Tough matchup but I got faith in this team. CP3 has done wonders for the Thunder but we are still the more talented team. GET R DONE! Whoops just saw that Westbrook will miss the early games. I'm going to change my vote from Rox in 6 to Rox in 7. Those first two games are gonna be rough.
The biggest thing for me is going small is only logical to appease to with wb in the lineup. Now that we know for sure hes going to be out for sure at least a game or 2, the rockets are playing small without that person to fill that actual 5th role. You're basically playing small for the wrong reasons now with wb out of the lineup. It's one thing to do it in limited minutes like they've done before. It's one thing to do it for an entire game, without the actual player that the lineup is catered to You're forced to now play the small ball lineups that were designed to specifically benefit russ......without him. yikes
agree. the strain is obviously higher than mild. Susceptibility to a tear is definitely something they're not trying to risk. how long this will last will be very significant
Of course Thunder COULD win but they are unlikely to because Rockets are not only the better team, they have the best player.
The simple adjustment is adding roller and lob threat to starting line up. Jeff Green needs to start. Green can also act as secondary ball handler. Jeff Green will not clog paint by camping out at dunker spot, Rockets get best of both worlds. With no Russ, may be wise to play Tyson in last regular season game just in case he's needed in postseason. The Frazier as rotation piece experiment should also be shelved until next season.
No one is telling me anything about what is going on. What is concerning to me is the Rockets have a history of understating the severity of injuries so I now wonder how bad Westbrook is injured. The best that can happen is that the Rockets come out in game 1 and take care of business. With Westbrook out the Rockets really need to focus on their defense, as it can be pretty good with Rivers and Gordon replacing Westbrook. McLemore is going to need to hit shots....... and Harden will again be in an unfairly tough spot having multiple defenders on him....... he will need to either get help from his three point shooters or he will some how need to be better than his ungodly averages of 35/7/8/2/1
I don't think they even need to do that...... the Thunder are going to play 3 guards and a PF that is essentially a guard..... the Rockets can win going small, with the same game plan they have had all along..... they need to tighten defensively without Westbrook and they need role players to hit open 3's...... McLemore and Gordon are going to be very important. Rivers will be Rivers, he will defend and go to war but be inconsistent on the offensive end.
Even though I supported the Russ trade, CP3 scares me. He'll be locked in the enitre series. We have the personnel to shut down their forwards (good length but no big bodies) but defensive assignments will be critical. Adams also is an underrated rebounder. OKC is young however. Lead the way Harden!
They may not but without Russ in line up, there is no roll threat or secondary ball handler. Using House in this role is not optimal. EGo as starter would be another fit in this role if not Green. I just saw this as an opportunity to increase length/height in Rockets starters.
Covington (Paul) Tucker (Gallo) House (SGA) Gordon (Schroeder) Harden (Adams) Green Mclemore Rivers Carroll We're good. Defensively, we'll shock people with that lineup. I think Rivers can run the second unit for 15 minutes if we put scorers around him (Green/House/Gordon/Mclemore/Rivers). Westbrook and Moute will/can contribute minutes in the first round too. I have a feeling the Thunder are going to play very dirty, we have to watch out for injuries too.
Yea if we don't have Westbrook for this series (and that's starting to look like a real possibility) this may be a short post season run.
The one good thing is since the Covington trade. Westbrook or no Westbrook as long as Harden has been on the floor we have been consistently really good. Problem is the 10-12 minutes he has to sit. We need some bench miracles,
I'd replace PJ with Green in the starting lineup ... I know I know PJ is the man!! I just cant justify his ZERO on offense every night for similar defensive output from a guy like Green who can play above the rim in the P&R and pop out with 3 point range. It is literally the perfect 5 for this team right now.
I still can't believe those net rating stats. Eric Gordon LAST in net rating on our squad....that's ridiculous. He has to be who he has been in the past, if he is we can win.
