ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Cavaliers 1/5/2013

lol... Just wondering if he got kicked off the board after I reported him

 

Kyrie is a far worse defender than Harden.

 

LOL and back with another name.
Oops, I shouldn't say such mean things.

 

You act like sex fundamentally changes what you enjoyed in your past. Haha. Not me, my friend. I still like playing sports and comedies and fart jokes and all kinds of stuff I liked pre-do-it day. You sound like a putz and I'm kind of glad we're not drinking pals.

 

The Rockers were rip-offs of the Rock'n Roll Express! Their feuds with the Midnight Express managed by Jim Cornett is the stuff of legend. You haven't seen a real tag team match until you've seen the Rock'N Roll Express execute a double drop kick that sends someone flying through the ropes!

 

since we're talking about flopping and old school wrestling

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So back to basketball...

I wouldn't worry to too much about Parsons. 3 times this season he's had streaks of 3 or more bad games only to rebound with 3 or more decent to great games. That's been his pattern unfortunately.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/parsoch01/gamelog/2013/

If the pattern holds true, he'll have a great game on Monday.

 

not to be a debbie downer but dougie said he had that same injury last year and blames it for his shooting woes, the shoulder injury.

 

Lighten up Francis...

 

But have they been in a Wrestlemania?

 

Go find somewhere else to talk about tonight's rockets game. We're talking bidnus here.

 

Irving shot 6-for-18 against Lin. 33.3%

 

Any highlight youtube vids yet of this game?

 

Dude u need to get ur eyes checked. They replayed it multiple times. It was clear that Kyrie did hit Lin with his head/mask and then shoved him off with the forearm. Lin's never been known as a flopper. For crying out loud, does he need to get bloodied before he finally gets a foul called in his favor?

 

Yeah, Blake Griffin purposefully risked his career by doing a failed somersault over hardwood floor just so that he could win 2 measly free throws.

Come on, nobody flops that stupidly.

 

Watch the replay bro... That was NOT a flop.

 

A competent game tonight. We didn't blow them out, nor were too much in danger. It seemed for the most part a well controlled game, after a slow start from our side. We kept a distance and the moments when the Cavs put us at risk, some player was efficient to score, either Lin, Harden, PPat. Even Delfino and Parsons, who had a quiet night, scored in clutch moments. The Cavs put some pressure on our bigs, with a strong paint game, and Asik, Morris and PPat were suffering to get defensive rebounds against Thompson who grabbed 8 offensive boards. In the first half, Lin was our best player and kept us going. In the second, Harden was the one.

The bads:

- Game in the paint: Asik looked tired and was having a very hard time fighting for the rebounds with Zeller and specially Thompson. Morris was not tough enough to help out nor PPat. They outrebounded us offensively, and the Cavs looks like a good rebounding team even without Varejão. A lot of hustle from their side. They scored also several points with post plays, and penetrations. On the offensive end, we were not able to get inside their paint often. Even Lin scored most of his points out of jump shots. We lacked a secondary presence in the paint tonight, and it would have been interesting to see Smith and Asik together. Not happened though.

- Game start: we did start slow tonight, allowing the Cavs to build a lead of 10 points. Out 3 pointers were not falling in, and PPat joined the airball club (Lin, Parsons and Douglas are on board). These games on the road are tough since the visual reference is all different from what our team is used to have. So, perhaps it takes some time to adjust, specially because we are young and lacking some mileage on several courts around the country. When our 3's aren't fine, and the opposing team has quickness and a good post presence, we struggle.

The goods:

- Controlling the game: We are really looking like an experienced team! Even if some of our players were not sharp, the team still managed to control the flow of the game, keeping distance. It was not a huge lead, so they had to be attentive all the time, but despite some tension due to the risk of a run from the Cavs' part, the Rockets looked calm and on control.

- Closing the game: one thing is becoming clear: this team has some closers. Harden, Lin, Delfino, Parsons, PPat all made important plays down the stretch. Harden scoring several points in the last 4 minutes. Lin drawing a foul and scoring an and-1. Delfino and Parsons with a 3. PPat making those midrange jumpers. And, we kept our composure even if the officiating was a little bit dubious tonight.

