ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Pelicans 12/29/2019

We all know they're going to get no minutes when the starters are back, so the development aspect is quite useless.

 

That is a stupid comment. We played without Harden, Westbrook, AND Clint. Did you really expect to win with the bulk of your offense out? Seriously?

 

it’s astonishing how people continue to cry about the offense as if our defense isn’t below average and our offense isn’t ranked 3rd

When will this cluelessness stop?

 

Sad, but maybe true. MDA is such a stubborn old ox.

 

What exactly do you think he was supposed to do? Turn the pumpkins he had to work with into Harden/Westbrook and Capela? There wasn’t a lot of talent out there for the Rockets. They played hard and when it became winning time they were exposed.

 

Thabo didn’t even get off the pine tonight lol. I bet he gets cut

 

But the Lakers are from LA. Never root for an LA team. That's sick.

 

It's true. Take Harden out of this team and we'd struggle to make the playoffs. Westbrook is pretty good, but he can't consistently carry a team.

 

I would have liked to see more set plays and less isolation from guys like House and Clemons. Granted, I saw more set plays from MDA tonight than I did over the last 2 seasons (slight exaggeration) but there is was room to add more.

This game was a loss from the moment Harden was scratched. But that opened up more opportunities to have a structured offense. We saw glimpses but not enough. Even Bullard mentioned it.

 

No. ****** lazy harden needs to stop walking the ball up the court and move without the ball. Who cares if they give up 120 ppg to scrubs.

 

Is it cluelessness or a realization that a MDA coached team will never defend on a high level?

 

17-18 Rockets and 11-12 Knicks before he got fired says otherwise...Rockets were a top defensive team after the ASB last year as well

Rockets can give up 120 and dudes will b*tching about Harden not running around off-ball like Rip Hamilton or crying about the offense in general...an offense that is always elite while we get held back by our inconsistent/below average defense

How many teams have won a title with a defense that isn’t top 10? Not many.

 

MDA is not a good defensive coach, he defers to his associate coach for that. However with the proper personnel he has shown his teams can defend at a high level. The 2017 team was an elite defensive team.

I at times get frustrated at MDA’s lack of attention to detail, but he is far from the only coach I can say that about. I would love to have Pop or Carlisle or Stevens but they are not available.

 

It was not just He Harden, but our top 3 stars. Come on, nobody should expect to win with all 3 of them out.

 

I don't think our bench players have very good defensive instincts. They might play hard but you can see them getting lost on picks and overcommit to help shooters.

Harden is actually a very smart player defensively. Weird to say but we missed him on defense tonight

 

They ran an actual offense for 3 quarters. Legitimate movement. Looked good!

4th quarter comes and it’s back to stagnant hoisting of 3’s and opponents going on huge runs with no minimal timeouts to slow the momentum.

Obviously the talent wasn’t where it usually is but the habits remain the same.

 

In my dreams I'm James Harden

 

You guys...really have got to get over that time out thing man....please....it barely matters in the grand scheme of things.

 

James is a beardful.

 

‘17-‘18 was all Big Dilly.

Don’t follow bad teams but the fact that MDA got canned in NYC tells me all I need to know.

MDA has been coaching for close to 20 years (too lazy to look up the exact number) and we could only find a handful of good defensive rated seasons for his teams? Pretty much confirms what the eye test, and public opinion, suggest. MDA teams are terrible defensively.