ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Warriors 2/23/2019

N the funny part now these are the same people saying the team better without harden lmao. It's weird. Recently on here I had to reply to someone when he said why do we play cp3 40 mil to get 18 points lmao.


I'm like ahhh we pay cp3 the money cause he smart n a leader n for THE PLAYOFFS. We need cp3 when harden runs out. He couldn't understand that. I'm like we knew what we was getting with a old cp3. N that was fine since we have a guy that can carry u to the playoffs.

Had to explain to him even if cp3 doesnt even play half a season but is healthy in the playoff he will carry u the rest of the way. N guess what of he gets u a ship...no one care he only played half a season. U pay cp3 for one thing only. The playoffs.

 

Great win! I admit I didn't watch the game because I was getting frustrated with this team blowing leads and losing to the Twolves. Hopefully this is a sign of the team turning it on for a run to the playoffs.

 

Too bad you didn’t tune in because you missed the best team victory of the season

 

I'm right here. Watched every second.

The Warriors started the game band a big lineup (cuz/draymond/Durant) and played big throughout. We saw their death lineup for 84 seconds.

I enjoyed the game.

But I'm under no illusions . This is not representative of what they're going to do in the playoffs. Not at all . And it's is meanin in the long scope of winning a championship.

The only way our current roster can beat them in the playoffs is for some of them to get hurt. We need substantial changes at our 4/5 slots.

Let's keep it real bro.

 

I have no problem starting Faried next to Capela in certain matchups, or starting Gordon over Faried in others. But under no circumstances should P.J. Tucker move to the bench, as there is much more to winning basketball than getting buckets. You do know that, right? Whatever a guy like P.J. Tucker gives you on offense is a bonus. He’s here to help CP3 lead the defense and guard premier perimeter and post scorers. Having him guard bench players is wasting his best asset. And, no, you don’t want to stagger Tucker off the bench. You want him on the floor whenever the opponent’s premier wing/post scorers are. That means he needs to start. As for Faried doing all the things that go unnoticed as well as Tucker, it’s not true. P.J. rarely misses defensive rotations, and he along with CP3 are the defensive coordinators on the floor, making sure everyone is in the right spot. I’ll grant you that Faried is good at providing energy/hustle plays, too, but he’s nowhere near the defender Tucker is. Think back to the OKC collapse at home in early February. Westbrook got a free run to the basket late in the game because Faried blew his assignment.

Lineups need balance, both in terms of offense and defense and in terms of stars vs. role players. Against some teams, it makes sense to start Faried over Gordon, while against others it makes sense to start Gordon over Faried. It all depends on matchups. But there’s no disputing that Eric Gordon can thrive in either a starting or bench role, whereas P.J. Tucker thrives as a glue guy next to your best player.

 

I instantly knew winning last night would cause the whole "we're better without harden" posts.

IMO, it's yes and no. We play(ed) more fluidly and with more movement without him yesterday (it is one game), but our ceiling is significantly lower without him. We need the star power ... obviously.

-Yes, we were much more fluid on offense with cp running pick n rolls, but also pushing the pace in transition. Our defense also helped create those opportunities, as well as faried being in there w/capela to actually grab the boards. So yes, everyone was obviously way more involved, and it wasn't just cp shooting because he's never been that player (i think his career high in fga is 29 last year against the blazers but he said it even felt weird shooting that much). CP controlled the pace of the game and it was obvious. This is his main strengths though right? Floor management, passing, shooting when passing opportunities are there. I still wish he'd work in his floater here and there but I do notice and am starting to see the fruit of him being even more of a pass-first pg this year than last year. I will say Faried really does/did make us better. Tucker playing the 3 and not having to spend all his energy on the boards seemed to free him up a ton.

-NO, by the fact that are ceiling is significantly lower without him. We need harden to do superstar things a lot of the time to bail us out in ways that not even cp3 can do. I've said over and over again that Harden plays an exceptional offensive game for 3 quarters most games ... Then resorts to stagnating the offense and bricking stepbacks in the 4th, hunting for his rhythm to go through the roof. When his offense is on for those 3 quarters, he's playing an overall offensive game: moving without the ball (look at the Lakers game), combo-ing it with some isos and pick n rolls, transition. Often times you'll look and see him shooting 50% heading into the 4th with 5-6 assists. When he goes away from that, he's letting the defense prepare for his iso's by taking every pick n roll and just isolating with 10 seconds left. I think this has a lot to do with him not being used to having more help with cp (and thus less extreme usage rate %).

-All we need is to mesh cp's strenths with harden's ... If we can somehow get that ball movement and transition offense WITH Harden on the floor, just imagine how crazy that'd make our offense. But harden does have to adjust if he wants that. Even after a year and a half playing with cp, with how much cp has been injured, Harden is still not used to having another playmaker make his job easier. And that's the tough part. I don't blame him. On this streak he did have very little help and hadta go insane mode, getting used to carrying and iso'ing even with defenses waiting for it.

