ClutchFans Game Thread: Lakers @ Rockets 1/8/2013

fishguy91 · Jan 8, 2013

shuh said: ↑

What a nice game for our moral! To come from behind in the first quarter (it seems to become a habit), and have several players performing nicely with a good team ball and important defensive plays, surely build a lot of confidence and a winner mentality.

We run again this game, and also mixed it up with some halfcourt action. Despite a slow start, again, McHale did the right move putting TDouglas early in, letting Lin settle and think over. Our bench was terrific, and Parsons and Morris did improved their game.

The bads:

- Slow start: it's becoming a bad habit. The Lakers lead 10+ points i the first quarter, Lin started slow and we were not hitting our shots. Sometimes it seems that the team has an urge to run, like a race horse before the start, and that makes the players come in too uptempo, and causes sloppy plays at the beginning of games. Well, better this than a slow finish.

- Rebounds: Despite having the advantage (on paper) in the post tonight, we were not able to greatly outrebound them (the margin was close 42-37), and the Lakers had several offensive rebounds and second opportunities. Especially in the first half.

- Heavy minutes from our starters: Harden, Lin and Parsons played 35+ minutes, and that's worrisome for tomorrow. The slow start also causes that: we have to recover, and the game keeps close until the mid 4th, making McHale to keep the starters on the floor.

The goods:

- Team play: Tonights game was won by sharing the ball. We didn't see a lot of isos, but instead, several drives, 3-pointers and jumpers after a nice exchange of passes. We shared the ball more, and thus, several players ended with nice scoring nights: Harden, Lin, Parsons and Delfino scored around 20+. And almost everyone had important plays, both offensively and defensively: Parson's 3's and layups, Harden penetrations, Lin's steals and drives, Delfino's 3's, PPat offensive rebounds and a jumper the 4th, Douglas's 3's and defense, Morris layups in the 4th... Nice to have this kind of distribution in the game duties. Also, the team shows great chemistry. Lin, Harden and Parsons are making that karate/kung-fu move a pre-game ritual!

- 3 points: Finally, our 3's came in in a nice % (44%). Parsons hit his 2 attempts, Delfino was 5-7, and others made shots. But, the ggod part about the 3's tonight was not properly the %, but the moments when they came in. Always in the right times, after a 3 point play or consecutive possessions from the Lakers.

- Defense on Kobe: Parsons did a good job again, and we often double teamed him, forcing him to low % shots. In the absence of other scoring threats other than Nash, the strategy and execution was perfect.

- Finishing the game: this team knows how to finish strong, and make a second half run. That requires a lot of legs, a clutch gene from some players (Harden, Lin, Parsons, Delfino, Doulgas) and good coaching in the halftime in order to make the necessary adjustments.

The players:

Lin: Slow start, not keeping control of Nash and sloppy on offense. He went to the bench early, but then came back strong to the second half, with nice assists, driving to the rim (that crossover and and-one over Sacre was beautiful), and making very nice defensive plays. His hands are very quick and his sense of anticipation make him terrific at stealing the ball. Also, good one-on-one defense. He was sometimes on Kobe, Sacre (I think) and kept them scoreless despite the size disadvantage. Also, he blocked Nash once, why it is not credited on the boxscore? The bad part was him being too sloppy on passes tonight, with 7 TO. The good part is that Lin cannot miss when he puts the foot on the line (the other bad part i that he puts the foot on the line)!

Harden: MVP play, beating the all-time Rockets's record for most consecutive 25+ point games. 31 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds, with a high efficiency is nothing more than what we are getting used too. Harden is making us a spoiled fan base, and I bet that we are gonna be bashing him the day he scores something like 18-7-5 (lol). The Lakers were avoiding fouling him when he was going to the rim, and just letting him score. That's respect.

Parsons: very nice game! He was huge on defense, as usual. He put Kobe on a serious pressure sometimes, and forced Kobe to all those bad shots and out of his sweet spots. Parsons also was wise, not forcing too many threes, and settling for mid-range jumpers and layups, and then, he hit his 3's also. His 20 points were very important tonight, perhaps just not more than his defense.

