ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Nuggets 1/30/2013

I can remember only three that failed:
1. One to Morris from Lin....think Morris completely missed the ball completely.
2. One to Asik...same result as above I think.
3. One from Harden to Lin....:grin:

Either there is no chemistry yet or they don't have great leapers. Also, I noticed the similarity too...

 

I saw that. It forced Iguodola's ball out of bounds on Iguodala.

 

Hitch on 3pters? I don't notice it.

 

Lin came in when the score was 88-86. Clutch was right

 

Clutch was right about the score, which didn't tell the whole story.

 

As stated before: Small offense breakdown at the beginning of the 4th leads to loss.

Rockets scoring by quarters:
29-28-29-24

We scored at a steady pace throughout the game, had a little offensive blip a the beginning of the 4th, and that was it. Others mentioned defense, but I don't think so:

Nuggets scoring by quarters:
29-27-27-35

The Nuggets did score more in the 4th, but I attribute at least 6 of those points to desperation fouls at the end. Gallinari did have 2 unlikely back to back 3's, but even including those, they were on pace to score the same amount of points as they did in the other quarters. Really, the Nuggets had pretty even output throughout the game, and if we'd scored about 29 points in the 4th (without desperation fouling) we could have barely edged them out in a win. They won by being more consistent than our team.

I see a lot of complaints about McHales rotation (specifically leaving TD in too long), but being a defense first kind of coach, I think he was more focused on defensive matchups than offense matchups.

Remember when TD had back to back steals for 4 easy points? That looks really good to a defense minded person. That may have been fool's gold for McHale, and part of the reason he left TD in so long. TD went 4 for 11 and the lead was blown before Lin went back in.

The other thing that McHale tried to do was go small when Denver went small. I think that may have been a mistake as well (though to his credit, eventually corrected). Because without Asik on the floor, we can't stop their small lineup. Basically I think Denver's better at going small then we are, so if they go small, we need to counter by putting Asik in. And the time for us to go small is when they go big. Failing that, just leave Asik in as long as possible, because without Asik, Denver also out rebounds us.

 

If he is used like he was last year, no one would be complaining about him hitting his 3s. The way he's been relegated to shooting most of his 3s this year is sad. Having said that, over the summer I'm sure he'll work on the spot up shooting, which will only improve his arsenal for next year and improve this team.

 

What's the whole story. It was a fact when Lin came in we were down just two, you can argue the momentum changed but its exactly why Lin's out there --- to get the momentum back.

Look, Lin had a great 4th qtr, everyone played well except for a few minutes so stop blaming the coaching staff. Denver is the better team, there's no question about it.

 

I rarely blame the coaching staff. On this game I do blame them for leaving Douglas in for almost a whole quarter. No excuse for that, especially when the starting PG kept the team ball distribution and pace intact. Coaching was basically gambling that Douglas and our bench would outplay Denver's. Bad idea with Andre Miller as their backup PG vs Douglas as ours.

 

Just add him to your ignore list.

Also, the game threads have been much nicer these past week since most of the haters and trolls seem to be gone.

 

How often is it for neither Lin or Harden to be on the floor?

 

Good call. Overutilizing Harden by bringing him back with only 2 min rest and underutilizing Lin by giving too much (13 min) rest from early 3Q to early 4Q was a big factor in shifting the momentum to DEN 22-2 run.

Coaches need to quickly adapt to utilize Harden and Lin better. Allowing Harden who's struggling to finish with 6TOs while underutilizing Lin was a blunder. As Calvin Murphy said, play Lin as PG and Harden as SG to optimize their skills. It shouldn't be this difficult, right?

http://www.csnhouston.com/basketball-houston-rockets/talk/lin-picks-game-fourth-quarter

Before the final quarter of Wednesday's loss, James Harden and Omer Asik probably took center stage, but in the fourth, Jeremy Lin did what he could to bring the Rockets back.

The Rockets were leading at the end of the third quarter 86-83. Lin had been on the bench for the end of the third quarter and remained there for the beginning of the fourth. Toney Douglas had been doing a fine job at the point on both ends of the floor, but at the beginning of the fourth, the Rockets hit a lull until they brought Lin back into the lineup at the 9:43 mark.

Ultimately, in a stretch spanning the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth, the Nuggets went on a 22-2 run. Lin ended the Rockets' fourth quarter drought with two buckets and then dished out an assist right after that to Carlos Delfino for a three that brought the team back into the game.

For the fourth quarter, Lin totaled 13 of his 22 points and two of his five assists. In other words, Lin had a hand in 18 of the team's 24 points in the fourth. It ultimately wasn't enough, but if there was a positive note to that fourth quarter, it was that the Rockets would not quit.

Lin nearly led them back.

 

It goes further than that.

Sitting Asik and Lin for multiple minutes at the start of the 4th. Minutes during the 3rd with TD on the floor without Harden or Lin.

Playing Parsons 38 mins and Harden 42 mins in DENVER at 5,000 feet of altitude. And then play Lin only 31 minutes when Lin was clearly having a good game both offensively and defensively.

Yes, Denver is the better team, but the choice to sit Lin for 10 consecutive minutes after playing Lin for only 5 minutes at the start of the 3rd quarter (his unit ran up the score from behind 1 to ahead 4 points) after Lin had only played 16 or 17 minutes in the entire first half, the choice to sit Asik at the start of the 4th from 10:41 to 6:16 (Delfino, Patterson, Parsons frontcourt? Really?), and the use of TD without a net (No Harden, Lin or Beverly) were all poor choices.

Take a look at the actual substitution breakdowns and tell me they make sense to you...

http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20130130&game=HOUDEN

Yes, the coaches take some blame. Their substitutions made NO sense in the second half.

 

Karl subed Ty early, cuz he was playing inefficient during the 3q Rox run, partly due to Lin's D and aggressiveness. But if you just simply match whatever the opponent's sub pattern, you loose your better player, while the other team improve by rotating out an inefficient one: your edge is simply gone; therefore, the huge swing from Denver during late 3q and early 4q.
The same rule apply to bench Asik, who had a good rebounding game, to match down to the opponent's small line up... you got schooled on boards, and loose the other edge you hold in the first 3 Qs.
I can recall for the last year, Coach Mac kept Dalenbert, and Camby on the bench, while played Scola and Pat2 as center, which caused the team being out-rebounded in keep clutch possession, and lost a handful of game...
I just wish the Rox coaching stuff learn from their own mistake, and have their own pace and playbook in coaching, instead of blindly matching up with the opponent team's sub pattern.

 

From Blaiyan:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GqjvAuvawys" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

what really happened with lin? was he benched for not playing well or were they just resting him for that 4th quarter?

 

The more I watch PPat, the more I feel like he should shoot that mid-range j. It's like a free throw for him and with his quick shot release it's there all day long.

 

Can't agree more. All McHale's decisions were made for matchup, which cost tonight's game.

 

You know, I'm actually thinking that maybe McHale, who was a PF, doesn't know how to 'read' Guards and guard-play.

The Denver fans frequently complain about George Karl and says that he loses them games because he doesn't know how to sub the bigs; and Karl used to be a PG.

Could the same thing be happening with the Houston backcourt? Is there an assistant coach with the Rockets who has experience with the PG/SG position? Calvin Murphy had to point out the essential problem with the Lin/Harden dynamic and he's a HOF guard who played both PG and SG.

 

Yeah. I would like to see more pick and pop with him and less 3 pointers.