ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Clippers 12/19/2019

Did you also notice he hasn't been able to finish a game in the last 3 because he was back in the locker room

 

Tucker and Russ' 22 rebounds was more than the rest of the team combined! They are the
"Hustle Duo" of the NBA!

 

I did notice that he fouled out every time he played against us. But I'd still like to know how Harden did when being guarded by Pat. I'm not saying it as a diss to Harden. I'm genuinely interested in seeing the stats. Harden's by far one of my favorite Rockets players behind T-mac and the Dream.

 

Funny how Pat can’t seem to make it through and entire game when he’s guarding Harden though hmm

 

And I'm glad he fouled out. But he did seem to give Harden more trouble than Kawhi and PG13.

 

FULL HIGHLIGHTS of PJ Tucker's MASTERCLASS of defense on Kawhi!

 

By the eye test (not sure where to find that stat but I’m sure someone will for you) Pat does a Skidmore job on Harden but he is also literally crawling all over him hence why he tends to foul out eventually. Pats a solid defender, not quite the “run around and do nothing fake news” Russ portrays him to be, but he takes everything to an extreme all the time and as his BMac mega flop shows is a Oscar winning flopper a lot of the time. I loved Bev when he was here, can’t stand him now lol

 

Pat is the type of guy that when he's on your team, you love him. But when he's not, you can't stand him.

 

Chiney Ogwumike - mocking Harden haters the way all CFers would

 

PJ was huge for us throughout the entire game. Can we see the Harden putting the clamp down on PG13 in the 4th quarter? Everyone talks about how Harden plays no defense, but he did an amazing job on PG13 the last 6 minutes of the game.

 

Chiney is the best. More Chiney, please.

 

people never talk about how kawhi like always copying harden moves lol what’s the difference between his iso and hardens iso? They both are in their own island. The media always start bad narratives about harden. This needs to stop they need to just appreciate harden’s greatness

 

incredible win....I was getting down on our team after the spurs and Kings Debacle. low and behold guys pull a W like Cornered Tigers, I think this team and said this from day 1. Lower floor possibly but this pairing provides a Higher Ceiling

 

I was keeping an eye on Harden during that 4th Q and he was focused on defense.
I believe the killer instinct was kicking in. They WANTED that game, you could tell
Thanks Bev!!

 

"These Rockets want all the smoke. "
- Chiney

Yep

Rocket River

 

It would be amazing if this team would routinely play defense. They just pick and choose when they want to try.

 

Had the privilege of going to the game (shoutout nosebleeds) and it was an amazing game to watch. Hearing the clips fans jeer and then have to go home with the L ... Nothing better. Some take-aways I had:

General:
-Lot more Rockets fans everywhere than I thought
-I love that we have the only player who wont let Beverly off the hook. Loved that he set out to be aggressive and claps back at beverly.
-It's cool to hear the crowd reactions when our stars make big plays. Especially when Harden hit those dagger stepbacks.

Clips:
-Our first half was pretty unbearable to watch. All of the Clippers' weapons got anything they wanted with no resistance at all. Beverly gets into Harden's head at times. Kudos to him for swiping at his stepback early. It clearly affected Harden & made him overthink that matchup a bit.
-Paul George and Kawhi's defense wasn't as "top 2 defenders in the league" good as they were billed to be. PG was getting cooked by harden, Kawhi was hiding from guarding either Russ or Harden, and I was literally shocked to see both of them just straight blow by Kawhi on multiple possessions when he did switch onto them in the clutch. I don't know whether Kawhi's hurt or just noticeably worse on on-ball defense, or him getting stymied by tucker really set him back.
-Capela can't guard Montrez at all ... Like at all. Last year Faried shut that guy down. C'mon Clint.
-Lou Will's ejection was probably a great thing for us. As hyped as the Clips' duo is said to be, Lou is their best playmaker by far, especially in the clutch. Watching pg & Kawhi try to playmake is something I think we can live with.
-Kawhi was really really sloppy with his ball handling in the second half. PJ did an amazing job on him in the second half and it was so gratifying to watch Kawhi not be able to truck his way into the lane with his only move (the left stiff arm/shoulder pull back). PJ's best matchups tend to be with the beefier players in the league (versus guys like Curry) and with Kawhi it was no exception.
-Paul George tends to pop off on us a lot ... But I'd rather him do so than Kawhi. Worse thing to give up to him is those open threes. Force him into the midpost and we can live with the results.

Rockets:
-Harden was a lot more mature this game. After having only 7 points in the first half he was patient, making plays, not forcing up stepbacks to get into his groove like he has done in the past (the first game of the season against the bucks), but knew his opportunities would come and was really efficient with them down the stretch. Really glad he turned it up in the clutch. I think he can afford to be more aggressive when Beverly is guarding him from the outset, and just straight drive right on him. Beverly tends to give that side up to him imo and all his barking wont be able to do anything about it.
-Russ' pace in the half court. He was great in transition as usual (minus the 2-3 turnovers from straight losing it by pushing so hard), but dare I say he was looking like Chris Paul in the pick n roll, weaving in and out, throwing a bump or two here and there to clear space and gather his feet for the lil fadewaway. Usually the only midranges you see from Russ is the contested pull up off the dribble ones. But last night, he was more patient, waiting to see what his guy would give up and he squared up for great shots he could make from 12-15 feet. When he's able to make shots like that, combined with his relentless transition game, we have a true superstar superstar next to harden. His motor is crazy
-Rivers was really effective in hitting timely buckets for us to either build momentum or silence their's.
-Again, PJ's stellar defense
-House's defense ... in contrast with PJ's is sad. I can understand PG scoring on him, but getting blown by, by a guy like Beverly? c'mon
-Strong finishes by capela
-Scratched my head to see Gary Clark in there, and thought "oh maybe coach is giving him a shot" and then he played a minute or two and got immediately yanked lol

Anyway, great competitive game to go to. I'm 2/2 when going to see the Rockets play the clips at staples :0

 

I like how we’re developing the comeback mentality

 

lol its was nothing like the CF mocking....if i wasnt polite i would have said you have no clue what cf mocking haters looks like