Morris: A good/regular game. Despite not having a stand out performance, he managed to contribute well overall, spacing the floor and putting in some layups. Still not grabbing rebounds, but his jumper demanded some respect form the Lakers' defender and that created some spacing for Parsons, Lin and Harden to drive to the rim.

Asik: bad night He was expected to dominate on D, on rebounds and to score tonight. He seemed a little bit lost out there, and Sacre was making him (and Smith) suffer with a physical game than cancelled each other. That prevented them from rebounding, and most of the rebounds went to the hands of other players. We played better with some small ball, and Asik was not needed tonight, though.

TDouglas: a good usual performance, coming from the bench with energy, specially on D. Not scoring much tonight, but helped the team to calm down in the first quarter and stopped the bleeding.

Delfino: He is on fire lately. 5-7 from the 3-point line, intense D, and making huge plays in crucial moments, keeping us alive in the first half and helping us to build the lead in the second. His faces are funny and his energy is making all other players thrill.

PPat: Good game, solid jumpers, and fighting for the rebounds. He didn't rebound much, even putting on some energy, but his 2 offensive rebounds were very important, and also contributed to open up the lanes for our penetrations, either with good offensive positioning or with a pick.

Rest of the bench: GSmith was competent, did not play much, since we went small for long stretches. But helped out in the first quarter when we stopped the Lakers lead to increase. DMo made 1 post play, clumsy and effective Anderson debuted, and showed in less than 2 minutes, much more composure and team ball than Cook in all his appearances. Made the assist to DMo, and showed good handling skills.

The coach:

- McHale: was terrific tonight. Made the right subs, taking out Lin early and putting him back (after probably some good coach talk). The rotation is trustworthy, with not noticeable holes in our intensity. He adjusted the defense beautifully for this game. The strategy of double-teaming Kobe whenever possible and letting others open worked very well, since Kobe was the only huge threat tonight. Also, when he realized that our bigs were being ineffective, he made the good decision of going small and that started our run. When a team consistently come better to the second half, it is the coache's merit. Our halfcourt play was also a little bit better, the same system, with picks to the guards, but more fluid, and with that extra pass we were lacking in the last 3 games.

Overall, a very good and entertaining game. We showed that this team can share the ball, have chemistry, and several scoring options, either from our staters as from our bench. Also, the clutch gene! Hope we start a little bit better tomorrow so we can make our life easier.
Click to expand...

Good analysis. Would rep u if I could

gorockets2009 · Jan 8, 2013

R u on a mission for what? just one game.

Karolik said: ↑

Are you serious? Kidd handled the ball way more. Lin plays off the ball and averages almost as many TO's and way less assists. Take off the Lin glasses please.
Click to expand...

Orange1 · Jan 8, 2013

Another orderly stat from Lin. Good math skills never failed to impress even playing basketball. :grin:

2 3 pointer
3 PF
4 Steal
5 Asst
6 Rebound
7 TO

Entropy · Jan 8, 2013

Orange1 said: ↑

Another orderly stat from Lin. Good math skills never failed to impress even playing basketball. :grin:

2 3 pointer
3 PF
4 Steal
5 Asst
6 Rebound
7 TO
Click to expand...

He can keep averaging 7 TO's all season so long as we are winning the games.

Coog4Rockets · Jan 8, 2013

Ynnis888 said: ↑

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HNYOPlotE4Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Click to expand...

Why the **** does China get to watch the Rockets, and I can't?!?

BraveFox · Jan 8, 2013

Entropy said: ↑

He can keep averaging 7 TO's all season so long as we are winning the games.
Click to expand...

good point!

metrichalo · Jan 8, 2013

whatever man, Lebron had 7 To's tonight as well.

J Sizzle · Jan 8, 2013

Didn't get to watch the game tonight! Can somebody please make a highlight video? (of the entire teams performance)

zzpot · Jan 8, 2013

don grahamleone said: ↑

If you had to show your feelings with a wrestler??
Click to expand...

Nice.... both are loving the day and life..

jocar · Jan 8, 2013

Viola said: ↑

Time to give a nickname to our bench...
Click to expand...

"The Who"

J Sizzle · Jan 8, 2013

And looking at the box score...looks like Harden and Lin were straight hoopin tonight, and Parsons had a nice bounce back game as well.

