Cavs have lost 6 of their last 8 including 3 in a row. #Pretenders Toronto has lost 5 in a row. #Pretenders Philly over the last 13 games have 10 wins. #Pretenders
Lackadaisical defense, poor effort, broke shot, no accountability, and no leadership to how he has played the last 8 games.... I DO GIVE A CRAP about this numbers... nor do I care that he is going to the MVP of the NBA.... the fact of the matter is he has stunk in up on the defensive end.... not because of him giving an effort.... but because just refuses to play Defense after turnovers or when the player blows by him..... he continues to jack up 3s when the shot isnt falling and he has the ability to take the ball inside and make a play..... Also he has been turning the ball over carelessly, and then expects his teammates to cover for his lack of defense in transition.... He has to be held accountable for his misdeeds.... On the other hand, the teams defense and especially the pick and roll defense has been str8 up garbage.... I know we are small, but our BIGS have to be the worst rebounding centers and bigs in the NBA....... As a team out shooting has been off, and we lack the mental capacity to attack and create shots in that matter when nothing is falling.... truly living and dying by the three... I hope we make a move soon.... No worries tho.... Rockets will bounce back with the heavy home games and the low tier talents that is coming to town... I hope the Rockets can feed on the weak and once again get their chemistry, groove, and momentum back for the the RUN that is expected..... We will get to 58+ wins...... YOOL B!
Major issues: 1) lack of defense. We went from middle-of-the-road (dare I say, even good?) to laughably bad again. That means that we have to score gobs of points to win - the very criticism that led critics to put us as a bubble playoff team at best 2) health - Gordon has been hurt, and he's the only other guy who can create his own shot reliably and score with Harden resting. Capela is still working his way into game shape, Beverley's wrist isn't healthy yet.. All-Star Break can't come soon enough. This is a tired, dinged up squad without the depth necessary to ride out the hard times 3) lack of a second star - ultimately, we need a reliable star piece around Harden. Gordon has been a great find but he's not going to get it done. Ryno has been pretty good but he's getting paid to be great. We really need another guy who can play at a high level. This was never going to be the year that we stood toe-to-toe with the stacked Warriors. But it could be the year that we put everything else in place and make one last big move towards contention. I'm not worried - but I also didn't think we could maintain the pace we set before this slump. The Rockets were playing at a higher level than their level of talent would have indicated possible. So some of this may just be regression to the mean. Enjoy the ride folks! All is not lost. I've really enjoyed watching our team this year.
Daryl needs to stop messing around and add another perimeter player that is at least somewhat useful. It's mind boggling we still use Brewer, quit being cheap and ship out 2 2nd rounders or a first for a solid backup wing. If Gordon is hurt or off, we really struggle.
Rule number ONE! Harden can never get mad at his teammates for ANYTHING EVER PERIOD. That is the coaches job. He can go to the coach quietly, but never to the player. That creates a TOXIC environment. I'm not saying this is the case, but when player are worried about their teammates b****ing if they make a mistake it makes them hesitant and worried on BOTH sides of the court.
It just feels like this team is easily defeated in the playoffs. One, keep the ball out of Harden's hands as much as possible. Two, shut down the 3 point line on the Rockets. Three, beat the Rockets from the inside out because they have zero interior D presence. Rockets are great when firing on all cylinders offensively...which is easily accomplished against inferior teams. But, clearly, the defense is not stopping anyone at the moment and the offense is misfiring. It's like we had a good formula but teams adjusted and now the recipe is out on how to defeat the Rockets. And, for the pokes preaching "tired", I will buy into that a little bit because of the tough schedule. Rockets are just easily discombobulated if one or two key guys are out as well.
The Cavs and Raptors got the CF and they are are the two best teams in the conference. Also Lebron is in regular season mode.
The team was playing well together and with focus. That is gone now. It has been gone since the new year to be honest. Two things have happened. 1. Teams have figured out how to best defend Harden 2. Players don't have the same confidence and focus. The trend happened before the latest losing of 6 of the last 9. You could see it in the way the team was winning. So this is no surprise.
