ClutchFans Game Thread: Pelicans @ Rockets 10/5/2013 (PRESEASON)

@JasonCFriedman: Rockets' point guards are both great guys, but each has a propensity for pilfering. J-Lin had 3 stls in 19 mins; Beverley w/ 4 in 20.

@clutchfans: Rockets' backcourt trio of Harden, Lin, Beverley scored 44 points on 60.9% FG to go w/ 12 assists & 8 steals in limited minutes.

@JasonCFriedman: Rockets' starters were dominant nearly every minute they were on floor. Plenty to improve upon, but tons of terrific performances for HOU.

 

Anyone see the golden states game? I am puzzled at how did they lose by such a big differential.

Houston looks very good. Will warriors be close competition with us?

 

No he didn't. that's lies and slander . He actually just said f**k.
or "not in public Chandler"


And I love how in between everyone's serious debating of the game we're analyzing the ass-grabbing video

 

anybody at the game catch the intro video?

 

His individual D was pretty terrible when he got left out to dry by Bev and especially Canaan, but his team D was solid. Jones' individual D was a lot better when he got left out to dry by teammates, but his team D wasn't that great and he was the one leaving teammates out to dry.

 

With Harden, Howard, Lin and Parsons there ALREADY aren't enough shots to go around in the starting unit (every one of those guys can create his own shot). And you want another guy who will demand 15 shots/game??

If the Rockets signed another big name scorer that scorer would come off bench, much like Harden in OKC or Ginobili in San Antonio did. Otherwise...not enough shots to go around, waste of talent

 

Haven't watched the game. But looking at the box score, it seems to me that defense went to hell when Howard was off the court. Is this correct?

If so, just further proof that Morey needs to hold on to Asik for nothing short of an impact player.

Edit: Also noticed DMo in the starting lineup. Does this mean he's a better complement to our other starters?

 

people who watched the rockets know this already. While everyone was all Lin vs Beverley, it became obvious, the trio do great together on the floor. Bev makes up for the defense Harden lacks, and Bev's not really a creator, so Lin still gets touches. Everyone wins.

 

D-Mo got left on a quick guard twice. No seven footer is going to win that battle. But otherwise a concise evaluation.

 

I see where you're coming from, but I do not want DMo playing big minutes this season. He always seems to be a net negative when he's on the court. He does not seem fit to play in the NBA to me.

If DMo was playing to his potential, he would be the better fit. But he is straight up awful. If you're looking for someone who fills a role, Greg Smith is much better than DMo and is a better "fit." I actually like Jones coming off the bench so he can be more offensive minded with the second team.

As for analysis from the game, I thought Howard and Harden played phenomenal. Lin, Parsons, and Jones were solid. Really disappointed in DMo, he played the same way he did last season. Brooks looked pretty bad. Casspi was a surprise, I'd like to see if he can shoot well consistently and impact the game in other ways if his shot is not "on."

Brewer was non-existent out there. Hopefully he gets more comfortable. Same with Caanon.

Our defense went in the trash when Dwight came out. I'll be happy to get Asik back. Really looking forward to some more games!

 

Starters looked so good, I'd probably give the nod to tjones at the 4 but my body is so ready for the season to start.

 

Dwight didn't even look weird in a Rockets uniform to me.
Not like Harden who half way into the season it was still a mindf**k.

 

I think so. Jones got a few minutes with the starters, and both the team D and team O looked worse than they were with D-Mo.

However, when the rest of the bench were in and the team D and team O broke down to individual D and individual O, Jones played much better individual D and individual O than D-Mo did.

 

A combination of defense going to hell and Aaron Brooks getting like 4 turnovers in a row. In other words, not much has changed.

Dmo passed up a couple of open looks I thought he should have taken, and committed a couple head scratching fouls, like last year. But all in all fit much better with the starters.

Ball movement was crisp, offense was smooth. Much more in sync for the first game together than I thought they would be.

With Jones, there was more hesitation and stagnation. I thought he was productive, and really looked like he wanted it out there. Played with a hunger that was obvious. But at the same time, it was also obvious why he wasn't the starter.

Dmo is terribly flawed, but fits as a cog in the machine. Jones is a loose nut.

 

the defense did go to hell but 1) no Omer and 2) McHale was trying a bunch of lineups so it was hard to build any defensive cohesion this early on

 

There is another battle brewing in Rocketland. Dwight & Chandler vying for Jeremy's affection.

 

I think Asik is here until the end of his contract. He may matter even more than I think, and I think he is the third most important player on the roster.

I thought D-Mo looked great with the starters. His defense was solid and he always deferred the shooting responsibility to his "betters", picked up 3 assists and a couple of hockey assists. He hit his free throws and rebounded great. IMHO that is exactly what the Rockets need from their PF.

 

Yeah, I noticed that. Didn't realize it was 4 in a row. That sucks. I really want Brooks to succeed for nostalgia reasons, as the only player left from the Yao/T-Mac era Rockets. But it really sucks that he never developed his game over the years.

 

The funny thing is he's always had these glaring deficiencies before even when he was good. Decision making was poor, turnover problems, etc. However his strengths covered that up somewhat. Now? He looks really, really bad.

 

Well, D-Mo was a net +8 tonight, even after playing the last five minutes with the D-Leaguers. Brewer and Covington may get cut, Canaan to the D-League.