ClutchFans Game Thread: Kings @ Rockets 12/31/2013

If you ONLY want to look at the last 2 minutes of the game, there were 3 reasons why the Rox lost:

1. Harden hero ball
2. Cousins owning Dwight for 4 points.
3. Dwight not coming out to stop the Isiah Thomas PnR.

 

Mchale was a shady character in minnesota. The timberwolves franchise thought he would care about the team winning since Minnesota is his hometown.

They finally realized he doesn't care about the franchise when he traded away the franchise player to his former team: The Boston Celtics.

This is not news , If Mchale didn't care about his hometown minnesota team, how much more a rival team he played against in the 80s.

 

Beverley's defense can be potent and he's fun to watch but Lin's defense has really been quite good since coming back from the injury with the exception of the OKC game. Bev and Lin can get beat off the dribble, I haven't found a PG that doesn't and that includes Rondo.

McHale is going for safety with Bev at PG. He doesn't take that many chances so he doesn't turn it over much and that's fine with McHale. However, he doesn't make the homerun plays the Lin does and won't pump up players like TJ and Howard with his very strong passing abilities whenever he gets the chance because Harden "lets" him playmake. Lin has to eat more pepper say FU Harden sometimes I think and just play the point. Brooks does or at least Brooks gets the ball and dribbles it around and looks to score or make passes.

 

Dwight was outplayed by Cousins. Dwight has had a few rough games lately. He's got to step it up some.

 

Agreed. We never know if Harden or Howard could get hurt and go on a 4-6 week hiatus. In that case, we need as many wins as possible before we hit that rough stretch just so we can make the playoffs.

 

McHale is the worst coach in the league. He's doing the least with the talents that he has on this roster. This team could realistically have 4-5 budding all-stars if they are utilize correctly. Even with Harden putting up amazing numbers night after night, this is often done to the determent of the team. Asking Harden to score, defend, and be a play maker is too much for anyone especially if its doesn't come natural to them. Harden, and Dwight should share the offensive load, while Lin and Parsons can be the knock out punch on most nights.

I think one of the main reason Harden is leading the league in TO is because KM is asking him to be the play maker. Sure he can do it, but it will also come with 3-5 TO a game. Take the no accountability on the bad defense and you get worst coached franchised player in the league. Harden may be cool with this, but he will never reached his true potential being coached by McHale. Harden should get his 20-25 touches a night, and save some of that energy and play some defense. He doesn't need to be a play maker, he is not LBJ, and shouldn't be asked to do so.

Howard has shown he can be the league best center again this season. In a few games this season he has imposed his will and was dominate. Perhaps he's not the best post up player, but so what? He can score in different ways, if he just embrace his strength which is the PnR. Due to KM lack of offensive system, Dwight's scoring has been inconsistent at best this year. He's not put in the position to win, and is the team's #2 and sometimes #3 option. Dwight should be forced fed the ball, and get his 18-20 touches a night, and he will be much motivated on the defensive end.

Parsons is an up and coming star. He has good range and is awesome at the back cuts. He and Lin can be the team's #3 option on any given night. Parsons reminds me of a young Horry, he can do many things but can be unpredictable. With proper coaching Parsons can the glue guy, and give you that confidence much needed in a playoff run.

Lin, is no doubt the team's best play maker. He has the strength and size to make it happen on the offensive end. His tendency to gamble in the passing lane is a draw back for me. He needs to learn to stick with his man, and trust his teammates to defend their own guy. One of the best guard in the league at getting inside, he needs to be more aggressive and be a play maker. He worked really hard in the off season on his jumper much to his credit and needs to showcase it the rest of the season. If McHale would use Lin in the right manner, Lin can be a pivotal part of this team success.

T-Jones is showing he can be a really good PF in this league if given the chance to show his talent. He can score, and play good defense in spurts. This is not entirely his fault due to the fact that this system is flawed due to bad coaching.

I have really high hopes for this team, but realizing the limitation it has. I really hope the front office recognizes the poor direction KM is taking this and hires a real coach. This is just my personal opinion of the state of this team. Feel free to disagree or add your own opinion.

 

Seems like the front office solution is to trade lin and asik for deng, according to the rumors. Are we going to slide parsons to pf or is it for clearing the cap space, I have no idea.

 

Bravo. I feel the same way. 2 stars now, 2 stars in the making and maybe another 1 down the road in Jones, bad utilization of team by McHale and Company. I think the Chicago trade is a bunch of noise, Sir Ken. I do think Lin will be more involved once the trading deadline is over. He's trying probably to block out the noise but it may be on the back of his mind.

 

Why do you figure it's Parsons to PF?
A) They are same size, and Deng is a better rebounder. Why not Deng to PF?
B) We already have a PF in TJ

 

You have to consider the possibility that Lin operates especially well in the 4Q not because he has MORE energy then, but because he is operating in a 4Q-tired-teammates-and-opponents environment.

The desperation scenario where he has the green light seems like his niche (much like Linsanity in NY).

 

A) Have it your way.
B) It's not like the trade is approved anyway.

 

Even though I would love to see that trade happens as I think it would be beneficial to both teams, My opinion is based on the personnel we currently have. However if it does happen, I think keeping Parsons at SF would be best because Deng is a better rebounder. I think we need to address the bench as the drop off from the starters is scary.

 

Dang good thing I didn't watch this game. My health would've probably took a dip. Can't believe we lost to the Kings again. Smh.

 

Considering Harden is either a real PG or real SG in the team and Lin is only a nominal PG who does not posses balls quite often , Lin's assists are remarkably outstanding when compared to Harden.

 

They will continue to lose to teams they shouldn't to unless they develop an identity. All championship team can be described in a few words. At this point the way I would describe us is " headless" as in coach.

 

We lose when we don't move the ball around. Even Bill and Clyde see it and say it all the time. So how come McHale doesn't? He obviously does but refuses to be a coach and force Harden to play more team ball- either that or McHale is calling for everyone to sit around and watch Harden play 1-5. Either way, it's on McHale and Harden. If you took any other bonafide superstar (MJ, LeBron, even Durant) they wouldn't need the coach to tell them to pass the ball. They would do it b/c they can see the bigger picture and understand that it makes the defense have to work harder and ultimately we will get a better percentage shot. So it's either ego or basketball IQ that harden has an issue with...

 

he sees it. everyone sees it. he's just waiting for harden to see it and i'm sure that harden does as well but sometime in the heat of the game, he gets tunnel vision. the best way for harden to learn is to be convinced of it himself. over time, he most likely will. just like over time, MJ learned to trust his teammate and that's when he really started winning.

don't know if harden will be close to another MJ but if you're paying this guy max and sees the potential, you give him the chance to become one and hope that he does.

 

Disagree. It was clear that Dwight was the better player, he was absolutely dominant and unstoppable in the 1st half.

In the 2nd half he was slowed down by his teammates not giving him the damn ball.

 

Without a question McHale sees all that. Kelvin says it in almost every interview during the games. I think the coaching staff is just waiting to see how the Asik saga comes to completion in order to start preparations for the playoffs. They need to know exactly what pieces they have and who their backups are. Meanwhile they can show the team the hard way how the game of basketball has to be played if you also want to win the games.

Not too many people here appear to recognize that the Rockets played a low medium level game relative to their potential. SAC played a very good game to their standards. The minute the Rockets decide to move the ball, SAC would have serious problems to gear their game up. It is true that Cousins is good in keeping Dwight under pressure, but the Rockets do have other options to bypass that problem. They just weren't used.

 

Hated this loss