Boy, would I have been livid if that cost us the game, but since it didn't, and I've had time to just digest the overall awesomeness of Harden and the clutchness of Gordon, I decided to go look calmly at the box score. Tucker was a +13, second only to Hargod's +18. (Faried was a +8, another pleasant surprise.) Tucker had 9 rebounds and a couple of steals and blocks. He seems to be playing hard. I'm just going to be positive for once and assume that he went braindead for a couple minutes from either exhaustion or shame from committing that three-point foul and leave it at that. Oh, and let's not have him shoot threes if we can help it. Not feeling that at all.
not to mention hes now 33 yo and playing far and away the most minutes of his NBA career... but at least we have Faried now - so that'll bring his minutes down... oh no wait, Faried played and MDA still had PJ play 39 mins tonight... bc Nene didnt play and Clark only got 9 mins... I'm tellin y'all MDA will run a dude into the ground... Harden game 6 vs Spurs... smh...
I seriously think this guy has been spending more time away from the game to focus on the material things he's interested in. He goes out of his way to make sure he has a cup of whatever to use as a fashion piece for arena entry photos.
The way harden looks scoring 60+ in those ungly Ashe Adidas. What he call them ''vol three". I guess he gonna be jacking three's all season to win mvp. Lmao
I love P.J. Tucker. Love him. Buuuuuut … that is one of the most amazing minutes of self-destruction I’ve seen from an NBA player. 0:59: Up 6, bites on a fake at the arc, giving Trier 3 free throws. 0:58: Refuses to pick up inbounds pass from Gordon, giving Vonleh a layup. 0:19: Lets Trier blow by him for a layup. Bonus: reaches in from behind, lucky not to get an and-1. And the capper: 0:01: Up 4, with no way to lose the game other than to foul a 3-point shooter, sticks his arm out on Mudiay’s 3. That’s 7 points he single-handedly gave up in 40 seconds, and another 5 he risked giving up. Since I don’t believe P.J. would shave points or do drugs, I have to believe he was either (a) seriously sleep-deprived or (b) totally rattled by his first couple of screw-ups, thereby committing more. Go get some rest, P.J. And when your head’s in the wrong place, raise your hand and come out of the game.
I think P.J. is under a lot stress. Excessive minutes and overall poor shooting recently apart from Harden probably reminds him of 0-27. I see no other reason for him to be making elementary mistakes. Will is correct, he needs to rest when things are not going well for him. Hopefully this small break before the Raptors game will refresh his mind.
I wish Mike would play Clark more and rest Tucker. His short rotations have always driven me crazy. I know the argument is that the Rockets minimize shootarounds and practices, but man that shouldnt excuse coach to play older players so many minutes.
It's the same thing that happened to Ariza. Tucker's getting worn out trying to fill in the defensive gap of not having a proper power forward. Hopefully Faried will help out for the rest of the regular season.
PJ should improve once the stars get back and his role is reduced...but Christ Almighty he has been bad lately.
