i thought losing yesterday, epsecially the way we did was very telling. it tells me nothing has really changed.
The thing is, we didn't collapse last night, Memphis methodically built that lead. And that's a much better way to lose by 20 then to it happen in one big spurt. Why? because at the very least we showed effort and grinded it out. It wasn't that the players weren't trying hard. They just couldn't execute against that D. And to be honest, I am not surprised. If this was a veteran team it would be a lot more disconcerting.
Key games are for teams who have set plays and are consistently growing, our team is inconsistent, way too inconsistent for us to map out games. You cant say we are good against this type of team or bad against that type of team we are good and bad against all of them, lol. We may go on a 5 game winning streak or a 5 game losing streak and it doesn't matter who we play, we can beat a team like the Spurs and lose to a team like the Utah Jazz the very next day. I dare anyone to predict our next five games.
im sorry bro. i don't get it? is that really a better way to lose? that's exactly what memphis wanted to do. keep grinding and grinding and just expanding the lead. they don't have enough offensive firepower to go on a huge spurt both offensively and defensively. that means we were consistently dominated the entire game, the game was never in doubt. they were up double digits at halftime, then pushed it even more as the game went on. it happens far too often v. teams that play good d like indiana, memphis, or okc. i think it's a huge issue if we can't execute against "that d," because it's likely we'll have to face an aggressive defense in the post season. even the clips last year despite losing in the first round to memphis put up a good ortg against em. it was their defense that sucked. spurs killed em in the wcf.
You guys have to understand why we lost yesterday and the day before. It's not an effort issue, it's an execution issue. These guys aren't used to playing as a unit against this kind of pressure D. And so they look really bad against it. You have to keep facing it over and over until you learn how to attack it. When a team plays very physical defense against you and make everything harder, they are also opening up doors. Countering physical D requires great off the ball movement and very strong passing. Our execution isn't there yet. As it improves we'll be able to make those defenses work hard and tire out faster and gain an advantage that way. But right now we have a tendency to be more sticky with the ball which plays into their hands. Don't think that's what McHale wants - he's yelling at his team to move the ball more. But guys are struggling with the physicality of the game. They aren't used to it. And it's affecting them. You want to know why NBA players miss open jump-shots - it's because they aren't used to shooting when they have to fight so hard to get that look. It improves as they get use to it. It will get better.
don't u think it's more concerning that we can't execute vs. these sorta teams and haven't shown those "signs" of improvement? i mean that's a huge flaw with our team if we can't execute properly v. great defenses (where we can't even get to 90 pts). that's probably even worse than losing because of a lack of energy.
^This, they looked stunned against this type of defense, this is when it pays to have a really good coach.
I also want to add that it's not just against really tough defensive teams it's against average defensive teams as well, sometimes they struggle against poor defensive teams, when they struggle from 3. Midrange shots are useful when your 3 is just not falling, the other team doesn't have to take shooting away from the Rockets once the three's don't fall since they don't take midrange shots, it's prety much over, especially if the other teams coach has any ounce of basketball knowledge he can just go 3 2 zone and totally stop our offense.
The only key games are playoff games. Our goal should be to avoid teams we matchup poorly against and try to get ourselves a seed to set us up with a team we do matchup well against -- even if it means intentionally getting a lower seed.
