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ClutchFans Game Thread: Hornets @ Rockets 1/2/2013

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Clutch, Jan 1, 2013.

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cfansnet Member

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shuh said: ↑

Our transition game didn't show up tonight. I really cannot affirm if that was due to Hornets' strategy of getting back quickly on defense, or we were just trying to approach this game with a halfcourt offense mindset in order to rest. Perhaps, what happened was that they were getting back fast on D, and we were not trying too hard to force our running game, since NOrleans seemed a winnable team even on halfcourt.

...

Overall, it was interesting to watch. A more standard halfcourt game, slowing down our pace. I just don't know if was good or bad. Of course, we have to develop a halfcourt offense, and which games are better to practice that if not against the bottom teams? On the other hand, if our slower pace was a result of the Hornets' gameplan and defense, I'm worried. No one was able to slow us down so far, until tonight. The games that we lost were still fast paced and we were beat by facing a more efficient team or by having and inefficient night. This one was a game where our pace was reduced. We have to figure out why and if it was something unwanted, figure out how to overcome that if it happens again. At the end, a game that we were supposed to win, and we won.
Click to expand...

Excellent post as always!

#1041 cfansnet, Jan 2, 2013

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cyclorider said: ↑

If you think Lin outplayed Greivis Vasquez, you weren't watching the game.

...
.
Click to expand...

We're back at this again? Why don't you scroll back the last 20 pages and see what people have been talking about?

#1042 Jedster, Jan 2, 2013
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ERC said: ↑

Harden is an unselfish player too, just like Lin. Both have 7 assists tonight.

I like Lin too but please don't make this into a Lin-vs-Harden argument. They are teammates and play on the same team.
Click to expand...

Lin helped a lot NYK to make the play-offs
Lin is helping Houston with much possibility of Play-off
NYK last season and Houston this season are teams that did not has many chances to play-off
Use the statistics of the players from Houston last season without Lin and this now with Lin in the team

#1043 Cazuquel, Jan 2, 2013
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great post! Thanks for sharing

shuh said: ↑

Our transition game didn't show up tonight. I really cannot affirm if that was due to Hornets' strategy of getting back quickly on defense, or we were just trying to approach this game with a halfcourt offense mindset in order to rest. Perhaps, what happened was that they were getting back fast on D, and we were not trying too hard to force our running game, since NOrleans seemed a winnable team even on halfcourt.

The fact is that the game was slower than usual, more conventional and that explained also the "low" scoring (it's funny when we put on 100+ points and Harden calls it a low scoring game!). On the other hand, that also revealed that it is not the kind of game we thrive on. We had a hard time beating the Hornets. Even if we kept a 8 point lead almost the whole time, we were not able to consistently build the lead up.

The bads:

- Mediocre halfcourt offense: when a game comes down to halfcourt the whole time, our offense is just mediocre. We had a hard time scoring on NOrleans, which is not the hardest team to beat nor has a particularly solid D. The fact is that we don't have a variety of plays, and basically we end up with an iso play from Harden, or a drive and dish from Lin/Parsons.

- Lin-dependency on halfcourt: none of our players, except Lin, is able to run a proper halfcourt offense. Harden can drive and dish or make excellent passes from the top to our centers, however he does not move the ball as a PG. TDouglas is a scorer. So, when Lin is out, the ball moves very poorly, and the offense seems unorganized and iso-centered. As a result, Lin had to play almost 42min tonight, and that is not sustainable.

- 3-point shooting: 5-24 from the 3-point line. That really hurt our game, and made it hard to build up a lead. Besides being an off night from several players, there is also the fact that our offensive strategy on halfcourt settings is not fluid and we have some ball stops every now and then that makes the opposing defense recover and close the gap to contest the shots

The goods:

- Post play/scoring in the paint: Asik and PPat had a great night, scoring and working hard inside the paint. Our guards were finding Asik in the beginning, and then Asik started to get physical against Lopez and achieved some and-ones and good post plays.

- Closing the game: we were able to close the game and get it under control after they cut the difference to 1 point. PPat came up huge tonight, and Lin, Harden and Parsons made excellent plays down the edge. It is nice to see that 4 of the 5 players o court were playing well the last 4 minutes, and that made hard for the Hornets to defend.

