I'd like to address a problem that seems to be concerning me. The Rockets, even when they win, it seems, blow large leads far too often. Usually we will play lights out in the first half, and then blow it in the 3rd quarter. Then we will either sink or swim in the 4th, but I went to last nights game, and it got me worried. We were destroying the Thunder after the 1st, I think we held them to 13 points. Then, we just came out flat. At one point our lead was 18 points, and by halftime it was 1 point. It was a close game for the rest of the night, and I nearly had a heart attack at the end. What do you think is the cause of us blowing leads?
Youth. Lack of a closer who is leader of the team. Lowry is a leader, but he's not capable of closing yet.
Because the rockets have a soft mentality and they dont scare anyone in the NBA. it really pisses me off. Most teams just play with a slightly above average effort and let the rockets beat themselves. FACT.
Because blowouts are not the norm and 48 minutes is a long time for ANY team to keep complete control of a game.
Well, McHale has a tough job of deciding who to keep on the floor. He doesn't seem to see what we all do. I can guarantee you when the Rockets are going to throw away the lead. You can see when the Rockets start missing shots, 1, 2, 3, and the impetus just fades off. But McHale has this just-let-them-play-through-it tendency. Next thing you know the lead's completely evaporated. Like last night at halftime, Kelvin Sampson: "We knew they were gonna make a run." Uh-hunh. How about, "And we didn't do nothin about it."
We lack a go-to guy that can create his OWN plays when defenses tighten up... The early parts of the game are dominated by our superior teamwork and passing, which capitalizes on a lot of teams coming out flat in the effort department. When teams realize they need to up their effort and tenacity, we lose our edge. The Rockets lack a player who can do his own thing in an iso situation
Houston Rockets average 23.8 points in the 3rd quarter this year, and give up an average of 24.1 3rd quarter points. So, during the 3rd qtr, the Rockets are blowing leads by an average of 0.3 points. In the 4th qtr, the Rockets average 22.5 points while allowing 23.3 points. And they are blowing leads by and average of 0.8 points.
Ouu number 1 scorer - Martin never ever turns up at the 4th quarter and some nights he doesn't turn up at all. H ehas had far too many games this season where he has been a complete non-factor during the whole game. Our number 2 scorer - Scola has been forced to play the 5 a lot more and he isn't effective in the post like he used to be. Trying to run the plays through Scola has made him turn-over prone as well. Our number 3 scorer - Lowry hasnt been the 3rd scoring threat on this team like he used to be either. Plus he is turning it over too much as well. Our defensive anchor - Dalembert went down a massive hill which he seems to be slowly climbing of now. Our 3 top scorers have been so inconsistent and unpredictable. Our enforcer was absent even when he was on the court. Parsons has been the only consistent starter. I blame the inconsistency of our starters for not being able to hold onto our leads. They just go hot and cold at the blink of an eye. We can still be a much better team with what we have.
Maybe "blowing leads" was a bad term to use. However, it is apparent to me that there are times when the offense simply stalls for extended periods of time, and McHale refuses to call a timeout. During these periods, who do you think should be the Rockets go-to scorer? Or, do you think that we don't have anyone capable of being a go-to scorer?
To be fair, the rockets blew the lead in the second. I think both teams went on 29-13 runs last night. That's all it is, and it happens to every team.
team clamp down on defense for the 3rd quarter. rockets lose every time when they don't try to adjust
The Rockets are nearly unbeatable if they lead after 3rd quarter. So, they're losing games in the 3rd, not the 4th.
