ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Thunder 4/21/2013 (Playoffs Round 1, Game 1)

Lin thrives on pressure. The more pressure, the better he plays. The less pressure, the worse he plays. He plays worse when the coaches expect less of him.

 

You guys do realize Harden actually was the one with the better game against OKC the last time they met right? 14/19, 46 pts, 7 rebounds, 6 assists. Harden is the one that needs to have a monster game if the Rockets are to steal a game from OKC.

 

You can tell he looked annoyed coming off the bench after sitting for nearly a quarter's length of time on wednesday night. He needs to play with confidence but not angry or annoyance. Breathe Jeremy, breathe...

 

Houston's strength is in their back court, and the Thunder already know this, and after that last game, definitely felt this.

They will, like Miami and stronger defensive teams, will not only trap the backcourt, but imo, will do it systematically. They will take one down, and then the other in the first game. They will attack either Harden or Lin first, most likely Lin since he is the weaker of the 2 and thus the easier target; and when one is taken out, the other, or James Harden, will be weakened, and thus the team will slowly crumble, thereby shattering the Rockets' confidence and moral.

The Blitzkrieg, or "lightning war," very eerily relates to the OKC Thunder.

 

I see them Roc Boys giving them all they can handle!

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Rox returning to Houston after Game 1, McHale said, for "familiarity." He didn't like extended stays on road in playoffs as player.</p>&mdash; Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jonathan_Feigen/status/325326460023889920">April 19, 2013</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Harden said has been no communication w/ former OKC teammates about matchup. "It’s all business now. Guys are competing for a championship."</p>&mdash; Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jonathan_Feigen/status/325339742424154112">April 19, 2013</a></blockquote>
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That's why he typically performs the best in the 4th quarter. Unfortunately, this is also when McHale benches him the most.

 

the key is to give lin the ball and hope he sees the trap early enough and gets rid of the ball. if harden plays pg, and they trap him, who is going to score? every game where harden gets doubled we look like crap. lin MUST have the ball so they cant trap harden.

 

Lin is inconsistent under pressure bigtime totally disagree

 

I am still bummed out that we shot ourselves in the foot at the end of the season. The losses to the Suns and LA were just awful. Both winnable games and the stakes were enormous. It was all right there for us; a series with a limping Spurs team, a real shot at advancing. I will get over it eventually but it was a "Texans-like" ending that was so terribly deflating. I know they are young and it many ways have over achieved, but they just frittered away a golden opportunity. Now they are going to get creamed. I am trying to be optimistic, but seriously, won't you be shocked if they don't get swept?

 

"every game where harden gets doubled we look like crap. lin MUST have the ball so they cant trap harden."

i've watched every game and that's not true at all. in fact we didn't look like crap when harden wasn't even in the game.

kobe told his teammate before the laker game that harden is going to get his, but they need to shut down lin. george karl said that lin is the motor of this team. he's not the best offensive option - there's a difference. when he's on our offense as whole looks great but sometimes the motor sputters but that's a different discussion altogether.

okc will look to keep the ball out of lin's hands because you double on harden, lin will get the ball to the open guy and get the rest of the guys involved. you trap lin and make him give up the ball, you KNOW that the ball will find its way to harden and that makes the team one dimensional.

the way to beat the trap is to attack it as a team. GO TO THE BALL. nothing angers me more than seeing a teammate trapped in back court with everyone standing around expecting the teammate to miraculously pass out of the trap all the way down the other side of the court. set off ball screens. somebody is always open when they trap. and push the pace. don't let them reset their D after the trap has been broken.

 

It is what it is. We can argue about seedings, what could have been, what should have been, all day long.

The fact of the matter is, this young, inexperienced team is in the playoffs! That means we are guaranteed two games at home, with a fired up Houston crowd that will get to see their young team give it everything they have.

I'm proud of this team, and can't wait to see them leave it all on the court. Go Rockets!

 

I'm not so much worried about OKC's defense, but rather the poor shooting from all of our players in recent weeks.

BUT I'm gonna go against the grain and say we steal game 1. OKC is a team that relies on volume shooting and if the Rockets can bother Durant and Westbrick like in their last meeting, we have a chance.

 

Rockets win in 6 games...book it.

 

How awesome would it be if the Rockets somehow swept the Thunder? People on this board would be saying Jeremy Lin is better than Michael Jordan!

 

Westbrook will score on Lin, as he will on any pgs. Hopefully McHale will have the confidence in Lin and let him stay on the court. Lin should be the facilator, but if his team-mates' shots are not falling, please do not try to force feed them (as he did to DMO) and try to get them going. Instead, i hope he will try to score. I think he is a more efficient scorer when he looks to score first ,there by creating his own shots.

 

The magic number is 40. If Harden shoots over 40% from the field, then we win. Unfortunately he hasn't done that against a playoff team since February. I wish I was joking, and even then it was the Bucks!

I don't expect McHale to make any big changes to his "offense" (something like staggering Lin and Harden's minutes is way too revolutionary for a young team) or learn how to draw up a play in the huddle, (coaching is more than X's and O's people!) so I expect a steady diet of Harden ISO's, a short series, possibly one more tongue-lashing from Harden on McHale and a lot of mentions of "sticky balls" in the post game conferences.

In the offseason I hope Morey gets a new coach, or even if he keeps McHale (understandable considering how well we played this year) forces him to
a) develop a defense b) develop a real offense.

 

Do you enjoy watching a puppy get kicked ? That is how this series will be. Had our chance to go against either the Spurs or the Nuggets but we blew it.

 

Russ will score and we should let him score inefficiently, sag him off a bit and give him the extra space to take the jumper.

 

Oddsmakers give the Rockets a 1% chance of winning the series.

In other news, Rockets home games will still be half empty, despite claims that every playoff ticket has been sold.