- Low TOs: the game was under control, and slow. So, it helped to keep the TOs down. That, along with the solid D, was the main contributing factor for our win tonight.

- Defense: the halfcourt defense was very good. We were fighting hard on the perimeter, and specially Lin was great locking down Vasquez, fighting through the screens and almost every time making the right call about going under it or not. Asik was very solid as usual controlling their bigs and Parsons was his usual self. Even Harden was very solid tonight. Our defense won us the game.

The players:

Lin: not a productive scoring night. However, he was terrific on D, and OWNED Vasquez. Props to him, really showed up on D and made the Hornets offense to struggle. That was the brightest part of his game tonight, and it was huge even if the stats don't show it. On offense, he was the only point-guard of the team. Lucid passes, stimulating the ball movement, made the game flow. When he was out, it was clearly much more difficult to our offense to keep up.

Harden: Always scoring and getting to the line and reaching 30 points easily, almost unnoticed. Sometime we tend to forget how brilliant he is doing that effortless night after night. And played good D tonight!

Parsons: good overall game. Not getting his 3-point range back tonight, however, made several timely drives that were very important to keep our scoring going on. Always solid on D, and ended up with a double-double of 10 pts and 10 rebounds.

- Morris: quiet night, was controlling Davis on D, but not hitting his jumpers nor making post plays.

- Asik: he is always improving something, and that is a gorgeous thing to see. Every game he makes a catch a little bit better, put up a jumper or hook, position and show improvement on using his body to get space under the post, protect the ball better... it is like watching a very talented guy learning to play a guitar. I can hear the music now Omer, keep working hard.

- PPat: huge game, he stepped up and his 10 rebounds show a new motivation. He fought really hard for some of those, and that was very important down the stretch. Besides that, he showed several scoring options, from 3-pointer to post play, and, of course, his usual efficient midrange jumper. I think he is trying to get his starting job back. Good to see 2 guys trying to outplay each other (Morris/PPat), since that will only lead them to improve and help the team.

- TDouglas: not his kind of game. That slow halfcourt style only shows his lack of playmaking abilities and expose him as a point guard. As a shooting guard, he was also bothered by some taller defenders, and a locked up paint. Not good and his D was not very solid on the second half. But he hadn't a bad game, either.

- Delfino: solid D, shaky offense. One of those nights when his shots are not getting in. Credit is due that he realized that and started to pass more.

- GSmith: really didn't notice him, besides a very nice dunk. In fact, I'm surprised he played 17 min because it didn't seem that long. So, no impact tonight.

The coach:

- McHale: on his credit, the fact that he realized the players that were most productive tonight, and kept them on court. And he made a good call keeping PPat in the end. On the other hand, our halfcourt offense was exposed tonight, not fluid, very limited plays and slow passes. Really need to add some more plays from the book, and also, practice the current ones in order to get the ball moving fast and make the several variations after the third or 4th movement automatic.

Overall, it was interesting to watch. A more standard halfcourt game, slowing down our pace. I just don't know if was good or bad. Of course, we have to develop a halfcourt offense, and which games are better to practice that if not against the bottom teams? On the other hand, if our slower pace was a result of the Hornets' gameplan and defense, I'm worried. No one was able to slow us down so far, until tonight. The games that we lost were still fast paced and we were beat by facing a more efficient team or by having and inefficient night. This one was a game where our pace was reduced. We have to figure out why and if it was something unwanted, figure out how to overcome that if it happens again. At the end, a game that we were supposed to win, and we won.
Click to expand...

#1044 atwood, Jan 2, 2013
split41 Member

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shuh said: ↑

Our transition game didn't show up tonight. I really cannot affirm if that was due to Hornets' strategy of getting back quickly on defense, or we were just trying to approach this game with a halfcourt offense mindset in order to rest. Perhaps, what happened was that they were getting back fast on D, and we were not trying too hard to force our running game, since NOrleans seemed a winnable team even on halfcourt.

The fact is that the game was slower than usual, more conventional and that explained also the "low" scoring (it's funny when we put on 100+ points and Harden calls it a low scoring game!). On the other hand, that also revealed that it is not the kind of game we thrive on. We had a hard time beating the Hornets. Even if we kept a 8 point lead almost the whole time, we were not able to consistently build the lead up.

