ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Thunder 12/14/2024 (Vegas)

Plus Schoeder headed to GS so 58.8 & 62.1 in their backcourt now

 

Coach Hamirates

 

Terrible game by Green, Fred and Alpi.

 

We can't win when our three highest-usage players sh*t the bed so badly. To be fair OKC was playing incredible swarming defense on them, especially Alpi. But no excuses, you have to find a way to make something happen anyway.

 

Well some people have failed math then, because their percentages haven't gone up with more shots every year. Maybe we should use another math example like more shots by higher percentage shooters equals a higher chance of making those shots, which in turn could equal more points.

 

I'll tell you there is ONE main person who creates a problem with the offense and I'm going to sound like a broken record but it's Jalen Green. His inability to be a real threat permits the defense to crash down on Alpi. If he could hit a 3 at an average rate or better as well as attack the basket at an elite level like the expectations were when he was drafted this kind of game would have been won. The issue is they have now committed to him and will have to find a sucker "ahem" buyer willing to invest in his potential which after 4 years is going to be unlikely. He needs to be benched until he can get his percentages way up and hold them. Holiday should have played a lot more in this game. Hell, Uncle Jeff should have played. You need experience in these situations.

 

While we should be proud of making it to the semis and the effort and defensive intensity we’ve played with all season, it does feel like we are just playing for a good playoff showing at this point. I have to get comfortable with that and remind myself that we’re exceeding the expectations we had going into the season.

it’s just that, if we can shut down the best teams in the NBA, like literally hold them to some of their worst offensive performances of the season, we arent far from actually beating those teams. I see such a gap in the offensive production, and knowing if we were just a little less terrible, we’d be on a different level. So that’s the frustrating thing.

I’ve also got to stop dwelling on the money we are paying some of these guys. Yes Fred is not close to a max guy. Yes we really screwed up giving Jalen a near max extension. Ive just got to get over that. Fred is a free agent at the end of the season and Jalen’s contract is supposedly “tradeable”. If we course correct in the offseason we’ll continue to improve. My sincere fear is that Stone wont be able to course correct though. The right players may not be available, he may not be able to pull off a decent trade, he not be willing to acknowledge and move off his mistakes, Jalen may have compromising pics of him, etc…

 

The positives:
Defense: Winning because of it. This is rare. It's a coaches dream.
Talent: This season is proof we actually have it and are only winning because it's there.

The only reason we were in the game last night. Defense and natural talent.

It's the total lack of an offensive plan of attack that is concerning. It's one thing to have plan, repeat it over and over, and fail. But it's another to just keep taking turns jacking up shots and hoping plan forms from it. There's no plan to seek out the matchup they want. And that consistently evident.

 

They were baiting Sengun into bad passes, pretending to not be paying attention and expecting the no look skip passes. He has at least 4 shots that were just bad attempts. Good looks that just came off his hand terribly (a couple a foot short of the rim).

 

Y'all act like MDA did anything but enable an all-time level offensive player in Harden to run 1 play to death.

 

He’s just there to look at the clipboard.

 

I missed most of the game. Jalen suck?

 

Jalen, Alpi and FVV

 

Good take.

With all respect due to Fred and what he's meant to turning the culture around, having him barely beat the 8 seconds call, spend another 4-5 seconds dribbling so half the shot clocked is burned by the time 1 action is run is a crazy way to play. Combine that with how we needed our vets to step up in that game and we got a Chuck VanVleet game.

What happened to the Spain pnr we started the season with? Short rolls for Alpe? DHO? Adams is the only one who can set a real pick and he can't roll anymore. We waste too much time getting into sets, looks like they abandon the play for an ISO look and crash boards to cover up the mistakes.

That and you know... nobody is gonna like how simple it is but we have to make shots. Fred and Alpe shot us out of that game, Jalen had Wallace and Joe Dort hanging off of him all game but wasn't much better. We needed our vets to be a steady hand in that game but we got 1 half of Dillon. I don't want to say we should've won, it was unlikely but we were right there for 3 quarters even with the brickhouse.

 

I suppose it depends on how you define talent. Particularly on the offensive end. Watching them clank brick after brick on wide open shots doesn’t feel like talent to me. We moved the ball well and it generates open shots…including open shots in the paint that were misses. The offense generated lots of open shots both outside and inside. Our players just don’t execute on them consistently enough.

I’d argue we are winning in spite of the fact our talent on the offensive end is pretty lackluster. But they rebound and play defense like crazy.

 

lol so true. It was off the charts usage for a guy.. people would complain about the lack of movement and creativity. I thought we moved the ball just fine last night. Good shots were just missed over and over again all night.

 

I'm def getting a rewatch in when it's on League Pass. Just a gut feeling, and credit due to OKC defense... but it felt like wayyy too much ISO, getting into actions late in shot clock, no diversity. That and yeah, Alpe, Fred and Jalen have to make shots.

 

Alpi looking like Pete chilcutt

fvv aka earl boykins

jalen aka jr smith