ClutchFans Game Thread: Lakers @ Rockets 12/4/2012

it's a good decision by D'Antoni imo. if they wanna go far in the play off, they'll need Howard to improve his free throw.this will send a big message to Howard and pressure him to spend his free time practicing FT

 

Nothing to do with choking or pressure, some nights you're just off and you can't explain it.

I can line up a shot on a pool table most days and shoot it at 95%+. Then some days I can't sink it to save my life.

TD was in the zone and sinking everything. However, he's not a strong enough PG to leave in without either Lin or Harden. Sampson went with Harden, most likely because he's the biggest threat and will get heavily covered whether he's hitting shots or not.

Lin, Parsons and Asik were off, but their equivalent bench players (Smith, Delfino (because Harden slid over to the 1) and TD) were playing well. So, Sampson made a good choice and let them keep playing.

If a player is in the Zone, my opinion is you should ALWAYS leave them in as much as possible.

Some nights you just got it and the hole seems as large as the ocean.

It was TD's night. Good for him, he's been due for some time. :grin:

 

Parsons couldn't D kobe

Delfino played so much better on D

 

lol.... been thinking the same thing, was starting to think it was just me

 

Stop being harsh to our starters. There will be off nights.

On a positive note, if our starters always play well, we will not be able to test the deepness of our bench.

I was happy to see the starters rooting for their teammates with so much passion. That's how a team should operate.

We should all be proud.

 

What?

What?

 

Howard has to hit his FTs sooner or later. As I see it, D'Antoni decided it should happen sooner in the season than later. Either it's a loss today or another down the road. It wasn't a coaching mistake, but a lesson to Howard to not embarrass himself as well as hurt the team.

Funny as heck, I was smiling nervously the last few minutes. Good times.

 

So do you guys believe we need to shake up the starting line up pretty soon? I ask this because I believe that hard work should be paid off with PT. Morris, Smith, Delfino, and now Douglas have all shown great production in PT at one point or another. Some people are good with getting more PT, but I fear that some of these guys may want to be rewarded with a starting position.

Also, if a starter doesnt produce and they get demoted to a bench player, the possibility of them getting a chip on their shoulder vs them getting discouraged is something that makes me a little uneasy. Yes we are 9-8 right now and we are on a roll. But I feel we are rolling on synergy.

I am just curious to hear everyone else's viewpoints on this matter.

 

Terrible game by our starters, but it happens sometimes. What's exciting is that the Rockets are becoming a real team. It's not just Harden and Lin and a bunch of other guys. We are getting wins because different players are stepping up every game. And all these players are so young. And we still have D-Mo and TJones to look forward to.

The pressure will start coming off Harden and Lin a little bit when they know that other players can step up and make plays. At the end of this game Harden was driving and drawing attention and then he would pass off to Smith. That's the way it needs to happen, and harden will come to know and trust his teammates.

 

Didn't say you hated the season. Lin's had too many good games for that.
Read what I actually wrote.

 

lol me too. They're not good

 

who cares? I am having a good time while making them...:grin:

 

Wow, Greg Smith another trade asset, yes!!!!

 

In my head I remember in the first game of the season Harden having a beautiful dish to Smith for a monster slam.

Tonight they looked great together too. I can't really remember anything too great in between these two games for them together, but could there be a chemistry brewing for these two????

Smith has FANTASTIC hands down low, he catches everything.

 

Great attitude! I applaud!!!! clap..clap... clap....

 

#clutchfansproblems

 

Exactly this. I adore Lin, Parsons, and Asik, but am glad that Sampson wasn't backing down from what was working. And the TEAM was working and that's such an awesome thing to see!! I love these guys! I'm even relieved that Toney Douglas is proving me wrong! (Though it may be because he's finally getting used as an SG)

 

I like this team.. terrible shooting night for the starters, great bench players leading the fight... Harden getting wiser during crunch time..

Thank you Dwight!And yes... Toney..!! Savour it while you can...

 

Great team effort and glad to see the bench come through when the starters were off their game tonight. I hope the on Friday the starters come out with a better game.

 

Why are people still complaining? I'm one of the biggest Lin fans and although he didn't get his minutes tonight, I'm quite happy with the way we got the win.
Obviously, it's a fluke win but don't be sour grapes. Our starters just didn't have it and sometimes when it doesn't work u gotta go with what works. I don't think this will be the norm but it will keep the starters on their toes. At least we don't have a Melo character who would've cared more about his playing time than the win.