The bads:

- Mediocre halfcourt offense: when a game comes down to halfcourt the whole time, our offense is just mediocre. We had a hard time scoring on NOrleans, which is not the hardest team to beat nor has a particularly solid D. The fact is that we don't have a variety of plays, and basically we end up with an iso play from Harden, or a drive and dish from Lin/Parsons.

- Lin-dependency on halfcourt: none of our players, except Lin, is able to run a proper halfcourt offense. Harden can drive and dish or make excellent passes from the top to our centers, however he does not move the ball as a PG. TDouglas is a scorer. So, when Lin is out, the ball moves very poorly, and the offense seems unorganized and iso-centered. As a result, Lin had to play almost 42min tonight, and that is not sustainable.

- 3-point shooting: 5-24 from the 3-point line. That really hurt our game, and made it hard to build up a lead. Besides being an off night from several players, there is also the fact that our offensive strategy on halfcourt settings is not fluid and we have some ball stops every now and then that makes the opposing defense recover and close the gap to contest the shots

The goods:

- Post play/scoring in the paint: Asik and PPat had a great night, scoring and working hard inside the paint. Our guards were finding Asik in the beginning, and then Asik started to get physical against Lopez and achieved some and-ones and good post plays.

- Closing the game: we were able to close the game and get it under control after they cut the difference to 1 point. PPat came up huge tonight, and Lin, Harden and Parsons made excellent plays down the edge. It is nice to see that 4 of the 5 players o court were playing well the last 4 minutes, and that made hard for the Hornets to defend.

- Low TOs: the game was under control, and slow. So, it helped to keep the TOs down. That, along with the solid D, was the main contributing factor for our win tonight.

- Defense: the halfcourt defense was very good. We were fighting hard on the perimeter, and specially Lin was great locking down Vasquez, fighting through the screens and almost every time making the right call about going under it or not. Asik was very solid as usual controlling their bigs and Parsons was his usual self. Even Harden was very solid tonight. Our defense won us the game.

The players:

Lin: not a productive scoring night. However, he was terrific on D, and OWNED Vasquez. Props to him, really showed up on D and made the Hornets offense to struggle. That was the brightest part of his game tonight, and it was huge even if the stats don't show it. On offense, he was the only point-guard of the team. Lucid passes, stimulating the ball movement, made the game flow. When he was out, it was clearly much more difficult to our offense to keep up.

Harden: Always scoring and getting to the line and reaching 30 points easily, almost unnoticed. Sometime we tend to forget how brilliant he is doing that effortless night after night. And played good D tonight!

Parsons: good overall game. Not getting his 3-point range back tonight, however, made several timely drives that were very important to keep our scoring going on. Always solid on D, and ended up with a double-double of 10 pts and 10 rebounds.

- Morris: quiet night, was controlling Davis on D, but not hitting his jumpers nor making post plays.

- Asik: he is always improving something, and that is a gorgeous thing to see. Every game he makes a catch a little bit better, put up a jumper or hook, position and show improvement on using his body to get space under the post, protect the ball better... it is like watching a very talented guy learning to play a guitar. I can hear the music now Omer, keep working hard.

- PPat: huge game, he stepped up and his 10 rebounds show a new motivation. He fought really hard for some of those, and that was very important down the stretch. Besides that, he showed several scoring options, from 3-pointer to post play, and, of course, his usual efficient midrange jumper. I think he is trying to get his starting job back. Good to see 2 guys trying to outplay each other (Morris/PPat), since that will only lead them to improve and help the team.

- TDouglas: not his kind of game. That slow halfcourt style only shows his lack of playmaking abilities and expose him as a point guard. As a shooting guard, he was also bothered by some taller defenders, and a locked up paint. Not good and his D was not very solid on the second half. But he hadn't a bad game, either.

- Delfino: solid D, shaky offense. One of those nights when his shots are not getting in. Credit is due that he realized that and started to pass more.

- GSmith: really didn't notice him, besides a very nice dunk. In fact, I'm surprised he played 17 min because it didn't seem that long. So, no impact tonight.

