ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Warriors 4/27/2016 (Playoffs Round 1, Game 5)

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but whatever you say, sir...

 

Fun season....how about we come back and do it again next year?

#Pursuit #Repeat

 

I gave up when they lost game 4...as we all knew they would. And, the fact that the game was a total blowout clusterf**k told me all I need to know about this team. That said...I watched the early moments of the first quarter. Being down in score 0-8 when I first tuned in wasn't a good sign. They then showed some signs of life...and then totally buckled. At that point, I was watching the Astros cause at least they were winning for a change.

Good riddance to this season and team! All they did was make you feel terrible being a Rockets fan. I guess it could have been worse but hard to believe even that with this supposed talented roster.

 

The last game of the season ended the way it started, total garbage.

Don't know what happened with this team in the offseason, but we have been off since summer camp. With a new head coach and staff, I would hope that a strong training camp be a PRIORITY this fall, something I myself discounted.

A total rebuild is on order. Trade or get rid of anybody not named Harden, and get some players that are better all around bb players. Take a chance on new guys. Start all over.

 

Yes...and I think most everyone on the team took the off-season for granted after the WCF appearance. I think they let down their guard in the off-season thinking they would coast into next season as legit contenders. It doesn't work that way. Clearly, several players were no-shows this season for most of it. They didn't look like fine-tuned players that committed themselves to off-season programs to better their games. I have no direct proof but the proof is in the performance this season. Look at how Curry trains. It's why he's the best player in the league.

Professional sports are a year round job. It doesn't end when the season ends. Sure, you take time off and vacations. But, you still play and keep in shape. I'm sure everyone did that to a degree but did they maximize their efforts in this regard? Doubtful. Remember when the NFL players used to go get fat in the off-season eating whatever and not working out...then come to camp out of shape. Those days are gone. Players who do stuff like that don't want it bad enough and have no true committed goals to get better as a team. They think they can just turn if off and turn it on whenever. Those types of players don't make teams better when the season starts.

 

Well, here we go again. This merry-go-round has been going on since the Carroll Dawson era. Nothing I've seen from this organization leads me to believe that things will turn out any different for the next few years. BTW, you do realize that a total rebuild will mean lots of losses and several years out of the playoffs. I don't think that's something the red koolaid drinkers would be willing to accept. And the success or failure of said rebuild will depend on the GM making the right pick at head coach and sticking with some sort of plan to put into place a system that facilitates winning basketball. That's an awful lot to expect from the guy who has been flopping around at this for 10 years now - the same guy who hired and then fired Kevin McHale thereby creating this mess of a season.

 

It's all ogre now

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Rockets miss 4 consecutive shots <a href="https://t.co/r8Ci5xeCnh">pic.twitter.com/r8Ci5xeCnh</a></p>&mdash; The Cauldron (ICYMI) (@CauldronICYMI) <a href="https://twitter.com/CauldronICYMI/status/725540921668829184">April 28, 2016</a></blockquote>
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That clip highlights how bad Ariza had been.

 

Same.

 

The org has honestly lost a lot of my confidence. I know a lot of it was bad luck and career worst years from some role players, but damn was this bad.

My prediction: Before we can even talk about firing him, sometime over the next six months (probably right before the season starts), Morey is going to take another job, perhaps even in a different league/industry altogether. He does not have a very fun hand to play, and he's got to be tired of the routine which is too familiar now. It can't be that interesting of a job anymore.

 

[rQUOTEr]1. If it was not clear enough that the Rockets were heading to an overhaul, the final failure clinched it. James Harden got off to a hot start. No other Rockets player made a shot in the first quarter. Dwight Howard missed inside. Pat Beverley, Trevor Ariza and Jason Terry missed outside. Michael Beasley missed inside and out. While the Warriors were making extra passes with purpose, the Rockets looked like strangers, passing out of need, rather than faith in one another. The Rockets did get good shots in that disastrous stretch. But more than ever, they seemed entirely dependent on Harden to carry the scoring and playmaking load while searching for anyone to help. He did not keep up that early pace with the Warriors swarming to him. No one else stepped up offensively until the celebrations had already begun. The Rockets' defense had been as ineffective as their offense, though that said a lot about the Warriors' greatness. The Rockets had been broken long before they fell apart again. The times that seemed to indicate repairs actually were never built to last, as if held together by duct tape and too fragile to handle the hits the Warriors would deliver. The Warriors showed how a cohesive team, even with an MVP tied behind the back, could perform, with every player seeking to make another better. The Rockets still basically took turns, with Harden scoring, everyone else missing and the Rockets losing one more blowout.

