ClutchFans Game Thread: Pacers @ Rockets 3/27/2013

You're an idiot. lol

 

I'm no LOF but McHale did screw Jeremy in this game, i have to admit.

 

Is this post a play on stereotypes or are you being serious?

 

The problem with Jeremy Lin right now is he's letting McHale do this to him rather than playing more aggressive on both ends of the floor especially on offense and force McHale not to bench him. Simple as that. No more Mr. Nice Guy. STEP UP and stop feeling sorry for yourself and keeping quiet about it.

 

And how the hell do you step it up when you get benched for taking shots? (even when you make them efficiently)

 

Look i'm not here to argue with you about Jeremy Lin because like you, i also get frustrated when stuff like this happens. I've watched every second, every minute of each and every game (all 71 games) so far this season and i've been a Rockets fan since 1991. I call the games as it is with objectivity. I don't care if your name is Jeremy, James or Donatas, every player is equal in my eyes. With that said..

Jeremy needs to stay aggressive even when he misses shots. Once he misses a shot or two, he starts playing passive and almost automatically defers to his teammates. He needs to man up and stop being so nice, be the leader of this team and start playing with some attitude and emotion. Yes, a big part of it is McHale's fault that he's on such a short leash but part of it is his fault as well.

 

Donatas was pitiful. And people think we can hang with the Clippers or the Grizzlies? Their low post players will eat us alive. I mean, Tyler Hansborough was bullying Donatas all game.

Jeremy and Patrick had very similar games, with 1 glaring difference: Jeremy had 4 turnovers, and Patrick had 1. That's the only reason I'm semi-ok with last night's PG rotation. But seriously, at least put Lin in to rest Harden some, the guy's getting run into the ground.

 

The mavs are coming. We lose our next two games and our playoff hopes are in trouble

 

lol how many shots did harden take and missed?

 

LOL rockets regressing. WE BETTER WAKE UP. THIS SUCKS!

 

I agree with you. He does need to step it up after his shots fail to go in. Even if he does get yanked, he just needs to not give a **** and play super aggressive.

I just hope one day Lin turns into a Lowry and throws a fit which forces the front office to choose between Lin or Mchale. It would really be a blessing for the team for one of them to go. If Mchale wants his iso-play and spot-up shooter PG, there are many better fit PG for that role. If Lin wants to thrive into that 20 ppg PG, Mchale is not the coach for it. One way or the other, one has to go for Houston basketball to be successful. That's how i see it.

 

Frustrating game. You could pretty much tell immediately the Pacers were dominating the Rockets and this was a loss. Games like these make the playoffs look less appealing to me as far as watching the Rockets. This may be a sign of what is to come in the playoffs. Harden taking it to the hole is going to get a whole lot more difficult with less foul calls on the opposing players as the refs let them play. I very much doubt Harden is going to get all the calls he has been getting. Harden seems to count more on being fouled than actually making the shot when he drives. If teams can stifle Harden, then the rest of this team has to step up and they don't exactly seem up for it.

 

It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. My hope is that Harden can adjust quickly.

This will be the first playoffs for most everyone on the team, and that experience alone may provide the spark for all the players to step up.

 

Lets assume Harden shoot 40% (which is even low for him). At 24 attempts that works out to under 10 makes which is more than 3 more than he actually made. Throw in his 3 TOs and you have 7 lost possessions vs 4 TOs for Lin. Now whose stats look worse.

 

Agreed completely. When Lin hits his first shot or two, you know what he's going to do the rest of the night. He'll attack the basket with force, either getting hammered or finishing the layup. He'll take that step back 2, and he won't hesitate on his 3's.

If he starts out cold, as you mentioned, he becomes more of a spacer, (Parsons play style.) Lin can't and should never do that. Lin has to be aggressive every second on the floor. Doesn't mean he has to shoot it each time, or have the ball in his hands on every possession, no one wants that with Harden on your team. However, Lin has a very unique and successful way of getting to the basket that no other player other than Harden has. You need more than one person that can get to the basket on their own.

Lin needs to seize the opportunity he has right now. If he misses his first two shots, keep attacking, keep driving and either attack with force, or kick it out and let the team move the ball for the open shot. He CANNOT get passive and become a set up shooter in the corner. That's just a waste of a player, and you might as well let Harden run point and let Parsons and Delfino play the 2 and 3. Lin, like Harden, is the only player (Besides Harden as mentioned) that requires the defense to fully commit on the pick when he's the ball handler. This is HUGE if you're going to run the pick and roll. You saw when Beverly ran it, they didn't respect him, but he did a good job of keeping it and hitting his runner, but that can only last for so long.

Lin has to stay aggressive regardless with how he starts the game off. A perfect example was tonight. He played HORRIBLE in the first half. However, in the second half he came out, hit his first shot, ran the pick and roll to perfection with Asik and started a strong push for a come back. Once the Pacers started to counter our run, he became passive, and therefore useless.

I really hope Skip realizes this...or else he's going to kill his confidence. The fact he held Lin out as long as he did in the second half shocked me completely, and was really upsetting. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come. I understand playing the hot hand, but Lin could have taken a lot of the pressure off of Harden.

 

He's the point guard and has the ball. It is his to give away. I agree he should play his way and let the coach bench him because he's going to get benched anyways. Might as well go down on his own terms. The best case is he makes the shots so the coach has no choice but to play him (like Woodson).

 

Smith and T-Rob showed up. Everyone else might as well have not been on the court.

What's going on with the offense these days? Haven't seen too many games lately where I feel the offense is clicking for an extended period of time.

 

Wouldn't have mattered. If James shoots 40% last night the Rox win the game.

The primary reason we lost last night was James shot 25% from the field. When your best player/leading scorer/highest usage player does that you ain't winning.

The analysis should be about what caused Harden to throw up that kind of percentage.

 

To be honest, if I were Lin, I wound not even want to play, let alone bring any energy.

 

We didn't start to reduce the lead at that point.