ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Bobcats 3/24/2014

lol on the reply. you got me there. ridiculous.

 

harden looks made at lin @ 1:06

 

yep, Lin stole his sandwich before the match

 

Oh really?

Just like the last game where the rockets won, Lin did not shoot well, and there were many complaints about Lin.

 

Good win! Bobcats were a tricky opponent. Everyone had a decent game IMO except for Howard and Parsons....good to see Parsons hit those 3's at the end to get his confidence back up. Howard could still be nursing an injury and is not his usual self, i'm sure he'll get over it in time for playoffs. Bench played well too and Lin had decent contribution with his limited time

 

I like that Rockets are going to be facing Clippers, OKC and Spurs in this last group of 12 games, and that they will be at home and not at end of B2B or other scheduling nonsense.

 

That would tie the 3rd best record in Rockets history(the 1993 team that lost to Seattle and the 22 straight wins team of 2008 both won 55). That was the best I thought they could do coming into the season, but it's still not unthinkable for them to tie the 58 wins of the 1994 championship team.

 

Zach Lowe ‏@ZachLowe_NBA 4h

Another versatile game from Terrence Jones tonight --switched onto Kemba a ton and contained him, ran the floor, scored in variety of ways.

 

It will be a real test for the team. Beating the Clippers and the Thunder, if we manage it, would give the Rocks a load of confidence going into the post-season.

Ain't it a trip that we can even speculate about tying the '94 team's record? 10-2 is a tall mountain to climb. My main concern is having a healthy team during this stretch. Just let the team be healthy for 12 games, win or lose, and just maybe they'll come together in time to be something special in the playoffs.

 

I think that's all The Rockets need right there to achieve the next level. Eventually a shift in confidence has to happen. The Rockets cant be contained and although it seems like they are somewhat "bipolar" I think they are just learning. Every game they get better even the nights they lose. Failure is a big part of success in the long run. It humbles you and wakes up the champion inside that begins to hate it. The Clippers and Thunder have beaten The Rockets pretty badly this season but I think they were only making our team stronger.. Soon, very soon those team may just get a big surprise when The Rockets no longer fear them but instead welcome the high pressure playoff atmosphere games. This gun b good....

 

Per Wikipedia:

A cyst is a closed sac, having a distinct membrane and division compared to the nearby tissue. Basically, a cyst is a cluster of cells that have grouped together to form a sac (not unlike the manner in which water molecules group together, forming a bubble); however, the distinguishing aspect of a cyst is the cells forming the "shell" of such a sac, are distinctly abnormal (in both appearance and behaviour) when compared to all surrounding cells for that given location.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyst



A thought I had tonight:

Dwight Howard is a kind of a cyst.

He is a great player and helps the team a ton, but he is a guy who plays differently than the rest of the team. He can be a closed sac, looking distinctly abnormal in both appearance and behaviour when compared to all surrounding players for the Houston Rockets.

The team had 30+ assists per game in the 3 games when Dwight Howard is absent, and only 22 tonight. He isn't selfish, but the Rockets tend to play faster and zip the all around without him on the floor.

The positive thing is that cysts tend to benign growth and can be corrected with a little medical work. Hopefully when playoff starts, the team will figure out within the first game which aspects of Dwight's game (mostly the post-up part) will or will not work and remove that from the offensive set if it is an issue.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/MVZktj7ty7I?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

I feel like the Rockets have been playing possum a bit in their use of Asik and Howard together after the early experiment. I think they filed that away to try again later. Obviously, Asik was out of commission for a while and our young power forwards have emerged, but the twin tower concept could be worth re-visiting in the playoffs. Not so much with Oklahoma, but I see it paying big dividends against Memphis, San Antonio and the Clippers.

 

I actually think no one is safe from criticism regardless if its due.

As much as I enjoy watching the live games, sometimes its easier to listen to music while muting the commentary as homerism on both feeds can dumb down the feel of the game as it is.

 

It was a good win.

The Bobcats have been quite solid and been beating a few good teams.

22 assists is not too bad, I guess. Almost everyone got at least one.

But am still a little puzzled why DHoward's presence would affect this
number in a bad way. Would have thought he'd improve this metric
rather than detract from it.

(Assists/Shots taken)

Bobcats 22/82
Cavs 31/79 (No Dwight)
Wolves 36/85 (No Dwight)
Jazz 31/79 (No Dwight)
Heat 18/75

I thought it'd be the number of shots taken but on the figures from
the last 5 games, I dont think that'd be it.

Puzzling.

 

He is an offensive present so opponents always ready to double or to help. That leaves room for his teammate to shoot rather than passing.

 

Noah will be a perfect fit. Howard won't win the championship for any teams.

 

or A Davis with Asik.

 

In what way? Better in outlook cos he is handsome?

 

Can Parsons stop the inbounds dumb passes, I can't stand it any more.

 

Well when Dwight is in - he pretty much freezes the offense. When the ball is dumped to him he often takes too much time in the post to post up and results in a bad shot or TO. anymore than 2-3 seconds, it's a bad shot. Dwight's problem is he holds the ball too long and does not pass it out once the opponent establishes a good position.

When Asik is in, Asik does not post up. He sets screens, so the ball moves around a lot more, therefore higher assists and faster pace game. If Howard would mix his game up with PNR and occasional quick post / kick out for 3s, and rebounds, I think the team would see more assists, but Howard still kind of wants to prove that he is a great post player with moves like Jagger (well Hakeem). I almost prefer Asik on the floor over Howard - but Dwight's Defense has been key for a few wins this season, so I think for the playoffs Dwight would be more valuable..however if we decided to use DH too much in terms of in the post - I think it will be an ugly game lol.