ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Kings 12/15/2013

I really need people to stop getting hurt in pairs. Is one at a time too much to ask?

 

We got exceptionally lucky last year in terms of injuries. The lack of injuries was more atypical than we should expect.

That said, I'd rather that they're injured early in the season than later. Hopefully the two injuries won't overlap too much in terms of time. We'll just have to see.

I'm just hopeful that Harden and Lin don't force themselves back onto the court too soon. If we drop a game here and there but get them healed to 100%, that will do far more good for us than either of them bulldozing themselves back onto the floor and aggravating their injuries to the point where they're out for long stretches.

 

His heart has been questioned before, so we might already know the answer. Dwight's improved post game gives hope. Hopefully it's not false hope.

Phil Jackson would come here and regulate. We need a stronger coach.

 

They were considered one of the best backcourts in the league last year. LOL
Whatever happened to that?

 

Last year even we lost games, around league, people still thought we were the most exicting team to watch. This year, not so much.

 

Hack a Howard kills it.

If teams stopped hacking Howard entirely, the Rockets become seriously better viewing.

 

Not just Hack-A-Howard, but post ups are generally less entertaining than perimeter generated offense.

People's opinion regarding our excitement level is not important anyways. Winning is what matters and our current record trumps same time last year.

 

Mr. J. R. posted this in another thread:

David Aldridge:
NOBODY ASKED ME, BUT ...

The Rockets will contend for a title by doing ... what?

With the Blazers hot, the Suns surprising and Kobe Bryant back in L.A., the attention is off of the Rockets for now, as they try to figure themselves out. There are issues.

They're not a good defensive team. Houston is currently bottom third in points allowed and middle third in defensive rating -- though that's an improvement over last season's numbers, as Dwight Howard's presence has helped. They're an outstanding offensive team, rating third in offensive rating and second in points scored. Which is about what they did last season when they pushed Oklahoma City hard in the first round of the playoffs.

But they didn't have Howard last season. Now they do.

Yet the Rockets are a solid, comfortable second in the Southwest Division, and they've had several outstanding wins in the first month. They gave Portland its only loss at home in November and San Antonio its first home loss of the season. The potential for something special is there.

But Houston isn't anywhere near where the West's elite teams are this morning.

Howard has lived up to his end of the bargain. His offensive numbers may be a little down compared with years past, but he's playing on a team with more options. Coach Kevin McHale has tried to get Howard the ball more in different spots in the halfcourt.

His free-throw shooting is still awful, at 56 percent, which is only good compared to what it was the previous two seasons in Orlando and Los Angeles (49 percent each year). Houston basically faces the same end-of-game situations the Magic and Lakers dealt with. But Howard has accepted a leadership role in Houston and he's vocal and making an effort.

"We're all still trying to get used to playing with each other," Howard said last week. "The different styles, learning how to run the floor, and also slow the game down. That's something we're still trying to learn, and that's going to take time. But I just want to come in and do my job for this team, be an offensive and defensive presence in the paint. It's not all about scoring. But making the defense collapse, kicking it out to our 3-point shooters. And just understanding that."

But the Rockets are still in transition. Injuries have played a major role, with Jeremy Lin (knee, back) and Chandler Parsons (back spasms) missing time. Most importantly, James Harden was slowed through parts of November with a sore foot, and badly sprained his ankle in Sunday's loss to the Kings.

Last season, Harden was one of the NBA's best stories. Coming over from Oklahoma City, he instantly became an offensive superstar and showed he was indeed capable of being an offense's first option. But his defense was always in question, and this season, with the greater expectations on Houston, he's been called out in the blogosphere for his lapses. (It's not a criticism that the organization necessarily disagrees with, by the way, though Rocketeers insist Harden has put in a much better defensive effort the last few games.)

"I think in the last few games, you've seen his defense really go up," Lin said. "I think he's really risen to the challenge. We just have to continue to sustain that. He played great defense against a few players in the last few games and really made it difficult. When he's locked in and he's making plays, getting a lot of deflections, and other people are really pressing the ball, and Dwight controlling the paint, we're tough."

Harden, proud like any star, says he's not being singled out by opposing teams.

"To be honest, I don't see it," Harden said last week. "I don't see teams just focusing on going at me, and if it is, it's not easy. This summer my mindset was just trying to get into shape so I could play both ends of the floor at a high level. Early in the season, the injury kind of slowed me down a little bit. But getting back into a rhythm defensively and offensively is something I've been trying to do ... it was lingering for weeks. I just had to sit down a couple of games."

The issues came as general manager Daryl Morey figures out where he's going to send disgruntled center Omer Asik on Wednesday or Thursday. Asik, who just changed agents to the powerful Arn Tellem, wants out. He's angry that he lost his starting center spot when Howard signed for four years and $88 million last summer.

