Jaesean Tate and Capela are cooked. Okogie looks pretty bad lately as well. Amen looks like he's not sure what he wants to do when he gets somewhere. I think he's fighting his own instincts. Sengun looks way more elastic and fluid this year. The shots he was missing last year are falling this year (remember this Amen overreactors). Jabari looks like an invaluable glue guy. Like a more useful Shane Battier.
Durant hit a jumper in the 3rd quarter---I think pushing the lead to 17--and we were ready for the game to be over. The Rocket's effort level dropped; Ime tried to steal a few minutes of resting for Alpi and Amen with that weird Sheppard, Okogie, Tate lineup. That was terrible as the Cavs were happy to see some guys they could target on D. Obviously, we need to find a better solution for bench minutes with Tari out. Good thing Holiday came ready to play. I'd like Ime to give Jeff Green some run with Durant and Sheppard. They would look great together.
Reed excellent again. Mostly 1st half. Great shooting motion. Just making shots and defense isn't too terrible. He didn't get ball much in the 2nd half. JSJ played good in the 2nd half, but dug such a hole early....still a bad overall game. I think him dribbling will be good in the long run, just is rough sometimes. He had at least one long mid range shot with time on the clock. Sengun....burn the tape as he missed shots, and got frustrated and started fouling. Got knocked ovee twice without getting a call though. Like JSJ, sometimes settles for long 2s with time on the clock. Durant..made some plays, but felt invisible most of the game. Double big offense could not do anything in the first quarter except draw iron. Didn't look good on the glass in the 1st quarter either. Not sure how many 4 point possessions the Rockets had, but still lost.
Amen and Durant were great. Amen a lot of good cutting and playing dunker spot. Durant just a scorer from anywhere. JSJ in the past has just not been a connective piece on offense. Early in the season, he was dribbling a lot more, but not always getting an advantage. Recently, he's really punishing aggressive closeouts and mismatches. Only one shot that was a little iffy for his range early in the clock. He was improved to start the season, but improving a lot inseason as well.
Amen is point forward not guard. He seems to be out of position for him to use his talents to their fullest extent. Yes I know we have the top offense…Still wishing we ran a set offense were ball movement picks and screens lead to more goals then what we are doing now. Even high pick and roll => drive and kick to the corner would open the game up. Jabari and Reed need to used early and often.
This is now literally the funniest thing that has ever happened on this board! I will be telling this story ‘offline’ frequently. I had to look it up on Google Translate to make sure this wasn’t a bit. Maybe it still is a bit … if so, bravo. If not, also bravo but maybe don’t use that expression in English forums, and ask an American friend why.
My family is dying laughing. We told my high school daughter who has a Turkish friend to say “Ezgi, you look good. Cok Cok Guzzle, girl!” [I’m really not trying to be rude. I speak only one language, poorly. The coincidence and the way it unfolded was just so perfect.]
JSJ showed some fine dribbling early taking advantage of seems created by others. Not sure when it happened, but JSJ was wearing a Lob City jersey by the end of the game. Reed...mostly was just a distraction. Got beat a little, but not excessively. Durant...not a very memorable game. Sengun...scored a bunch. Missed a bunch. Zubac had a good game. Sengun wasn't always on him. Amen had a nice roll to the basket. Had some nice assists. Several nice skip passes to him spoiled by his shooting, but otherwise made everything. Did some nice cutting/hanging out at dunker spot. Okogie. He makes some great defensive plays on ball. Off ball...he's just there. Kind of robs some of that defensive value. Holiday...clutch drawing the offensive foul. Good shooting night. Floor was well spaced for others when he and Reed were on the floor together. Think even double big looked well spaced with them. Adams....didn't seem as dominant on glass as usual, but others seemed to pick up slack. Capela...he was there. I remember there was something good that happened with him, but can't remember what it was. Jeff Green got teed from the bench.
Everyone looks tired despite getting tons of rest. We struggle with any team that can play defense. KD looks old. We may make the second round but we look like a first round exit. We are not contenders we are pretenders.
Opposing gameplans: 1) Pressure the KD-Sengun handoff and one of them will turn it over. 2) If the Rockets dont have the ball off of a rebound, Amen will have to pass it off. 3) When the black leprechaun has the ball he won't pass it to the white leprechaun so watch for that. 4) 75% of their offense is Khal Drogo getting an offensive rebound. Stop him from doing that. 5) Let Okogie shoot all the 3s he wants.
I see this as a hidden Tari Eason is our Franchise Player post. We need Tari back in the lineup to help the defense. The one lineup last night with Holiday, Okogie, Durant, Capela, and JSJr was -8 in barely a minute. We won’t know where we really are until Tari and DFS are both integrated into the rotations. We are a contender. In any season without this historically great OKC team we would be a top 2-3 team and considered one of the favorites. We still are a top 2-3 team, it’s just that OKC is so much better that most fans are already settling for non-contender status. The NBA is a long season. I am enjoying this Rockets team (on pace for 60 wins) and will root for them to get better and improve on their playoff experience from last year. It only takes a little bit of good luck for the Rockets (or an SGA ankle/hammy) for that third banner to be raised at Toyota center.
