[BBallBreakdown] Rockets had a good defensive game plan vs. OKC in game 1

The defense wasn't terrible in the half court. We got killed on fast breaks that resulted from turnovers or long misses off of bad shots on offense. We need to be more unselfish and patient on offense and learn to stop the fast breaks higher rather than letting Westbrook and co. get to the paint on the break.

 

I think Robinson would shortly be in foul trouble as well. But it maybe worth a shot.

 

You realize we were only -2 in turnovers right? 13 to OKC's 15.

 

A few of us in the chatroom during game time were also talking about how surprisingly good the defense was at the time. Tough to keep up against a superior team though.

 

Kevin Durant is an expert at drawing fouls, equally as good as Harden.

Putting a rookie like Robinson on Durant is simply gifting him points and putting the team in the penalty earlier.

 

Would bet Morey and his team had more to do with the defensive schemes than our staff. Unless they suddenly put Finch in charge.

 

Lin/Bev/Harden/Delfino/T-Rob ?

Move the ball, run, and let Bev crash the boards along with Delfino and T-Rob? Let them board if they must, and make the Thunder bigs show some skills in the paint.

 

We should just put Delfino on Durant when that happens and focus on the help defense. Nobody we have can really bother Durant. Parsons gave Durant no trouble...he was just missing his normal looks. At least with Delfino we can spread the floor better on the offensive end.

 

#1 To Aggnrox he listed Lin and Harden because with his own eyes he noticed they were the two main culprits at blowing their assignment. From my own eyes I tend to agree with him. The starting backcourt can do better defensively. It wasnt effort, it was discipline that undid the Rockets.

#2 Lowe and this clip MUST be wrong. McHale and Sampson and Finch don't know what they are doing. Remember, the Rockets run no plays on offense, they do not work on defense and are completely clueless.... This whole thing is stupid. The best thing Morey has done as GM is surround himself with smart, hard working people. The cap management of the Rockets, the drafts, trades and free agent signings are not ALL Morey, they are a slew of scouts, advisors and Rosas, all of which Morey choose to hire. So we are to believe that Morey hired "dumb" coaches? Come on... makes no sense.

#3 We are losing because we are just not that good. We are the 8th seed. End of story.

 

Parsons does well against Durant, his length causes Durant to miss shots. Look, KD is the best scorer in the NBA, he will get his over anyone, there is no one that can stop him.

 

I knew when Parsons sat that the game was about to get away from us. We're just too inexperienced defensively to make up for his loss.

The good news as that we are one of the few teams that has someone that can stay in front of Durant. This bodes well for us once we improve the overall talent level of the team.

 

I think the Rockets did improve on defense the last couple weeks of the regular season a little bit. That's reason to be somewhat optimistic about next year.

 

Robinson might be a rookie, but he's done well defensively. I don't think he'd be gifting him anything that easily. Just emphasize staying on your feet, don't bite on ball fakes.

 

someone posted a clip regarding rw's performance in the game. rw scored most from transition offense. it's very hard for lin or bev to defend him since rw is superior fast and skillful.

agree. this year is a learning year for everyone, players and coaches.

 

Losing Parsons most definitely hurt towards the end of the 2nd quarter. Delfino allowed Durant to get easy paint shots going to his right. Parsons needs to stay on the floor regardless of foul trouble. He's a smart enough player to avoid fouling out.

 

The one improvement in defense really needed is stopping Westbrook earlier. He got like 8 points on lay ups alone, from which he started dribbling at half court in transition. Make him give up the ball or stop his dribble, at least.

 

So I'm supposed to give McHale credit that Parsons can play good defense on Durant (something we learned last year)? I'm supposed to give McHale credit that Asik is a smart defender? No, Morey brought those players here.

 

Durant would just flail and get him in foul trouble too.

 

Those are the exact mistakes rookies make on defense. I'm all for giving it a try but that would mean we have 2 non 3pt shooters on the court. Maybe even three. That goes against what Mchale wants to do.

 

I can't see how he could possible offer any resistance on KD, and the last thing we need is a turnover machine like him against OKC's defense.