ClutchFans Game Thread: Thunder @ Rockets 12/29/2012

McHale needs to use all of his players if we're to sustain this fast-pace system we're using. We are not going to last in Jan when we have all those B2Bs if we're using a 9-man rotation while executing the offense that we have.

 

Agree. I dont understand why they are leaving good shooters wide open all time. Shouldnt they do their homework before games? They should know who they just never leave them wide open and have to stay close. Our defense is really bad game after game, what did you do, coach?

Another thing bothered me time and time again is lots of sloppy passes. Those kinds of turn overs killed us. They just never learn their lessson.

 

McHale on the excuse of Rockets playing 4 games in 5 nights: "We're not laying brick in 110 degree heat. We're playing basketball."

 

Glad again I didn't watch the game and though I'm glad McHale is holding the guys accountable, it looks like fatigue set in and this is mainly due to him playing guys long minutes.

 

I hope I don't sound like I'm only defending Lin. I just want to put those shots in perspective in the context of the game.

OKC was on a 7pt run including 3pts after a Lin TOV, OKC had a 2pt (26-24) lead with 1:19 on the clock @ the first shot. We traded buckets, then Martin hit a 3 for 5pt (31-26) lead. Lin takes the 2nd 3 @ 33.9 , End of 1st quarter(31-26). The last 3 pt shot was the first shot of the 2nd quarter(31-26) w/4 seconds left on the 24sec clock.

If he hits one of those shots we change the momentum, but he didn't. It's not like those 3 shots led to a big run by OKC that took us out of the game. The game was still (52-50) OKC @ 4:00 before Durant went crazy with 8 unanswered pts that led to an OKC 16pt total run (68-50).

 

4th game in 5 nights, 2nd of a back to back against two top Western teams, can't really expect anything more from this team.

Harden was better this game compared to the first, but he still tried to force things a bit too much imo. Lin looked good for a stretch where he was aggressively driving to the basket, but overall he played sloppily. And he needs to do something about his 3 pt shot. Seems like it's actually been regressing. Parsons had a poor game with some really bad turnovers. Asik was solid. Nice to see Morris bounce back after his bad game against the Spurs.

And I don't care that TD scored 17 points. He is horrible when he does anything other than spot up shooting. I really hope we can see Beverly play soon cause TD in extended minutes make me nervous. Though that buzzer beater was entertaining to see the least.

Someone tell me why we played Aldrich so much again when we have Greg Smith on the bench?? It's painfully obvious that Aldrich and Lin don't have the same chemistry that Lin/Harden have with Smith . I think there was a play when Lin threw the ball to where he thought Aldrich would go to (like Greg usually does) but the ball ended up in Durant's hands. Aldrich also doesn't hustle as hard as Greg. 0 rebounds in 8 minutes?!?

Expecting the team to bounce back on Monday. :grin:

 

7 points/7 assists in 24 min isn't terrible as some of you are making it seem. He needs to fix his shot but considering he was only in the game for 24 min, he made use of his time IMO.

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>For all those wondering, Lin said afterwards, he's just fine. During the game, he took a Collison forearm to the noggin. <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23RedNation">#RedNation</a></p>&mdash; Howard Chen (@ho_chenCSN) <a href="https://twitter.com/ho_chenCSN/status/285242742597091328" data-datetime="2012-12-30T04:35:44+00:00">December 30, 2012</a></blockquote>

 

We sucked. We also need our resident player from Argentina back, along with Aldrich's return to the end of the bench. And where's that Beverly fellow? That's all I've got for now.

 

TD with a freaking -31 +- and played starter minutes. Way to go coach!

 

whatever happened to the crazy nut who's scared of flying that we wasted our money on?

 

Defino really helps spread the floor. He's not smooth the floor, but we miss him when he's not available.

 

Is it me or did you folks notice that Lin was frustrated or pissed when Cole was on the court. At one point, the camera showed Lin calling out Cole for something. Couldn't tell what it was because the camera switched out to something else. I thought that was unusual because I don't see Lin calling to his team mates like that. At least, what is caught on camera.

 

Cause cole ruined his layup shot?

 

Boy am I glad the tickets I got tonight were free. Basketball games are hit or miss a lot of nights. The occasional stinker is bound to happen every once in awhile.

 

Oh FYI... The Rockets must be prepping to move Aldrich. No excuse for him getting that many minutes. Even in warmups you can tell that this guy is just not a NBA basketball player.

He looks like the guy you pick last to be on your church basketball league compared to pretty much everyone else. Just lacks too much skill and coordination at this point in his career.

He needs to be moved to a team that needs some kind of size desperately enough to take him in.

Oh and I actually wanted the Rockets to draft him instead of Patterson years ago. Thank you Morey for not letting fans pick for you in the draft.

 

Cole looks like the kind of guy who makes mean-spirited Asian jokes.

On the court, Jeremy will have none of that.

 

I don't know if he can be better, but I feel like he's playing like he doesn't belong. Maybe he feels that he won't be here long? It's tough when you're playing with uncertainty. Wonders if he sleeps on a couch lol...

 

I saw that. He was yelling Cole! Cole! to get his attention. Lin is soft spoken off the court but on court and during a game you can't be Mr. Nice Guy. If there's a message to be conveyed, you need to get the guy's attention. I heard him yelling Greg! Greg! a few times before too. It's the floor general's job to make sure everyone is on the same page.

 

the rockets are just trying to get a high pick. Nothing wrong with that.