ClutchFans Game Thread: Spurs @ Rockets 12/17/2020 (Preseason)

If and more then likely that was hardens last game as a Rockets player atleast he didn’t tank it and played well.

 

Me too.

50 times, minimum.

 

Hard Wood

This needs to become a thing.

 

Who is the 2× MVP again?

 

Will Dream help Wood?

Not sure he's still on Rockets payroll since Tilman bought the team.

 

Harden mentoring Brodric blows my mind.

BT has the potential to be a really good 2 way player.

 

CF is as much to blame if not more than unknowledgeable pundits for the D'Antoni disinformation over the years.

Sad.

 

Hope this does not come back to bite Rockets in the azz.

 

Thus was my original Austin Rivers replacement.

Galloway was a steal for vet min.

 

Thinking Pistons want a do over.

 

This play is everything. Wow, we have not ever had a player like this.

 

They didn’t run MDA offense most the time. They iso’d james and stood on perimeter often. And MDA allowed and enabled it over long crucial periods of games when when it wasn’t working.

MDA might have a good system, but he didn’t have the command to get his players to use it when it mattered. We consistently relied on dribble dribble dribble step back three.

 

Weird that we played Bulls twice and SA twice and OKC played Bulls twice and SA and we play our first game against OKC.

 

% of offense that was isolation over Mikes tenure

19/20 : 19.6%
18/19 : 20.4%
17/18 : 14.5%
16/17 : 9.4%

NBA rank in isolation points per possession

19/20 : 1st
18/19 : 1st
17/18 : 1st
16/17 : Tied 3rd

The idea that we “mostly isolated” is a myth often perpetuated around here. Not accurate. We were league leaders in % of isolation plays ran over his last 3 seasons, but it wasn’t relied on as heavily as many believe.

Same goes for the amount of possessions where “dribble, dribble, dribble, step back 3” actually happened per game.

And the per possession result of our isolation plays would suggest that on average we were getting a very positive outcome.

 

Yah I’m not buying whoever tallies those plays. We iso more 20%, unless the play calls are literally nobody do anything until Harden beats his guy off the dribble — sometimes raking 20+ seconds to do. We all watch the games. Averages and analytics don’t change the play by play.

Yes, iso for a guy like james may average more points than anyone else, but when you do it THROUGHOUT the game, you take away his energy and give the defense more opportunities to counter his offensive rhythm. So you’re average PPP don’t mean ish at the end of games when he’s tired and the defense is confident.

And there were numerous times when harden would absolutely get locked into taking numerous step back threes in a row and keep missing. Obviously times he made all. But we all bemoaned on the game threads and social media that he was settling. Commentators said it every time it happened on national tv. Statistics don’t change that.

 

I think everyone gets caught up on the iso offense because when defenses adjusted to us and the going got tougher, the Rockets tended to go to predictable iso ball to end the game. It worked during the regular season, but during the playoffs teams zeroed in and made it a lot tougher and the Rockets stubbornly stuck to it.

It's really a product of coach Mike D being unable to adjust his plays and line ups. I don't get it, the guy is an offensive genius, yet he is unable to make simple adjustments during the game.

I know James is also at fault for taking himself out of the play, although at the same time when he has two defenders waiting for him at mid court and the team has a 4 on 3 advantage, it does make sense why he decided to stay back. Unfortunately, Russ and EG played like ass in the bubble and really made 4 on 3 more of a crutch rather than an advantage and James also refused to adjust to it.

 

Interesting strategy Cotton.

 

It's rather bold, I'd say.

 

Real game in 2 days!

DD