Jump to content


Toggle shoutbox Shoutbox Open the Shoutbox in a popup

@  Dayak : (20 January 2014 - 04:34 AM) Great work Justin!
@  Opasido : (19 January 2014 - 02:53 AM) Luke Ridnour's shoes are sweet though..
@  thejohnnygold : (18 January 2014 - 08:36 PM) Justin, you've made it to Reddit.com as well!
@  feelingsuper... : (17 January 2014 - 08:00 PM) Mike and Seth on 610AM just mentioned Justin Wehr's graph comparing Harden favorably to other greats.
@  Richards : (17 January 2014 - 02:38 PM) It seems some already threw white flags. Repeated losses don't rattle them anymore.
@  feelingsuper... : (17 January 2014 - 02:35 PM) I agree Drew. Years ago when I was more emotionally invested this loss would have devastated me. Really this is just part of them paying their dues, I agree with rocketrick in that it will strengthen them. The mention if Asik was not an excuse just a logical thing to mention considering how physical the second half was, Dwight was all alone down low.
@  Drew in Abilene : (17 January 2014 - 02:14 PM) Yes, Houston lost after leading by double digits, but this was against a very strong Thunder team on the second night of a back-to-back with key players injured. Still stinks to lose a winnable game, but I don't see cause for panic.
@  rocketrick : (17 January 2014 - 11:41 AM) This game will stiffen the Rockets backbone for future tussles headed our direction. But man, that was one ugly second half to have to witness in person!
@  Buckko : (17 January 2014 - 07:40 AM) Asik has been injured, and you can't use him as an excuse. We will get him back by the end of the month though.
@  miketheodio : (17 January 2014 - 06:41 AM) another blown double digit lead
@  feelingsuper... : (17 January 2014 - 05:23 AM) Perhaps Harden should have shot more to find his shot in the second half, to get it going. The Rockets sure could use a committed Asik, it's a shame what he did to this team.
@  feelingsuper... : (17 January 2014 - 05:20 AM) I agree, it's crazy. Seventy three in the first half and 19 in the second half.
@  thenit : (17 January 2014 - 05:15 AM) I know but scoring under 20 in second half is deflating
@  feelingsuper... : (17 January 2014 - 05:14 AM) Not entirely unexpected, this is a young team searching for an identity facing a team with a system in place. This won't happen next year.
@  thenit : (17 January 2014 - 05:00 AM) Deflating to watch
@  MrLobble : (17 January 2014 - 03:53 AM) DMOs trade value is flying like a penny stock!
@  thenit : (17 January 2014 - 03:50 AM) hopefully this will end our cold streak from 3s
@  thenit : (17 January 2014 - 03:50 AM) So happy for dmo
@  RocketMansin... : (17 January 2014 - 03:47 AM) Only fan from Altus Oklahoma but it feels good.. Hope the Rockets finish this game and get this one!
@  feelingsuper... : (17 January 2014 - 03:32 AM) Sure is good to see Harden being himself and making those good passes that are leading to good shots for his teammates.

Photo

Oklahoma City Thunder @ Houston Rockets on 1/16/2014


36 replies to this topic

#1 Red94

Red94

    Advanced Member

  • Administrators
  • 841 posts

    Posted 16 January 2014 - 01:00 PM

    New post: Oklahoma City Thunder @ Houston Rockets on 1/16/2014
    By: Forrest Walker

    Westbrook is unquestionably the second best player on the Thunder, a team tied for first place in the brutal Western Conference. His absence a huge factor in the Rockets’ resistance to a clearly superior Thunder team during the playoffs, and the same will be true in this meeting. This time, however, Houston is missing their own starting point guard in Patrick Beverley, who’s out with a broken hand. That grudge will have to wait, but the larger grudge will take center stage. The Thunder will come at a  battered, weary Rockets team, and there will be no mercy. If Houston wants a win, they’ll need to summon every bit of resolve they have left.

    Wait. That paragraph seems very familiar. It's almost as though this all happened before. Is this just déjà vu, or did I copy my own paragraph for a reason? Fifth game in seven nights? Check. Second night of a back to back? Yup. Houston missing Patrick Beverley and Ã–mer Aşık? Of course. Thunder without Westbrook? Somehow, yeah. But none of the details are the same, right? It's not like this game is happening the night after a hard-fought battle with the New Orleans Pelicans, right? Actually, it's exactly like that. The similarities between this situation and that one are staggering and very troubling, because the outcome was extremely disappointing last time around. The Rockets will have to try to rewrite their past mistakes to get a win.

    The Thunder also have very little different in their situation. Westbrook is still sitting with knee problems, Kevin Durant is still trying to shoulder all the load, and the team is treading water. Reggie Jackson may be fitting into the team better, but until the team recovers Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma is simply trying to make it out alive. Both teams retain something of a grudge against one another and both teams will see a playoff rival.

