ClutchFans Game Thread: Grizzlies @ Rockets 1/13/2017

Rockets forward Trevor Ariza said he was pleased with the looks the team had in the loss to the Grizzlies. Houston shot 40.2 percent from the field and 24.4 percent from 3.

Rockets guard James Harden had a simple answer on the defensive communication issues in the loss to the Grizzlies. "That's every night," he said. "Blown coverages or whatnot, missed shots, offensive rebounds, it's part of basketball. You don't over think it, you get better at what we need to get better at and move on."

James Harden doesn't believe Memphis presents Houston with a matchup problem. He attributed the loss to just not making shots.

 

He's right. Anderson and Ariza in particular had wide open shots and they rebuilt the Toyota center with their bricks. I'm not even counting Brewer.

 

Sam Dekker has left shoulder strain and is questionable for Sunday per Calvin Watkins on Twitter.

Spoiler: KJ still doesn't get any minutes.

 

Once again rebounding killed the rockets. Ariza led the team with 9 lol

 

Nene 22 minute's 3 rebounds smh

 

The key to Memphis are Conley and M.Gasol. Didn't they change coaches?!?!?!? If a team shoots 50%+ and outrebounds the opponents, I would say 95% of them win games. Rocks got outrebounded and shot closer to 40% than 50%, yet they only lost by manageable margins. If they had won the game, it would of been one of those games that the team is more powerful than statistics. In a series, if Rocks get there shooting back and play to rebound, Memphis will take a L. It is one of those losses that won't linger unless it is another back-to back.

 

It's not that I have any expectations. But the fact is right now some crappy teams are still thinking playoffs. Even Dallas and Philly as bad as they are believe they have a shot at the 8th seed in their respective conferences(sadly, the Mavs actually do). So there are a bunch of a players who are not on the trading block yet. A month from now, that won't be the case.

Also, Morey might not know for sure yet who to trade for. If Capela comes back soon and is reinserted into the lineup without missing a beat, maybe you prioritize getting a backcourt player instead of a big man. Given the Rockets' limited assets, they probably have to pick one or the other at the trade deadline. Next summer is when they can add additional depth to the roster.

 

The Rockets are a better team than Memphis, and while Memphis presents some matchup problems, I don't think they could beat us in a 7 game series. (Note: I also don't think the Spurs can either) Our biggest issue will be mitigate slightly when Capela returns, which also gets us another 10 easy points a game on PnR. But also, in a 7 game series, when MDA has time to plan for each game against teams like Memphis, I expect to continue to get open 3 pointers consistently against them or any other team. In a 7 game series, I expect us to shoot 37% or higher from 3 point land, not 25% as we did last night.

If we shoot 37% or higher from 3 point land, with the volume that we shot them, only the GSW and Cavs have a chance to beat us in a 7 game series, IMHO. (As long as said teams are all healthy and ready to go, including us. We don't have the depth to advance in the playoffs without our full roster....yet)

 

Ok, I understand why the seats are empty for the most part. I always make it on time for the games except for one time when I forgot about the tickets lol. Well, today I was taking my girlfriend to her first rockets game. She drove in from Austin and got here around 5:30 because traffic isn't no joke. We leave from beltway 8 and 45 north around 6:00 which I already knew wasn't enough time. Still, I had some hope. I know the back roads and I avoided any major highway and got to downtown around 6:45. Now this is where I understand how people may lose like an extra 10 minutes looking for parking.

Since I've been to a bunch of games I know where to park and what to do. Parked at a 5 dollar spot and walked like 5 minutes to get to the TC. Getting inside took like 2 minutes, but there were a lot of people outside getting in. Not 7:00 yet though, so I think I'm going to make it to my seat on time. We go up the escalators and she's hungry but she insisted on me picking on what to eat even though I know that there are special occasions when women get understandably picky with their food. Finally decide so we wait in those lines that sell over priced food. I lost it. This guy took up like a whole 6 minutes trying to order a damn pretzel. When it was my turn in line? About 90 seconds at the most. Grabbed our pizza and drinks and went to sit down. It was like 5 minutes in the first quarter already. I was a bit annoyed but whatever. I got my food and I took my girlfriend to her first Rockets game. She was happy so I was happy too. So, I sort of understand why some people get to the games late. It makes sense. Leaving an hour before hand isn't enough time. Finding parking might be hard for a noob. And there's always that idiot who waste 6 minutes trying to get a pretzel in the pizza line.

I looked around the arena and it was pretty full. Only part that wasn't full was the long sides of the lower bowl. Lots of empty seats. Upper bowl was super packed. the short sides of the lower bowl were super packed too. It's a joke how the only part that is shown on TV is always empty.
A group of women sat in the row in front of us. They were literally there for the 2nd quarter and that was it. It was like 7 of them. 5 of them came midway the 2nd and left when it hit half time and never returned. The other two came around the end of the 2nd, and also did the same. Joked to my girl that they went to go do coke in the restroom because they looked like those type of party girls.

As for the game, man. Fans bood Parsons each time he touched the ball. Mike Conley is super quick. A lot quicker than he looks on TV. Randolph and Nene were having a war in the paint. It was a bit intimidating how hard those two were going. Everyone immediately left after Daniels hit the dagger trey. I joked that "technically we still have a chance. We hit this 3, foul, they miss one free throw, and hit another 3 and we go to OT." Someone laughed at me It was a tough 3rd and 4th quarter. We shot so poorly. Crowd REALLY got into it after EJ hit the back2back treys, but that was it. Crowd was also mad at a string of what looked like bad calls. Good game and crowd did its best to keep the Rockets into it, but so many misses it's hard not to feel deflated.

 

Why can't we beat these f*ck mothers?

 

its called variance
the first time we met they went crazy from 3, the second time we were crazy bad from 3

 

I love this post because you beautifully detail why games starting at the TC at 7pm is a ludicrous idea. I've been saying for a long time that the games should start at 7:30, not 7, because it is so hard for people to get downtown after work, etc., to the Toy Box. I think that extra half hour would help a lot. Do a lot of teams start games at 7pm, or is it just Houston? Also liked you comments about watching the game. Being in Austin, I don't get to see very many in person. Hope your girlfriend enjoyed it!

 

Here's what they did to beat us. It's not tricky, but we've gotta figure out ways to counter their counter.

 

Memphis used playoff types of defence in 3rd and 4th quarter, houston with low field goal percentage for 3 point, but they still try to shoot 3. I suggest houston can use layup or shoot 2 points which can solve the problem vs strong defensive team

 

i suggest getting someone who can shoot 3 and shoot it better...