ClutchFans Game Thread: Thunder @ Rockets 1/16/2014

The Rockets are a measly 14-12 vs the West.

Only 2 playoff teams have a worse record.. GS(barely) 15-13 and DAL 13-13.

 

1. May be hard to believe now, but there is actually some positive in the 2nd half. The team defended pretty well, which is especially hard when your offense is terrible and the opponent gets to start their possessions in live ball situations a lot.

2. This game really does not changes my evaluation of the Rockets team much: They are a tier below the very best teams in the NBA and have played like it all season. Their numbers (W-L record, point differential, etc.) reflect this and this is what Morey said in recent interviews, too.

3. A part of the equation is injuries. Not having Asik and Beverley hurts. Looking forward to having them back. They will make the team better. Not sure they will make the team a whole tier better.


4. OKC is a really good team. They miss Westbrook offensively, but their defense is still more than solid in his absence.


5. The Rockets did not try the super small ball tactic that they used last season in the playoffs, with Harden playing PF and defending Ibaka (plus a center and 3 other perimeter guys).

Maybe this is because Garcia is struggling and Delfino is gone and they were key in making the tactic work. Maybe the coaches don't want to break out this package in a regular season game and want to save it for the playoffs.

 

I would reply to this with a longer response, but when I look at your user name, I'm not sure if it's worth it. Seriously.

 

Our other PG was 2/8 for 6 pts while Brooks was 3/8 for 11 pts. Wouldn't really have mattered who was in or not, both were garbage.

 

Well, I was truly entertained by this game, and shocked with the ending. Still early in the season, and I'm hoping that the coaches get much better, as the season progresses. They just need to figure things out (the coaching staff), which is possible, because all you have to do is have a different perspective, to change thought paradigms. This is a very talented Rockets team, and if they don't make it past the first round, it will be because of the coaching. I've seen flashes of dominance by some of the players, but like the coaching, it's been very inconsistent.

 

for a team built on three point shooting and lay ups, we dont really have any great three point shooters, just a lot of average ones. :/

 

You can act like a child, and base your assumptions on my tag, or you can be an adult, and look at the content of the post. I truly don't care either way.

 

If we lose in the first round, with two of the top ten players in the NBA (and don't give me that BS that these aren't two of the top ten, you have the best C and the best SG in the game), then the coaches need to be replaced.

 

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

 

WUT again? They are both arguably the best at their position, why would I feed you BS? Like I just said, if they don't make it to the second round, it's a coaching fail.

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>First half = Godfather 1 &amp; 2. Second half = Godfather 3.</p>&mdash; Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) <a href="https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/statuses/424047490359255040">January 17, 2014</a></blockquote>
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I don't think he was referring to you, just the general fans? I think. Maybe

 

That was just embarrassing...on national tv too.

 

This was a completely pathetic showing, and the fact that some of you are making excuses for it is mind-boggling. Sure, OKC is a good team. Sure, it isn't the playoffs. Sure, it's a 2nd half of a B2B. Sure, they have 5 games in 7 days. But, COME ON. This was inexcusable. We are surviving off Eastern Conference teams, period. Here's a hint -- those are NOT the teams we will face in the postseason.

Just off the top of my head:

- We couldn't get Dwight going. I must begrudgingly attribute some of that to Perkins... I'm convinced that OKC would have amnestied him by now if Dwight were not in the West. Taking D12 out of his game is really about his only useful skill.
- Lin was totally off, so bring in AB. Instant offense, but not a chance in hell of containing Reggie Jackson.
- I try not to blame officiating, but the refs really seem to have it in for Dwight. Sometimes I think he's hesitant to contest b/c he's afraid of racking up fouls and knows he has no real backup.
- Again, fundamentals. Missed FTs. Failure to clean the boards. Careless turnovers. Same. things. every. single. game.
- I'm convinced T. Jones is a budding star, but he is frequently outsized. Monster shot-blocker, but legit rim protector he is not. Many matchups expose him, and this was one.
- No set plays. What else is new?
- DMo was a bright spot, as was AB offensively. But what else do we get from the bench??

Rockets have no business being in the contention conversation at this point. Their focus needs to be retooling and focusing on not dropping all the way to the bottom of the scrap heap like last season. So much hinges on getting this Asik situation resolved, and it is so so so so so frustrating to see this play out the way it has. If Bev and Smith can go out there and sit on the bench, so can he. The fact that he doesn't even show up for home games anymore is pretty infuriating.

We are a national sports media joke tonight and will be for the next couple of days. And it's well-deserved, IMO.

 

It probably wouldn't have mattered, I agree. Everything we say now, is in hindsight. This is what I know of the 2014 Brooks, he's very streaky, can put up buckets like crazy, but mostly you get bad defense out of him. You play Brooks long enough, you'll get mostly bad defense out of him. That's the problem I have with McHale, he puts his players in a position to fail.

 

LMFAO

 

still cant explain STARTERS and bench combined 19 pts in the 2nd half.

 

Mchale, this lost was on lin.
Wait sec lin was was subbed out with 12point lead and subbed back in when we down by 10points. Oh what other excuse should I use.
No mchale your coaching sucked, and the reason for the lost.

 

are you sure asik wasn't on the bench tonight? if that's true then all the talk from morey, mchale, and mouthpiece feigen about his alleged injury is simply ****ing pathetic. houston fans deserve better than the garbage this franchise has been spewing...

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>One basket had 18-of-30 3-pointers made on it. The other basket had 0-of-29 3-pointers made on it.</p>&mdash; Royce Young (@royceyoung) <a href="https://twitter.com/royceyoung/statuses/424050179436593152">January 17, 2014</a></blockquote>
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