ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Spurs 5/9/2017 (Playoffs Round 2, Game 5)

Same way James does it, p*rn star time

 

Pretty obvious what happened:

0) Rockets played great, energetic, active defense and very good offense through mid way in the 3rd

1) Refs slowed down the Rockets and got them off their rhythm starting late in the 3rd

2) Rockets couldn't make open shots in the 4th - tired legs were starting to show and the shots were become flatter and flatter

3) Ticky Tacky fouls against the Rockets late in the 4th

4) Harden was exhausted by the time he had 36 - 9 - 9, and only 6 or 7 FT attempts, but he still managed to get some drive & kicks, and a floater shot to go.

5) OT: no legs for Harden - he should have sat, and Rockets should have drawn up plays for Beverly & Anderson & Williams to take their shots

6) OT: Very good D despite losing offensive rebounds to Gasol & LMA

The good news:

1) Capela has become an excellent paint defender

2) One more rotation player should help with the exhaustion

3) Small ball can defend with active hands and well

The bad news:

1) None of Beverly/Gordon/Williams have been trained over the season well enough to be a pure secondary ball handler when Harden is THAT tired

2) Harden needs to pace himself better but hasn't quite figured it out - something that takes a while to get

3) D'Antoni was urging the guys to run and put effort from midway in the 3rd - guaranteed exhaustion for the short rotation by the middle of the 4th. Maybe he felt Rockets could get a points cushion with a run there and coast to a win.

4) Spurs are getting better and better at picking off the passes from Harden/Gordon/WIlliams drives & kicks - need to be cleaner and less predictable with these and finish the drive if the chance is there

 

So when does D'Antoni start to take some of the blame ? his rotations were bad today

 

Blaming him is pretty stupid when he had the team in position to win with about 40 seconds left in OT

 

The team was running out of gas as soon as the 4th hit, everyone could see it. Both teams really.

It's really quite simple. if we maintain our pace we win the game. Hard to do with 7 man rotations.

 

We all suck, but you're the worst of us

 

No timeout after the jump ball?

7 man rotation

Playing small and getting killed on the boards

 

Exactly who isn't tired out there. It's a big playoff game. It's all comes down to Who wants it more. The tired excuse doesn't come into play much for me

 

i really want thursday to come fast!

 

It's fooling 'our fans' as well . . .. turnovers happen behind non calls

Rocket River

 

Well, they played 9 and we played 7. The pace noticeably started to slow, even with Harden out. They made the one or two more plays to win this game, in a close game like this EVERY bit counts. To say it doesn't is to not know the situation. You never know how many hustle plays were left out there from fresh legs that have something to prove.

7 man rotation isn't going to cut it. We aren't the only ones saying this as an excuse, it's just a fact. No team goes into a game and think "Yeah, 7 man rotation will get it done."

 

Whatever happened after giving up the and 1 is on the players. Like I said teams like gs, clev, SA are the ones that can get stops when they absolutely need to. Hou still cannot do that. What do people think is more likely to happen. A championship tested team flop on defense in a one posssesion game and give hou a wide open shot? Not gonna happen

 

The other team played a larger rotation. So, they weren't tired

 

The entire world is against Harden right now. Crazy.

 

Simmons getting more REF respect than Harden

Rocket River

 

7 man rotation was 40 seconds away from a win had they played defense on one possession and then making it a ft game. All you can ask for in a big game 5 playoff matchup

 

I don't think I understand what you're saying. My point is that coach has some ownership here too.

You're saying championship teams get stops. How do you get stops on Aldridge down the stretch playing small? One screen got Gordon on Aldridge two plays in a row. Spurs scored both times. You don't think coaching comes into play there?

 

Oh they weren't tired? Please, they missed just as many shots at the end of the game as Houston. "Tired" is just a gimmick. It's a playoff game. Everyone is tired. If you're not tired you aren't playin hard enough

 

Yeah but a lot of us feel there wouldn't have even been an OT if we kept up the pace. It's hard to keep running and running when you're tired though.

If we keep the pace this game we win comfortably and I think Dekker is usually good for like 2-4 fastbreak points by himself. Dekker and Trez are hustle guys, that could have been the difference.

 

So you don't think fatigue plays a roll in lack of defense down the stretch?

The argument that we were "40 seconds" away is proof. People don't get tired at the beginning of games. It happens at the end. Those seven fricken dudes battled hard, got exhausted and started making mistakes