All we needed was just 1 more 3 from PJ (or any other Rocket) and it would have been game over. Or 2 fewer turnovers.
Tucker will play his part tomorrow by bringing energy, defense, rebounding, and knocking down a few 3’s. The question is whether MDA sticks with Gordon and limits McLemore. If I was a betting man, I’d bet on MDA not making any changes to the lineup. This is the pattern we’ve seen time after time again. I hope that’s not the case, but if so, this game will come down to whether Gordon Is able to rise to the occasion and play above his average for the playoffs. If not, I think we lose this game.
BMac is a defensive disaster. All 3 OKC guards hunt him on switches. If CF was crying over RoCo defense on CP3 in last minute then you all will demand MDA and his family's blood if BMac on floor more than 6 mins.
If Ego is hitting 3's early, then keep him in. If he goes 0-3 or 0-4, let BMac get some burn and let the man shoot 6+ threes. We need to score atleast 110 points to win in my opinion.
I’d rather see him out there tbh...give him at least 15 minutes and cut Eric Gordon’s down to 20-25 we literally had an 85.5 offensive rating in Gordon’s 34 minutes of play in game 6...his stupidity and trash play absolutely crater our offense if McLemore is on, we can blow the game open
BMac is clearly our worst defender but his offense has been limited too. When was the last time he hit a 3 in this series? Russ is only slightly better defender so I hear you. Give BMac minutes from EGo or Russ, whoever playing worse. But everyone crying for more Rivers need to see how inept he has been offensively this series. But for good or ill, Rivers, BMac, Green or Russ can explode for 20+ in any game. PJ is Rockets 3rd best defender with House a close 4th. Green has regressed with Russ return.
bang!! I was hit by a deja vu when I read this ( way back this my sentiment on Ariza) and now I have a feeling that Tilman will screw this up
B Mac needs to see the floor More, if any other reason to keep Gordon fresh for the fourth quarter. Gordon is a turnover waiting to happen, and he makes a lot of bone headed decisions. If he’s on, great... let him play. However, the evidence is pretty clear by now that he’s not a ball handler and he’s turnover prone. It’s true he’s a better defender than B Mac, but when he’s shooting 16% from beyond the arc he becomes a serious liability since the Rockets needs shooters to spread the floor. He definitely shouldn’t be on the court during crunch time. If not B Mac, then you go with a larger lineup up of Covington, House, Tucker, Harden, and Westbrook, and give Green more minutes. Hell, at this point I’d be tempted to give Carrol minutes since he’s a decent defender. Pipe dream, though.
Honestly, I'd rather play Rivers or even Bruno over Demarre or heaven forbid, Frazier. Both are better and more effective 3ball shooters and switch defenders. Bruno definitely shoots 3ball with more confidence than either Demarre or Frazier.
Shai-Paul-Schroder-Dort can easily get 60 Points Harden gets 30 but his assists are getting lower because Russell is Ball Hogging and not giving the ball to Harden who can run a half court offense. Westbrook-Gordon-Rivers barely getting 17 points the from the 3 of them.
