ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Warriors 10/17/2017

Tucker is going to be 84 by the end of his contract here...

 

Please disregard!

 

I don't even like the guy but that made me sad. Freak injury that he didn't deserve.

 

Take-aways:

1) As far as cp3 goes, it's obvious that he's either wrestling with the minor injury, or trying to figure out where to pick his spots. I feel like he's trying to push himself to do things he usually doesn't and hold back on things he usually does. I don't think it'll take long for him to find the balance. Just requires time. But on another note, as much as TNT ppl are blind and ignoring the injury he was playing through, he still got 11 assists, 0 turnovers, 7 rebounds (pretty rare for him i think), 2 steals, and a block, while making key defensive/hustle plays in the middle of the 4th to get our guys going. The intangibles are like beverly's in a sense, but with less barking/drama and more focus on the next play to capitalize even more. So all in all, I'm glad that as bad as he shot and is still feeling his way into the flow of the game, he made the most of it and def contributed to getting the W. Just prayin he stays healthy overall this year and recovers quickly from the knee issue.

2) Eric freakin' Gordon is a beast. The moment he got in the game he was ready to take it hard to the rack and that he did! I haven't seen someone relentlessly go to the rim that hard in a rockets uniform outside of harden in a long time. Just imagine if he's hitting his 3's (a lot of which he took were very makeable for him). He just seems either quicker, more in shape, or just more determined to get buckets. Solid defense, has the green light, no more sharing scoring responsibilities with lou, and this guy I can see having an even better year this season .

3) PJ Tucker's Mbah a Moute's grit/utility. Seriously, PJ Tucker is one of those players we've needed for a long time. He is a sturdy, no-nonsense defender who liked to bang in the paint, scrap for loose balls, and attack the glass. Him and Mbah a Moute's utility to switch everything, hustle throughout, and hit open 3s is what this team was missing last year. Trevor couldn't do it all himself and at times I felt Trevor was so used to chasing the best player on the court that he gave up open shots to the less players lol. I think having these two on the floor will help alleviate the pressure he had to always chase the best players as well as elevate our defense in ways we havent seen since the artest/battier/yao era.

4) Harden is still James Harden. He carried us tonight, made some usual bonehead defensive lapses, and then carried us some more, hitting big stepbacks over good defense and being aggressive to take it to the rim, which I really liked. Even though he started off not converting most of his drives in the 1st quarter, he kept at it and it opened up his game to exploit a lot of matchups. If we can just elevate his overall defensive awareness to about average, we're going to b a great team.

 

It is most definitely the worst contract in the NBA. Should be multi-year. We're f-ing stupid.

 

He didn't. You're reading into things.

 

He's ours:

 

Hope so.

 

I am waiting for the obligatory @DonKnock 's Doubters form a line to submit your apology thread

 

How did you like Curry's defense today?

You know, fouling constantly.

 

@ashleyem you're a loser and stupid. Should've given that money to Harvey relief.

@zeeshan2 where you at bro?

 

Classic "you reach, I teach".

 

Trust me, we have the best coach in the NBA. We also have the best coach's wife in the NBA. We have the best owner, the best defensive coach and the best defensive coach's wife. This is a solid organization.

 

Damn, I hear about wives and no pics....j/k.

Back to point, yup he is the right coach for this kind of team, but he isn't better than Pop IMO.

He is a sulky type when he fails against teams like the Spurs, we got a second one on our team, the 'leader' James, one too many with this characteristic.

Imma just have to wait after 81 games and see for myself if we are Top organization.

 

There's no need to have a wife considering how many strippers harden has. Why buy the cow when you can just keep getting the milk?

 

One way to see it.

 

More like "You have no chance, quit."

 

Fine media, you don't think Chris Paul fits. How about PJ Tucker? Luc Mbah a Moute?

#12DEEP

 

I'm glad to eat crow, just thought with our pre-season and the quotes from our players that they didn't really seem like they were confident. One thing you have to agree is that Harden played a lot sharper and focused than in the pre-season. A lot more drives to the basket, smart decisions, far less flirting with violations and only a few clear mistakes on defense. He even shot some midrange! He stepped up and I'm glad he did, because CP3 will definitely need some adjusting. It was not just that injury. As a team we did great and although Iggy was out and Green injured at the end, I still take this win as a great sign for things to come.

Chris Webber summed it up perfectly when he said we stuck to our game plan and hang in there, which was not something you would've expected last year when we folded under pressure. This to me is because now we have the defense to rely on. Last year those shots would've got us out of our rhythm. I mean, that first quarter with the crazy shooting by Young & Klay and we still were within striking distance. That was a very positive sign! Then Gordon came in and boy he was determined, so quick and that dunk. Oh my Don't like to say player of the game, but he was very key.

Tucker & Mbah were also very important and such huge signings, it's not even funny. They were amazing today and while I never knew much about Mbah before and thought a guy on a veteran minimum contract will probably not give us much. Boy was I wrong. He showed flashes in the pre-season, but was even better today. His defense is superb and again those drives. Tucker with some key three pointers, offensive rebounds and just bodying up guys with that strength.

Overall wonderful start, regardless of whether we had won or lost tonight. I'm just glad it didn't count because we should've gotten the rebound. On to the Kings who we should not underestimate and let's hope CP3 is healthy. One last thing: I was surprised by no Nene tonight, but it might have been one of the smartest decisions MDA could've made with going small and ability to switch.

 

MDmA ain't some pride guy. His philosophy didn't work at first and he's still around. The man knows adjustment is needed and he knows he's not the best defensive guy around. We won tonight and that's great, but it started with defense. Jeff Bzdelik should take note of what worked. Take note of the history of the game. It's all there for him. Just gotta love winning more than the other guy.