ClutchFans Game Thread: Kings @ Rockets 12/31/2013

I never stated he was playing good D all season. It was well noted and clear he was playing good D in the few games before Bev got injured. You've got tunnel vision right now because you want to get a point across.

 

Harden leaving McLemore wide open on that corner 3 really started the free-fall at the end. I saw Harden slacking off at the start of the shot clock and I just knew that would get him an open look.

 

Lol ay every player saying we gotta play D, but not one giving out names.

 

Not true. Go back and watch the 4th quarter if you can stomach it. Harden aside from a few made baskets and free throws was terrible. He had a couple of possessions when the team was stuck on 88 points where he just dribbled out the clock on the perimeter before dishing off to a teammate and forcing them to jack up a prayer at the buzzer. He also had another possession where he ISO'd until there was no time left and threw up a contested fadeaway that was luckily slammed in by T-Jones.

Also recall that Harden was taken out of the game with just under 3 1/2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and the team actually went on to build a decent-sized lead without him heading into the final period. In fairness, he did have a good 3rd quarter scoring the ball, but once he came back in the game in the 4th, the ball movement stopped and everything got bogged down(or sticky as McFail likes to say).

 

Casspi was getting hacked and no calls also. I was surprised the official actually gave Parsons some calls considering how they swallowed the whistle with Lin and Casspi. I'm sure Kings fans will also complain about calls/noncalls.

 

We don't have point guards. We have spot-up shooters standing around idly watching Harden ISO.

 

If I remember correctly, after 1st of last 2 Rocket's timeouts, Mchale's game plan was to go ISO and unfortunately it didn't work, then after the final timeout, it was ISO again and sadly it didn't work again. While we are blaming Harden's selfishness and hero ball, Mchale has to take responsibility and can't act as if he were not the one to blame. This is not the 1st 10 games of the season but it's been the 24t/25th game already. The same mistake is being repeated again and again, that is really unacceptable.

I agree with some posts here that Harden was trying way to hard to win it all by himself. Sometimes it works and you can be a ball winning hero. However in the long run, this ain't solution for the team and the team will only suffer.

Harden is talented offensively and can be great in defense if he changes his way of playing and his mind of playing. Of course Mchale needs to step up and act up to help out if he dares (he is the coach for christ's sake)

Mchale would probably be gone if they don't make it to the playoffs or play bad in the playoffs. IMO Mchale is just not a good coach or just not a championship coach.

1/3 of the season has been played and the Rockets will still have time to improve if they only know what their problems and are willing to change. I think making it to the playoffs is still optimistic but going beyond will be difficult or likely impossible if the problems are not stressed and fixed.

 

Harden post game interview:

"""We""" didn't guard at all

Seriously, We? Who did he mention?

 

You said "Harden was playing good defense up until Bev got injured." You didn't say anything about it being only a few games before Bev got hurt.

 

correction to my previous post. sorry for the typing mistake.

... 34/35th game already...

 

I wouldn't count on McHale to "step up". How many times have we seen McHale complain about the ball being "sticky" after a loss, only to see Harden ISO repeatedly the next game? If McHale had Harden on as short of a leash as he did Lin, Harden would've started playing D a long time ago.

 

Their bench played 75 minutes. Our bench played 46 minutes.
If you account for the minutes play, both bench scored the same.

 

We can't have PG's if they have to hand off the ball to Harden immediately and watch him iso for 20 sec. We could have Rubio or Deron and the results would be the same.

Don't let Harden control the ball for so long and force him to run some plays... oh... and to play D too.

 

Harden played so little defense that it was worse than one single player could've played. So he must've been counting himself as 2 people and said "We".

 

Harden was channeling some De La Soul and meant "Me, Myself and I".

Already going old school in 2014 with the music references... woohoo!

 

It makes everyone here calling for Rondo look stupid. If we were running a PG-centered offense with Lin, then getting Rondo as an upgrade might make sense. Right now we're not even doing that.

 

Lin had locked Isaiah down in the first half. Then McHale pulled him and kept him out for a long time and he started getting off on Brooks.

 

Don't get mad at AB and Lin, this is Mchale's game plan.

 

Rondo will surely help out our 3point% and FT%!

 

Then off camera, Dwight goes and yanks the Rolex off of Harden's wrist and says, you get that back when you start playing some D. :grin: