ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Thunder 4/23/2017 (Playoffs Round 1, Game 4)

please stop letting beverley handle the ball when harden goes to the bench.

 

I keep repeating it because

1) It's the rules
2) It was ignored
3) It was me

I tried to tweet JVG but I think he's not on twitter and props for that.

 

Right because you can see the flaw in OKC's defensive strategy with regards to Nene. He's exploiting the lack of adjustment to his play in OKC's defensive strategy.

 

yeah, like harden's been playing terrible games all season long and just happened to average 29/11/8.

 

Hakeem never played hard during the regular season. That's his beef. Harden has a beef too, but so what. All that matters is the chip we're working towards. Harden has chip pedigree.

 

the funny thing is that he was implying westbrook had a good game and was dragged down by his teammates, when in fact, it was the opposite. at least in the 4th when it mattered. think russ ended up shooting like 35% again right? and his teammates were like 57%?

its cool though.. im honestly over the MVP thing. i get more satisfaction eliminating these guys. i love russ but im getting tired of hearing his name from his stans/russtards.

 

watching the overhead view i was specifically looking for this and thought it was close enough that you're not going to get that call in an end-of-game free-for-all. he barely had any time to really get in there and, maybe more importantly, since not A SINGLE DAMN ROCKET was within 5 feet of him it feels like we would have just gotten bailed out on a technicality. he could have eaten a sandwich, read a book, and texted the girl he was going to be with after the game and then stepped in and none of us would have gotten the rebound.

 

All this series does is prove the Westbrook MVP voters right. That Westbrook HAS to chuck and hope that most go in to win games. Yet, many can clearly see that when Westbrook trusts his teammates and passes it properly then they run up the score. The 4th quarters are owned by the Rockets in every game because Westbrook switches his phone into selfie mode.

Westbrook has teammates that can play and score but they never know when they will get the ball at times, thus making their offense look discombobulated. If Harden did that for 3 quarters then chose to go into chuck city then you'd see the same result for the Rockets. We have won many games this year in the 4th quarter because Harden continues to keep his teammates involved throughout the entire game. That's a true MVP.

 

BULLSHIT - Hakeem is the all time shot blocking leader - in the REGULAR season.

DD

 

The mood in here is grim for a playoff win thread. Can't we all just get along? neNE bigley?

 

yeah i was a big russ fan before this season, usually defending him against people. even wanted him to get the triple double early in the season. then he started getting all the mvp talk and the media revealed how much they hate james harden and i decided i hated westbrook. now i'd like to see him go 5-30 with 14 turnovers in this next game. i really want to win this series 4-1 for the mvp revenge story. so we better come out ready to play in game 5.

 

Our starting five needs to change. Either let Beverly or Anderson come off the bench and let Gordon start.
D'antoni needs to get out of denial in thinking his starting five works because only Harden can create his own shot.
Rockets definitely made a mistake with Anderson and his payroll.
Harden almost cost us the game. D'antoni needs to learn to play the bench more when he sucks by forcing 3s and causing stupid turnovers.
Even with a win, this game is disappointing because the Rockets are expected to win with their deeper team.

 

This, let Gordon start over Beverley so we have more size and shooting.

 

Next game I'd go a little crazy and try this starting lineup:
1. Bev
2. Harden
3. T Williams
4. Anderson
5. Nene

And then give that some burn just for 7-8 minutes to see if the trend of terrible 1st quarter play changes.

 

I don't think we need to change anything with our line up...... what okc is finding out is that it's easier to defend the rockets with James on the court because you've game planned for it..... when he's out tho it seems no teams game plan for Gordon or Lou who are just as effective as James off the bounce..... Sometimes in rare cases it seems easier to defend a team when you know where the punches are coming from.... but with our 2nd unit you really just have no clue.... plus the 2nd units points are generated off ball and body movement and more schematic.....

I think it's a great dynamic and it keeps the other guys fresher for late game.....

Early game- Let Harden make it easy for you...
Then grind your own buckets out with the system......

Bottomline...... a lot of teams are doing themselves a disservice by not devoting what seems to be no time to guarding Lou and Eric..... it's like they're just willing to go with " let's just hope they come in cold"

 

Plus the whole only play Roberson when Harden is in is hurting them and they don't even realize it.....

 

Is there a good replay of the wide angle online? I tried to run it back and check on my DVR but it's a POS and I couldn't get it to pause at the right moment.

 

Was working so just finished the game... wow that last minute was dumb. Really dumb but a W is a W. Some observations...

Let's mix up the starting line up in Game 5 - they've been getting off to horrendous starts this entire series.
Loved the hack-a-Roberson. Employ this more in Game 5, especially if OKC is on a run
Commentators - love JVG but the others' bias is just ridiculous. Ohhh Westbrook from just inside half court!!!! ....it was a legit 30 footer and kudos, but not even close to half court. Keep it in your pants, Breen.
Nene MVP of the game. Beast mode.
Thunder couldn't even beat us with Harden playing like ass, should wrap this up on Tuesday at home


Good night and go Rockets!

 

WB padding and hogging in the post game too. Not letting Steven Adams answer the questions.

 

We all know Nene was terrific. I'll just say it again because he deserves all the praise he can get.

Gordon's defense is vastly underrated. Gordon is solid on both ends of the ball. He's a fantastic addition to this team.

What I really liked was the way that Harden didn't force anything. He knew he was playing hurt, his shot wasn't falling, but he got his teammates the ball, and hit them when they were open. He made some great passes that his teammates mishandled as well. Harden adjusted and played within the limits that his game dealt him.

Overall the Rockets showed they play and win as a team. This was an important win for the team. I loved it. I scared the wife with my screaming and clapping, but that's part of the game.