ClutchFans Game Thread: Spurs @ Rockets 5/11/2017 (Playoffs Round 2, Game 6)

Energy in Game 7 won't be an issue. There's a 2-day break between Games 6 and 7 and travel clearly isn't a factor given our opponent plays only 200 miles west of us.

The real issue with energy would be in Game 1 if the Rockets reach the WCF. But you cross that bridge when you get to it.

 

Implications if we lose tonight - we fared no better against the Spurs than the 7 seed Grizzlies, and they had to go against Tony Parker the entire series.

We overachieved in the regular season, but given what we accomplished, we would relatively underachieve if we can't at least take the Spurs to 7 games.

 

we win tonight and Game 7, MDA gonna look like a genius

 

No smokescreen. They wouldn't pull Kawhi out of OT for no reason.
He had a heatpad on his knee during last game and then something about his ankle came up
EIther way, he's likely still gimped up a bit. But I'm sure he's going to try and give it a go.
AND, if one foot is bothering him, he can change pivot feet at will

 

LOL. Neither us nor SA are going to get past GSW this year.
Just ain't gonna happen. EVERYBODY not on either GSW or CLE are gonna
just be looking at pics of rings

 

Still thinking that this could've been easily the series W for us...

 

Yep. These guys screwed up big time. Stupid ass turnovers.

 

Rockets off ball action:

 

Sorry but this just ain't happening. Les deliberately went out and hired MDA because that's the coach and style of basketball he wanted to see out there by the Rockets. And that's what he got - the turbocharged version of the 2006 Phoenix Suns. I guarantee that Les ain't going to say squat to MDA about how he's managing this team during the playoffs.

This is a pipe dream. If anything, so what if they're tired? It's too late to think about that now especially since it was MDA who shortened his playoff rotation. The time to work more guys into mix has long since passed and it is what is. If anything, I expect MDA to push his guys to play even faster tonight because in his system, that's their only key to getting to a Game 7.

 

To emphasize my last post, I just found this article on the San Antonio Express-News:
http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursn...20.1470940064.1494534489-878947257.1494264110

D’Antoni defends seven-man rotation he used against Spurs in Game 5
By Tom Orsborn on May 11, 2017 at 11:23 AM

HOUSTON – Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni offered a vigorous defense of the seven-man rotation he employed in Game 5 of the West semifinals and indicated he won’t hesitate to stick to that plan again in Game 6 Thursday night.

“If we feel like we need to (expand it), we will,” D’Antoni said. “But I’m not going to do it just because some people can’t count or they can’t figure it out.”

The Rockets finished Tuesday’s 110-107 overtime loss to the Spurs with four starters logging 40-plus minutes, including point guard James Harden, who played 43 minutes. Afterward, critics suggested it was a reason why Harden went scoreless in OT on 0-of-3 shooting with three turnovers.

D’Antoni used an eight-man rotation in the first three games of the series, but that changed after backup big man Nene suffered a postseasons-ending injury in the first quarter of Game 4.

Before Game 5, D’Antoni didn’t rule out giving some minutes to little-used Sam Dekker or Montrezl Harrell, but both remained on the bench Tuesday night.

“OK, let’s address this,” D’Antoni told the media after Thursday morning’s shootaround at the AT&T Center.

“Yeah, I’ll think about it (expanding his rotation) because I will have my guys who are not playing. Now y’all realize that when there was eight, nobody said anything. Now Nene goes down, (starting center) Clint Capela) took almost all those minutes.”

But D’Antoni said regardless of Nene’s injury, Harden was going to play nearly 40 minutes a game.

“James was on track to play 38 minutes last game without the overtime,” D’Antoni said. “Thirty-eight minutes is what he is going to play. So if he got tired, I could play 15 guys, it isn’t going to change that. And I monitor Pat (Beverley), and Trevor (Ariza), and Eric (Gordon) and Ryan (Anderson), and they go, ‘Nah, we’re great,’ and they are playing thirtysomething minutes. And at their age, they should be able to play that. San Antonio had three guys (LaMarcus Aldridge, Danny Green and Patty Mills) play over fortysomething minutes, we had four. Big deal.”

D’Antoni also pointed out that if the Rockets had just made a few more shots and won Game 5, nobody would be talking about his rotation.

“They always do that,” he said of critics. “It’s like, OK, I’ll play somebody two minutes, that’s really going to help. I just want the numbers in there so everybody goes, ‘Oh, they played nine guys. They’re good.’ ”
D’Antoni said it’s just hard to insert Dekker and Harrell into the rotation after they’ve played so few minutes in the playoffs.

“I’ll go with Pat an extra two minutes,” D’Antoni said. “You Pat is going to go, ‘Hell, OK.’ He could be dead walking and he is going to play. And it’s nothing against Sam or (Harrell)…It’s just tough. Now if Eric comes to me and says, ‘I need a couple of minutes,’ then, yeah, we’ll throw them in there. But every possession is a game-winning possession as it was shown in San Antonio. I’m just trying to give us the best possibility to win. It’s not always going to work out, and then I’ll be criticized, and that’s fine. It’s part of the game. But I’m going to do what’s best for this team.”

D’Antoni said his players’ spirits are high entering Game 6.

“Playoffs are hard,” he said. “You are going to have ups and downs. We kicked away game (5), we thought, in our minds. I’m sure they thought they won it. That’s behind us. And the only thing that matters is win this game, and then we’ll get another shot at it. All we have to do is win one home game.”

 

I have it on good authority, the refs desire a game 7 to recieve an extra game check.

Rockets W

 

The Spurs made a big adjustment against the Harden/Ariza pick-and-roll that was hurting them early in G5 (and in previous games).Highlights

 

just too undermanned. everyone has to do more and by the 4th we are too tired to play d and grab rebounds

 

it must be nice only having to scout 7 players

 

Can't think of it that way. In 2009 we were the only team to take the Lakers to seven games, despite Yao going down with injury. Doesn't mean we were better than the other teams they played. Matchups determine a lot. I don't think the Grizzlies played poorly anyway, they'd play any team besides GS hard.

 

I'm going to the game row 11 I was wondering if anybody has season highlight videos just hype videos in general as I'm ready to scream until I make kawhi cry.

 

The Rockets need to take advantage of the fact that the league and the public (despite all the Harden hate) want this to go to 7 games. That means Harden and Lou need to be drawing fouls especially if the shots aren't falling. I think we can beat them either way, just saying that it will to be to our advantage that this will probably be called either fairly or even (gasp!) in our favor.

Go Houston!

 

Since when did the LOFs turn into

Spoiler

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