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ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Pistons 1/6/2018

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Clutch, Jan 5, 2018.

  1. OTMax

    OTMax Member

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    Embarrasing, where is our defense? Where’s the hustle? Pride? CP3 needs to be our star and get his! Add another horrible game for PJ Anderson. We continue to get outworked and have accepted our fate without Harden so far.

    Did MDA seriously come up with another excuse?? Tired legs?? No wonder this team has no guts. Coach said it’s fine to lose. This guy is just as bad as McHale in taking responsibility and making adjustments.

    I’ve said several times I don’t trust MDA and this is why. No wonder he cannot tell Harden anything who’s also prone to shy away from responsibility.

    Also, isn’t it odd CP3 is turning the ball over much more than in previous years?? Great offensive system my ass. Take back that COY trophy and I’ll take that MVP for Harden who just carried us!

    What happened to MDA, even in LA he managed to have Kendall freaking Marshall average around 10 assist a game?! And aren’t we supposed to be a fast break team, get a shot up asap? I guess that’s just hoisting a contested 3 whether defense is set or not...

    We need a Tobias Harris, a SF / PF who can shoot, play D and run. Anderson and Tucker are just not going to cut it. Mbah is good though. Not sure about Ariza, but he’s sticking around anyway.
     
    #581 OTMax, Jan 7, 2018
    Last edited: Jan 7, 2018
    da_juice and daywalker02 like this.
  2. Dale

    Dale Member

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    Surely with no Harden, Paul needs to be taking more than 6 shots through the first 44 minutes of the game.
     
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  3. abaker28

    abaker28 Member

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    That was just pathetic.
    And Ryan Anderson oh my god. If he were a horse, he'd have been taken out back and shot by now.
     
    amaru likes this.
  4. vlaurelio

    vlaurelio Contributing Member

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    He needs good vibes
     
  5. simon_!

    simon_! Member

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    well, ****.
     
  6. gogispade

    gogispade Member

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    Lol we lost to Detroit who played w/o Drummond and Reggie.... this is just terrible
     
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  7. Os Trigonum

    Os Trigonum Contributing Member
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    deb4rockets and solid like this.
  8. mac_got_this

    mac_got_this Member

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    They're the 4th oldest team in the league. Morey did a bad job of mixing experience youth and athleticism.
     
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  9. Cstyle42

    Cstyle42 Member

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    But not surprising. GS wins the chip then lebron joins Houston. This is another wasted year.
     
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  10. solid

    solid Contributing Member

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    Ordinary gets old quick when it comes to professional sports. The Rocket's talent level is not high enough to coast. When you are a truly elite team you can take nights off and still win. The Rockets have so many key injuries, their margin for error is razor thin.
     
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  11. eman

    eman Contributing Member

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    Our old guys are tired-legged, I guess. Heck, even Clint is tired-legged. Here's hoping Ryno and PJ find their shots again after the break. MDA needs to stop with the Herculean minutes on these guys, maybe pull some Pop strategy-- we need to get healthy come playoff run.
     
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  12. Cstyle42

    Cstyle42 Member

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    PJ tucker has regressed to the mean like i knew he would.
     
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  13. deb4rockets

    deb4rockets Contributing Member
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    How much thinner do you think it can get by adding another big star? Wheel and deal and hope some young guns under minimum contracts can fill the depth of the bench to fill in adequately when the older stars rest their legs I guess. So far, we haven't seemed to find enough of those supplemental players, but hopefully sooner than later.
     
