we gotta get some more creative sets or use plays that work to our advantage, that 1/2 PNR with Lin Harden was deadly, forcing the switch onto mo williams/and or lin taking advantage...this iso crap and force feeding dwight doesn't work, we have too many talented players to have to work THIS hard for baskets
McHale needs to give Blazer different looks, from time to time. - "LMR shooting over a chair", why can't we give D-Mo a few minutes to mix things up? - We shot 0 FT in the first half and Harden shooting 3-14 from 3, why can't he drive a little bit more and early? - Hamilton is supposed to be good at 3 and defending, didn't we need that last night, and why can't we give him a few minutes of burn? - Harden and Lin picks were super effective, why can't we have a few more similar plays, involving those 2 and even Parsons and PB? - Hack a Howard, haven't we prepared for that all season long, and always let Howard play through it, why did we panic and pull him off? A question to Morey, when can we get some kind of veteran leadership on the bench, using Money-ball, who can talk to jitter young players and calm them down?
We just need to support this squad and have a full house for game 2. One game doesnt decide the series and we werent going to sweep portland, they're too good for that. We'll be alright... I have faith in this squad
I disagree with the assessment that you should use Dwight on LMA. Dwight's effectiveness is magnified when he is in the middle protecting the paint and rebounding. Infact, the Blazers exploited having Dwight come out to the perimeter by sending Lilliard to the rim at will...The Rockets will have to guard LMA by committee with TJones, DMo and Asik taking turns. I have zero problem letting LMA get his, but it is allowing Lilliard to roam free in the paint with reckless abandon. I personally vote DMo, bc he plays the game without having sticky fingers and the offense would not bog down...when him, Lin, Harden, and Parsons play alongside Howard, I can bet that the Rockets will have enough space operate in the paint, and have shooters to balance the court.
Game 1 was a freak game: There were some defensive lapses with overhelping at times. But honestly, people need to look at some of the facts before freaking out. -LMA shot 17-31 and scored 46 points. Including two 3 pointers. Guy was just on. Not likely to happen again. -Lillard put up 31. Could happen again, but not likely. He made some crazy shots. -Harden shot 8-28. That will likely be his worst shooting night of the series. -Asik foul trouble -Rockets shot 41% from the field and 23% from 3 pt land I don't think we will lose on Wed. Rockets 112-101. Key to win this game is to keep the ball out of the guards hands. We need to keep a body on him at all times and more double teams. Portland hits the 3 ball well. But the key is to take away the lane and the 3point shot. Let LMA shoot 50% instead of giving up lay-ups and 3-pointers. Double Lillard, frustrate him, knock him off his game more. The more he struggles, the more the Blazers will. We can't stop LMA. But we can make him a one man show. Let him score 40. Let's see how many 3's he hits wednesday.
-get rebounds !!!! -play our basketball vs their pace (drive into the lane, get to free throw line, creates opportunities for 3's, fast breaks) -howard produce by b**** sideshow bob -harden needs to be better, be aggressive in the lane and hit threes - not the biggest lin fan, but the man was being productive. that pick and roll combo was working -and the the biggest point imho, be ****ing aggressive when it counts!!!!! if u have a damn double digit lead dont let up. hit it full throttle and make them not want more
I wouldn't be surprised if that's the best game we see from Portland this series. We know these Rockets, we have seen them all season long and nothing is out of normality. The same way The Rockets lose a close game they can come back the next and blow out their opponent. I have faith in this team. I knew going into overtime what would happen. You could tell The Rockets were beat emotionally due to those lucky threes by you know who. A lot of things had to go right for Portland to win last night. Those things might not be there again. I believe in The Rockets.
I doubt we'll see Dwight on LMA except on switches or short stints when the Blazers go small and Dwight is still in. Plus, I think that McHale just doesn't think it's a good idea. But it could work with Asik also on the floor to protect the rim. After seeing Howard on LMA when he made that desperation 3, I'd like to see them try it. I'd love to see LMA taking desperation shots over Howard rather than easy post-up turn-arounds over Jones. The help D for Jones on LMA was pathetic. It's like they had no faith in their ability to rotate on 3 point shooters when LMA passes it out of the double.
Portland has won 10 out of 11. Game 1 was the first step in bringing them back down to earth. Think about it in terms of an undefeated NCAA team. That team is running on all cylinders, playing at 150% of its talent level because of the confidence it's gained from not knowing what it's like to lose yet. But then their games start getting closer and closer. Finally one day they lose. What happens then? They go on like a streak of losing 4 out of 6. The confidence is gone. They make the tournament as a 3 seed for their entire season performance but are early exits in March. Who am I talking about? Syracuse, every year, of course. But yes it also applies to any other team. Portland's confidence is sky high. But in game 1 everything went right for them and wrong for us, and they won by 2 in overtime. Game 2 we give them the medicine of harsh reality. The rest of the series they will be back down to earth, and their skill level just doesn't match up to ours. It will come down to us not getting screwed by the refs in Portland, but I think we will manage it.
All I gotta say is BBQ Chicken.... That's BBQ Chicken man. Dwight's gonna feast in Game 2. Rockets win the next 4 games.
TJ needs to be tougher against LMA and hold his ground if LMA will be playing him back to the basket. I have zero confidence on D-MO and Casspi and I don't like the TT strategy at all. In fact, if TJ will be in any kind of foul trouble, I am more willing to play Jham on LMA, yes, I do believe play Jham on LMA will be a good idea, he may suck on guarding a SG or SF and you also may think he could be too short against LMA, but he actually may work better.
I guess you haven't seen many of the regular season games? TJ is a horrible individual defender especially against the better bigs. This should come as no surprise. A player simply cannot become a tougher or better defender overnight. The only option we have is probably DMO due to his speed and slightly better defense.
lol, Dmo will foul out in about 5 minutes. he is a downgrade from Tjones on the defensive end, which is saying a lot.
Dude, that is the lamest idea I've heard yet - JHam. If Jones and Parsons were manhandled because of lack of strength, the results will be even worse.
--These are really adjustments but whatever. How about... -Double LMA in the post, force Portland to beat you shooting outside shots. -Play off of LMA, allowing him to hit hands up contested jumpers -Switch Harden to Batum and Parsons to Matthews -Jordan Hamilton needs some run as a defender, with Harden playing point (Big Lineup) -More ball movement on offense, with the Harden looking to set up his teammates more especially in the first quarter. Need to stop getting off to bad starts -Be prepared for Hack a Howard strategy with lineup changes and timeouts -Better help defense, no excuse for Lillard getting to rim as much as he did last night
These two are particularly wrong. Doubling LMA will open us up for the Blazer's 3 point attack. LMA isn't going to shoot 17-31 every night. Let him go one on one. The key is not to foul him and still make him miss about half his shots. Not give up wide open 3's. Lillard was exactly in a lay-up line, he did his damage from the line and the 3 point line as well. Also when we did collapse on him he would get easy passes for dunks. You have to defend Lillard the way other teams defend Harden. You need to force the ball back out of his hands. Make him drive and put a defender in his way but still keep defenders protecting the baseline. Make him make long passes - long passes that the defense can recover from.
