We look slow. We look tired. We look injured. We look afraid. Shortening the rotation works for veteran teams, but apparently the staff forgot we are not a veteran team. Our advantage was versatility and youth that didn't know enough to be afraid. By shortening the rotation, we threw our advantage out the window. We need guys that are too young to stop running. Too young to care about odds. Too young to be laid back. The series is basically over, but McFail and company need to put the young(er) guys in to avoid even more embarassment. Our "vets" are passing to no one, can't hit shots, leave guys wide open, completely lose focus on the most important posessions. How can the others make worse rookie mistakes? Play'em so the others remember what its like to be young and free. They'll get their groove back, even if it is too late..
embarrassment? come on now... while I don't understand the shortening of the rotation in the playoffs, MCHALE IS NOT DOING THAT BADLY! Aside from the the first game when the Rockets werent ready for the atmosphere, they have competed very well considering. Mchale has done well with what he has.
It is on the bench, but just raw..... Seriously, I agree with the OP, taking a longer view and playing guys to get them time.....play a 10 man rotation, look at garcia tonight, and Brooks did ok.... We need to get Harden a break out there - his legs go and he misses FTs and such. Oh well, I guess the coaches are raw too. DD
The only big with a post game is pure garbage? What about our most athletic one , who is quick in covering the pick and roll? Maybe the score fooled some people, but that game for us was[/] garbag. No Westbrook. A cold Durant. Home court. Time after time they made rookie mistakes. The other guys cant be worse. They need an opportunity.
Not just these playoffs games against the top team, it's this way during the last stretch of the regular season. These two things are the most glaring: 1. The 3-pt shooting has gone down the toilet, Harden, Parsons, Delfino. The earlier 3 point shooting success was just fool's gold. We knew Parsons and Delfino were not consistent shooters. And teams have figured out Harden's isolation game. 2. After the trade, no dependable big men besides Asik. They just play musical chair with the PF position. Robinson is a 5th pick, let's play him. Oh, he sucks, DMo's turn.Then DMo' sucks, go Jones. He aren't ready for big time? Let's try Smith. Smith can't cut it? Delfino to the rescue. BTW, the Patterson for Garcia trade looked pretty good tonight.
Sure does. You can put him in there with Harden running point. It is clear no one player could have saved the day, not even Harden, apparently. Some hustle from Anderson, a move here and there by Dmo, sone rebounds and steals from Robinson...those are what we needed to keep the pressure on and get over the hump earlier.
Does anyone else think the notion that young players don't understand the magnitude of the situation and are therefore unaffected by it is silly? I think that's just something young teams say to make themselves feel better. Also I don't think they were playing scared. We competed hard in Game 2, and marched back from a huge deficit in Game 3. Were it not for an incredibly lucky bounce for Durant we very likely would have won this game. The rotation...well I can understand them not wanting to give significant burn to rooks and other players with hardly any floor time this year. Every minute counts. Let them get more seasoning next year and they'll be significant parts to next years playoff run (assuming they're not traded) Harden does need rest though. Lin's injury makes that tougher...
I don't know who we're giving the playoff experience to. Delfino and Garcia will likely be off the team next year. Oh, TJones is getting some experience. Harden, Asik, and Beverley will likely still be here next year. Lin is injured, so he's absent from playoffs again.
I hope next year Morey or the coaches will design sets for mid-range jumpers. Watching the team shoot 3s waiting for a lucky streak, I'm sure, is misuse of analytics. Yeah, it's who we are but it also shows we can't win with this gameplan.
Rockets specifically avoid mid range J's because analytics say they are the least beneficial shots. I tend to agree. However, I don't think we are good enough inside or out to play better than what we are - the 8th seed in the Western conference.
That bc they ARE rookies. Seriously, wtf are y'all expecting from this team? Perhaps instead of pretending like you have an answer for our play you manage your expectations a little bit better. And ya, seeing as we almost pulled off two wins against THE BEST TEAM IN THE WEST I'd say the other guys sure as ***** can play worse. Christ it's like this board goes full r****d in the postseason.
My primary concern is that the shooting has been atrocious during this series, particularly 3pt shooting. I haven't been tracking it, but I know that Clutch has specifically pointed out that Harden has been doing poorly since the all-star break, Lin was improving on a monthly basis, and we really have not had anything going since the beginning of our late-season losing streak. I don't think it is defense by OKC. Is it fatigue? Is every starter basically going through a sophomore slump? I've always heard that first year starters generally fatigue by the end of the year, and our starting lineup consists of 4-guys that have NEVER started or played heavy minutes. And the one guy who has started before is in his second year. If this is true, we simply need another year for these young guys to adjust to the physical burden of starting all season. Also, McHale will probably have to back off the minutes for Parson and Harden during the regular season next year. Garcia and Delfino should be completely capable of providing relief for both of them. At the point guard position, we have 3 very capable guys, so that shouldn't be an issue either. Asik doesn't seem to be suffering from fatigue, and due to the musical chairs at PF, those guys don't either. Basically, if everyone wasn't exhausted and could hit their open 3's, this series would be 2-1 Rockets.
