I was so pissed that didn't hack Jordan during that time, he was in the game the WHOLE time giving Howard hell, causing problems for anybody trying to drive and good boards and tip ins. Hack till they take him out, the stop of momentum, stop the team from getting blown out the water. But nope, nothing.
Pu$$y ass fan. Yeah we loss, but I feel that Harden should come off the bench with Smith and Terry. Start Prig and Brewer.
How about we quit going behind the screen and leaving Redick wide open? Or deny Rivers the lane? Or run back in transition? Or not stand around on offense? Or learn how to make layups and open 3's? I agree with the previous poster who said this series is over. Best we can hope for is the Rockets win Game 5 so at least they don't get eliminated in front of their home crowd.
This team needs to get eliminated here in Houston. They need to get booed out of the building. You guessed it, so it can motivate Harden
Start hacking Jordan whenever he's is the game. Make the game last forever. Jordan's +/- has been ridiculous. You need him off the court so start hacking away half way through the first quarter and continue every quarter. Make him shoot 50 FTs. His impact has been far greater than anyone else so get him off the court.
People keep talking about offense when there's a much bigger problem on the defensive side. That at the moment is the most glaring issue. Doesn't matter how many pts houston scores. They won't win unless they take a deeper look into this
No argument there. The Rockets have given up 117, 109, and 124 points so far in this series. And the first two were at home with Chris Paul in street clothes. You're not gonna beat anyone in a playoff series with defense like that.
Well considering nothing has changed in the first 3 games except for Harden not being passive for 1 quarter in game 2 maybe use different players? Give Papa and NJ a chance at least they will try on defense. At this point that's all I'm asking for just effort on D
This. Making shots comes and goes. Defense is always available. Still, I don't see the defense suddenly becoming great when it's been mediocre for months. Defense isn't something where you make an adjustment here and there, it's an ingrained set of habits. -You're in defensive posture because you're used to being in defensive posture. -You make defensive rotations because practice after practice and game after game it's demanded of you by your coaches and your team mates. -You run back in transition because possession after possession the coaches and your team mates demand that you run back in transition. -You keep contact with the cutters because every time you lapse the coaches and your team mates hold you accountable for losing the cutter. The players are playing poorly, but poor defense happens when both the coaches and the players aren't holding people accountable. The Bucks aren't loaded with talent, yet they play good defense game in and game out. It's because the coaches and the players hold themselves accountable. People don't hold each other accountable because either the coaches and their team mates don't make it a priority, lack authority with the offenders, or because the offenders refuse to change. Poor coaching + lack of locker room leadership = bad results
yup, if we can't win this series, I'd make this game at LA so boring by hacking. We can bring in Dorsey so the Clips will also hack him. Great!
Yeah thinking about it I'm not sure how much can be changed at this point on the defensive side. At some point accountability is an issue the players themselves need to take in. There's way too much relying on others.
This is the single key to flipping this series. Our starters are getting killed on the defensive glass. That kills our own transition offense which gets Harden downhill and to the FT line and gets our shooters wide-open 3-ball looks. And it magnifies whatever defensive issues we have. It also marginalizes both Dwight and Harden because they are taking away Hardens transition opportunities by getting the rebound and scoring and then secondly when they do that they can double down and send Dwight to the free throw line and waste a bunch more opportunities for Harden. If we do not get control of the defensive glass then we are done. My suggestions: 1. Start Josh Smith and match him up against Blake every minute Blake plays. The exceptions being when the game is already decided or during hacking time. Smith is a superior rebounder and defender to Terrence. Remember this is about defense and controlling the defensive glass. And then us getting out on the break where James and Co. can do the most damage to them. This also allows Terrence to come off the bench when Blake (and Smith) sits and have a more favorable match up. 2. Gotta get a few more good moments out of Capela working with the second unit. The boy can rebound and finish. He's gotta be brought in behind Dwight with Prigs and run the picks and roll. Capela needs to be on the floor when Dwight sits. That means 10 to 14 minutes a game instead of 5 to 7. This also puts Capela and Terrence in the game together at approximately the 6 minute to the 2 minute mark in the quarter which is "hacking time". While not great free throw shooters, both Capela and Terrence are better free throw shooters than Dwight and Smoove. The hacking strategy will be minimized. 3. We have to force Blake to defend James and Dwight. We have to have Smith setting the screen down low for Dwight to get Blake switched over on Dwight. When we get Blake on Dwight then we gotta get Dwight immediately in pick-and roll action with James This ultimately leads to DeAndre helping off Smith and leaving Smith open. But instead of settling for the the 3`s, Smith should be diving to the rim for the finish and contact. In this series, Blake, not Paul, is the single player we have to neutralize. Gotta make him defend James and Dwight. Gotta get a better defender on him at all times. Gotta get a better rebounder fighting him on the glass. And as a team we simply have to control the boards or we're done.
I'm tired of Jet getting killed on D and I'm tired of Dwight contesting a shot and nobody being on the other side for a board, that's on Tjones/Smith
Bring Harden off the bench. I know it will never happen but after last night's effort I wish McHale would. Let him play a Jordan Crawford role for a game.
