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

Very true. I think it's because Jeremy makes the more obvious mistakes. When he makes a bad play, you can already tell it was he who did it. He makes a lot of stupid mistakes that makes anyone watching go, "wtf..". Yet, most of those mistakes are him trying to do something positive so you have to take those mistakes with him.

James, his mistakes are usually pretty low key. He knows how to play it off, you know? And most of his mistakes are blown assignments are lazy close outs that happen every game anyway, just more consistent with him. The only times you'll see him with the obvious mistakes are times like that Laker game where he completely lost Steve Blake going back down and didn't even hustle to contest the layup.

 

Outside of the Spurs and Blazers game, the really good teams have exposed us. Tierd or not, you don't lose by 31 to an elite team. The Pacers, Thunder and the Clippers exposed us. We are still a work in progress and beating a few mid range teams like Memphis and the Warriors dosent hide the fact we need a real playmaker and a bench.

 

I think you are being a little harsh in light of the recent schedule. 4 games in 5 nights is tough. We were already running on fumes in last night's game against the Pelicans.

I would like to see the result of OKC against the Heat on a similar schedule. Do you still think they would win and not get blown out?

 

+1
Great post

 

Even McHale pretty much agreed with me in his press conference. They were listless and inspid and were exposed in lot of areas that need to improve to be a contender.You don't lose by 31 and blame it tottaly on tierd legs.Thats masking it. We were struggling against the likes of the Pelicans and the Grizzlies.A great team like the Thunder has the tools to expose those weaknesses.

 

Well, what is McHale going to do about it then?

During our 8 games in 12 nights stretch, we went 5-3, beating the likes of SA, MEM, NOH. Morey said what we are aiming for is winning 2 out of every 3 games.

We will not be a contender this season, Morey still needs to upgrade the roster.

 

Against the elite teams we need a different game plan. It seems fairly easy for IND and OKC to defend our 3s and block our shots at the rim. They even neutralized Howard.

What else do we have left in our arsenal?

 

We can beat the middle of the road teams and the Spurs we matchup well with, but isn't it alaming that the really good teams are schooling us? The Pacers, Thunder and the Clippers whooped our behinds.

 

We need someone who can get the guys better shots to start with and the offense needs to have more off the ball movements. More down screens to allow the shooters to roll off of to get better looks.

 

I had the foresight to bench TJones b/c I knew he would struggle against OKC. I don't have Lin but my buddy got a good dose of nothing from him and Harden. I do have DH however, and he wasn't horrible except for the FT.

 

Shows we aren't championship ready, but maybe 2nd Round playoff ready. Those teams that beat us, hopefully we don't face them first round (excluding Pacers). We struggle against tough suffocating defense and double teams. Our players seem to freak out and don't know what to do in those situations and end up in a turn over, wasted possession etc. We need smoother mechanics in passing the ball quicker...We will be stuck there until we figure that out.

 

Harden jumped into the first row on Sefolosha's first shot and then didn't even try to guard him on the second one. Those two shots resulted in 6 of the first 9 points of the game and I think set the tone that got us down in the dumps quick. Even the announcers said on the second shot, Harden was daring Sef to shoot and didn't even stick a hand in his face. Freaking 2 minutes into the game... I knew once that happened that we were going to be doomed b/c it was one of the nights that he just wasn't gonna bring it.

 

That's the thing. Just means we are not contender yet.
I see us being a second rounder thats all.

 

I still think we are one good guy to come off the bench player away (assuming that Garcia can recover and D Mo continues to improve and can back up DH at center). Someone like a Jamison or Brand when they went from being starters to playing a solid 25 min or so (not them now). Someone who is a veteran and isn't going to wilt in the playoffs. Someone like a Gerald Wallace or even Amare (if he could get it back together).

 

Our schedule really hasn't played to our favor. This is our 7th game in the last 10 days, or 11th game in the last 18 days. It's obvious our guys are running on fumes, and we can't rest our starters because of injuries sustained to key reserves. Those tired legs have much to do with our poor performances as a team today.

I brought up our schedule vs. the rest of the league in another thread. Rockets have probably the most back to back games than any other team in the league. We have either 21 or 22 btb games, where the average team gets about 17 btb. By comparison, Thunder has maybe 11 or 12 btb. Granted thus far we have fared well in these btb games, but over the course of the season, this can only augment our chances of getting players injured.

 

Not really all that concerned.

It's not like Harden, for one, never had good games vs. OKC before. This is more of an aberration caused largely by scheduling and injuries (regulars even more taxed than they would have been during this stretch).

Things already in the team's arsenal can work and has worked. They just didn't do these things well tonight-- a step slow on the attack, an inch short on the shots.

Yes, you can say that a 30 point loss can't be all fatigue, but for one game it can almost be. Things can start with fatigue and bad luck and it snowballs in a game quickly sometimes.

 

What are these messages? First it was Garcia and now it's Casspi's turn. Casspi did not play great, but he was 50% from the field. Considering that his attempts were over 40% from behind the arc + 6 rebounds, it's not bad at all. Did Casspi say that he thinks he's an all star?

I give McHale full credit for having Garcia and Casspi shooting. They need to shoot now in order to be comfortable by the time when the playoffs start. McHale knows that the Rockets can win the Spurs and the Blazers when the time comes. Therefore, he does not want to meet OKC in the first round. On the other hand he does not need to win OKC now. Popovic has used this tactic for years. Believe me, when the playoffs come around, the Rockets will play OKC differently.

I find it rediculous that "fans" are picking on Garcia and Casspi, two minimum deal players, that will be very critical when the playoffs come around. The fact that they play for free, gives the Rockets enormous freedom to trade for the right player(s) to close the roster. McHale does not need to win every game. He needs to prepare his players for their roles come playoffs. Let the man work.

 

Right! The perfect man from the bench was Asik, but he doesn't want to ball. The Rockets simply cannot play without a second center. I don't believe that Jamison, Wallace or Brand are the ones needed, but Amare would be. Unfortunately his contract is a nightmare. Purely from the BB point of view (and including health), I would prefer Amare to Bynum.

 

Who was guarding Lamb? We can't let bench players have career nights against us each time!!!

 

Meh. Meh to Rondo. Go back to every game Rondo played and he's stunk in some of them. Every player has. I remember seeing Rondo stink earlier in his career. Lin just brought the team back 2 nights with strong 4th quarters so what you say is just pining for someone. Last night's game had 4 ineffective starters, it happens. You have young players still developing, this is part of their growth. The veteran player, Dwight, just couldn't get it going. That's all it was. The team had a terrible game. It was a tired team and Torocan made the right call about what may happen.