Durant is their anderson x2 lets be honest. you cant say bested when it went to 2OT and we barely won.
The back to back is a bull **** excuse. We were 12-1 on the second night of back to backs before last night so not sure how you can use that as an excuse. Numbers paint a differwnt picture.
I'm not surprised the Rockets lost these 3 games. I thought they might, especially given Harden's wrist. Golden State last Tuesday was a game I figured they'd lose since a brilliant shooting performance by a team is usually followed up by a mediocre one(law of averages). Portland was a tossup since they've been playing great ball lately. And then a B2B at the Warriors is beyond unfair. I'm frankly amazed the Rockets were in control of that game for as long as they were. Where I AM concerned however is with Harden's injury. I get that they still need to officially clinch the 3rd seed which is far from a lock, BTW. We can't assume the Jazz will hand it to the Rockets by losing 3 more games. So until it's a done deal, Harden probably has to keep suiting up. Thankfully though, it could be wrapped up by the middle of next week. At that point, the Rockets have a serious decision to make. I get that there are still things on the line like the MVP award and the league's 3rd best record, but Harden has not looked good since the OKC game. He was especially brutal in the 4th quarter at Portland and the entire game really last night. We can survive bad shooting nights from the guy, but not dogsh-t performances like the ones he put up in that 2014 first round series vs the Blazers. He's gotta get healthy and it may require D'Antoni and Morey to simply pull him aside and force him to sit. Besides, he's only hurting his MVP chances with horrible showings like the last couple games.
I don't know but it seems like the Rockets can't stand success every season. There is always something around the corner ready to throw the team off when the going gets good.
It's not like he has to shoot so much. Beverley was getting hot and everybody but him was taking most of the 3's. Our other guys need to start taking more of the shots and quit passing back to Harden when he isn't on form. They hesitate too much, then the defenders move up, so it's too late to shoot the 3. They have been doing that more lately, and trying to move inside to the basket just to get blocked. What was even worse was when Harden was out and they couldn't throw a decent alley oop to Clint. So many times they tried to bounce a pass down low he fumbled it away, or got blocked coming up to try and make the basket. There were things we could have done better, and we are definitely not great at defending in the paint. D'Antoni needs to come up with a better game plan when we are covered so well at the 3pt line, which has been happening more lately than all year.
Sunday is a big day. If we can take Phoenix and Spurs handle jazz we are down to 1 in the magic number column. I think at that point it would be safe to shut harden down. He has either won the MVP or not. I don't think these last few games will decide it. Even if it does it's time to see where Harden's mind is at. Team first or self first.
I honestly have a hard time understanding D'Antoni's stubborn mind set of strictly using those 3 guards with Anderson out. It's NOT working. Is Wiltjer seriously that bad? I don't believe he is, and I'm guessing with his height he can also do a better job of rebounding and defending 3 pt shooters than Gordon.
I wouldn't shut Harden down til the 3rd seed is officially clinched. That'll hopefully be by Wednesday at the latest. Denver is no pushover, but they will be on a B2B. Of course then there's the issue of whether it's worth pursuing a better record than Boston and Cleveland. The magic number for that remains at 5.
I hate to do this but you guys are setting yourself up for major disappointment if truly think that this Rockets team could beat a healthy Warriors team in a series. They are simply a much better team with better offense and defense, more star power, better chemistry, more experience, better late game execution, etc etc. We dont hold any advantage over that team in any regard. So, if they are healthy, they should easily win a 7 game series against us. There is no shame in losing to this team. If healthy they will bet any team in a seven game series. I am not even mad.
I'm not worried about the Rockets overall, but Harden's wrist is an obvious concern. Doesn't look right at all. Needs to get healthy.
I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty disappointed. This is the same garbage ball we had last year. It's looking like it wasn't Mchale or Dwight that was the problem. I'm starting to think the Lakers 1st rounder could be an option this summer. James is not the MVP, I give my fantasy vote to Lennord after this week. Player that can leave his mark on a game and win when it's time to win. I'm over reacting I know but injury or not, the Rockets look defeated already. That I don't like at all.
There is only on real avenue i see it happening. That is if Durant come There is an avenue. Unlikely though. But if Durant comes back and the Warriors struggle to get him re-integrated that could open a chance. Pretty sure that contributed to our December victory
