ClutchFans Game Thread: Timberwolves @ Rockets 3/10/2020

I love RoCo, he's best overall defender IMO, truly elite off ball defender.

But best on ball defender is PJ Tucker when he is locked in. He can guard them all - Kawhi, KD, Giannis, Lebron, even Kobe.

 

Too bad the anthony plays him 80 mins a game, every game, along with boxing out bigs that outweigh him by 50lbs.

 

His minutes have gone down significantly since acquisitions of RoCo, Green and DMC.

 

Fancy that!! Hit your 3 pointers (especially the WIDE OPEN ones) and you win games .. who would have thunk it??

 

My takeaways from going to the game last night.

1. This team as constructed needs the second half Gordon in order to have any real chance going the distance. Last night the first half they were sloppy and Gordon couldn't hit a thing. He needs to be the same playoff Gordon as the past seasons.

2. Harden isn't washed up despite what a few say they see. He was lazy at the start of the game. Not fully engaged, missed several free throws, bad easy passes, walking up the court very slowly. He got frustrated things were not going his way and went over to the bench and got it out of his system for the most part and came back and started zeroing in on defense and then hit some very good drives and a few 3 pointers in the 4th once he was in his right mind. Same old Harden, he needs to be focused and some what coddled by the team then he'll ball-out. I hate saying it but it's the truth.

3. Ben McLemore needs more touches. He seems to be the best weapon offensively off the bench at the moment. MDA needs to dial him in more to rest the starts this final stretch of the regular season. The Rockets aren't catching the #2 spot most likely so just get as fresh of legs as possible.

4. The energy in the building is weak. The Red Rowdies are still the best fans ever and the rest of the TYC crowd is weak. I get it, several empty seats probably some Covid concerns, weeknight vs T-Wolves. But the only time it was remotely loud was when Russel stepped to the line after missing the 1st free throw during the 4th quarter and a free chicken sandwich was on the line.

5. Tucker is Chuckwagon 2.0 (he can shoot). The dude still out hustles everyone. So much respect for this mans game.

 

Yea
If Gordon can get his flow and shot back it would open our spacing even more. He has just not stayed healthy or has been in a funk. But we need him if we want to go far.

Harden isn’t washed up but he hasn’t been playing with the same energy. He has looked fatigue or sick apart from any injuries that has been lingering. We just so used to seeing him play hurt and getting his point and playing better than he has. Hopefully he has come back. He looked different last night. His shots looked better like before his slump and he drove in and got some buckets in the paint. Still looked a bit slow but with much more energy.

I keep saying Ben needs more playing time and more shot attempts. Harden and Russ need to make sure Ben gets at least 5-8 3 point attempts. He is our best shooter but if we don’t pass the ball to him he won’t get any.

and yes Tucker should be playing less minutes so that he isn’t exhausted. We ask too much from Tucker. He is one of our best defenders and we should keep him fresh. Also we shouldn’t start him and prob start Green instead.

 

2. How do we fix the lazy part on Harden. That's what's been killing us. You point that out and the delusionals come out hysterical making all sorts of excuses.

 

Lakers are -6.5 tomorrow

 

Damn really, what were they when we first played them?

 

Once the play-offs start we won't see the lazy factor. The thing that really is his Achilles is his attitude sometimes sours and then the big bag of quit ensues. Hopefully with his buddy Broodie there he'll stay a little more positive and not get frustrated and quit.

I don't care what the circumstances were Dream, Magic, Bird, Jordan, Dr.J, Moses Malone, Kobe, Rudy T... Those guys never quit. NEVER. The league know you can choke the life out of Harden. I say all this and I really love Harden's game, I have long been saying he'll mature and figure it out and win it all because hi is that great of a player, but he still shows a few cracks in his psyche. He's better just not all the way there.

 

I'm just calling it load maintenance when I don't show.

 

Lakers -6 on Feb 6th

Rockets -3.5 on Jan 18

 

Damn...........that is not good lol.

 

He needs a mentor or a leader to guide him

I think when Chris Paul was here, he was that steady hand which the team needed to keep the team and Harden on track

Window to a championship is tiny so if Harden doesn't get it next couple years, he will have missed out on the opportunity and need to chase rings as a bench guy after his contract expires

 

Kobe definitely quit on his team...can't comment on the others because I'm too young, either haven't seen them play or was very young. But Kobe absolutely quit on his team.

 

bruh, on league pass.

 

I mean like, how do you have time to rewatch a game you've already seen before. Add to the fact that it's a rockets wolves game.

 

PJ is a great perimeter defender, but not if that player is a good 3 point shooting small. There are players that make him look bad out there. That being said, he's better on the perimeter than Harden so I feel like Harden should be our defensive center.

 

What are you getting at here?

 

Nice momentum heading into the playoffs