ClutchFans Game Thread: Clippers @ Rockets 5/4/2015 (Playoffs Round 2, Game 1)

This. I have the Rockets in 5, by the way. Relax. :grin:

 

I will start with the few bright points.

1. Prigs didn't seem afraid to shoot

2. Dwight Howard. He continues to bring his playoff intensity and elevated game play. I wish everyone on the team could take note of what he's doing.

3. Ariza's shot was improved.

Outside of that they looked careless and like they thought they could win just because CP wasn't out there without putting forth the care and effort it takes.

The whole team (except for Dwight) looked like they lacked the focus it takes to really win in the playoffs or were unable to maintain it for the whole game.

Hopefully that can be remedied by next game. Let's go Rockets

 

I'm only going to do one post to complain about last night, and then move on. Harden behind-the-back pass at the top of the key for a turnover. For godsakes, why? It looked like a million people on the team had screw-ups that contributed to the loss, but I put all the blame on Harden for that ridiculously dumb turnover, and his 8 others. He played terribly.

(heyp, still don't believe in rust? These guys were not sharp at all.)

 

Rust is bull****, look at the Cavs, they came out flat like us but they turned it around. McHale does not accept that as an excuse, so that's that.

 

Wait, didn't they lose too.

 

Yes, they did. :grin:

 

Rust is a bull*** excuse because the Clippers were without Chris Paul. Rockets loss is on them and was pitiful to watch as a fan and was embarrassing to the franchise.

 

Can we trade Jones this offseason? He's been a waste of space.

 

Well, that got out of hand quickly.

I was going to write a long analysis, I'll just stick with my list of concerns over the last 2 seasons...

-Lack of a secondary play maker. It can't all be Harden, especially when he's turning the ball over or not shooting well
-Lack of on court discipline. Real people don't just "turn it on". You develop habits through reps until they become second nature. You're disciplined because you're used to being disciplined. That's why great coaches focus on habits, ie, process vs results.
-McHale not being a "play off" caliber coach. I said it 2 years ago, I still worry about it. He's great when you're playing the middling teams, not so good when you're lined up against high caliber coaches who run disciplined offense and defense.

Hopefully we'll see a better performance in the remaining games, but if you're letting stuff slide during the entire regular season on offense and defense, it's hard to see how you're going to fix that in a couple days.

 

Not gonna win with Josh Smith taking five 3's.

 

The only thing that gives me even a glimmer of hope is the fact that SAS completely roasted the Clips in one of their games and they ended up winning the series

 

He's been making them more than Terry, Ariza, and Brewer so he's essentially our 3rd best shooter behind Harden and maybe Prigioni

 

Why do you say it's an excuse? I'd call it an accusation. It means you lack the self-discipline, focus, and mental acuity to stay on your game. Those are all bad things. If you're using rust to cover for your shortcomings, you're doing it wrong.

 

So was anything of substance said by the players in the post game presser? IM curious what the spinless James Harden said.

I feel bad for Dwight, I really hope he was fronting everyone in the locker room. Where is this Terry is so good for his experience and locker room presence?

McHale at least didnt cower. "They kicked our ass, thats the bottome line ... we played like seventh graders"

This game will go down in the annals of Houston Rockets lore, and not in a good way. Sad day for our franchise. The HOuston Quitters.

 

Fixed for you. Do we not care about our defense anymore?

 

Transition teams kill us.
I don't know why we didn't see this sooner.

And good news good news. Mavs were a transition team, Clippers are a better transition team, and the Warriors if we somehow get that far, are the best transition team in the league. Hahahahaha.

 

100 percent sweep by the Clippers if CP3 wasn't injured.

 

Whatever. Rockets beat themselves last night...plain and simple. I'll give credit to the Clips for coming to play but the Clippers did not beat the Rockets....Rockets beat themselves....again...and again...

I will never be upset if a team loses "honestly"....(full effort, focus). Last night's horrific display by the Rockets is THE perfect example of what bothers me about losing.

 

We lost the game at home in a blowout to a team that came off a long 7 game series with little rest playing Austin freaking Rivers at PG and running their offense primarily through Blake Griffin. Let that sink in.

 

It's funny. The Rockets were a great team this year because they had an elite defense with an acceptable offense. Now we're trying to out-gun teams, and it's predictably not working. It's fixable, but it's not something that should need fixing to begin with. It's all about effort.