ClutchFans Game Thread: Blazers @ Rockets 2/6/2016

reporter "plz explain your lackadaisacal effort"
harden "whew what is it 5pm? cmon man its the weekend. gotta save my energy for the strip clubs"

 

Lol yeah mr "players choice" mvp all of a sudden not good enough to lead a team. Now he needs more help. Where were those comments just a season ago

 

I'd mix it up with Sam Dekker

 

Rockets come out slow, get blown out by Portland 96-79
By Colin Ainsworth on Feb 6, 2016, 4:42p


Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
The game started at 4 p.m. Central standard time, and it was like no one told Houston.


The Rockets lacked energy from the beginning. In the first 3 minutes, Houston turned the ball over 5 times, a discouraging fact after the supposed improvement in recent games. James Harden usually does a good job of getting his teammates involved and going early, but to keep the game close in the first quarter, Harden was forced to try to takeover. He kept it close as the Blazers only led by 6 after a horrific Rockets quarter.

Then Harden checked out for some rest and that lead doubled with the bench unit on the floor. If the Blazers were doing anything right during that run, which they certainly were, it was simply just hitting shots, demoralizing an already lackluster Houston team. Only 4 Rockets scored in the first half, and it took 22 minutes to add that 4th as Patrick Beverly finally made a layup. One would also think a team with 2 technical fouls in a half would have some fire going, but a dumb after the play shove by Patrick Beverley and a dumber kicking of the ball by Trevor Ariza basically tells a different story.

The Blazers went on a few runs back to back and you can guess the rest. Up by as many as 32, the Blazers began to embarrass the Rockets to the point where I was surprised that J.B. Bickerstaff kept his starters in. This was frustrating to watch, and I believe I can say that as the only person crazy enough to finish this game. Harden was also visibly frustrated, though. He had 30 through 3 quarters, along with 8 rebounds and 3 steals, which are all real stats despite Houston's scoreboard.

It's like the Rockets keep finding different ways to be disappointing. The defense, I think, has been the biggest issue all year, and yet today offense was the issue. There's been a lot of flack thrown way of Harden and Dwight Howard, saying that their effort has been slacking all year, but today the bench literally could have not existed today and we wouldn't know the difference. That said, effort level and turnovers maintained their place at the top of the Rockets problems today and Houston turned the ball over 23 times.

This game is weird to write about because somehow, everything I just said can be completely true, and it is also completely true that the Rockets did in fact show some fight and effort in the fourth quarter. Truly, it was Corey Brewer who came alive, as he has done before, and helped cut down Portland's lead to as little as 11. Marcus Thornton hit a few shots. Montrezl Harrell, who got some real minutes tonight, hustled as usual. Harden went out with a finger injury, though it didn't seem as serious as it could have been.

The Rockets ended up losing 96-79. Clyde Drexler said he couldn't be disappointed in the Rockets because they didn't give up, which I think there is some validity to. That said, I do still disagree with him. A team is expected to not give up, especially when they start losing by so much so quickly. You can still be disappointed with this kind of showing for pretty simple reasons: it is one thing to lose by a lot of points, another to lose by a lot of points to a great team or a team who played well, but it is another thing entirely to lose a game by a lot of points when one team plays poorly and you play worse.

Rockets have to bounce back from this and show up to play for the full 48 on Tuesday night, as they face the Golden State Warriors in Oakland.

 

The Warriors might write the Rockets obituary on Tuesday

 

Lol, no one can seriously think Curry could come save this mess... **** if harden was on the GSWs with a COACH it'd probably be good over there still. He'd also probably be more focused, there has to be a realization sitting in that this mess isn't going anywhere this season. And no amount of hero ball is going to save this train wreck.

 

Harden should just go to the club, **** this team.

 

The defense needs a intervention

Harden seems to playing a 1 man zone similar to the Lebron Heat teams

Problem is he isnt as fast to recover, he also has a tendancy to just drift, jeopordizing the whole team.

JB needs to stop with the Harden in the position to guard 2 players BS. Dude needs to focus on guarding one.

Also stop letting Dwight come to the 3pt line to help with picks. Never seen a team have thier center leave the paint so many times.

Just go back to forcing Midrange jumpers, better than this ****

 

we could always forfeit.

 

Lol, I've been saying that for almost 20 years, oh well.

 

When does baseball start?

 

JBB:

Defensively?

It was our start. The 2nd half, they had 19 & 22 points in a quarter. As frustrating and repetitive as it is, when we decide we're gonna defend, we're capable. We turned them over 22 times. But the ugly things reared their head again. They had 20 offensive rebounds. How many open shots did they get? It's disappointing the way we came out today.

Guys not sure where to go defensively?

It wasn't a matter of where to go. ****, you go to the open man. Two games in a row where our starts were sub par. Energy wasn't there. No excuse for the way we played tonight.

Pinpoint for slow starts?

Individual thing. Each guy has a responsibility to perform a duty. You gotta prepare yourself to play. The first two halves last couple games, we haven't done it. We'll get to the bottom of it and figure it out.

FO say we might move on from some guys?

That's their call. I don't get involved.

James hurt?

He hurt his hand on a play. They put ice on it. Don't know the extent of it.

You say you'll get to the bottom of it but as it gets repetitive...

That's our job: keep working at it. We won't quit until we figure it out.

Can you do something different?

Ton of different things. We'll take a look & talk about it.

Dwight's minutes tonight, rounding into shape?

He wanted to play. He was doing good things out there, vocal defensively. Ankle injury set him back but he's building back up.

Decent run towards end of 4th without James.

He hurt his hand and wrapped it in ice. Down 20, not the right thing to do without knowing the extent of his injury.

 

JBB should probably start looking for a new job, he's basically the scapegoat for this bull****.

 

JB JUST LET THE TEAM PLAY NORMAL DEFENSE STOP TRYING TO GET STEALSSSSSSSSSSSSS

 

Ariza:
Lack of effort sometimes, lack of concentration

Does it bother you as a veteran?

Yeah, it definitely bothers me but we all have to police ourselves and hold ourselves accountable when we come out like that. Again, very poor start.

Even more surprising after it happened last game?

It's just frustrating. We have to do better, bottom line.

Harden:

Tried to find rhythm. Tough night for us.

Middle finger bent back. Swollen a little bit but should be alright.

Could you have gone back in?

Big deficit so pointless.

How frustrating because we keep talking about the same things.

Frustrating.

Lack of effort on D?

We were a step slow on everything. Slow step & gives them confidence.

Every time you think you're taking steps forward...

Steps back. Yup, definitely feels like that. 2 games before the ASB. Try for 2 wins and see what happens there.

Any game can help us. 2 games, GS & Portland, we gotta come focused on both ends.

At some point, do you feel the FO will say we have to make moves?

I don't know. Out of my hands.

 

damn...you deep...lookin more like next season by the seconds

 

its not that they are incapable, its that they're unwilling a lot of times.

and that's the saddest thing for fans in sports. also the saddest way to lose.

wtf.

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">JBB &quot;2 games in a row I felt like our starts were subpar.&quot;</p>&mdash; Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) <a href="https://twitter.com/calvinwatkins/status/696131990446174208">February 7, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">JBB on why defense rotation was poor: (expletive) you go to open man.&quot;</p>&mdash; Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) <a href="https://twitter.com/calvinwatkins/status/696132366708797441">February 7, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

How do you turn the ball over 10 times????


Oh wait, he turned it over 14 times in one game...in the WCF

 

Mate, if you are going to cite his turnovers (which were pathetic tonight) at least get the right number. Otherwise you look like a tool.

12. 12 turnovers.