ClutchFans Game Thread: Spurs @ Rockets 5/5/2017 (Playoffs Round 2, Game 3)

I think winning so big in Game 1 has made these last 2 losses harder to stomach. I had so much enthusiasm going into game 2, and that disappeared in the 4th quarter. Last night was even worse, because we looked terrible from the start. It's really frustrating, and it seems like we are simply getting out-coached. Our game style has changed, our rotations have changed, and we don't look like the Rockets. I will say that I wish our bench players got the minutes they did in the first game, when we rolled all over the Spurs. They move the ball around differently, bring more speed and energy, keep our starters fresh, and honestly, at times that is just what we need.

Our best guys simply aren't taking enough 3 pt shots. That's just stupid. Playoff averages don't lie, and just because a guy has one good game doesn't mean he should take all the shots every game. In that same token, just because a guy is having an off night doesn't mean he should sit on the bench or quit taking shots. Look at the playoff averages before you start saying a player is terrible, whoever called out Lou. Lou barely played last night, and the problem with that is that he is shooting better than anyone behind the arc in the playoffs. Yes, I said that. Nobody has a higher % from behind the arc in these playoffs, so get off his case people. Sure, he was a goose egg while in last night, but he would have come back. He is our second highest scorer in the playoffs, and has a higher FG% than Harden, Gordon, Beverley, Ariza, and Ryno. Not only that, but he gets to the free throw line more than most. So, lay off Lou! I could go on and on about the strengths of our different bench players, but I won't. I hope we come out with a smarter game plan and better rotations Sunday, because this game will be HUGE!!!! We need to tie up this series, and take away their edge. Let's do this!!! Go Rockets!!!

 

I guess everybody has bought into MDA's philosophy, just keep shooting 3's and more 3's, it's definitely won him multiple championships, oh wait....
hoping to make more baskets is the adjustment everyone is counting on? It's really more than just "making more shots," there has to be a change in dynamics, like maybe having a variety of looks, maybe midrange. Let's face it though, they aren't going to change, they're just gonna keep doing what they've been doing and hope for a different result, isn't that the definition of something?

 

Montrez Harrell should be getting more PT.

I wouldn't mind having that D league guy or Dekker man the 4 spot to help with the boards.

 

I am going to quote the movie Sliver here in order to calm everyone down before game 4... and well, it seems there are no lines from the movie worthy of quoting, So panic!

 

That is what I have been saying.

Hoping to hit a certain percentage from three-point range all the time is suicide against the top perimeter defenses in the league.

Change it up sometimes.

 

Clap, clap... Swagger harder, guys!

 

A game 3 lost at home will be hard to over come. It just seems the Spurs had a better game plan and our guys were a bit on edge and were not as able to deal with the playoff pressure. I'm expecting a much better showing the next game and a win.

 

I'm not watching game 4

 

Sorry but all of this incessant whining about the refs is what LOSERS do. Apparently you are looking the other way when the Rockets reach in, grab arms and jerseys and bump the Spurs players. The Spurs are getting hosed by the refs as well but unlike the Rox, they are playing through it. The refs didn't cost the Rockets that game - I didn't see a ref take a one shot against the Rockets. No, the Spurs won it because, unlike here, their head coach doesn't pay lip service to the concept of defense. The Spurs came in with a game plan to slow down the pace of the game, minimize the cheap fouls on the Rox 3-point shooters and control the paint with their bigs. This they executed to near perfection which is amazing if you take a look at the stats for the game. Before this game, you guys were gleeping with joy because Parker was out and that was supposed to mean that the Spurs were finished. Well the Spurs went out, rose to the challenge and thumped the Rockets in their own bldg and now you want blame everyone but the persons actually responsible: the Rockets players and coaching staff.

 

We haven't been shooting as many 3's though. Our whole dynamics has been different, and that is a lot of the problem. We have been playing a different game than we played all year, and the guys who normally take more 3's have stopped, other than James, who has only had one good game from behind the arc in the entire series. We were 4rd in fast break pts all season, and those pts have dropped to an incredible low number. It's as if our guys are trying to go inside quicker, and just trying to take a layup that gets blocked too often instead of passing the ball around more like we used to. The ball goes from James to someone else and that's it, if it doesn't go right back to James. I'd rather see some of those guys had a midrange shot instead of going right into two or 3 big defenders at the rim so much though. But, again, that's not the type of players MDA got to play his game. He wanted 3pt players, and the ones who played best all year aren't playing as good, and the ones who are playing good in the playoffs aren't taking enough of those shots.

 

Go let's finish Spurs in game6

 

To that point, I hear Spurs fan use the "harden just looks for contact" bit. Surely, he doesn't avoid but then again, neither does kawhi. He straight trucked Ariza in probably the most textbook charge ever. He twohand pushed Beverley around fighting for position. He initiates contact on drives and uses the space the push creates to get off shots. The whole team doing the hands up thing at the 3 line, I get it but doing that shouldn't save you when you still end up hacking hardens arms at the shot. He's not exactly distancing himself from anything, he's just not being penalized for it.

As far as favoring the aggressor, the initial call on Beverley cutting off their backup, negating hardens slam would seem to prove that wrong. That's ticky tack, looking for a reason to take the play away.

It's ok. They might let us win one more but their train stops at the conference finals. Warriors Cavs best of three has been set for two years already.

 

Harrell will give us a new look if he can get some playing time. Would help on the glass, too. With our bigs playing small, injury and fouls. I may get my wish.

 

Spurs gifted us this game. Pathetic.

 

James Harden choked. Plain and simple.