now, due to a 104-101 loss to the Orlando Magic. The Rockets came in to the game having won three straight, while the Magic had won four of their past five games. This game was marked by runs from each team, with the Rockets and Magic taking turns on each quarter to jump out to a lead. Ultimately, the Rockets got cold in crunch time, and the Magic hit one more shot to earn the W.

The game started off with the Magic jumping out to a quick lead thanks to Nikola Vucevic's early 9 points. He was roasting Dwight Howard in the post in the first quarter, both offensively and defensively. The Rockets usually get off to really fast or really slow starts, and tonight was a really slow start until James Harden picked things up to close the quarter. Behind the beard's 13 points and 3 assists, the Rockets led 33-27 after one.

In the second quarter, the bench came in and immediately surrendered the lead. Aaron Gordon had all of his 14 points in the quarter, and the Rockets struggled to get back in transition off of misses. The magic had all of the momentum until a Donatas Motiejunas & Dwight Howard combination happened:



The Rockets and Magic traded buckets to end the half, with the Magic hitting a couple of threes to gain a 59-53 advantage.

The Rockets limped out of the halftime break, going 0-5 with a turnover and falling asleep on defense (yes, I'm looking at you again James Harden). Elfrid Payton (whose hair is slowly morphing into a creature of its own) tore up the Rockets bench, especially Ty Lawson. The Rockets bench got cold offensively, and the Magic used this to their advantage to open up their biggest lead of the game at 87-74.

In the fourth, the Rockets used a 13-0 run to climb within one point at 89-88, and then Ty Lawson resurrected himself for about 4 minutes, scoring 9 points. James Harden hit some tough shots, and ultimately finished with 31 points and 7 assists, a good night from the beard. However, the Rockets got cold in crunch time, and then Evan Fournier hit a tough floater to give the Magic the 102-101 lead. The Rockets had a mess of a time trying to win the game, as Dwight Howard threw a pass to Trevor Ariza while falling to the ground. Ariza, who shot 4-14 (including 0-8 from downtown) predictably missed the shot, and the Magic hit their free throws to seal the deal.

Some other notes and observations:

Dwight Howard is an absolute monster in the pick and roll. He finished off 5 alley oops with ferocious dunks, prompting me to think: can Dwight just be happy doing that and cleaning up the boards? Dwight attempted to score in the post several times tonight, and let's just say they were less than pleasant to watch.
J.B. Bickerstaff went with the lineup of Lawson-Beverley-Harden-Ariza-Howard to close the game, which was fairly successful up until the final two minutes. However, it was interesting to see Motiejunas and Terrence Jones get 8 and 12 minutes respectively, considering they both had pretty good first halves (especially Jones). Even Clint Capela only played 19 minutes, and he had a very good showing (10 points, 5 rebounds, and a block on 5-5 shooting).
In the end, the Rockets couldn't overcome their crucial mistakes, whether it be cold stretches offensively or key defensive breakdowns. This was a VERY winnable game against a good team on the road, but hopefully the Rockets can channel their frustration into the key Christmas night showdown against the Spurs on Friday.

 

I asked heypartner the same question as in another thread, what happened?

 

wouldn't count on it

 

I honestly think that Scott Skiles would have been a good coach for us with his toughness and discipline. Being a former PG would have good for us too.

Bickerstaff's substitution's are even worse than McHale's. The latter at least went with the hot hand, despite his awful X's and O's. The whole league is laughing at us.

 

Why have no power forward in the game on the final defensive possesion. You knew they were going to bring howard out and now you leave the paint open with no shot blockers? WTF JB?

 

in tight key moments, players revert to who they are, and play their natural games. if the rockets want to add toughness and discipline when it matters they need to trade for those kind of players.

 

I'm still wholeheartedly on the Thibs bandwagon.

 

I was thinking the same thing...I would've packed the lanes..heck might've even gone with Howard,Capela and DMO all at the same time so if Howard left the paint he'd have more than 1 potential back up in the paint.

 

Oh I'm not counting but look forward to watching. We're not gonna see the finished product in my opinion til April/May and the western conference is weak enough to where I think these guys are more concerned about getting things RIGHT then they're record as crazy as that sounds. Mastering the 5-10 plays that decides games

 

You can't get beat by a layup on the last play. Just can't If they hit an outside shot,, tip your cap but you can't let them score in the paint.