 

on the flip side, the warriors are kinda weird/interesting. Random thoughts:

They seemed to be making cousins their #1 option for 1-2 stretches of the game ... And it obviously didn't work cuz of Nene. I uno about yawl but if nene doesnt play to clamp him a bit, he might have actually started rolling. Capela is a better overall player than nene by far but post defense-wise, nene is our best. And I've yet to make an opinion on Cousins' defense ... is it better or worse than looney's? Cuz Looney and bell were surprisingly more capable than I thought they'd be last year.

And as much as KD kept(keeps) the warriors in games, I really think baiting them into KD isos is our best bet. I'll take the KD contested long 2 over stephs' 3s ... (and klay's to a lesser extent) cuz you really never know when they will go in. Curry/Klay is what beat us last year when cp went down.

draymond ... trash as usual. Clutchfan members, stop calling this man an all-star. No he didn't shut down our pick n roll last year; no he didn't last night. He's a great overall defender in stretches but he's not what some of you have credited him as being.

iggy - what impact did he really have on the game again? I honestly didn't see him much. I respect him and all but wasn't he supposed to completely shut down our stars? The X-factor on top of their big 4 that was supposed to sweep us? Warriors fans are crae. When they play him, he may beef up their d but he's also a lesser draymond liability from 3. It's true he's a legit vet, helps overall smoothing of their team but cmon son, he had 8 pts and 4 assists. That's his usual night for them.

 

Sweet posts..really nice.

 

First I wanna push back on the fariad okc play. U do know it takes time to get our switching d down. That was a clear miscommunication....we he hadnt been in the system. Second u know it was a time tucker came off the bench. Ryan Anderson popping the bed being gun shy was the reason u starter tuck. Another just like the death like up I think u kill tuck by starting him all the time. He plays to many minutes. What makes the death lineup so good is u have it ohhh n ur back pocket. Use it to much league will adapt

 

Amazing team win. Kudos to everyone that elevated their play to win this game.

CP3 was phenomenal. Had total control of the court. Would like to see more of this when he leads the second unit.

Thought Rivers was super underrated in chasing Curry around screens. I think Shumpert will do the same. This is important.

LOVED the front line rebounding like monsters. Nice to see Tucker have a double/double and not a 5pt 5rb dud. Whether it is Tucker & Faried at the forwards or Tucker & House at the forwards. Just having that rebounding power is big.

Like CP said, don't get it twisted.....they need Harden. I expect *hottakers* nationally to make ridiculous claims.....seeing it here on the boards is SMH.

 

Of course, I know that it takes time to learn how to play in a switching defense. However, Faried has never been an elite defender, and he’s not going to suddenly become one late in his career. You want James Harden to be able to expend most of his energy on the offensive end? You need someone like Tucker or Shumpert that is willing and able to check the opponent’s best wing scorer playing alongside him.

Furthermore, why do you continue to mention Faried? I’ve already said I like the idea of starting Faried in certain matchups and Gordon in others. My argument is that Eric Gordon is the guy Tucker should start over in most matchups, not Faried. Tucker’s skill set plays better with the Rockets’ starters, whereas Eric Gordon can thrive either as a starter or a reserve. In fact, leading the bench unit will give Gordon tons of touches and shots, unlike being the 3rd or 4th option offensively as a starter.

 

Unbelievable we beat team USA

 

Team USA can't beat team Houston

 

Ok, my bad.

 

It's basically

This win showed the importance of playing team ball and getting everyone involved, not that we don't need Harden. We no doubt need Harden's offensive capabilities going forward. I just hope his abilities can be adapted into how we played last night. This dribbling for ever and hoisting contested 3 after 3, especially when he's missing has to go.

 

He is too eager to shave off his beard.

 

That was such a fun game to watch. Down our best player but we still find a way to win. That’s how you play defense! Our boys wanted that one more then GSW. We had a few lapses (Green’s in bound steal leading to And 1 + Gordan’s late 3PT attempt), which we’ll learn from. We needed this game to show us we don’t have to rely on Harden’s late game step back three pointers. I think this game is going to be the game that turns the season around. We looked like last year’s team last night. We might want to keep Faried in the starting line up so we can rebound. Let Gordon go back to the bench for fire power. Again, what a great game.

 

The scary part is that we are even more at risk of that happening again. I think we would be the lucky ones if CP3 could actually stay healthy through a playoffs stretch. He just can't stay off the bench for very long stretches. This year is even worse. Lets all buy some 1970's rabbit foot keychains for luck, along with a 4 leaf clover, an Irish marble lucky rubbing stone for our pockets, and anything else deemed lucky to help us out.