ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Kings 12/11/2014

Easy win. Sac Town without Cousins are garbage.

Just let Gay shoot like 20 bricks

 

If we pull this out then the 2 day trip is at least half full. Since we don't play again until Howard returns, giving a full day and 1/2 to get some oxygen back here, maybe we have somehow managed to sneak through the looking glass and back on the road.

Returning to Toyota after Dwight's extensive absence around 8-4 in those games? We all would take that easy.Especially with the memphis bashing.

 

I'd be ecstatic with a 2-1 week if they could beat the Kings and Nuggets. Hell, that's what I wanted last week and they went 3-0. The schedule the rest of the month ain't that bad after this week if they can start to get players back into the lineup. The only tough ones are home against the Blazers and at Memphis and San Antonio. None of those are on B2Bs, thankfully.

 

This road trip is definitely about available energy because of the limited number of players getting depleted.

I expect the Rockets win this one on fumes, mostly driven by the adrenaline of not losing 2 in a row. If Cousins would be playing, it would most likely be similar to last night. Bogut would have made it even harder.

The Rockets are fresh enough to get to double-digit leads in spurts, but tired enough that they make silly, bad passes... well, they make a lot of those even when they aren't tired. If they could clean that part of their act up, teach a few folks how to shoot free-throws better, they could decrease the stress they experience when losing leads. That wears on them and us after a while.

The other evils that happen when players are tired are: they are more prone to foul, their jump shot suffers, and they finish even weaker around the rim. This compounds energy issues for teams that do buy into playing defense, because they just get more tired by having to exert more energy on the defensive end to try to mitigate these issues on the offensive end.

Probably the biggest deciding factor in tonight's game will be rebounding. If they win that battle they most likely win the game. Based on last night's shooting they will need all the second-chance points they can get. If they can somehow build a lead and hold it, it will allow a little more rest. I say get a lead and then throw Capela out there for short stretches just to confuse them. :grin:

 

I think it's simpler than that. They don't have a playmaker other than Harden. Even when fully healthy this is an issue. So when James sits, the Rockets struggle offensively and tend to squander leads. Hopefully Morey addresses this deficiency in a trade cuz I don't think even Dwight returning will fix it entirely(although the defense will hold up at least).

 

man i miss papanikalau and cannan and dwight

 

I miss them all and Jones too.

 

To be quite honest, it's the guys that are thinner and quicker than cousins that are replacing him in the lineup that will give Dmo more problems. Think of Dmo as Yao Ming.....

 

Is Canaan returning tonight?!?!!?

 

No.

Probably not till next week

 

Cannan and papa are hurt.

DD

 

second night of back to back. last night we saw 40+ mins from Ariza, harden and Bev.....Let's run these guys into the ground instead of working in a young player that's Playoff tested (Troy Daniels)....Thanks McHale.

 

Canaan
Garcia
Papa
TJones
Howard

That's a lineup that could win some games in this league. We need these guys to get healthy.

 

Gay has been playing good bball. He has been pretty efficient this year.

 

Odd to me that some people are hanging their hats on, "SAC is trash without Boogie because they lost to the Lakers the other night." SAC lead for nearly the entire game, until Kobe went video game mode and put up something like 10 points in 2-3 minutes in 4Q. And hey, guys -- there's another WC team who pissed away a lead against the trash ass Lakers in the final minutes without their All-Star big man. Did we already forget that, or nah?

I think underestimating any decent-ish team at this point is a mistake. Plus, we saw how hungry the T-Wolves were after losing to the Sixers. SAC should have beat the Lakers handily even without Boogie. I'm sure they know that, and I'm also pretty sure they aren't happy they dropped that one.

 

Dmo first career 30 point game tonight.

Rockets 104
Kings 96

 

Man DMo is so fun to watch when an effort is being made to involve him into team's offense and feed him in the post. If only we could work out those entry passes tp perfection... This team's offense would be very enjoyable.

 

Exactly. Each game they play without Cosuins they get better at playing without Cousins. Same thing with the Rockets and Dwight.

 

i expect a bounce back game from terry. oddly he shoots a high % on b2b but increasingly worse with each day of rest.

i don't know what to expect of d-no. he's got than linconsistency in him.