    This tine, however, the Rockets will be in Houston, where the crowds won't be out for Patrick Beverley's head.Terrence Jones is more skilled, now,racking up monstrous block totals in the intervening month. The Rockets are slowly improving, and may be ready to make this game a real contest. It's a new day for the Rockets, and each day is a step closer to the conference finals.

    Of course, some days are just reruns. We'll see if Thursday is a repeat or a new day soon enough.

    Tip off is at 8:30 pm Central time at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. For more coverage of the Oklahoma City Thunder, swing by Daily Thunder, the TrueHoop Network's Oklahoma City Thunder blog.


    • 0

    #2 rockets best fan

    rockets best fan

      glad you're on board, but I been on this boat since it left

    • Members
    • PipPipPipPipPipPip
    • 3,182 posts
    • Locationhouston

    Posted 17 January 2014 - 06:00 AM

    I am so pissed I can't even go to bed......I might set my pillow on fire :angry: I have seen McHale drop the ball before, but this is disgusting. 19 points? after scoring 73 in the first half all the Rockets could manage in the second half was 19 points. on offense we stood around like we were waiting for a bus. no one attacking, no one cutting just everybody standing around until the shot clock gets low and then throw up a brick from half court. what kind of offense was that? where were the adjustments? and worst of all.........OKC was in the mist of a run and the camera pans to McHale and he is sitting there on his ass picking his nose................I gotta stop now before I break something


    • 0

    you can only warn a man that the bridge is out.....if he keeps driving he's on his own B)


    #3 Red94

    Red94

      Advanced Member

    • Administrators
    • 841 posts

      Posted 17 January 2014 - 06:02 AM

      New post: Oklahoma City Thunder 104, Houston Rockets 92: A Tale of Two Halves
      By: Eric Nielsen

      The Rockets offense in the first half of this game was the best of the year.  They shot the lights out and hit 73 points, 41 in the second quarter.  It was the most entertaining half they have played all year.  Everyone was hitting big threes and they were running like crazy. Then they came out in the third quarter and bricked in 10 points.  And in the 4th quarter the Rockets went downhill and scored 9.  That sets a record in the NBA of a -54 point differential between halves.  Durant called the second half one of the best halves the Thunder have ever played.  I’d call it one of the worst halves the Rockets have ever played.

      This was really the story of the Rockets season in a nutshell.  They went from looking like they could beat anyone, to looking like another first round playoff exit.  The Rockets had the excuse of playing the second half of a back to back.  Parsons had to guard possibly the best player in the league, and at the end of the game his shots were short.  Durant smothered Harden, he was 0 for 6 in the second half.  But come on, a 19 point half!  And the Thunder were without Westbrook!

      Casspi and Garcia were virtually invisible in this game, and they have been for a while now.  Now I’m hoping we can trade Casspi and/or Garcia for another piece that will help us in the next couple of years.  D Mo had another really good game going 6 of 9 for 15 points in 24 minutes.  Aaron Brooks also had a good game with 11.  T Jones went for 16 and 13, looking damn good, but the Rockets got out muscled in the paint.  The combination of Ibaka, Perkins and Evans made the Rockets bigs D Mo and T Jones look like boys to men.  Howard only got 8 boards.

      Howard got into a couple of scuffles with Evans and Ibaka, got one technical and could have gotten another.  This Thunder team knows how to get into the Rockets head and it’s starting to look like a rivalry.  After losing in last year’s playoffs to a Westbrook-less Thunder, Houston found themselves in the same situation again.  They looked like the 4th youngest team in the league.  They had the fire and spirit going until about 8 minutes left in the game when the savvy, experienced Thunder just ground them down, much like the Rockets did to the Pelicans the previous evening.  There is no way this Rockets team can close against the best in the league.

      Can Houston put together 48 minutes?  This seems to be the big question.  The Rockets are pretty good and have gotten away with playing on auto pilot for halves here and there and eking out wins against lesser teams.  That formula will in no way suffice in the playoffs.  These young players are going to spend some years figuring out the algorithms required in the NBA to win.  It looks like growing pains. After exactly half the season, the Rockets sit 5th in the West and it’ll be another year or two to be mentioned with the elite teams.

      The Rockets best hope is to get a 4th or 5th seed.  With injuries to Bledsoe, Paul and Westbrook it’s a possibility the Rockets could end up with a first round opponent they could beat.  Then, with some momentum, we could look for the upset in round 2.  But, if they have to face OKC, the Spurs or the Blazers, it’ll most likely be one and done again.  Tonight the Rockets teased us with their best and then slaughtered us with their worst basketball of the season.  They showed they have the potential and they showed us they have the possibility. Unfortunately and ultimately, they also showed us a brutal loss.