2. The argument quickly followed that Harden tries to do too much. He holds the ball too much. He dribbles too much. That all might be true, but the suggestion seems to ignore the more pertinent point that the Rockets must face as they try to rebuild. If Harden does not do all that, who would? The Rockets had never found another playmaker. They lack not just a traditional playmaking point guard, there is no one else that can be considered a strong passer of any kind. They had gone into training camp planning to add a corner offense to bring more cutting and passing from the elbows, but all of their big men missed chunks of training camp, ending that plan. They tried Ty Lawson, but he played too poorly to keep his job. They returned to Harden, hoping they could make enough 3s around him. The Warriors' driven and disciplined defense contested those shots until that broke down, too. Harden became the only Rockets scorer that could stand up to the Warriors' defense. As with the season itself, when the Rockets started horribly and Harden responded by taking over the offense again, the Rockets moved him off the ball to start possessions, but soon turned to him again, with Harden willing to take on the usual outsized scoring and playmaking role. The Warriors had little difficulty squashing such an unbalanced offense. But that did not seem to be about Harden dominating the ball too much as about the Rockets seeking alternatives and finding too little.

3. Dwight Howard looked miserable. Again. And that was before the Rockets' season, his third and perhaps his last in Houston, ended with another blowout loss. He got the touches that he has often did not received, but he missed inside, demonstrating one last time why the Rockets did not build more of their offense around him. Howard made roughly 36 percent of his shots beyond two feet in the regular season. The Warriors' defense is too strong, too consistent to allow him many touches that close to the rim. Howard made just 3 of 13 shots and put his energy on attacking the boards, hauling 21 rebounds. Even that seemed to point to the tough offseason decisions the Rockets face. The league's worst defensive rebounding team in the regular season, they face losing by far their best rebounder. But they also would be hard-pressed to offer the kind of contract likely necessary to keep Howard while he is in such a diminished offensive role. He seemed more unlikely than ever to take it. He would not discuss his coming decisions at all. He politely, but firmly said he did not want to talk about free agency. He remained silent when asked whether he would discuss it with his teammates. He had been hopeful through much of the season that the Rockets would recover in time, but that hope faded down the strength. Howard was able to build some determination throughout the series, but he was not going to overcome a season's worth of offensive struggles in a week or two against the NBA's best team. He got the shots he wanted Wednesday, but missed. When the benches were cleared, Howard wanted to stay on the floor. There was nothing to gain then, but he played anyway, as if trying to postpone the seemingly inevitable end of his Rockets tenure as long as possible.

http://www.chron.com/sports/rockets...ckets-Game-5-7381374.php?cmpid=twitter-tablet[/rQUOTEr]

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Harden: &quot;This season from the beginning wasn't going our way. Too many distractions. It's been like a bumpy road this entire season.&quot;</p>&mdash; ClutchFans (@clutchfans) <a href="https://twitter.com/clutchfans/status/725561089153331202">April 28, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Agreed. Too many distractions.

It all started in the off season when he spent more time b****ing about his deserved MVP, tapping the Kartrashian ho and focusing on his brand instead of in the gym working on his game.

When your team leader and franchise player comes into training camp overweight like he has participated in a summer long hot dog eating contest, things are bound to go pear shaped. That's not how you want your best player to be

 

Too many distractions...like Khloe Khardasian?

Harden in general was a distraction with all the Khloe crap and night clubbing.

He didn't exactly set a precedent to put primary focus on basketball. And, he is the leader of this team. He sets the tone. Look in the mirror!

But, he's really laying blame on Howard and Lawson. We get it.

 

He needs some mentoring real bad. They have to work and get him headed in the right direction. Thankfully he is still young and can hopefully adjust.

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;Tough to say, w/ FA there's gonna be change. (The team) needs to find a way to enjoy the common goal,&quot; Bickerstaff on what this team needs</p>&mdash; Adam Wexler (@awexlerKPRC) <a href="https://twitter.com/awexlerKPRC/status/725556361979797504">April 28, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;We did the best we could on Harden, but he's impossible to guard,but we did a good job on the 3-pt line,&quot;-Kerr (other <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rockets?src=hash">#Rockets</a> 3-26 from 3)</p>&mdash; Adam Wexler (@awexlerKPRC) <a href="https://twitter.com/awexlerKPRC/status/725558165756989440">April 28, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;That's a team u don't want to give hope to. That's a talented team. Once we got off to a good start, we never looked back,&quot; Draymond on HOU</p>&mdash; Adam Wexler (@awexlerKPRC) <a href="https://twitter.com/awexlerKPRC/status/725564561336586240">April 28, 2016</a></blockquote>
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That shot to end the game by Howard was eerie.

 

I love it! Drayton accusing the Rockets of being talented after they basically destroyed us.

 

He's on a 73 win team. They would destroy many "talented" teams.