ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Raptors 3/9/2018

I'm sure a thousand people have said this already since I just got finished watching a recording of the game and it's been over for a while.

But the problem wasn't at all that the Rockets didn't make their threes. It was that they didn't take their threes. Rockets don't win so much because they're such great 3 shooters (though we have so many that can get hot from 3). They win because they take 41 a night. They win with high-volume 3 point shooting. They ultimately lost tonight because they only attempted 27 threes while the Raptors put up 38.

They proved our team's philosophy: 3 is more than 2. And when the Rockets keep throwing them up from 3, eventually they're going to make some, just as they did once they finally starting doing it at their normal volume.

I think we'd only attempted 11 at the half and I wasn't concerned that we weren't making them; I was only concerned that we weren't taking them. After all, Gordon was something like 0-4 at halftime. That means that the entire rest of our team attempted around 7 threes combined in the entire first half. Maybe I'm off by a couple, but not by many. Only Gordon was willing to attempt threes in the first half. And in the whole game only Gordon and Harden put up more than 3 attempts from 3. Most put up 2 or less in the whole game.

And when we came back for the second half, for a long time, he was still the only one willing to take them. So we've got one guy that isn't hitting from three and he's the only guy (out of him, Harden, Paul, Ariza, Moute, Johnson, Tucker) willing to attempt them. For a whole half and then again when we come back. And he makes some because when we shoot enough we make enough. But why was everyone else opting for the 2? It's like they let the Raptors defense make them forget who they are.

It's impossible for the 7-8 Rockets that make 3's (when we need 3's and everyone's unwilling to take them, where the heck is Gerald Green?) all to go cold on the same night and for the whole game. And they didn't have the chance to go cold because they weren't attempting them. "They missed every three they didn't take" to riff on that old saying. They buckled to Raptors perimeter defense and settled for 2's and that was the difference in the end. And if I don't play Green for the whole game, I definitely put him in for the final play because he's the guy on our team that can almost shoot while in the act of catching, and make shots that way.

And Chris Paul stood at the three point line wide open over a second and opted to pass off. Twice. He clearly did not want to shoot threes at all tonight.

They didn't get the message and start really attempting 3's until 3 minutes left in the 3rd. And then, once Harden went to rest, they forgot again until he came back with seven minutes left. We only played "our" game and shot our normal volume of threes for 10 minutes of that game out of 48. The last three in the third and the last seven in the fourth.

It was such a heroic effort to come back as they did. And nobody should really be complaining about not getting an 18th straight win against the third best team in the league (record-wise at least). It's hard not to complain though when they lost because they failed to stick with the plan that had got them all those wins, while they watched Toronto do to us what we normally do to others with high-volume three point shooting.

That they did it for one half was alarming and weird. That they came back from halftime and still hadn't gotten the message that our team wins because we shoot a lot of threes and everyone was still opting for layups instead, it was just baffling. When you get in a hole like that it's not impossible to get out of, but you get out of it most easily by getting stops and making threes. Or our team does. Every night but tonight. Tonight, but for 10 minutes, we mostly settled for getting stops and shooting 2's and that was ultimately the difference in the game.

On the bright side, I think our team really needed a game like this for preparation for the playoffs. I would rather have won out of course but this kind of loss should build character in important ways.

And, as I type, Warriors are down 9 to Blazers at the half so maybe Portland will come to the rescue and we'll maintain our edge in the standings.

 

Raptors home games are no jokes, they blow people away except we had a chance. They blasted the Celtics and the Blazers at least 20 points each. It is tough to win games falling behind by so many points. The Rocks could of folded early and just move on, but they battled to the end. In a series, we will beat them just not tonight.

 

I loved how scared we made the Raptors and their city feel. There was a moment where the commentators noted the tense atmosphere in the arena, dreading the return of Harden from the bench as we chipped away at their lead in the 4th. I felt like we were boogeymen.

 

One of the Raptors said it was huge to protect home court in this game. Huh? This was just another game. Feel good about beating us and ending our streak. This was still just another regular season game.

 

I need the

I need Clint to get better mentally. He doesn't pass when double teamed. He isn't in position defensively often. That attempt to dunk jonas valanciunas was right in front of him was terrible awareness.

 

Spot on observation.

 

ESPN putting respect on the 17 game run. nice.

 

I want to take some Clutchfans members out for drinks.

 

Still tippin on fo foooesss

Still media conspiracy

 

Yeah they are a well balanced team. More impressive than Boston. Still think GS or Houston takes the whole thing.

 

I agree somewhat. But they hugged the shooters on PnR daring Chris Paul and Harden to attack their bigs or go for the lob. Harden had a whole bunch of layups due to this, CP3 not so much, he's too small to attack the bigs.

 

You guys literally worry about this stuff?

 

Loss notwithstanding, I like how D’Antoni managed Harden and Paul’s minutes.

 

Worry about what? going out like b****es?

 

They way there are playing They are way better then the Celtics or the Cavs.

 

Looks like the Rockets lost no ground to the Warriors tonight thanks to Portland.

 

hello guys, new here..I just came here to say that I believe this team definitely would've won had Wright and Anderson played..also if Joe Johnson hadn't got 16 minutes off the bench and Gerald green snatching up all his minutes ...also D' Toni has made some really questionable choices towards the end of the game... but other than that fun game..I can't wait for the playoffs!

 

warriors just lost, it's all good guys we still in a good place

 

Not sure has been posted before, but this year’s Toronto Raptor is absolutely a top-three team.

 

Great job Portland. So the loss didn't hurt that much.