ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Warriors 12/1/2016

Shaw said- "can't really say anything bad about harden this season" #expertanalysis

 

KJ > brewer

 

Can someone explain to me why tech + tech = ejection but tech + flagrant is not?

 

Great win, well worth staying up until like 2:30 EST to watch lol. Good bounce back from the no-show Tuesday night, although we probably will pay for this win with a loss in Denver. Just glad to be at least 3-2 on the road trip.

Definitely caught the Warriors on an off night, but the Rockets played really well most of the game, until we almost choked it away at the end. Harden looks gassed at the end of every close game now which is concerning, but great effort from him on both ends tonight. Obviously Anderson's best game as well.

2OTs were really sloppy and I'm kinda surprised we held on, we'll see what we look like tonight lol.

 

Last night we were on the same page and we could see the corner.

If this team can win tonight, it would mean

1. We got our legs back
2. We have officially turned the corner, not just reached it

 

Do yourself a favor and DO NOT go watch the highlights of the game on NBA.com. All they show are GS plays. Made me so mad.

 

Don't get me wrong I enjoyed this game and it was a great win but both over times were awful to watch. We won because of defense and other people stepped up but I was watching harden and was disappointed. He must have been running on fumes by then but you can't just go iso ball and even if you do you can't just dribble dribble dribble and pull up 3 every time!

That's literally what he did almost the entire overtime. I remember he did it two times in a row both bricks. Tried it for ot1 game winner. Gotta believe in your guys and keep moving the ball around!

 

Harden did not shoot well at all

That said it's hard to avoid iso at the end of games. Even golden state did it. They basically turned into the thunder from last year with Steph and Durant taking turns

 

it may be frustrating when he makes the mistake but that's all relative to the situation at the moment. Yeah moving the ball around sounds nice and all but at the end of the game that's when you step up as the leader and close it out in whatever manner that takes. he's going to make mistakes. it happens. That possession where he tried to lob the ball to Dekker off a roll to the basket instead of just taking it upon himself was almost a critical game losing decision. Like it or not the end of games particularly close one will be iso based. That's why you need those types of capable closers at the end of games who teams can depend on.

 

They should sit Harden tonight for rest.

They can beat Denver without him.

 

I thought we would most likely get blown out by GS except I said before the game we had two things that could change that....we tend to play better after previous game outings where we didn't play well (or "running in mud" as D'Antoni put it). And, if GS has an off-night shooting. Some of those players who normally kill the Rockets had some poor FG % this game. I was kind of shocked that, from the parts of the game I did watch, how this game played out and it seemed we were more evenly matched than playing them in prior seasons. But, it took really strong efforts from key players like Harden, Anderson, and Gordon. It was good to see those guys and the rest of the team step up.

 

i wish someone had the rockets feed of the game...i really wanna hear craig and bull call this

 

Yes, it is an accurate comparison. That said, if we can take one thing away from this seasons, and that thing is this team ISN'T as far away as we might have thought and there is a path with this group and this coach to make a serious run.... well, first round loss, or second round loss or whatever... that's super meaningful to me.

The middle is purgatory in sports, as we know, especially in the NBA, where the draft consists of only a select few difference makers every year and only 10 or so real NBA players, and where there are so few quality free agents that move teams every year, etc. Being in the middle, which on paper this team looked (and maybe still might be) destined to be, is hard to navigate out of.

The upside scenario is that something happens with the Clippers. What? I don't know. They're players seem to have fluke injuries. And somehow the Rockets sneak in as a 3rd seed. That gives you the Spurs in the second round, which I just like the matchup a bit. I just don't trust LMA and Kawhi yet as the leading driving force - though they'd obviously still be heavily favored.

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All that said, obviously there are 2 things to address. Maybe 3.
1. Defense. I think as much as anything the offense is helping the defense this year. I mean chemistry improvements are huge. But, despite for example Draymond and Klay being great and solid defenders, the Warriors defense I think gets a lift because of its offense. Partly because of how tired the other team gets, how off their pace they might get, etc. Partly because an offense so focused on motion and the 5 guys working like a well oiled machine probably translates well to your players similarly being constantly in motion or ready to be in motion, etc. defensively. In either case, DM needs to find more defensive talent.

2. Size. Clint is great. Nene is meh. Harrell is nice energy. But let's be honest, the team needs more size.

3. One more great player. To me, this target should 100% be Gordon Hayward. There's a <0.1% chance of getting him sadly. He's probably finally going to lead his squad to the playoffs. Took him a while to get fully into swing this year after a brief injury kept him out, but he's straight balling the last 5 games. He's become a much better (not quite great yet) creator. Etc. Won't happen, but would be amazing to add him to. Hand in hand with this point is the late game struggles. They've got to do better down the stretch and this 1 flat thing with a PnR/Pop that Harden runs with 8 seconds left on the shot clock... it's just not working as efficiently as its usage implies. Which doesn't mean Harden can't still have the ball. Try him in the post. Try some more action among the 4 other players before one guy goes for a pick - as is the defenders have plenty of time to communicate, to hassle the pick, etc. If the guy you want to pick for Harden is running through picks of his own in the paint, making back picks for others, etc. before popping out to pick for Harden, it just creates more confusion for the defense.

The Rockets are Warriors light, especially this year, since the Warriors already have #3, and are better at #1 though I think not near as good as they were the last two years there (if Draymond gets hurt, they're screwed).

 

Klay Thompson has the Bosh treatment in GSW.

 

I just think Harden needs to take the mid J more often when his 3s are off. His mid range seems improved but Harden is not utilizing it to his advantage. That said, the ISO thing is almost inevitable in tight late game situations, because moving the ball around also means higher chance of making mistakes and committing turnovers. You could make the case that teams like Atlanta suffer from this problem because they have no reliable closer.

 

I will say this.

Teams like Utah J!zz will give this Rockets team more trouble than GSW. That is because with the J!zz you have long, athletic perimeter defenders that they can throw at Harden and when he beats them you have a monster in Gobert waiting to block you. They can also take away your 3 point shot (which is Rockets strength) and funnel you towards Gobert. A couple of blocks by him and Rockets strategy changes to just jacking up contested 3's.

With this GSW, they have no interior presence like they had with Bogut, so you can drive at them and make a few layups and that opens up the perimeter game. The game then essentially becomes a shootout and with a shootout you never know. You can always fancy a Mike Anthony team when it comes to that.

 

Best Rockets game I have seen since Game 6 against Clips, exciting all around. Props to Harrell, Dekker, Gordon and Anderson...it seemed like the whole team stepped up this game.