  14. mrstriker316

    mrstriker316 Member

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    RYNO, Tucker, and Weber = yuck
     
  15. J.R.

    J.R. Member

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    • The Rockets keep talking about "communication" and that no doubt has been an issue. They switch often, especially when teams go to small lineups as the Pistons did throughout much of Saturday's game. The communication errors are particularly damaging and memorable because they leave cutters open at the rim or shooters unguarded at the 3-point line while one Rockets defender goes one way while a teammate expects him to go the other. But from the start on Saturday, there was a lack of intensity on the defensive end that went beyond the Rockets' communication with one another. That might be the root of that problem, too, but the Rockets were routinely beaten off the dribble, giving up straight-line drives or forcing the defense to shift off shooters to help inside and give up open 3s. Midway through the second quarter, the Pistons – a team that ranked 23rd in shooting percentage and was without key starters Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson – were making 63.3 percent of their shots. The Rockets led by as much as seven, but with sufficient defensive intensity, could have and probably should have taken that lead into double-digits. That might have allowed them to withstand the stretch in the second half when they went cold. For that matter, it might have alleviated the pressure from falling behind that could have prevented the Rockets shooting from falling off as much as it did. More stops, whether by forcing missed shots or turnovers, might have led to the Rockets playing with greater pace, getting the fast-break looks that could have triggered their offense. Instead, the Rockets' hot shooting in the first half was wasted. The poor shooting in the second half got worse. The poor defense from the opening tip was too much to overcome.
    • As often as players say shooting can be contagious, so can shooting problems. For a team that shoots as many 3s as the Rockets, and relies on those 3s, that has become a real issue. Forward Ryan Anderson, Trevor Ariza and P.J. Tucker combined to make 4 of 19 3-pointers. Though the Pistons did an outstanding job closing out to make sure many of those shots were contested, there were more than enough that the Rockets can expect to hit. Worse, there have been open shots for a while that the Rockets' shooters have missed, sending them into a shooting slump. In the past five games, Anderson and Tucker have combined to make 7 of 40 3-pointers. In the past 15 games, they have made 26 of 105 attempts. Shooting tends to come in cycles. A good shooter in a slump, can turn it around and get hot for just as long as he had been missing. That, however, can be more difficult with other shooters missing, too, as the emotions and pressures change. The Rockets are getting good shots, but the situation can make the same looks easier shots. If players are pressing when they are in a slump, that can be even more of a problem when a team is trailing in a game or losing recent games. On Saturday, they were both, as the shooting slumps and Rockets slide continued.
    • Despite the injuries, the Rockets seem to have settled on a rotation that can work. Briante' Weber and Eric Gordon play together, with Weber getting the Rockets into their offense and then largely getting out of the way. Tarik Black has picked up the minutes vacated by Nene, and had a career high 13 points (mostly by finishing dunks set up by Chris Paul.) Gerald Green plays enough to keep Gordon's or Trevor Ariza's minutes from getting out of hand. Until Luc Mbah a Moute returns – his timetable seems to be from the contractor's school of always two more weeks, though finally he might be back sooner than that – the Rockets have to look at their current mix and believe what they have to be enough. They have to get over the shock of what is missing, as if they did not know they might be better if James Harden was playing. They have to view themselves not as shorthanded but as every bit worthy of the second spot in the Western Conference. That can be difficult to do with losses in seven of nine games. But attitude can be everything when a good team is playing poorly. With the urgency to defend and the confidence, even arrogance, to shoot well, the Rockets can turn things around with the players they have healthy, assuming they not only believe it on some level but are certain.
    http://www.chron.com/sports/rockets...keaways-from-the-Rockets-108-101-12479740.php
     
  16. hakeem94

    hakeem94 Member

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    rockets lose and its only 30 pages gamethread, has this ever happened??
     
  17. J.R.

    J.R. Member

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    Got tired fingers or whatever. Just gotta find our fingers & regroup for the next game. - Mike D'Antoni on ClutchFans 30-page game thread.
     
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  18. deb4rockets

    deb4rockets Contributing Member
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    Well, my positive thinking didn't work. Maybe next game.
     
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  19. rockets13champs

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    Same fans that show up in the middle of the 2nd quarter and leave 6 mins into the 4th
     
  20. Deuce

    Deuce Context & Nuance

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    The thinking was that CP and PJ would help solve the "defensive intensity" issues. So what is happening?
     

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