ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Pistons 12/21/2013

Who's going to kick him to the curb? LOL.

 

Regardless, it'll be good to have him on the bench, in case Lin suffers a setback or Brooks gets injured. (Knock on wood)

 

If we can play vs. the Pistons every game. Absolutely. But too bad there are 28 other teams, some of whom have very good defenders who will stay in front of him on Defense.

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>When you go off for 35 points, 19 rebounds , 5 assists and 3 blocks like Dwight Howard you usually earn yourself <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23StatLineOfTheNight&amp;src=hash">#StatLineOfTheNight</a>.</p>&mdash; NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) <a href="https://twitter.com/nbastats/statuses/414638171675455488">December 22, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Oh don't worry, Cannan is going to be the starter over Lin even if Lin has 10 assists. Just look at PB's stat line. :grin:

 

Bring out the toy cannon!

Nice win tonight. Definitely thinking Dwight is the best player on this team.

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/HPbasketball">@HPbasketball</a> Dwight manhandling the Pistons front court in a way that Hibbert couldn't last week. Good sign for Houston.</p>&mdash; Phil Mansour (@PhilM227) <a href="https://twitter.com/PhilM227/statuses/414645729555009536">December 22, 2013</a></blockquote>
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missed the game, fantastic performance from Howard, hope this will end all the talk about how Howard is just a slight upgrade of Asik, you can never imagine Asik put up this kind of numbers!

 

Really, I went to the stats and counted that Casspi has had 11 games (42%) in double figures. It's not bad at all for a guy who plays 21.4 mpg. Certainly not bad for a guy who plays for veterans minimum.

I was listening to the Pistons commentators. They were full of appreciation concerning the Rockets depth. They could not believe that the Rockets played so well with so many top players out. The team on the court was just excellent in using Howard to the best of his abilities.

Can't you ever see anything positive in the product that these guys do. Garcia and Casspi have had this far significantly more impact than Asik has had. You can have four Garcias and four Casspis for the price Asik is taking home just for sitting disgruntled for not being a starter.

Could you, please, try to put things a little bit into proportions. The team presently has a much better record than it had last year. What is your problem?

 

Casspi's game is very much dependent on how the team plays. He is not a star and not a guy who can take the ball and create his own shot if the other players' shots aren't falling. Casspi's strengths are moving without the ball, hitting wide open threes, and running ahead in transition. He will struggle in games where the offense is stagnating. It's no coincidence that he looked great when Asik and Lin were playing, because Lin pushes the ball more than any other guard on the team, and when you have either Dwight or Asik on the court for the entire games, you can count on a lot of outlet passes for fast breaks, which Omri capitalized on. Without Asik and Lin, Omri is certainly having a harder time.

 

He averages 1.3 TOs per game. I agree some of his turnovers look awkward and unnecessary, so they may stick out, but overall he doesn't turn the ball over more than the average Rockets player.

 

If you were a basketball guru, maybe you would want to take shots away from Terrence Jones and Patrick Beverley, instead of James Harden.

 

What a game by Dwight! You would have to go back to the Hakeem days for such a performance for a center.

Eat this, Asik.

 

Great win and really owe it to Dwight. He stood really tall tonight. Not going to attack anyone who actually didn't play. I just hope the team chemistry keeps on improving and work out the best system for the team.

 

You forgot about Yao...

 

I think players like Casspi and Garcia are a blessing in a situation, in which Persons contract is coming up for pay day. Parsons is truly a wonderful players and have a great leadership trait in him. No doubt, he will be an extramely valuable player for the Rockets in the future.

Gracia shoots no matter what and he's right. When you have a shooter in the team, he must shoot also through the slumps. Casspi should do it too, but he is much more reluctant to show signs of a ball hog (especially when Harden is on the floor). However, give him a credit for a number of really beautiful passes that he distributed tonight.

I believe that by the time of the playoffs Casspi has his confidence fully recovered and he will contribute big time.

 

Outstanding job by Dwight. He is staring to play like a true star. He played well against Indiana too.

 

Without getting into the debate of how many shots Harden, TJ, or Bev should take, I disagree with the premise of your post. If you look at the times the Rockets have been the most impressive this season, it was when all 5 guys on the floor were a threat to make a shot. It forces the defense to be honest, and therefore creates better spacing and better efficiency.

Obviously there has to be some kind of hierarchy, and Harden and Dwight should be options 1&2, but I think the team has a better chance of winning on a night when harden takes 17 shots, and Jones and Bev take 7-8 each, vs. a night when Harden takes 25 shots and Jones/Bev take 2-3 shots each.

 

Yao only got 35 and 19 one time, along with one assist, one block, and 7 turnovers.

 

Harden takes less than 17 shots on average. The other poster's point was that he should be taking even less. As for taking 25 shots, Harden has only done that 2 times since he's been a Rocket.