ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Blazers 4/25/2014 (Playoffs Round 1, Game 3)

Joey Crawford tonight. We done!

 

I think his game is fine. He's getting to the rim and getting open shots. He's just not making anything.

 

Joey is reffing tonight and I think Joey loves embracing his inner Heel. Maybe he gives us the benefit of the calls just to get a rise of Portland fans.

pls

 

Crawford tonight?

NBA knows they gotta push series longer.

 

I still believe, so lets go get that 1st W!

 

The Fix might be in, the only question is Who is the fix going in for?

Portland to pump up Lillard and LMA? Or Houston to extend the series?

Or maybe Joey Crawford will just be his usual incompetent self? :grin:

 

Outside of the obvious adjustments like Harden manning the F up and changing the defensive strategy on Aldridge, what else needs to happen for us to turn this series around? I think we should (In logical order):

1. Not start out the game going to Howard. This match up has been our one bright spot and can be used at any time. The start of the game needs to see more pick and rolls and ball movement to get everyone involved and into a rhythm.

2. Keep shooting threes. We were averaging over 25 attempts per game during the regular season and only shot 16 in game 2. Every one looks scared to shoot. Don't be scared, shoot the ball.

3. Try going deeper in the bench. Two names that everyone is talking about are Troy Daniels and DMo. Looking at a possible 0-3 hole, I don't see why not.

 

We need to push the ball and make LMA and DL work at defense. We can still win.

This is a must win. Well, so was last one.

 

1.Harden to just play with confidence.
2.Go deeper in the bench.
4. Gaurd LMA
3.Hope McHale doesnt **** up.

 

I will only get to know the results on my stop-over at Helsinski airport . Dang Business Trips!

 

Guess this was more worrisome than we thought..we have two immature brats as 'stars', great!!!

 

ok thats why he cant hit a shot he is drunk

 

This video got me pumped for tonight.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/CMm6tDavSXg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

Anybody have ESPN Insider & can post this full article?

http://t.co/L3BjrY1oYa

"For the Houston Rockets, it all comes down to Friday night.

Struggling star James Harden said as much in the locker room after their Game 2 loss, declaring that "Game 3 is our season." Indeed, the Rockets have their backs against the wall, dropping both of their home games to the Portland Trail Blazers to fall to 0-2 in dramatic fashion.

History paints a grim picture for the Rockets. Entering this postseason, just 19 teams have gone down 0-2 with homecourt advantage and just three of those teams (16 percent) rallied back to win the series. Making matters worse, the Blazers are 31-10 on their home floor at the Moda Center, losing only one game there in the past month.

No doubt the Rockets are fully aware that the odds are not in their favor. Harden's assessment of Game 3 might seem overly dramatic, especially coming off the heels of his "must-win" Game 2 characterization. But no team has ever come back to win a series after being down 0-3, so the sense of urgency will be felt on the Rockets and their coach Kevin McHale to make the right adjustments.

Here are three big questions heading into Game 3 of Portland-Houston. Let's get into it..."

 

This is probably the first time Harden has faced this much scrutiny in his NBA career. He's always surpassed expectations. But now he's arguably the best SG in the league and expectations could not be higher.

He's fallen short big time and it will be interesting to see how he responds to the criticism. I think we'll see a different Harden tonight. But it's still going to be a close one.

 

Guys guys GUYS...

I got this. Relax.

I'm wearing my Lucky Rockets Shirt today.

I forgot to wear it the first two games, that's on me, my bad.

Nothing to worry about.

 

1. Should the Houston Rockets double LaMarcus Aldridge?

Considering Aldridge has looked like Wilt Chamberlain in this series, you might think this would be a reflexive, "yes." Aldridge has scored 89 points in his first two games and he's done it inside and outside and everywhere in between.

But here's why you don't throw multiple bodies at him: that's exactly what the 3-point-slinging Blazers want you to do. They're built to take advantage of the Aldridge overplay, flanking him with elite 3-point shooters Wes Matthews (39.3 percent), Damian Lillard 39.4 percent) and Nicolas Batum (36.1 percent). The result is that the Blazers are the third-most efficient spot-up shooting team in the league, behind the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs.

The Rockets haven't caved yet. According to ESPN Stats & Info video tracking, the Rockets sent a double team at Aldridge in the post just six times and the results were mixed. He shot 3-for-5, but was blocked twice and forced to dish out on the sixth instance.

