ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Sixers 1/12/2013

As I predicted, we lost it again. It's not that hard to see the pattern here. We get carried away by 3 balls and deceptive fast pace and lost on the fundamentals: (1) set some good screens in PnR so that our guards have some energy left in finishing (what a waste! We have two fast driving guards and our coaches don't know how to give them some help!) (2) Ball movement from our quick to our big through PnR (Why not put Smith and Asik on the floor during a b2b because our 3s aren't going to fall anyway?)

 

Midrange is open for the taking , this team is doomed to fail if we neglect to take open 17ft shots.

 

Not a troll, just a hater.

 

Harden, Parsons and Asik didn't suck.

 

usually when lin plays good and idiots are bashing, it really annoys me. But tonight, lin didn't do his job. he was baaad. Gotta give props to dru, who was nailing everyone that got near him.

As a team, we've gone away from what we're good at. I'm not an expert on xs/os in bball, so what the hell are these teams doing to us? Other than the basic stopping our transition game.

 

Harden shot % are now in the gutter wow. Him and Chandler build houses every game

 

This game was about:

Lin performing poorly in offense.
Harden and our PFs being MIA in defense.
McHale getting exposed with his crappy rotations and terrible plays.

We have been saying this for some time now. McHale tends to rely on Harden too much when backed into a corner. Expect to see uglier games down the road.

 

Rockets Need List:
Starting PG, Backup SG, Both PFs

 

Honestly, not at all.

There are marked drops in performance in back to backs, then further drop offs in the 3rd and 4th nights of a 4 in 5. They're not small drop offs, they're significant, and they affect jump shooting and speed up and down the floor more than teams that post up and pound the paint.

Look at things this way, when the team is somewhat rested, we're a good team. By the time we hit 4 in 5 nights, we're playing like a lottery team.

IE, lots of good ball movement, hustle up and down the floor, hustle on defense, but 4 offensive rebounds and 5 missed shots from down town while wide open. Toss in unfavorable calls when you're on the Road, and you get what you saw tonight.

Really, the goal for a team this young is to get through January with a .500 record, then the schedule gets more favorable.

You don't shoot 41% from 75%+ at the FT line if players aren't injured unless they're just stupid tired. And when your offense is top heavy, IE, we have no real bench depth, fatigue hurts us even more.

Just look at last year's compressed season. Depressed PPG, slower pace, and lower shooting percentages across the board.

So, if you got a team like the Spurs where the Bench can beat a NBA play off team, their starters get loads of rest. In our case where our rotation is 8 deep, you see a much sharper drop off.

Here's some comparison

Tim Duncan - 30.1 mins
Tony Parker - 32.5 mins
Manu Ginobili - 24.8 mins

James Harden - 38.3 mins
Chandler Parsons - 36.2 mins
Jeremy Lin - 33.4 mins (37.0 mins in January)

In other words, for this entire road stretch Harden, Lin and Parsons are on the floor except for about 10 mins per night. That's a TON of minutes.

I'm really not all that surprised that shooting and TO's are suffering somewhat as we move deeper into this road trip.

The toll on the body and mental focus are not small, especially when you're constantly taking flights, changing time zones, sleeping in Hotels, arriving at bizarre hours, and you don't have the time to run practices.

So yes, these 3 losses not good, and going 1-3 for the start of this road trip is not ideal, however there's a lot more basketball to be played this month. We just gotta hope they steal a few here and there despite being on the road.

 

Just stating facts, it would be hard to find a worse starting point guard right now than Lin.

 

Did the Rockets tell you that personally? If not, quit acting like you work for the front office. We need production from all positions.

 

Are you kidding ? if the ball doesn't go in you are going to be benched.

 

Odd that Greg didn't get more minutes. He sets pretty good picks & rolls hard to the rim.

 

MDPJlin... Hmmmm.

My Dick Pleases JLin???

 

look at them coming out of the woodwork. I was thinking GARM was a bit empty these days...

 

We have a starting PG, Harden. Trade Lin for an SG.

 

Nope, they all sucked. Harden jacked up too many heat check 3s, Parsons got too many TOs. ASIK? fumbles every single pass coming his way.

 

They didn't do enough to win either

 

when Lin has a consistent jumper he pretty becomes a 18-20 ppg 6-7 assists 4-5 rebounds, 2 steal 45% shooting PG which would is getting close to all-star numbers.....so be patient, this is essentially his 2nd year in the league and in terms of games he's probably not even at a full 82 worth of minutes.

COming into the season even with Harden, getting into the playoffs is house money.

 

it goes against the offensive philosophy of taking efficient shots only ie 3pts and layups.... dumb if you ask me...