Asik proved completely unwilling to back up Howard, and now he's out with a bruised thigh (Houston insists he's really hurt and not just conveniently unavailable until he's traded). Greg Smith, who was a surprisingly effective player for the Rockets last season, has played in just three games this season and is out with a sprained knee. That's left the Rockets to put Terrence Jones in the starting lineup next to Howard.

Jones is athletic, to be sure, and he's long enough that the Rockets felt comfortable enough leaving him one-on-one against LaMarcus Aldridge last week. With Patrick Beverley replacing the injured Lin in the starting lineup, Houston has the capability to be a deflection-happy group.

But the Rockets are still struggling on defense, and it's not all on Harden.

One of Howard's pet peeves with the Lakers was their inconsistency with "help-the-helper" defense, a staple of every team from CYO (do they still have that, by the way?) to the NBA. If Howard left his man to stop a penetrator, the defensive rotation from the next man over to his man was often late. It's something the Rockets' bigs are trying to be more consistent with, too.

"When you have principles, and you're committed, and you play defense, and your superstar is committed, that's when everybody has to pick up," forward Omri Casspi said.

"It's a lot easier [with Howard]. Dwight is always gonna crack back for you, always be there. If somebody's posting me up and I'm playing the four, and it's a bigger guy, I know he's always going to be my help from the weakside. So we have to crack back for him as well."

Despite their defensive lapses, the Rockets are still an offensive load to handle. Harden is as good a one-on-one player as any in the game. He's as strong as any two and as versatile as most ones.

Howard is never going to be as smooth offensively as some of the all-time greats, but he's worked hard on a hook shot and drop step that he can use effectively at times. He's still a load when Houston utilizes him in screen-and-roll sets. According to Synergy, Howard is shooting 69 percent when he's been the roll man this season. But McHale has emphasized that Howard has to be better posting up. Overall, his PER of 21.50 is 20th best in the league.

But Howard's presence has not changed what the Rockets do. Nobody takes more threes than Houston, which leads the league both in overall attempts (657 entering play Sunday) and in percentage of field-goal attempts from 3-point range (34.6 percent, according to basketballreference.com). The Rockets are second in the league in offensive rating (tied for second with Miami at 110.2 points per 100 possessions) and are third in effective field-goal percentage (53.7 percent).

Getting Lin back will help, though guys I respect point out that Beverley has been part of an outstanding offensive starting five with Harden, Parsons, Jones and Howard. With most combinations, the Rockets can put three shooters, minimum, on the floor surrounding Howard.

"The only thing I hope is we continue to play this way, continue to trust each other, continue to build a chemistry on and off the court," Howard said. "We want to peak at the right time. We're playing good basketball right now, but we know we can play better, and that's what we're striving for."

But do they know who they are yet?

"We'd like to think so," Lin said. "Our identity on defense, we talk about our principles, and we pride ourselves in certain aspect of being able to take away certain things, take away their first option. And I think offensively, our identity is pretty well known in terms of being able to score. Coach always says we're not worrying about what the other team is doing; we have to make sure we're us tonight."

That means, for example, encouraging Jones to let it fly. Making or missing is important, but just shooting the ball will continue to create the spacing that will give Howard more room in the paint and give Harden more room to drive.

"We've had a lot of injuries ... but overall, it's been pretty good," Harden said.

The leadership piece is something Harden had to get used to last season. He and Howard, obviously, have had to try and police the locker room.

"We're kind of the veterans," the fifth-year guard said. "We kind of get everybody ready, get everybody's mindset ready, whether it's practice or the games. Just being more vocal, and showing hard work and what it takes to be good."

Things will also improve when Morey finalizes the Asik deal and brings in another piece that can help up front. A source confirmed Sunday that Boston may be trying to work its way into the deal, as ESPN.com reported. But many around the league continue to believe Morey has a deal in place, likely with Philadelphia, either for forward Thaddeus Young or center Spencer Hawes, and is looking to see if anyone will sweeten the deal.

"Every single day, it's a grind," Harden said. "This league isn't easy at all. We've got to keep everybody intact and focused on what's important every single day. It's a long season. There's going to be some ups and some downs, but if we can stay consistent, we'll be fine."

 

Just took a peek at the standings... didn't realize Denver and Phoenix were closing in on us so quickly. I'm not expecting us to beat Indy -- but if we fall to CHI, we could quickly slip behind either one of those teams.

 

Wow just shows us how competitive the West is so far this season.

Blazers 21-4
Spurs 19-4
Thunder 19-4
Clippers 16-9
Rockets 16-9
Suns 14-9
Nuggets 14-9
Mavericks 14-10
Warriors 13-12
Wolves 12-12
Pelicans 11-11

 

We're closer to the lottery than first place.

 

True that

We will see how things shape out after the all-star break.