 

yep agree 100%

 

Orlando Magic 104, Houston Rockets 101: Too little defense, too late
by PAUL MCGUIRE | DECEMBER 23, 2015 at 09:31 PM

Good teams don’t win close games. Good teams avoid close games.
It is a powerful sports adage because it is true. The Houston Rockets had their chances to win this game. There are good things to take away from this loss. But the one big thing which has continually held Houston back throughout this season reared up again and gave the Rockets a close game down the stretch. And in that stretch, Evan Fournier made a tough shot by the paint, Dwight Howard missed the lob, and James Harden was held like it was a football game Marcus Thornton missed a three-pointer to tie the game at the very end.
So what was that one big thing which cost Houston the game? The willingness and ability to execute and hustle on defense.
Yup. Again. Still, things were somewhat better compared to the earlier travesties this season.
I can start by pulling up a tweet I made during the second quarter:

Paul McGuire @PaulKMcGuire
Aaron Gordon had 14 points in his previous five games. Total. He has 14 tonight in just 7 minutes against Rockets.
4:53 PM - 23 Dec 2015

There were three stretches of horrible defense by the Rockets. The beginning of the first quarter, where Vucevic scored over Dwight and Capela and inspired no small amount of Magic fans cheering over Howard’s decline (side note: while I know why Magic fans despise Howard, I have to admit that I don’t really get it. The hatred of Magic fans for Howard is quite a bit more than say, Hornets/Pelicans fans towards Chris Paul or Jazz fans towards Deron Williams).
The beginning of the second quarter, where Gordon and the Magic ran the Rockets out of the building in transition.
And most importantly, the entire third quarter, where…well, I don’t really know what happened there. Or rather, it was a colossal mess of poor half-court execution, as the Magic just ran screen and rolls, more screen rolls and finished that mess with a 13-point lead at the end of the third quarter.
Forrest pointed out on Monday’s game how the Charlotte Hornets offense was incredibly well-executed, but the Hornets just could not seem to hit anything that tonight. Well, the Magic’s offense was also incredibly well-executed and had a lot of crisp pasing, surprisingly so for a team coached by Scott Skiles. But the Magic actually have athletic players who are also capable of spacing the floor, and this made a huge difference against a Rockets team which really does not have a lot of athleticism. Howard struggled to both watch Vucevic out near the three-pointer and guard a slashing Elfrid Payton/Evan Fournier. As Bickerstaff chose to run with a small-ball lineup tonight, there was no second big man to help him.
The Rockets got better during the fourth quarter by forcing turnovers and playing aggressively against Oladipo and Payton. But even when the Rockets scored for several straight possessions after they had reduced the lead to three to five points, they kept giving points right back for a while longer. And then time ran out and it came to a coin flip which never should have happened in the first place.
Still, this loss was quite a bit better compared to the beginning of the season. Houston was better on the offensive end and did not totally devolve into “Harden, do something.” There was an excellent play in the first quarter where the Rockets hustled for two offensive rebounds, had a good drive from Ty Lawson, and then finished with a Capela finish at the rim. Houston’s fourth quarter comeback was both a combination of Lawson and a steady diet of dishes to Howard at the rim.
Lawson was the other big positive of tonight. It’s a sign of how far he’s fallen that I was surprised when Lawson was the first player off the bench and not sitting at the very end. In the second quarter there, he was better than the train wreck he’s been all season, but nothing fantastic. But then in the fourth quarter, he had seven points and joined in the “Feed Howard” party. There were even possessions where he drove, dished out to Harden, who then took a more open three-pointer; just like Rockets fans had been hoping for at the beginning of this season.
And in other positive news, Donatas Motiejunas had a fantastic underhanded alley-oop to Dwight Howard that had me jump up. Motiejunas’s passing was really something tonight, and the Rockets are lucky to have so many good big men. Jones also had a great game and jump started Houston’s offense during that first bad first-quarter stretch.
Well, the Rockets are back at .500. And now they get to play a Spurs team on Christmas that in a normal NBA season would probably be the best team in the league.
Alas, it has not been a normal season by any stretch of the imagination. The Magic are good, the Pelicans are bad, and the Rockets are now just mediocre. It is a testament to how bad this season has been that “mediocre” sounds like an accomplishment now.

 

wasnt fully engaged watching the game as I usually do...since i was at the bar...but I thought the Rockets were cooked. How did they manage to close the gap and have a lead even for fleeting seconds???

I thought that last possession when they were down by 1 was fine... didnt think the lob was there since the Magic walled off Dwight. And Ariza had a good look but rushed his shot from the corner. Tough ending for a gutsy comeback...lets get the Spurts...on Friday..

