ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Pacers 12/20/2013

Lin should sit the next game out too. If he didn't play today against the Pacers then there's no point in playing against the Pistons. Losing to Detroit would pretty much cement this team as non-contender.

 

terrence jones has just been terrible lately. can't shoot, can't rebound, can't defend, undersized. it's basically 4/5 on both ends.

man we really need a true power forward

 

Would have certainly been an upgrade over Casspi/Garcia.

It's quickly becoming clear that Dwight is our best player. He had it going tonight, and we were content to jack 3s instead of feeding him.

Should have given it to him every possession almost.

 

Man all these Knicks fans praising Melo in the Rockets v Pacers game thread... Interesting.

I like how a 24 year old has reached his ceiling. I don't think there is a GM out there that would take Melo over Harden right now.

 

T-Mac only became lazy near the end of his career. Before that he just looked lazy because of his sleepy eyes :grin:

And like you said, Harden is no where near T-Mac's level. Such a pity our team was plagued by injuries then. Sigh...

 

LOL at the T-Mac talk.. completely relevant right now.....

 

Paul George totally own Harden tonight.

Harden is basically liability when his shot isnt falling.

For the whole game we only got like 10 asts????

We need guys that can score under the rim. PF to set pick and screen until the game ended.

There was no offence structure, no playmaker, nth.

Ugly game indeed.

 

harden has sleepy eyes & sleazy beard

 

btw ugliest loss eva

 

This game shows we need to have both Asik and Lin to have some chance against great contending teams, like Indiana. We beat them twice in pre-season with the full roster. Yes, it doesn't count, but if we play as hard and as well coached, with the same defensive intensity, we have some chance against them. Otherwise we can kiss championship good bye. We should stop talking about trading this guy or that guy. Let them play with the core group with Asik and Lin being a big part of the team and see what they can do. Harden is a great player, but selfish and unwise at times in his shot selection, and he alone is not enough to fire up the team offense. Lin and him plus Parsons slashing repeatedly will have some chance to beat great teams.

 

Houston has beat Indiana twice in preseason. I thought Indiana took the first preseason game lightly. But I think they tried to beat Houston in the 2nd game but we shut them down. Lin had a stellar game in that one. It is not like we can't beat them. They had stepped up their defense whereas we are playing worse than preseason against them, and we miss two key players this time. This game shows that we need everybody, Asik & Lin included. Harden has an off game. Somebody else needs to step up, but without these two starters from last year's team, we simply ran out of offensive options.

 

if you think about it, the "system" the rockets play in emphasize talent and on-the-fly play making over structure/sets. when ppl are making shots, it's great. when they stop or the opposing defence takes away those shots, there's nothing to fall back on.

other than passing it to dwight in the post, i haven't seen a go-to play for the team. out of timeouts and at end of games, you continue to see step back threes.

 

The team needs Lin and Asik back, but I think one of the elephants in the room that people are starting to notice, is that Bev and Jones aren't legit starters.

 

We don't MElo, we need a fluid, dynamic, multi-faceted, team-first-oriented offensive scheme.

 

Meant "We don't need"

 

I think to have a chance vs great teams we need all 5 of our best players getting big minutes (Howard, Asik, Parsons, Harden, Lin) I know that Howard/Asik and Lin/Harden don't mesh, but I also know none of those lineups have been given the luxury of time. If those 5 played a full season in the same starting lineup I have no worries that they'd eventually figure it out. We gave up on the twin towers too quickly, the dropoff in talent is substantial from Asik to TJ.

 

I didn't watch the game, but Jones deserves a break from the fan beating. He's still a green thumb compared to David West, a veteran who's so much more physical and just better than Jones.

 

It's just hard when you're dealing with so many injury problems. Sucks getting blown out but it's not surprising when you think about it.

• Championship contending opponent
• Playing on the road
• Two of our top 5 players out with injuries
• Harden/Parsons still being slowed down by nagging injuries
• Cold shooting night
• Indy has a hot shooting night

All together combines for a really bad game. (Well mostly the 2nd half)

 

beverley is specifically for that every western conference team almost has an elite pg, whereas the 2 best teams in the east have awful pgs. Bev only matters when the opposing point guard can light you up. In a series, you'd probably see Lin play 35 minutes+ against a team like Indy

 

The Pacers were also coming off a back-to-back against SAS. That was the end of a road trip where they played LAC, POR, UTA, SAS, and OKC. 5 games in 8 nights with two B2B's against the top 4 teams in the West.