Westbrook upgraded to questionable for Game 5

Well Duh.....

 

Hopefully he plays as we can’t play with Gordon as the second option

 

Seasons on the line. He kind of has to play. We lose tonight and this year is gg.

 

When the coach, coaching staff and front office all possibly have jobs on the line, it’s a lot easier to take risks.

 

Russ at 75% is better than most. And this has become a must win. And as Nook mentioned, if the Rockets blow this 2-0 lead, there are going to be some changes for next year.

 

Are we playing mind games with OKC or is this legit?

 

Rockets haven't been losing mainly due to being less talented; they've been losing mainly due to brain farts and laziness. Are they too dumb to maintain focus? If that's the case Westbrook can't save them. Are they too tired to not be lazy? Westbrook can help them there.

 

Westbrook will bring intensity the whole game. We won’t have what we had last 4th quarter with Harden walking the ball up, calling for a screen, and then getting into whatever action we’re trying to do with 8 seconds on the shot clock as he drives and kicks or just passes it off to a bricklayer beyond the arc. Russ at least gets some things done at the rim.

 

More than anything else, he can be a decoy. He's still better than most even when injured.

 

I think there are 2 huge things that are causing the rockets to lose, and he should help with both. The first is the rockets net rating is +6 with Harden and like -45 without him. The second is that the rockets need someone willing to drive and score inside, get some layups, get some dunks, or get some free throws, during the shooting droughts. Russ should be perfect for both of these things, assuming he plays well and isn't gimped due to the injury.

The late game situations are worrisome as always with Harden, but we won game 1/2 because there were no late game situations. If the team can perform well with Harden on the bench the game won't be close enough for that stuff to matter and it will be wrapped up in 6.

 

if nothing else he gives james a rest. we know what happens when james gets tired.

 

Teams don't guard him for his 3pt shot. Westbrook adds energy, pace, and shot creation for others via the drive. I guess if he can't finish explosively around the rim with efficiency, he can be that kind of decoy. Jimmy Butler seems to excel at that: get to the rim, draw fouls or kick because he really can't make contested 2's anymore, but people still double him like he can. So if Westbrook is still hurt, he can be Jimmy Butler on offense.

 

The OG returns to check the BGs

please let it be so.

 

Only need him for 20 min or so

 

What's the point of declaring someone "OUT" if you can just change it later? Shouldn't he have been previously just listed as "Doubtful"?

 

Risking injury? I don't see it, they needed to do this just to have him as an option.

 

BenMac might be better than Gordon at this point. He's certainly shooting the 3 better.

 

This is the season on the line right here, at some point you gotta just gut it out.