There's no easy answer here, but you have to trust that Aldridge isn't going to shoot 13-for-19 outside the paint like he did in Game 2. Seems crazy after watching him splash jumper after jumper on Sunday, but that's an unsustainable pace going forward. Play him straight up, stay close and stick with the process over the results. Soon the results will follow. Doubling him in the post only makes sense with elite weakside defenders that can rotate seamlessly, but James Harden complicates that.

2. Should the offense run through Harden or Dwight Howard?

Harden stood idly on the perimeter for almost the entire first half in Game 2, watching like a paid spectator to the Dwight Howard show. Indeed, Howard put a clinic on Robin Lopez in the post, scoring 25 first-half points thanks to multiple assaults on the rim. But he was so gassed by the end of the barrage that he needed to sit down in the middle of the inferno. He scored just seven points on 2-of-5 shooting after halftime.

Harden might as well not have been on the floor and it's worth wondering whether catering to Howard in the post is the best thing for the team in the big picture. Harden shot 6-for-19 in the game and after the loss called for more actions that see him and Howard working together.

The question becomes whether the Rockets are at their best with Howard or Harden at the wheel. Looking at the season-long data, an interesting trend emerges: the Rockets tend to be better the more Howard gets his touches. Aside from Games 1 and 2, Howard has registered a higher usage rate (estimated percentage of team possessions ending in a field goal, free throw or turnover) than Harden in just 10 of the 62 games they've played together this season. So it's very rare that he gets more of the scoring load than "the Beard."

But when the Rockets' offense is at its best, Howard tends to have more touches than Harden. Of the Rockets' 10 best offensive performances this season, five of them feature Howard having a higher usage rate than Harden. On the flipside, of the Rockets' 25 worst offensive outings, all of them feature Harden besting Howard in usage rate. Zooming out, we find that the Rockets have won 67 percent of their "Harden-led" games and 70 percent of their "Howard-led" games. Nearly identical.

This is just reading the tea leaves so we can't read too deeply into cause and effect here. It could be that the Rockets thrive when they're not force-feeding Howard in the post, but rather letting his touches come naturally in the flow of the offense. But a bigger load for Howard generally means good things happen for the Rockets. Games 1 and 2 appear to be the exception, not the rule.

3. Is Kevin McHale's job on the line?

At their core, McHale and Rockets GM Daryl Morey don't exactly view basketball through the same lens. They would admit as much.

"[McHale] doesn't necessarily see the game through our analysis," Morey said in April 2013 when the Rockets exceeded expectations. "But he's very smart, and he believes in a lot of things that our analysis says how the game should be played."

Ever since McHale was hired in May 2011, folks around of the league have kept a close eye on how the marriage of old-school and new-school would fare when times got rocky. Needless to say, we're there now. The Rockets have blown two games at home against the fifth-seeded Blazers and are heading toward a first-round exit with Howard and Harden in tow.

McHale now encounters his toughest test of his Rockets' tenure, three years into a four-year contract. As a FiveThirtyEight study found early this week, raw wins and losses don't predict a coach's fate; it's wins and losses compared to expectations.

Vegas put the Rockets' over-under line at 54.5 wins this season and the Rockets won 54, so expectations were met over the 82-game slate.

But a knockout by the Blazers would certainly fall well short of expectations. Entering the playoffs, Vegas had the Rockets as the sixth-best odds of winning the title, way ahead of the Blazers. ESPN Forecast pegged the Rockets to win the series in seven games. Just two of the 18 experts on the ESPN panel had the Blazers coming out on top, none had them winning in fewer than six games. Four, including yours truly, picked Rockets in five.

Expectations are high. As a throwback big man, there's no doubt that McHale seems like a good fit to maximize Howard's abilities. But Howard already has his guy in Hakeem Olajuwon, who has tutored Howard every day in practice here in the playoffs. McHale's knowledge of the game can't be questioned, but he'll have to prove his weight as a tactician. So far, the Blazers have countered his every move.

Game 3 might be the Rockets' season. But it's more than that for McHale.

 

LMA and Lillard WILL BE in foul troubles tonight. You heard it first!

 

only 10 more hours!!!

 

Thanks, JR.