ClutchFans Game Thread: Blazers @ Rockets 1/20/2014

great game by ALL the Rockets players.

extra cudo to:
Parson -> GREAT GAME
Bev -> good return from injury game
Casspi -> stop the avalanche in the 3rd quarter, team return to playing well when he come in, bounce from +6 to around +11

 

Finishes well with either hand now. His left is just as good as his right. He must have put in a TON of work on that over the summer. Love that he's always working on his game.

 

What he is learning is that he can effect the shot by just standing there with his arms up.

He is that big, and there were at least 2 calls tonight where he was standing straight up and down, the more he plays the more the refs will give that respect.

He is the tallest player on the Rockets, and am glad to see him getting some burn, hopefully they hold onto him as he could be special ....if he continues to develop.

DD

 

IMO, this was the most "complete" game the Rockets have played all season. Clearly, arguments can be made for others, but here are the reasons it was the most meaningful to me.

1. The Rockets played hard from start to finish. No huge collapses, lulls, cold spells, etc.

2. The Rockets were playing one the league's best performing teams on a five game winning streak. They were not on a back to back, well rested after absolutely destroying Dallas the other night.

3. The Rockets were in primetime, which has generally not been kind to them. You could tell that Charles and Shaq were disappointed they played so well, because they were ready to rip them up as usual, especially Howard.

4. The Rockets played harder defensively. Yes, they outscored the Blazers, but they made a consistent effort to stop them as well.

5. The Rockets still didn't have their whole team available, and their high scorer from their last game, T.Jones, didn't even play.

6. The Rockets seem better when Beverly starts and Lin leads the second team.

7. Scoring was relatively well balanced, and Glue Guy Parsons took up the slack for Jones. DMo was respectable.

I think this game may be a glimpse of the future. The Rockets seemed to exorcise many of their early season demons. It may not be permanent, but it was something.

 

That's a lot of salary and a lot of injury potential there. Not crazy about that move, tbh.

 

The nice thing is that they show the ability to score even when they are not hitting their 3's. In the 3rd quarter they were 2 of 6 behind the 3 point line but still scored 35 points. They were 6 of 20 in the 2nd half for only barely 30% so they can score with out the 3 ball, primarily because they are so good at scoring in the paint and getting to the line.

 

what did TNT crew say about Dwight?

i was the game

 

I have to give him credit. I have been really down him, but he is making an impact. We should feature him more in the post.

 

It is a lot of salary and you would have to be certain about it.

 

Trade Asik and Jlin for KG and Jet..... And we gooooddddd

 

Dwight had back surgery a season ago, and we paid him.....anyone that you want as a 3rd star will be expensive.

I could even see Gordon and Harden starting together with Harden running PG for the most part.

DD

 

I don't disagree with the concept. When things are flowing and the 3s are hitting, it definitely looks great. But, I think the concept works better in regular season, and may get stuck in the post season, when more often than not everything slows down and opposing defenses tightens up on every single play.

I'm not sure if arguing HOW the 3s come about makes too much sense, because even if all the 3s come from a smooth flowing offense, whether inside-out, swinging the ball, or driving and dishing, they still need to hit to count. Thus, if they're putting up such a high percentage of 3s in the playoffs, like I said, I hope I'm wrong and the team hits them on a high percentage through a 7 game series.

So far there's been alot of lineup flux due to injuries, and there have been plenty of games where flow just came to a stop. Thus, I'm hoping in the 2nd half, things get worked out so that the lineup is stabilized. Then hopefully more consistently and a concrete identity for the team can be established.

 

Yes, this is definitely what I'm hoping for on a more consistent basis from hopefully minimal injury and a more stable lineup in the 2nd half of the season.

 

I'm happy for D. Mo too, but Jones always comes out and he doesn't always hedge because he is athletic enough to switch on the pick and roll and defend the ball handler. In fact he switches a lot out there and holds his own with his footwork and athleticism against the smaller/quicker players. Even blocks a lot of outside shot attempts out there doing that. Did it against Mayo last game on his block, spin, layup.

 

Dwight injury history is not very long. Gordon on the other hand... I wouldnt mind Gordon on this team but comparing Dwight's injuries to Gordon's isn't a good comparison .

 

Yup - saw that!
He had some great defensive moves, especially up to point he got that 3rd foul.
We really needed him badly tonight, and he delivered!
(As I knew he would - see quote below )

I loved the D work CP did as well.

Parsons and DMo are my heros of this game
(even though I'm considered a COF...)

 

I think the HOW directly impacts the percentages we hit. I don't have hard data to back this up and I'm not even sure how to go about performing that analysis with the data at hand, honestly, but I've watched every game this season and when the ball gets sticky the degree of difficulty on those threes goes way, way up. Side-to-side movement, drive-and-dish, and kicking out from the post all lead to much easier, often uncontested shots that fall at a higher rate. Those are the threes we need to take more of and they're also the ones that open up the rest of the offense a bit, creating lanes, having defenders fly at Parsons' fake, etc. It really opens the game up a lot when they come in the flow of the offense vs. just dribbling out the shot clock and throwing up a contested brick.

Besides, a good portion of our points comes in the paint as well. We'll just need to hit enough threes (in the flow of the offense hopefully) to keep teams honest and open that middle up for the bigs, the drivers, and the cutters. Then when they start to sag and cheat, hit them with the 3 ball again. It really is pick your poison when we execute like we have shown tendencies to do.

 

I have been saying that DMO should get more burn and this game proves it. Minus his fouls, he has played great this game.

Lin is just out of his game, mentally right now.

Welcome back PBev!

 

Dwight doesn't really have an injury history at all in my opinion.

If we take out Dwight's freak injury season, he only missed 13 games in 8 seasons. That's incredible endurance for someone who plays the most physically demanding position in the league.

Dwight is also the healthiest player on this team so far as well.

 

No love for Casspi's 15 and 8 though?