I'm not too mad at this loss. I thought this team was going to lay down after the CP3 injury. They really looked demoralized, and offensively out of sorts. Down by 11 or so in the 4th, you have to credit them for fighting and getting back in the game with a great shot to win at the end. Tough loss, and an even tougher road ahead. We knew when we traded for CP3 that we were mortgaging our future for the present. It is okay to be mad, but we should just realize that what we have in front of us is the result of that trade and other deals made for the moment without thinking past last season. This team has not had a first round pick in years now, and has not had the time to develop anyone other than Hartenstein. We are now playing teams that are quicker than us on the floor, much younger than us, and if they havent surpassed us yet, will do so in another season (Mavs, Heat, etc.). That's just the reality of the situation. Look at OKC - the main difference this year vs. last is not only the removal of Melo, but the development of Jeremi Grant as a bona fide SF, elevation of play from George, and solid contribution off the bench from guys like Abrines and Diallo. Right now this team doesnt have a future, and that is a really tough position to be in with a superstar in the midst of his prime.
That plus a terrible Capela game without effort don’t add up well....Miami is also worst in defending the 3. This was a night after breaking nba record in 3s
We were still in full control until Chris got injured, once that happened for some reason the team basically went out of the game with him. I just don't get it, Chris wasn't even playing that well, but it's like the rest of the guys lost some confidence or something, probably the Heat felt they were closer to be able to win too...whatever.
It’s empathy for a teammate who they know works his ass off. Harden was never the same after that. You could see how much it effected his play
About half the league would have. A healthy CP3 and this team can hang with anyone. The regular season doesn’t matter. Playoff positioning is it’s only purpose. Morey should trade for a better 3-D and roll with that.
Eh, it's indeed frustrating, i'm not regretting anything now, but i've always been kinda annoyed by how our star chase went over the years...cause we've never been able to get a star in his prime. We missed out on prime LMA, Horford, Durant, LeBron, Melo, Paul (i didn't even like some of them but, just saying)...couldn't trade for guys in their prime like George, Butler...we've been able to sign Chris but when he was already 32, and Dwight when he was still in his prime or sort of (i think he was 27...?) but even then, Dwight was...Dwight, and probably already over his prime in terms of athleticism anyway so...yeah.
Tough team on a back to back with their depth, athleticism, and overall size advantage. Not worried about the L. Loss of CP3 with the upcoming stretch is going to be one of those where if we manage to come out at 5-5 we’ll be happy. He should be close to right by the end of it. In the meantime, how confident is anyone in Brandon Knight to help fill that role?
Chris Paul runs the offense though, like we are completely reliant on him when Harden sits. This system is so depent on the pg
No Chris Paul, Rockets could be in serious trouble just to make the playoffs. "Lot of games left." They're gonna lose a lot of them without Chris Paul. -Chuck
Definitely, but it's like everything went in the toilet, not just the offense, the guys tried again in the last minutes but man between the second and fourth quarter we played like trash...poor effort, bad plays on both ends...
Agreed with the foul calls. Seriously though. The Rockets will struggle with teams that have length, and the Rockets lack depth that and with the CP3 injury the team becomes a sub 500 team especially in the second half and towards the end of the game. They were out rebounded by 20. The Rockets gave up 20 offensive rebounds. When Capela is guarding on the perimeter, the Heats bigger players have an advantage getting offensive boards. On the Rockets starting line up only Capela stands 6-7 or more. Boxing out the bigger team is hurting the Rockets. I am struggling to remember when Harden got a rest in the entire second half except for timeouts which meant without getting a good breather he would be struggling with fatigue as the game wore down. With CP3 injury someone else has to be able to create the offense and get the line and set up team mates other than Harden. CP3 may miss some time playing Harden over 40 minutes a night is dangerous in the long run as the season goes on. The lack of point guard depth once CP3 is injured hurt in the WC Finals and will hurt this season barring Morey making some changes or Knight is able to play at the level he was a few years ago. Gordon and Tucker both played over 37 minutes, the Rockets being one of the older teams in the league this can result in poor second half especially the 4th quarter. Miami is a good shot blocking team, most layups are contested, both Harden and Gordon struggled on non 3 pt attempts. Given all that the Rocket needed an average or above average 3 pt shooting night to have won this game. Without another player (average point guard to run the offense and who can hit the 3) and another SF/PF with some length that can help with rebounds especially when Capela is on the perimeter or not in the game there are a lot teams that are a match up nightmare during the season and in a 7 game series.
Take a look at how often this happened last year and how many games we lost with him out. Now add in more losses because we don't have as good of rotation as last year with Paul out. Then, figure the odds of CP3 staying healthy through the playoffs if we did make it there. I say slim unfortunately, because the playoffs last longer than he can stay healthy, if you are good enough to make it to the Finals. Is it worth the gamble to throw 40 million on him? I think Morey made a huge mistake!!!!! He's killing us.