I mean, improvement takes a long time. You aren't going to figure it out that quickly. Look we've had maybe a dozen of these games? That's not a lot. You have to remember - most of these guys haven't never faced this kind of D. Howard has but that is about it. Harden has never really had to carry a team before. When you have Durant and Westbrooke to space the floor for you, life's a lot easier. But do you remember how much he struggled against Miami in the finals back in 2012? So Harden is still learning how to deal with players who don't let him get to the lane beyond just chucking up difficult jump shots. He's progressing - slowly. The way he using howard as a pick to get an open look is an example. His back-to-the basket game is still developing. Right now, Harden is still learning how to play against this kind of pressure. His game is still evolving and he will be a better player. Might take a year though. Parson has never faced this this kind of D. People forget last year we rarely got this kind of treatment. We were just another team on the calendar. Now we are a very good team that teams get up for and want to give their best. They want to stifle parsons - it's a matter of pride. He's getting tougher D then he has probably ever faced in his career. yes he is going to struggle. So is Lin, so is Jones, so is Bev so are most of these inexperienced guys. We don't have veteran players who can help execute in pressure packed crunch situations. All our guys are green sans Howard - who really depends on other players to set him up for success. So that's what you are seeing - a bunch of young guys being put in over their heads when they actually have to deal with the real thing. Practice isn't this intense. They just don't face guys muscling them up very often. So yeah, of course they are going to struggle. People forget how inexperienced this team is at every position except Center. Think about it. Your 2nd veteran player is Garcia! You aren't going to see this issue resolved from one game to the next. That's why I outlined the games to watch. You will see it resolved over months and months as these guys grow - both in physical strength and poise and as smart basketball players. But it takes a lot of time. So memphis was a good test. Teams like the Clippers, Pacers, OKC, Dallas at home - all these teams that are capable of really playing nasty D when they want to - when they want to shut down the number one offense. You have to remember how much pride they take in being able to stop a high scoring attack. We simply cracked under pressure. Dont' blame McHale yet - you have to wait until this team actually can execute his plays. Right now, the picks are poor, the cuts are soft at times, the decisiveness isn't there - that's not the play calling fault, that's the players fault. Game is very fast, every small mistake matters. One foot is huge. Inches are the difference between a blocked shot and a made shot. One moment of rushing is a bad shot in the making. Team is a work in progress. They are still figuring things out and have a ways to go. Look at how Miami struggled in their first year. Look at how the Nets are struggling so much. Teams struggle at times. Even the spurs get blown out on the road at times. This team just needs a lot more time to figure it out. Let's see how they handle pressure games in March. I have a sense they will do a bit better. Bit by bit.
You would think playing Memphis back to back would call for adjustments to be made to handle that defense. Also I think our defense goes hard in spurts. Being at the game in Houston, sometimes we looked like we weren't gonna let them score then they put up 5 an take back the lead. Too much ball watching while their man is moving without the ball. They see the ball in their guys hands and are like " how'd he get over there?" Really, I've told myself since the beginning of the season the Rockets would be a threat after the all-star break, given they've had enough time to gel. But I still get extremely frustrated now bc the talent is there, they have chemistry, yet there is still something missing. Maybe its just more of a game plan.
I went through the remaining schedule for the year and see that the Rockets should be favored to with 24 of the next 36 games. If the Rockets go 24W/12L that should put them right at 53 wins for the year which is pretty awesome in the first year of this team being together. I think this year its pretty much crucial to get in the playoffs that you need at least 50 wins so the Rockets are going to be flirting with the potential of dropping out if they under-perform over the last two months of the season. FYI- There is no guarantee that the Rockets even make the playoffs this year. If they lose 3 to 5 games in which they are favored to win that could be the difference in potentially missing the playoffs. The Rockets need to take care of business a little bit better to get those last 21 to 24 wins they need. Key games- -Dallas on Wed- HUGE -all games Rox favored in by a large margin (Cleveland 2X, Detroit, Philly, etc) -Key games against Minnesota 3X to close out season -Thur Feb 19th against the Warriors -Clippers 2X in Feb & March Beat the guys fighting for the bottom 6 playoff spots, and beat the teams you need to beat, and they should be good.
That's a good point considering so far the #5 Rockets have home losses to #7 Phoenix, #8 Dallas & #9 Memphis. #1-#4 playoff teams have been better against the league than the Rockets & probably #6 GS has been too since they won at Miami.
I rather we collapsed and showed signs of potential that we can be a super team had we not collapsed than what you suggested. What you suggested is basically we are who we are because we didn't collapse. We tried our hardest and we couldn't beat them...
harden has regressed. Without a better coach, he will become a Melo who seems to carry the team all the time but never could win a championship.
Tonight is a huge game. Dallas is a team that has given us trouble. The key is to see if without harden we can score against this team in the 3rd and 4th qtr.
