ClutchFans Game Thread: Pacers @ Rockets 4/14/2021

All this tank just to send the pick to OKC

 

Certainly not, but we do need him to help us with the tanking streak.

 

"hey guys I missed the ......."

ahhhh nevermind.

 

LeVert is an interesting player. Wonder if there's any way to acquire him.

 

What is our record with the Blue City Uniforms? 4-6 (W-L)? Can we burn those uni's yet?

 

There are pretty much no practices. The NBA schedule and travel has few practice days in normal years. This compressed year has brought it close to zero.

all coaches are talking about it.

 

Only 52% to keeping the pick, it is an interesting risk.

DD

 

Yep. We all know it's gonna happen.

 

It's practically a coin flip(52% chance)

Pretty scary.

 

Game autopsy:

Pro:
Fastbreak: for Pacers being #1 team in fast break, Rockets won with 17 vs Pacer's 9.
Rebound: Kept it close 48 (pacers) to 47 (rockets). Largely because of Olynyk, Tate and Wood. Tate and Wood got several OREB. Thanks *cough* tall ball.
Freethrow %: Rockets improved here; not bad as during the long losing streak; Respectable at 81%. (above 75% is good)
Didn't quit: Team made a comeback in Q3; kept with it despite a really bad Q2.


Con:
Never got the lead once in this game
Long minutes: The starters played a lot of minutes. All 5 were >35 min. Think Silas really wanted this one.
Bench wasn't good: Not sure if this is due to DJ Augustin being out; but Pacers bench outplayed our bench and also could be the reason for Starters carrying more load.
3PT % - Rockets 29.4%; Pacers 41.7%. (want to be at or above 37%). So not only were we cold, but our perimeter defense wasn't good again. I'm going to be petty for a minute and call out Wall's 0/7 3pt shooting. If Wall didn't take any 3pt this game. We'd be 10/27, which is 37% about league average. It means exactly that. At 3pt shooting... rest of team this game is average.

Mr Wall, you're left open for a reason. If Wall has a higher % for catch n' shoot; then Silas should recognize and run that. If it's free flow read and react. Mr. Wall reads an open look and he's going to take it. Silas, sometimes Wall is a bad reader.



Bonus: Armoni Brooks is still a +50% 3pt % shooter (currently at 54.5%)

 

And yet, the best teams find a way to play/communicate/execute defense.

 

picks dont matter what matter is culture, knowlegde and luck in general... its better to know how to draft then to have a higher pick.. its better to know how to trade then to have higher picks...its better to know how to develop players then to have higher picks

 

New coaching staff. Players who have never played together...with significant turnover twice in same yr.

you think that is common for all teams.

Defensive systems is the hardest thing to set up, thats why NBA offenses traditionally dominant in early season, but defenses get better as year progresses. Teams with the least turnover of players and coaching staff have the advantage when practices are limited.

 

Note the Knicks have a top rated defense with a new coaching staff and players who have never played together. that can't always be the excuse for things. It can be as simple as the rockets just aren't any good at defense which is understandable. This just isn't a good team as a whole

 

I was originally replying to a post that said “we either don’t practice defense, or whoever is teaching it is doing a poor job.”

The fact is, Yes, teams aren’t practicing much at all this year. But do you see how that entire either/or I was responding to is an excuse for the players, using an incomplete dichotomy

 

you afraid of @Jontro ?

 

We've cut down the the number of tanks with intelligent octopus doing analytics for Stone from 8 to 4. Which re-establishes the are we tanking or not debate.