The coach:

- McHale: on his credit, the fact that he realized the players that were most productive tonight, and kept them on court. And he made a good call keeping PPat in the end. On the other hand, our halfcourt offense was exposed tonight, not fluid, very limited plays and slow passes. Really need to add some more plays from the book, and also, practice the current ones in order to get the ball moving fast and make the several variations after the third or 4th movement automatic.

Overall, it was interesting to watch. A more standard halfcourt game, slowing down our pace. I just don't know if was good or bad. Of course, we have to develop a halfcourt offense, and which games are better to practice that if not against the bottom teams? On the other hand, if our slower pace was a result of the Hornets' gameplan and defense, I'm worried. No one was able to slow us down so far, until tonight. The games that we lost were still fast paced and we were beat by facing a more efficient team or by having and inefficient night. This one was a game where our pace was reduced. We have to figure out why and if it was something unwanted, figure out how to overcome that if it happens again. At the end, a game that we were supposed to win, and we won.
Click to expand...

Thanks Shuh, I missed the game tonight, so all I can look at is the box score and highlights. I really enjoyed this analysis and it paints a way better picture of the game than the box score/highlights ever could.

#1045 split41, Jan 2, 2013
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cyclorider said: ↑

If you think Lin outplayed Greivis Vasquez, you weren't watching the game.

Lin:
9 points, 3-10 from the field, 1-4 from three-point range, 7 assists, 2 turnovers

Vasquez:
15 points, 6-15 from the field, 2-3 from three-point range, 14 assists, 2 turnovers

TD shot well tonight in 13 minutes. 3-4 from the field, 2-2 from the line, 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist.

Had the Hornets started a quicker/faster PG than Greivis Vasquez, I have a feeling TD would have played more.
Click to expand...

They do. His name is Brian Roberts and he was killing TD too.

#1046 trock, Jan 2, 2013
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Griffin was so embarrassed to watch. One of his shot missed so badly it hit the side of the board.

javajam said: ↑

Anyone watching the Clippers/Warriors? Wow!
Click to expand...

#1047 gorockets2009, Jan 2, 2013

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cyclorider said: ↑

If you think Lin outplayed Greivis Vasquez, you weren't watching the game.

Lin:
9 points, 3-10 from the field, 1-4 from three-point range, 7 assists, 2 turnovers

Vasquez:
15 points, 6-15 from the field, 2-3 from three-point range, 14 assists, 2 turnovers

TD shot well tonight in 13 minutes. 3-4 from the field, 2-2 from the line, 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist.

Had the Hornets started a quicker/faster PG than Greivis Vasquez, I have a feeling TD would have played more.
Click to expand...

if you watched the game,Lin gets injured with Vazquez going 0-6. TD then guards Vazquez and he goes HAM. Lin had a poor night shooting for sure,but he played well on D.

#1048 manning, Jan 2, 2013
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cyclorider said: ↑

If you think Lin outplayed Greivis Vasquez, you weren't watching the game.

Lin:
9 points, 3-10 from the field, 1-4 from three-point range, 7 assists, 2 turnovers

Vasquez:
15 points, 6-15 from the field, 2-3 from three-point range, 14 assists, 2 turnovers

TD shot well tonight in 13 minutes. 3-4 from the field, 2-2 from the line, 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist.

Had the Hornets started a quicker/faster PG than Greivis Vasquez, I have a feeling TD would have played more.
Click to expand...

You didn't watch the game, did you?

TD's defense is F tonight.

#1049 Viola, Jan 2, 2013
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ch0c0b0fr34k said: ↑

You're telling me this 2-11 performance Lin did on Vasquez can be attributed to your "reliable memory"?
Click to expand...

Yes, cuz I booked it.

#1050 Viola, Jan 2, 2013
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so i missed watching the game tonight and went to check out the boards on how it went.....there's some serious butt-hurt hating going around even for a team win.

#1051 FacePalmMaster, Jan 2, 2013
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aesthetics80 said: ↑

From the USA Today article:

In the month of December:
With Lin and Harden on the court together, the Rockets averaged 106.8 points per 100 possessions, allowed 101.1 points per 100 possessions and Harden was a plus-54. With Lin on the bench and Harden on the court, Houston averaged 108.4 points per 100 possessions and allowed 110.2 points per 100 possessions and Harden was a minus-1.

