Yea I think he had surgery on his knee and would not have been able to make it back for the playoffs so they released to open a roster spot. Not sure what they used that roster spot on.
How did okc have 15 more shots than us? They had 10 more offensive rebs Thats the game right there together with their 5 less turnovers So we lacked intensity hustle and focus due to the meaningless game so i dont think we need to change our offensive and defensive game philosophy just make minor tweaks to it.
I could be wrong, but the Rockets the past four games have had a major case of Holding It Back syndrome. I think they're all just saying things as posturing to the media. In reality the removal of one vital part of the rotation every game has been indicative of the broader mindset. This team is just waiting to get back to the playoffs before revealing any adjustments. We'll keep doing our thing and Boris Becker-ing the last few games of the year.
Rebounds were equal, BUT OKC had a 15-6 OFFENSIVE Rebound edge. Those get your 2nd shots. So you couple those with the turnovers and you get those extra FGAs. REBOUNDS are critical vs OKC. They miss shots, a lot of them. But they get those offensive rebounds. This is where Capela and Nene have to produce. And they DID NOT last night.
All the negatives and yet we lost by 6. One team had to win to stay in the playoff hunt while the other....not so much. If they get that ratio of offensive rebounds in the playoffs against one of the best defensive rebounding teams (Houston) then we will talk.
Concern number 1 is clearly James Harden quitting. Please, basketball Gods, let him push through this year and go down swinging.
cont’d from post #28 Number 3 in DefRb% to be precise. https://stats.nba.com/teams/defense/?sort=DREB_PCT&dir=-1
I did say the Thunder were 36-91 FG’s (to Houston’s 76 FG’s). That’s crazy....Rockets should have lost by 14. Rockets will be prepared for plenty of bricks and air balls vs Thunder in the playoffs.
Not even basketball gods could have helped lebron or kd or anyone else single handedly carry this team farther last year
Very good assessment. I see the same things and they are all concerning. The first playoff game will be very revealing; does fumble/bumble continue or do the Rockets take it to another level. We will get our answer soon. JJ, Green, and Nene need to sit more, and Ryno and Gordan need to play more. Harden HAS to improve his concentration in both shooting and passing. He periodically goes spastic. Keep the ball moving.
The last two......can be combine to Refs..... Refs unfairly swallowing their whistle is bullshit expected but Paul George got some ridiculous calls...... That was the frustration. Russ's strip was a no call that Harden was called for a few minutes earlier. Barring this kind one sided refereeing ..... We ok Rocket River
Passing? Care to check the role players 3fg% last game? Guess how many potential assists harden had during the season and the last game
Westbrook finally played defense. Used his speed, leaping ability and quick hands to his advantage. Harden got by Westbrook but then WB recovered and blocked Harden’s weak layup. I think Harden would have dunked it plus 1 if it was the playoffs. Just not worth both of them getting hurt, especially Harden. Sometimes I think the friendship of Harden and Westbrook is one sided. If Westbrook guards CP3 I would go with Harden beating his man most of the time. If Westbrook is on Harden, I would go CP3 beating whoever is guarding CP3. Test Westbrook every once in a while. Try to get fouls on him. Protect the ball on offense and make PG13/Melo/Westbrick jump shooters......actually mean “No Layups” unlike McCollum. Rockets will be ok vs Thunder.
The Chris Paul shielding the ball by flaring his hip out getting ready for a Westbrook swipe down (which ended up Westbrook climbing his back) was an obvious sign of a ref agenda. IMO. Looked to me like the refs were rewarding the Thunder aggressiveness at every opportunity while penalizing the Rockets at every turn. If Westbrook did the same, as CP3 came by him so close with the intention of possibly hacking down on Westbrook. They would have called a foul on Chris Paul.
So you think Hakeem would have allowed the stain on our city that was game 5 and 6 last year. Okay, good call. I vehemently disagree. I think CP3 could have gotten the very beatable Spurs to 7 games last year, actually. Truth be told, Only the basketball Gods know the answer to why Harden forfeited in the middle of game 5, and then showed up drugged and careless in game 6. Patrick Beverley literally quit the Rockets afterwards he was so disgusted, and I don't blame him. Beard is great, no doubt, but the jury for him having "The Heart of a Champion" is most certainly out, and he has lots of ground to make up in that regard. This was a PLAYOFF ELIMINATION GAME. ("No one could have carried the Rockets further") Okay...
Instead, Care to check James Harden's Regular Season PER vs his Playoff PER for the last 5 years? 23 vs 21 24 vs 18 27 vs 25 25 vs 22 27 vs 23 30 vs ? If 88 playoff games have shown us anything, it is that Harden is about to have a fairly significant decline in production and efficiency. Here is Lebron over the last 5 years, Regular Season vs Playoff PER. 32 vs 28 29 vs 31 26 vs 25 28 vs 30 27 vs 30 29 vs ? Okay. So here are our options: A, James Harden grows a Pair. B, CP3 takes over. C, Take the claw to the face, then roll on the ground and die. Hmm! Shoulda gone with A!