- Bench: our bench outscored theirs by a large margin (41-21) and we were able to keep the quality level through the whole match. We have scoring threats and good defenders on our bench and that is a very nice asset.

The players:

Lin: very good game, hitting his jump shots. He was the most efficient 3-point shooter of the game, 3-5, and overall 7-13 with some jumpshots there. It is unusual that most of his points tonight came from jumpers instead of layups and FTs, but that is welcomed news. Moving the ball well, with purpose, and active off ball. On D, I think he did a good job on Irving. Despite Irving's 30 points, he did those with not a specially good % (10-24), and a lot of them when Lin was not on him or out of dubious fouls called on light touches. Also, 8 TOs from Irving show he had some pressure on him. Down the line, Lin had a nice layup, and a crucial play when he emphasized a contact received from Irving. It was foul but if Lin didn't made that clear perhaps the referee would not have called. It was very smart from Lin's part because he read the moment and knew the referees were under pressure because all the complaint about the fouls on Irving.

- Harden. He was having a quiet night, and at some point it seemed that he was not going to score more than 20 since he was missing several shots. Even on D, despite 7 steals (most of them were pokes from others), he was not so solid one-on-one, and Gee and Waiters were scoring on him with certain ease. However, by the 4th, he took over. Clutch 3-pointers, FTs, tightened the D, and showed he is a star. Man of the match.

- Parsons: another quiet night, not hitting 3's, and his man on D was not quite a threat anyway. So, no positive impact other than an important 3 in the 4th. Our offensive game really needs him, and even if he did not get us to lose, is subpar production is one of the reasons why we didn't win by a larger margin.

- Morris: started well, with confidence, hotting his shots. But then he was fading. On D, was neither handling Zeller nor getting defensive rebounds against him and Thompson.

- Asik: Outmatched tonight by Thompson. Thompson ended with 8 offensive boards (16 total), which was more than Asik's total (6). Omer was not able to score, and was seeming lost under the heavy bodies of Cavs' bigs and seemed tired also.

- TDouglas: not particularly good tonight, but provided that energy level on D and the long range threat on offense.

- Delfino: a competent game on offense, scoring a clutch 3 in the 4th, and a good presence on D. His presence improved out team overall.

- PPat: another good game, hitting his mid-range jumpers and ending with 15 points on 7-13. He is really trying hard on D, and seemed more energized to go after the rebounds. However, the Cavs made it hard to him on that facet of the game. Overall positive game and a very nice punch from the bench.

- GSmith: after sitting out the last game, he entered this one with nice focus and energy. Ended with a double-double of 11 points (5-5 FG%) and 11 rebounds. He was our only big to put some challenge to Thompson and Zeller, and even though he still uses his hand too much on D (getting to foul), his defense was good. Could hit his FTs better next time, but very good game.

The coach:

- McHale: good job tonight. He put PPat early when Morris was not holding well on D, and the defense was better than the last time, with more energy since the first half.The Cavs were having trouble hitting midrange jumpers this time, and they had to rely on post plays, tips, and Irving skills. I noticed a more adjusted halfcourt offense tonight, with more effective screens and some faster ball movement. Still not the oiled machine we hope for the future, but better. Using Smith was a very good call, as it was, now I see, to sit him in the last game. Good 9 man rotation, no one playing more than 40 minutes even in a close game without garbage time.

Overall, it was not a beautiful game that displayed our full potential. Also was not ugly. Was a competent game, on the road, in a back to back. We showed good control of the match, nice clutch plays and confident team. Really, it seemed a much older team out there, knowing how to win when it is supposed to. That, more than anything else, was what I appreciated. By comparison, the Cavs are also young but didn't seem to have the proper nerves to close (usually they keep losing close games, as tonight's). Lin and Harden are very calm under pressure, and perform the best down the stretch. That is remarkable and another positive feature from our backcourt.

 

+ a questionable call
+ 8 TOs

Lin played great D.

 

Some of these posters are just trolls pretending to be Lin fans. They'll purposely say outrageous statements to get people angry.

Don't fall for it.

 

TROLL ALERT! TROLL ALERT! Every post you've made has been ragging on the dude, even though he did well today. Shut yo' trap and let Rocket fans enjoy this win, troll.