Lin definitely impacts team defense, he's really underrated in that aspect.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your stats.

#1052 Viola, Jan 2, 2013
ch0c0b0fr34k Member

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Viola said: ↑

Yes, cuz I booked it.
Click to expand...

Whatever, to me it seems like one person said Lin defended Vasquez to a 2-11 stat and everyone hopped onto his comment. It'd be nice if they provided a website or a methodology or something.

#1053 ch0c0b0fr34k, Jan 2, 2013

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Cazuquel said: ↑

Lin helped a lot NYK to make the play-offs
Lin is helping Houston with much possibility of Play-off
NYK last season and Houston this season are teams that did not has many chances to play-off
Use the statistics of the players from Houston last season without Lin and this now with Lin in the team
Click to expand...

1. Lin is no longer a Knick. And if we want to talk about last season, Harden helped OKC reached the Finals.
2. So is Harden and everyone else on the team.
3. The roster is so young that everyone who works hard (Lin included) is bound to improve. Besides, the exact same thing could be said about Harden.

Look, I like Lin and consider myself a huge fan, but seriously this Lin-vs-Harden comparison needs to stop. It's worth repeating that bball is a team sport and that the two of them are teammates, not competitors.

#1054 ERC, Jan 2, 2013
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cyclorider said: ↑

If you think Lin outplayed Greivis Vasquez, you weren't watching the game.

Lin:
9 points, 3-10 from the field, 1-4 from three-point range, 7 assists, 2 turnovers

Vasquez:
15 points, 6-15 from the field, 2-3 from three-point range, 14 assists, 2 turnovers

TD shot well tonight in 13 minutes. 3-4 from the field, 2-2 from the line, 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist.

Had the Hornets started a quicker/faster PG than Greivis Vasquez, I have a feeling TD would have played more.
Click to expand...

I think you read the box score and didn't watch the game. Vasquez was 0-6 when Lin went to the locker room. He immediately went on a tear with TD guarding him.

#1055 langal, Jan 2, 2013
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Happy for the win but we should've blown them out
The whole game the Rockets' played to the Hornets' pace, I hope they don't start to play down to opponents with losing records just because they've been on a hot run, which could be the case with a young team that thinks they're hot crap (well they are , but only when they play hard)

Jeremy played a quiet game offensively, but defensively he was fantastic on the player of the week Vazquez. He played a lot of minutes but he had to because Vazquez was not fazed by the shorter Douglas and started to get hot.

Asik's blown layups are not good for my blood pressure, or James' and Jeremy's who Im sure inside are like mad when he blows their assists lol

#1056 Lucky Charm, Jan 2, 2013
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holly1985 said: ↑

You should start a thread to write reviews after every game.
Click to expand...

Shuh, you should start a thread and write reviews after each game!!

#1057 gate470, Jan 2, 2013
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cyclorider said: ↑

If you think Lin outplayed Greivis Vasquez, you weren't watching the game.

Lin:
9 points, 3-10 from the field, 1-4 from three-point range, 7 assists, 2 turnovers

Vasquez:
15 points, 6-15 from the field, 2-3 from three-point range, 14 assists, 2 turnovers

TD shot well tonight in 13 minutes. 3-4 from the field, 2-2 from the line, 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist.

Had the Hornets started a quicker/faster PG than Greivis Vasquez, I have a feeling TD would have played more.
Click to expand...

Oh sweety, I see you're new to the sport of basketball yes?
I used to throw around the boxscore stats like a jackass back when I was newbie as well but then I actually learned from watching the games, you should do that IMO!

#1058 Lucky Charm, Jan 2, 2013

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gate470 said: ↑

Shuh, you should start a thread and write reviews after each game!!
Click to expand...

Seconded. Didn't we used to have game threads, then lock them up and start a new post-game thread?

#1059 liljojo, Jan 2, 2013
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gate470 said: ↑

Shuh, you should start a thread and write reviews after each game!!
Click to expand...

Agree with the above! Really helps for people that dont get to watch it live from across the globe :grin:

#1060 deedee82, Jan 2, 2013

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