Always love beating the Lake Show

AggNRox · Jan 8, 2013

shuh said: ↑

What a nice game for our moral! To come from behind in the first quarter (it seems to become a habit), and have several players performing nicely with a good team ball and important defensive plays, surely build a lot of confidence and a winner mentality.

We run again this game, and also mixed it up with some halfcourt action. Despite a slow start, again, McHale did the right move putting TDouglas early in, letting Lin settle and think over. Our bench was terrific, and Parsons and Morris did improved their game.

The bads:

- Slow start: it's becoming a bad habit. The Lakers lead 10+ points i the first quarter, Lin started slow and we were not hitting our shots. Sometimes it seems that the team has an urge to run, like a race horse before the start, and that makes the players come in too uptempo, and causes sloppy plays at the beginning of games. Well, better this than a slow finish.

- Rebounds: Despite having the advantage (on paper) in the post tonight, we were not able to greatly outrebound them (the margin was close 42-37), and the Lakers had several offensive rebounds and second opportunities. Especially in the first half.

- Heavy minutes from our starters: Harden, Lin and Parsons played 35+ minutes, and that's worrisome for tomorrow. The slow start also causes that: we have to recover, and the game keeps close until the mid 4th, making McHale to keep the starters on the floor.

The goods:

- Team play: Tonights game was won by sharing the ball. We didn't see a lot of isos, but instead, several drives, 3-pointers and jumpers after a nice exchange of passes. We shared the ball more, and thus, several players ended with nice scoring nights: Harden, Lin, Parsons and Delfino scored around 20+. And almost everyone had important plays, both offensively and defensively: Parson's 3's and layups, Harden penetrations, Lin's steals and drives, Delfino's 3's, PPat offensive rebounds and a jumper the 4th, Douglas's 3's and defense, Morris layups in the 4th... Nice to have this kind of distribution in the game duties. Also, the team shows great chemistry. Lin, Harden and Parsons are making that karate/kung-fu move a pre-game ritual!

- 3 points: Finally, our 3's came in in a nice % (44%). Parsons hit his 2 attempts, Delfino was 5-7, and others made shots. But, the ggod part about the 3's tonight was not properly the %, but the moments when they came in. Always in the right times, after a 3 point play or consecutive possessions from the Lakers.

- Defense on Kobe: Parsons did a good job again, and we often double teamed him, forcing him to low % shots. In the absence of other scoring threats other than Nash, the strategy and execution was perfect.

- Finishing the game: this team knows how to finish strong, and make a second half run. That requires a lot of legs, a clutch gene from some players (Harden, Lin, Parsons, Delfino, Doulgas) and good coaching in the halftime in order to make the necessary adjustments.

The players:

Lin: Slow start, not keeping control of Nash and sloppy on offense. He went to the bench early, but then came back strong to the second half, with nice assists, driving to the rim (that crossover and and-one over Sacre was beautiful), and making very nice defensive plays. His hands are very quick and his sense of anticipation make him terrific at stealing the ball. Also, good one-on-one defense. He was sometimes on Kobe, Sacre (I think) and kept them scoreless despite the size disadvantage. Also, he blocked Nash once, why it is not credited on the boxscore? The bad part was him being too sloppy on passes tonight, with 7 TO. The good part is that Lin cannot miss when he puts the foot on the line (the other bad part i that he puts the foot on the line)!

Harden: MVP play, beating the all-time Rockets's record for most consecutive 25+ point games. 31 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds, with a high efficiency is nothing more than what we are getting used too. Harden is making us a spoiled fan base, and I bet that we are gonna be bashing him the day he scores something like 18-7-5 (lol). The Lakers were avoiding fouling him when he was going to the rim, and just letting him score. That's respect.

Parsons: very nice game! He was huge on defense, as usual. He put Kobe on a serious pressure sometimes, and forced Kobe to all those bad shots and out of his sweet spots. Parsons also was wise, not forcing too many threes, and settling for mid-range jumpers and layups, and then, he hit his 3's also. His 20 points were very important tonight, perhaps just not more than his defense.

Morris: A good/regular game. Despite not having a stand out performance, he managed to contribute well overall, spacing the floor and putting in some layups. Still not grabbing rebounds, but his jumper demanded some respect form the Lakers' defender and that created some spacing for Parsons, Lin and Harden to drive to the rim.

