ClutchFans Game Thread: Blazers @ Rockets 2/8/2015

Think the point is that the game was ours but like always this team only plays in stretches especially at home. Team always snatches defeat in the arms of victory in games like this. Like I said earlier, bad game all around,can't dwell on it. Clippers are coming Wednesday

 

Oh crap.my bad, quick turnaround. Even more of a reason to move on.

 

Yeah, they are pretty good BUT....they played LAST night though and were stretched to the max in a loss. Probably wouldn't take much to jump on them on a back to back and make them want to tuck it in.

BUt...we show up UNPREPARED to play...going through the motions. Seen it in basketball, football,etc. You just can't turn it on and off when you want. I don't get to see Rockets post game but I'll bet a dollar to a doughnut that Calvin and Kevin discussed EFFORT. If I'm wrong, someone let me know.

 

Brewer and Smith shooting those threes at the start of the 4th hurt the team. Should have quit while they were ahead. All I know is that if I were the opposition coach, I'd let them shoot till their hearts content.

 

Honestly, the Blazers played very well. People need to give them credit. They had a lot of guys come to play tonight, while the Rockets basically had Harden and Smith really step up.

There were some problems (defense in the first half was atrocious, free throws from DMo, rebounding), but overall, I don't think the Rockets really played that badly. Sometimes you just get outplayed, and I think that's what happened tonight.

 

Bev horrible at threes, Brewer horrible at threes yet they keep on shooting them

 

Well, I stand corrected then J. So Calvin and Kevin didn't feel like the lack of effort in the first half contributed heavily to the loss ? That's what I saw. But Calvin knows a lot more about basketball than me.

 

As I said, it wasn't like the Rockets played a flawless performance, but the Blazers played well. They took advantage of our mistakes, mainly defensively.

Only thing that concerned me about that loss tonight was our front line got owned all night long defensively and on rebounds. No Dwight exposes us big-time against talented big men. Morey should be on the phone round the clock trying to move T Jones for a true big man that can hang down low.

 

well at least SAS lost, so we're still +3 on them and the Clippers

 

Here's an interesting question.

How do players not give 100% when the are getting paid millions to play a game they love?

 

What should have been said? Because the coaching staff was definitely saying the opposite right?! Portland was the better team. They made tough shots and also played good defense. Harden played amazing but he can't do it all. His teammates should have stepped up.

 

Haha I always ask myself that question

 

But this loss hurt. The Blazers do still have some tough games ahead, but this one could come back and haunt the Rockets if things go down to the wire at the end of the season.

Remember, it took a miracle comeback and OT win at home against Portland last year(eerily similar to what Dallas did to the Blazers last night) to win the season series 3-1. And both teams finished with identical records at 54-28. So basically that one comeback victory over Portland handed the Rockets home court advantage.

 

Got to win the next two before ASB. It's a back to back but we can know how to beat the Suns and Clips are banged up

 

If we can't beat a Blake Griffin-less LAC................

 

I really can't stand Bev and McHaMcHale.

Like I said I can easily see James walking when his contract is up unless Morey makes some magic happen. We have an inept coach who doesn't belong on the sideline and a mediocre PG. Fix those issues we are contenders

 

Probably won't.

 

How'd that work out for us

 

All knee-jerk aside , this game was lost primarily due to defense. Beverley has been commented upon enough so I won't beat a dead horse. Our help defense wasn't strong tonight . We let Portland get about 10 easy layups due to poor rotations. Every time DMO went to double on the perimeter they passed the ball to Lopez who is too big for anyone else to guard. Dorsey and smith were consistently late , or whoever else was supposed to rotate. The only reason we climbed back into this one was outstanding on ball pressure and quick rotations into the passing lanes. However, we did not keep up the intensity enough.

As for personal performances . Bev was hideous and brewer shot fairly poorly . Jones I give a pass to because of his recent injury. Ariza had a poor shooting night but played around average. Terry also played OK. Dmo had an alright game. He stunk from the freethrow line but defensively was solid , however the team was not quick enough to help when he doubled. He needs to learn to go stronger consistently to the rim and to know when it is better to box out and when it is necessary for him to go grab the board. Hopefully he will continue to improve . Harden was of course amazing and smith staying hot from 3 helps his performance look better , however he could not do anything against LA defensively.

In all , I'm glad the all-star break is coming up soon . Players like DMO, Ariza , and bev look to be in the need of some rest . Jones will also benefit from the break as he continues to come back from injury. Pg remains a concern and I would like to see us try out in-house options in Canaan and Johnson before giving up a kings ransom to get any of the PG's on the market. With Dwight's health a major question going forward, regardless of this latest procedure. Having young promising players like jones and dmo becomes more important to our future success.

Hope somebody reads and replies. And **** all the kneejerks.

 

Obviously it didn't help the Rockets win that series, but this team clearly needs all the help it can get if it wants to advance in the playoffs. We need home court advantage. No way in hell do I wanna see them starting off on the road against any of the other teams in the top 8(once OKC overtakes Phoenix).