Who has the most pressure with the playoffs looming?

I picked other... because its Howard only. The Rockets go as far as D12 allows them.

 

Can't believe people think it's on Morey. Guy has turned the franchise from no-man's land to near contender in about 15 months. Incredible.

Harden isn't even in the MVP talk. Howard is all but forgotten.

There is some pressure on Lin since he has been MIA in prior playoffs.


But there has to be a lot of pressure on McHale. Will all that talent, if this team doesn't play solid team defense, that has to be on the coach's inability to get his team to buy in. That's my only critique really of McHale as a coach. The defense looked like it was getting a lot better in the late winter, but it fell apart in late March. Really fell apart.

 

As much I am not a fan of Mchale in game coaching adjustments or lack thereof... The Rockets go as far as their players take them. The Rockets were built with 2 superstars for this precise moment. Stars win in this league, and the Rockets assembled two in their primes...We go as far as Howard and Harden take us.

 

Jeremy Lin. No show in previous playoffs, has been up and down all year. Solid Playoff performance will make up for the no show and down play the regular season enough to make him tradeable.
Dwight Howard. National Media is waiting for something to say so that they can make LA feel better.
James Harden. OKC Finals memory lapse.
CP25. Contract. Contract. Contract.

 

the five guys on the court

 

Obviously

Lin
Harden
Howard

They have the most fans, haters, and thus expectations.

McHale also just because he's the head coach.

 

Stephen A.: Entirely possible they end up losing in the first round. Wouldn't surprise me if Portland beat them. Houston needs Howard.

Aldridge with Lopez on the front line, their home crowd is rabid, I can't underestimate Portland. You leave LA and talk about winning, now it's up to you. Harden will get his. Chandler Parsons, Terrence Jones, Jeremy Lin, I expect them to do what they do. The difference is Dwight Howard. He has to play big. He has to be an eraser. Get your 18-22 points. You need to dominate on the boards and defensively. You can't have guys thinking they can come into the paint. You have to step up and be big. Aldridge and Lopez have size on him. In the end, the $88 million dollar man, this is his moment. He has to deliver the goods.

Skip: I see a loaded basketball team (when looking at the Rockets) yet in the end, I think it's all about James Harden closing. The $88 million dollar man has not played $88 million dollar basketball this year. He hasn't lived up. I admire his improved FT shooting but still...Dwight's blocks are down. The lowest since his 3rd year in the league. Why is that? He was signed to be the difference maker. The final huge piece to the championship puzzle. They stole James Harden and stole Howard from the Lakers. He wanted out because he couldn't take the pressure from living up to Kobe's expectations. I'm still not seeing that guy, that DPOY, the guy who controls the paint. I'm leaning towards Houston. Not leaning towards Houston beating SA.

Stephen A.: I don't see Houston getting to the WCF. Howard is 18 and 12. Not bad. 59% is very good. 1.8 blocks, I expected more but his numbers are on par. In the end, look at Harden, Parsons, Jones, but you got to stop somebody. What helps is Houston has HCA. They may need every one of those games.

Skip: Houston vs. SA what will hamper the Rockets is Dwight's lack of high basketball IQ(especially in the 4th) and lack of tenacity.

Stephen A.: He needs to be that 3 time DPOY in this series.

 

It's obviously Dwight. Dude will get obliterated by the media if he can't at least get past the first round, and he probably will still get roasted if he can't get past the Spurs.

 

I have to agree with all of this. Howard is the big difference between this years team and last years team. For the rockets to have a nice playoff run the Rockets need Howard to play great basketball. I don't think we necessarily need him to score a lot of points, but we do need great defense and rebounding. We can't keep throwing the ball into the post if Howard is not being productive. If Howard is having a rough game I hope McHale won't hesitate to give Omer some solid minutes. We know what Omer will bring, Howard is a bit of a question mark.

 

All on Dwight

 

enough said

 

lin may only get 15mins a game this series, since bev will be on lillard.. lillard will play 38-40 ecah game

 

Thanks J. R. for posting.

SAS and Skip mirrored almost the same thoughts as my earlier post.

 

Eh, everybody has pressure, but I don't think anyone's job is at stake.

 

Howard has already been written off. The pressure is gone on him. The Media already sees him as a flaw starred, his reputation is sunk.

I think people will look at McHale if we lose in the first round.

 

The right answer is Howard, end of discussion. But this discussion is getting in a rut, let's mix it up a bit.

How about the pressure on Beverley? He has (rightly) gained a national reputation as a top defensive player and is seen by the team itself as a guy who gets everyone else fired up and playing better. I think Bev is going to be under a lot of pressure to show how well he can disrupt the opposing PG, how reliable he can be with the 3.

These are his first playoffs (not that most of the rest of the team outside of H&H has that much experience) and he is going to be one of the top items on the opponent's game plan. With the extra time available in the playoffs teams are going to give extra attention to countering his defense. Bev is going to be under a lot of pressure as well.

 

Fair enough, there will be pressure, but to be honest, if Bev does not play well, it could be attributed to his injury. He did come back pretty early.

 

Lin is the third highest paid Rocket (tied with Asik) and has yet to perform in the playoffs.

I think there is pressure on him to make noise in the post-season, especially since his performance in the regular season has been sub-par after the hot start.

 

Because Howard, Harden, and Morey won't get fired. McHale could.

 

1.howard
2.harden
3. bev - is the underdog with pressure, he’s been HYPED up by articles, 1st defensive team projection, commentators raving on his 94feet D, ETC
Which is all due for regular season games, he has proven he can disrupt PGS.

But playoffs I wouldn’t say that is that case just yet… last year he was avg or below avg. vs westbrook and Jackson… so going up against lillard who already has a chip on his shoulder will be very interesting… LMA can’t carry blazers over us by himself, if this series gets interesting that that would mean lillard would be having a BIG series.