ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Thunder 12/29/2013

Tired or not, OKC is one of the teams standing in your way for the championship.

Even if there's no back to backs in the playoffs, the games are alot more intense, and the Rockets will probably feel exactly the way they felt tonight if they manage to make it to the WCF.

Blowouts happen, but their body language and play showed they were completely defeated and had no idea what to do when the going got tough.

I mean how many times did KD just waltz into the paint for a dunk. If that happened in Miami or Indy or SA, coaches would be livid, players would be at each other for lack of effort, during the game, not after.

Today though, it's like they just admitted 'Yeah, we know we're not good enough to beat you, even without Westbrook".

No fight at all.

 

I blame McHale for the lack of identity. Imagine if pop was coach I guarantee you Harden wouldnt get away with being lazy...nor would Howard or anyone else. Did you see pop pound on Duncan even though they were up and he missed a rotation.

 

So true.

 

That's for sure. But, is it me or does it seem like most teams we play use multiple screens. We get on our guards about no fighting through them but that's the point of a screen. Also, when we pass the ball around it seems to stay on one side of the court and not move side to side? What's up with that? And Ray Allen, Reggie Miller and Rick Hamilton need to talk to our guards about moving without the ball. That's one thing Bev does best of all the guards.

 

Yup, I agree. I'm hoping for George Karl in the offseason, he seems to be the best available REAL coach around. Enough with the pretend coach.

 

I'd like Karl. He'd have this team playing more as a team and not freelancers.

 

It may have escaped your attention, but Pop is taken... Every coach has their own style. McHale has his. Seems to be he's pretty laisse-faire, which seems to work sometimes. Other times it doesn't.

He can't force guys to make shots. Even if you're running a play it's still incumbent upon the players to finish. When they're missing FTs it's just a bad shooting game. It happens sometimes.

 

Anyone that thinks the schedule had no effect on this game has never played organized ball before.

Anyone that does knows you feel tie work after just one game, never mind 4 games on one days rest.

This is like the "Every team has injuries" excuse in football. Lots of people use it to explain away a injury excuse...but everyone knows there are some injuries a team just can't play past.

 

We got a taste of what it will be like when it comes to playoffs

 

4 games in 5 nights. Relax everyone. We are OKAY. Let's just breathe and be happy. I smell a beautiful rest of the season.

 

If you want to blame someone real bad, blame everyone in the Front Office....

Roleplayers and bench arre craptastic

 

Yup, it was obvious their legs were dead, and with that it affects the whole game. No shots, no defense, no quickness.

Posters that are brushing off the team's fatigue,

"The schedule is no excuse, this team just sucks."

 

Precisely. Blowout even happens at the highest stage in the playoffs

Teams like Miami, SA, OKC shake it off and go on to the next game

Some losses against lesser teams, the blowout in Indy was embarrassing though
and those Utah, Sactown, Clippers losses

 

The thing that makes me so mad about this years team, is that we don't look like a team. Even some of our average teams in the past had heart and played like they cared, even on b2b's. Morey gave away our heart and passionate players aside from AB.

Yes, we have talent and yes chemistry will come in time but you have to start by trusting each other and making the extra pass and trying to find out the other guys strengths. As much as I see Dwight say he is happy here I don't see the unity on the court. No matter what anyone says when a team looks lazy and they don't really care about a loss, that is because they have no one that they are afraid of, there is no accountability because Mchale is a 'players coach".

 

Rockets lost another statement game.

 

The problem is ..... T.Jones is no longer knocking down the 3-pointers, he's not even taking any 3's like he was during his first 5 games, where he was 40% from behind the arc. Teams have scouted him, and they know he's not a threat from outside. So they double up on Howard and Harden when he gets in the paint. Serge Ibaka was basically camped in the paint all game long, he only stepped outside to defend Casspi.

We need to bring back the T.Jones 3-pointer.

 

We've had one of the toughest schedules in our last 10 games according to SOS.

 

A triangle princeton hybrid offense is what the Rockets need...iso ball makes me want to throw up!

 

I like Harden. But a lot of that falls on Harden on the team and then on McHale for not reigning in Harden. Again, I think Harden is a good guy and an amazing ball player but a team needs to be a unit and synergistic. These guys are a bunch of talented parts. Sometimes they are synergistic, but it is fleeting.

 

I'm a big Harden fan, sometimes he looks like he doesn't care, but I think that is on Mchale.