Merry Christmas guys...

 

This was typical Rockets.

Losing winnable games, making things hard on themselves, jacking around for 80% of the game.

Even Morey and Alexander seem to just be waiting for the season to end.

I have seen nothing to lead me to believe anything is really all that different than 6 weeks ago.

 

The only way to save this season would be to replace the entire coaching staff.

 

That includes Coach Morey.

 

Rockets sputter down stretch as Magic pounce for win
By Jonathan Feigen on December 23, 2015 at 8:27 PM

ORLANDO – The Rockets ran the play that had worked through most of the night.

Orlando had not forgotten all the times Dwight Howard had finished that pick-and-roll with slams long before he did it for the Lakers or Rockets, and Magic fans had booed heartily through the night as he did it to them on Wednesday

Down one in the final minute, the Rockets went to it again. Howard did not get free. He was barely able to control the ball enough to get it to Trevor Ariza, who missed a contested 3 as the Magic held on to beat the Rockets, 104-101 at Amway Center.

The Rockets had taken a one-point lead with Pat Beverley put in a pair of free throws for one-point Rockets lead with 26.9 seconds remaining, but Evan Fournier finished a tough drive to give the Magic the lead and the Rockets a final chance with 14.2 seconds remaining.

Howard had made 6 of 10 shots, all on dunks. With the game on the line, the Rockets got the ball to James Harden at the elbow and he drove the lane looking for Howard. Howard never got loose enough to catch it while going to the rim. Ariza missed the toughest of the eight 3s he put up, falling to 0 for 8 from deep.

Forced to foul, the Rockets put Tobias Harris at the line and he pushed the lead to three. The Rockets tried to get Harden a final look to force overtime, but he could not get free of Victor Oladipo – with the Rockets screaming he was held – as Marcus Thornton missed a final heave at the buzzer.

The Rockets, however, could not blame the loss on the final possessions gone wrong or anyone on the offensive end.

The defense had snoozed through the night, only waking in time to allow the Rockets to make a fourth quarter run to a one-point lead. By then, the Rockets were forced to win the last possessions. Instead, the Magic got the final stops and the win.

The Rockets had rallied from down 14 to within one heading into the last four minutes and then forced three-consecutive turnovers. When Harden finished a drive and put in a step-back 18-footer with 2:48 left, the Rockets had their first lead of the game.

Offensively, the Rockets had been clicking through most of the night. They often did not make their open 3s, but they were getting the shots they wanted.

The challenge was in getting enough stops to let the offense take it from there. When Lawson and Harden go going in the fourth quarter, the Rockets rolled through a 13-0 run to reduce the Orlando lead to its last point.

Along the way, Magic coach Scott Skiles got his starters back on the floor and the Rockets had not stopped them often, but down the stretch the defense gave the Rockets a chance to win the game late.

The Rockets had switched to their small lineup when they began the second half with five-consecutive empty possessions and the Magic built a 12-point lead. The lineup change worked on one end. With Marcus Thornton checking in for Clint Capela and Trevor Ariza moving to power forward, the Rockets scored on five-consecutive possessions and cut the Orlando lead in half.

They did it mostly with an offensive surge. On the other end, the Magic were still moving the ball to great looks.

The Rockets offense had operated well through much of the first half. They had their best shooting first quarter of the first season. They had rolled through a 19-3 run – started by Terrence Jones and keyed by Clint Capela – to go from a 10-point deficit to a six-point lead. Harden had 13 first quarter points on 4 of 6 shooting.

Eventually, however, in a matchup of teams happy to hoist 3s, the Magic took a six-point lead into the second half because they made their shots from deep and the Rockets missed theirs.

Both teams took 13 3-pointers, but the Rockets made four, the Magic his six. The Rockets could have no quarrel with the looks they got. But when they shot from inside the arc, they made 18 of 29 shots, scoring 30 points in the paint.

After a slow start, Howard had three dunks in the second quarter, the first two on lobs above the rim. Capela and Jones each had eight points in the half.

The Magic were executing just as well, with penetration forcing defensive rotations that left shooters open. The Magic had the added benefit of shooters knocking down those shots, with the Rockets seeming increasingly content to try to win a shootout.

 

"The Rockets offense had operated well through much of the first half. They had their best shooting first quarter of the first season. They had rolled through a 19-3 run – started by Terrence Jones and keyed by Clint Capela – to go from a 10-point deficit to a six-point lead. Harden had 13 first quarter points on 4 of 6 shooting." John Feigen

 

This.