ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Clippers 11/4/2013

Lin crossed up CP3 too, really wish Lin hit that shot...lol

 

Parsons is a very overrated defender. It's true, the clippers might not be going anywhere in the future. But we aren't going anywhere either as long as our guys don't commit on the defensive end and oh yeah the refs hate Houston. Harden wants to score so bad but, can someone get into this fool's head that great defense will translate to him getting easy points which translates to us blowing teams out that translates to him resting in the 4th quarter.

 

We dropped from #2 to #8 in defensive efficiency last night... that's how bad our "D" was. It's an effort thing.

 

Two straight games the Rockets showed up not interested in playing and dug themselves into a huge first-half hole. They were able to pull it together against a mediocre Utah team but good teams like the Clippers won't miss the opportunity. Maybe there's a lesson for the team to learn there.

 

Early foul trouble, and ridiculous shooting by Clippers, subpar performance by Harden, and 6 minutes of Dwight in the first half -- these are not going to happen most nights.

And not the worst thing for a team that is a work in progress like the Rockets to get a good hard look at their weaknesses. But now the coaching staff has to make good adjustments.

 

You note anything about McHale's demeanor towards Harden?

 

I think Zach Lowe is right. We had Chris Paul scoring efficiently, we had him handing out assists both for dunks and open Js, and even when his pass didn't directly lead into a basket, we see the Clips make a 2nd pass and finding a wide open player. Just a lot of guys not being in the right place. The Rockets just were not stopping anybody on the roster from scoring.

 

I want to see Brewer getting some PT on Saturday. I want someone not named James Harden to get the assignment to guard Reddick. I want to see a single tower starting line up.

 

Hard truths from Lowe.

 

This sounded harsher on Harden's D than I meant it to, that was not Harden that we saw last night. He can be much better on D. But the way Reddick plays, he is going to tire out whoever is assigned to him. Harden's energy needs to be conserved for offense.

 

I have no respect for players like Chris Paul. Tons of talent but lack of integrity for the game. I don't watch basketball for acting. He should go to Broadway if he wants nominations. This is why older players like Michael Jordan views this generation of NBA super stars as a bunch of pansies.

James Harden draws fouls in a different way. I don't think I've ever seen him gnashing his teeth and spinning 720's on the floor for the cameras. He goes for shots and tricks his opponents into actually fouling him. He actually takes a lot of hits and wears himself out significantly over the course of the season. That's the difference between him and Paul.

 

Casspi was defending nobody in that play, he was basically backpedaling into the paint for no reason at all.

 

These are constructive criticisms that's the team can hopefully take and improve on.

I'm just confused as to Harden's defense - whether he is that BAD or he doesn't try.

 

What's the point of having Brewer on this team anyway? Isn't he supposed to be the defensive specialist, yet he's only used in garbage time.
I mean, I suppose he's new and doesn't get the defensive rotation yet, but honestly he can't be worse than Harden/Lin/Parsons or whoever was out there yesterday.

tl;dr Free Brewer

 

Casspi has the body of a tennis player.

The small forward Casspi vs. a true power forward like Blake Griffin is absolute child abuse.

 

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/45bDSyOam3g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I want so see something like this when the team comes out today.
Granted, this was against a Portland team that already gave up on their playoff push.

 

For 3 quarters, CP3 was basically just standing at the top of the key and passing it to Clippers who got wide open shots using off the ball screens. These were well drawn out and executed team plays, that McHale could never dream of.

 

the crowd around me, including friendly Rockets and Clippers fans (I always prefer attending a Clippers game at Staples because of the atmosphere) were wondering aloud the same things as the message board was- was Harden hurt or just being given the cold shoulder?

we guessed it was the latter and coach was letting his guys play through it...

I noticed one sequence vs Utah where Harden gave up completely- he camped picked between half court and the three point line like when T-Mac had given up on us.

and then he did absolutely nothing on D the following play.

that would merit a benching on any given day in my eyes

 

Lots of missed assignments, poor rotations and lack of overall effort on defense. I also saw a lot missed PnR opportunities that could have netted easy buckets (for us). We still scored a lot of points, but I attribute that to a poor Clippers defense. They just happened to score a lot more than us.

I hope this game serves as a wakeup call that we still have a ways to go with teams who we don't match up well against. I still believe that we could have beat this team with the right defensive mindset.

 

the refs have been ninjas on screens and travelling all preseason/season but for some reason last night the clippers could stick their legs out on screens and travel their ass off.

http://www.nba.com/video/games/clippers/2013/11/04/0021300050-hou-lac-recap.nba

take a look at the 2nd play, how are you meant to get around screens when the refs let the screener do that?