Asik: bad night He was expected to dominate on D, on rebounds and to score tonight. He seemed a little bit lost out there, and Sacre was making him (and Smith) suffer with a physical game than cancelled each other. That prevented them from rebounding, and most of the rebounds went to the hands of other players. We played better with some small ball, and Asik was not needed tonight, though.

TDouglas: a good usual performance, coming from the bench with energy, specially on D. Not scoring much tonight, but helped the team to calm down in the first quarter and stopped the bleeding.

Delfino: He is on fire lately. 5-7 from the 3-point line, intense D, and making huge plays in crucial moments, keeping us alive in the first half and helping us to build the lead in the second. His faces are funny and his energy is making all other players thrill.

PPat: Good game, solid jumpers, and fighting for the rebounds. He didn't rebound much, even putting on some energy, but his 2 offensive rebounds were very important, and also contributed to open up the lanes for our penetrations, either with good offensive positioning or with a pick.

Rest of the bench: GSmith was competent, did not play much, since we went small for long stretches. But helped out in the first quarter when we stopped the Lakers lead to increase. DMo made 1 post play, clumsy and effective Anderson debuted, and showed in less than 2 minutes, much more composure and team ball than Cook in all his appearances. Made the assist to DMo, and showed good handling skills.

The coach:

- McHale: was terrific tonight. Made the right subs, taking out Lin early and putting him back (after probably some good coach talk). The rotation is trustworthy, with not noticeable holes in our intensity. He adjusted the defense beautifully for this game. The strategy of double-teaming Kobe whenever possible and letting others open worked very well, since Kobe was the only huge threat tonight. Also, when he realized that our bigs were being ineffective, he made the good decision of going small and that started our run. When a team consistently come better to the second half, it is the coache's merit. Our halfcourt play was also a little bit better, the same system, with picks to the guards, but more fluid, and with that extra pass we were lacking in the last 3 games.

Overall, a very good and entertaining game. We showed that this team can share the ball, have chemistry, and several scoring options, either from our staters as from our bench. Also, the clutch gene! Hope we start a little bit better tomorrow so we can make our life easier.
Click to expand...

not just lin, every starters except asik played bad ealier. harden shot like 1/6.

lin played better and better when games went deep. his defense intensity also rose to the elite level at 3rd and 4th periods of games. i remember one play he defended world peace one on one. word peace tried to run over him but lin didn't back down and made meta miss shot badly.

AustinPowers · Jan 8, 2013

Voltik said: ↑

I don't think webber has any say on how smart people are...calling timeouts...
Click to expand...

Chris Webber has an IQ of a watermelon.

EarlIII · Jan 8, 2013

metrichalo said: ↑

whatever man, Lebron had 7 To's tonight as well.
Click to expand...

But Lebron can play, so he gets a pass. We're still not sure Lin can play, so we're going to magnify every single mistake of his.

AustinPowers · Jan 8, 2013

Karolik said: ↑

Are you serious? Kidd handled the ball way more. Lin plays off the ball and averages almost as many TO's and way less assists. Take off the Lin glasses please.
Click to expand...

***** u and your Jason Kidd nut handling. Lin was a contributor to a Rockets victory. You b****es are such losers.

LosPollosHermanos · Jan 8, 2013

AustinPowers said: ↑

Chris Webber has an IQ of a watermelon.
Click to expand...

LOL great post.

AustinPowers · Jan 8, 2013

EarlIII said: ↑

This reminds me of all the Lin hate by the Melo lovers when the Knicks went on that 7 game winning streak. All they b*tched about were Lin's turnovers even though the Knicks were winning games.
Click to expand...

Bingo. A lot of the negative post are from new members register in the past 5-6 months. New Yorkers.

daywalker02 · Jan 8, 2013

Pau Gasol ‏@paugasol
Great team effort by our team tonight in Houston. It's important to stay positive and keep on giving it our best shot every game.
Click to expand...

Thanks Pau.

CuriousG11 · Jan 8, 2013

AustinPowers · Jan 8, 2013

Harden MVP. Time for them MVP chants!

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