ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Lakers 10/26/2016

Until they ALL COMMIT to TEAM DEFENSE they will have a rocky season....

T_Man

 

How did the Rockets end up with 5 fouls 2 minutes into the 4th? They put the Lakers in the penalty and they don't have a James Harden. Was Kobe Bryant resurrected?

 

Brewer and Ennis are scared players. They play scared because they are. It rubs off on the team, it's contagious. Ariza is the first to have it rubbed off on because a lot if his game relies on his 3 pt shot which is confidence. NeNe is also a neutral player who can easily be scared into playing worried every possession.

These are the 4 players the Rockets need to closely monitor. When and where they put them in the game really matters. It can be the difference between them having a good night and a terrible night and it effects the rest of the team.

 

#Upside

 

There were several 'phantom' fouls called late in the game for sure.
Kind of on both sides. One was Ennis on guarding fast break (after his TO, ahem).
Player went up and he just let him go by, sort of had his hand on his back but no real contact.
Was called as a foul. (the hero Jordan Clarkson as I recall)
So Ennis throws the ball away, gives up layup AND a foul.
3 point play Tyler Ennis! OOPS, sorry. Wrong team

 

After the doom and gloom of last night, I'm trying to look for some positives.

1. Harden looked good offensively playing the "point guard" position
2. Eric Gordon looked comfortable in the off guard role
3. KJ McDaniels was a positive off the bench.
4. Mike Anthony showed he has the cojones to pull players out early (Capela) if they look lost.
5. I guess Capela was ok once he was brought back.

I can't think of any other positives.....

 

One of things that I found curious was that once Harden picked up his 5th foul, LA didn't go after him to make him get his 6th. It appeared to me that when he got that 5th foul, his focus and intensity disappeared which proved to be fatal because the entire offense is structured around him.

 

Agreed. My beef is if his system will work with us.
It worked with the Suns, but not with the Knicks except that short stretch with Linsanity and with the Lakers.

 

http://www.chron.com/sports/rockets...p?cmpid=twitter-desktop?cmpid=twitter-desktop

1. If you fell asleep on the sofa at halftime, you would have gotten up feeling the Rockets are pretty good. Maybe they will be, but the NBA counted the second half, too. The Rockets offense rolled through Wednesday's first half with all the James Harden playmaking and 3-point shooting they advertised. Harden's 14 assists in the first half tied the franchise record for a half and were two shy of his career high for a game. The Rockets made 6 of 13 3-pointers in the first half. Their 71 points matched their most in a first half last season. The offense slowed in every way in the second half, with the Rockets making just 1 of 16 3s and going 0 for 10 from deep in the fourth quarter. Mike D'Antoni said the Rockets 'lost their legs' which is understandable, but only part of the problem. Players don't play close to 40 minutes in the preseason. There is no way to get in NBA game shape better than by playing NBA games. There is a reason 'mid-season form' is a thing. The Rockets rely on their 3-point shooting more than most, so preseason form would show up more for them. But the Rockets also broke down offensively before they took the shots they missed. The pace slowed dramatically. They went from 22 fast break points in the first half to two in the second half. Harden held the ball more, going without an assist in the fourth quarter. The Rockets offense might have to carry them for a while, but it was not up to producing for all four quarters. It could not on Wednesday, which should if nothing else, provide a good wake-up call.

2. The Rockets defense did not have the same problem as they had on the offensive end. It was not much better in the first half than the second. The Rockets had been working on their defense extensively in the practices leading up to the season opener, but broke down badly in ways they can correct and should not have been as troublesome. For much of the game, their initial defense was not the problem. When it was time for the next step – rotating, crack backs (cutting off the roll man) or boxing out after rotating – the Rockets were unable to finish possessions. They have other defensive issues that were clear on Wednesday. Julius Randle and the Lakers guards had little difficulty going one-on-one. The Rockets way too often let them operate to try to defend the shot, rather than being disruptive when the Lakers first put the ball on the floor. But that was likely to be a Rockets' problem, especially in the weeks Pat Beverley is out. D'Antoni might have to move Trevor Ariza to defend point guards earlier, at least when there is not a high-scoring small forward to defend. (Good luck against the Cavaliers next week.) But the basic execution of the defense has to be much better. The individual issues were not surprising. The team defense has to get better in a hurry.

3. The Rockets bench seemed thin the day Pat Beverley woke up with a sore left knee, maybe sooner. It was a real issue in the first game when D'Antoni could not keep Harden out of the game for long, but could not count on his reserves, either. He might have to. Sam Dekker and especially K.J. McDaniels, who went 5 of 5, were productive. The Rockets might have to give them greater playing time and live with the growing pains. The situation at point guard might not be as easily fixed. Tyler Ennis had a few sharp passes, but the Rockets struggled when he was in for Harden. The issues at center might have been the biggest surprise of the night. Nene had an outstanding preseason. He offered no signs that he would be struggle the way he did in the opener. Some of that could be because of match ups. The Lakers went small and made him defend Randle. That was not a good match up for him, but lots of teams go with small lineups off the bench. Nene will have to defend one-on-one scorers, face-up scorers again if he continues to play off the bench. He will have to defend much better than he did in the opener. But that goes for most of the Rockets after a dud of an opener.​

 

We just need to find our legs.

 

Rockets fans be like

 

Confirmed: Will not make any All-NBA team this year.

 

you are probably right lol, nba while being a joy to watch is a joke when it comes to player voting, too much favoritism. Its alredy being planted in the voters minds that klay thompson is the best all around guard in the nba, even though klay is closer to 6'8( but whatever)

 

CaptainJackass is that you?

 

you do know that there is no D in 'Antoni ?

rookie coach Luke Walton was able to make half-time adjustments, which veteran coach 'Antoni was not able to counteract

just to put things in perspective

 

I understand Harden is the "pg" but there needs to be a line up where he's playing off the ball too. He's finding his spots to score but not really getting much of a rhythm while trying to set up others.

 

If the Rockets continue playing this way, losing to teams like the Lakers, this season will be worse than last.

 

Then they'll head to the lottery. But Leslie shouldn't mind. Fans saw an "entertaining" season of Mike Anthony basketball.