       


      • 0

      #4 feelingsupersonic

      feelingsupersonic

        Officer

      • Moderators
      • 1,550 posts
      • LocationHouston, TX

      Posted 17 January 2014 - 06:05 AM

      I think this game showed both extremes of a young team with new pieces trying to execute Morey's offensive philosophies. The longer Harden, Howard and Parsons play together the farther away this team will get away from that negative extreme.
      • 0

      #5 rm90025

      rm90025

        Rookie

      • Members
      • PipPip
      • 58 posts

        Posted 17 January 2014 - 06:23 AM

        When OKC made the adjustment defensively in the second half, Houston had no counter.  That has to fall on the coaching staff.  McHale's one move was to sit Lin when the team led by 10 pts and put Brooks in for extended play and the game went sideways from there. Brooks couldn't hit a shot and couldn't guard anyone. It was similar to the NYK game, except there's no one on OKC who is as dumb as JR Smith.  While the game was still tight, it would've been better to leave Lin in the game and see if he could find ways to exploit the defensive overplay on the 3 pt shooters or just get on a mini-run to jump start the offense.


        • 1

        #6 Steven

        Steven

          Senior Member

        • Members
        • PipPipPipPipPip
        • 1,300 posts

          Posted 17 January 2014 - 06:25 AM

          Wait what? Did the evil aliens from Space Jam steal all the Rockets player's talents in between halves? 19 points? Seriously? Any of a combo of 5 of us could score 19 points in 24 minutes. FIRE MCHALE, TRADE HARDIN HOWARD PARSONS JONES LIN BROOKS GARCIA CASSPI. FIRE MOREY TOO!

          Honestly O well. It is January, the playoffs are months and I am hooked up to a heart monitor. It could be worse.
          • 0

          #7 MrLobble

          MrLobble

            Newbie

          • Members
          • Pip
          • 31 posts

            Posted 17 January 2014 - 06:26 AM

            being optimistic, at least DMO played good... It surely may intrigue some GMs around the league, and enable us to package up a couple of trades to unload some of the bums off of our bench. Last season, I loved Garcia... This year, he drives me nuts!!!


            • 0

            #8 Dan G

            Dan G

              Junior Member

            • Members
            • PipPipPip
            • 170 posts

              Posted 17 January 2014 - 06:29 AM

              Sigh...had a half chub watching the first half, but then that and the Rockets all but deflated in the second half. Our national TV record is atrocious as those are the only games that I get to see and I've only seen the Rockets win two games all season.


              • 0

              #9 Forrest Walker

              Forrest Walker

                Newbie

              • Members
              • Pip
              • 30 posts

                Posted 17 January 2014 - 06:35 AM



                You absolutely never know what you're gonna get when the Rockets take the court.

                I swear, they would have been better off just staying down by 15 the whole game. People would have questioned them, and then gone "oh it was kind of a schedule loss, like last time," and that would have been the end of it.

                But no, they had to go bonkers in the first half so now the whole discussion is "why is this the worst team ever?" Great. Maybe the only silver lining is that they've dropped the ball so badly that 24 minutes of play will make some teams stop bringing their A game.


                • 0

                #10 Cooper

                Cooper

                  Advanced Member

                • Members
                • PipPipPipPip
                • 853 posts

                  Posted 17 January 2014 - 06:45 AM

                  The half court offense currently leaves a lot to be desired especially if the other team has a big that can handle Howard but it's something that can be fixed. Getting asik back and adding a quality backup wing would go a long ways.
                  • 0

                  #11 RudyT1995

                  RudyT1995

                    Junior Member

                  • Members
                  • PipPipPip
                  • 139 posts

                    Posted 17 January 2014 - 07:22 AM

                    New post: Oklahoma City Thunder 104, Houston Rockets 92: A Tale of Two Halves
                    By: Eric Nielsen
                     

                    This was really the story of the Rockets season in a nutshell.  They went from looking like they could beat anyone, to looking like another first round playoff exit. 

                     

                     

                    Nodding sadly in agreement.


                    • 0

                    #12 Buckko

                    Buckko

                      Advanced Member

                    • Members
                    • PipPipPipPip
                    • 999 posts

                      Posted 17 January 2014 - 07:43 AM

                      You want a big offseason change, you expect a big offseason change, and there will be one. Firing McHale.


                      • 1

                      #13 Hockey the Harden Way

                      Hockey the Harden Way

                        Newbie

                      • Members
                      • Pip
                      • 39 posts
                      • LocationGlendale, Arizona

                      Posted 17 January 2014 - 09:38 AM

                      Has anyone noticed.... The two baskets at Toyota Center..... One of them had a plethora of threes fall, the other basket had ZERO. For both halves....

                       

                      The Thunder made zero threes at the right-hand basket (on TV) during the first half, the Rockets made zero threes at the right-hand basket in the 2nd..... The left hand basket was no problem for the Rockets in the first half, and no problem for the Thunder in the 2nd.

                       

                      Has there ever been an NBA game before where it was raining 3s at one of the physical baskets, and zero at the other, for the entire game?

                       

                      Makes me wonder if the actual problem may have been the right hand basket (on TV) being grossly out of alignment.


                      Edited by Hockey the Harden Way, 17 January 2014 - 09:43 AM.

                      • 0

                      #14 rocketrick

                      rocketrick

                        Senior Member

                      • Members
                      • PipPipPipPipPip
                      • 1,169 posts

                        Posted 17 January 2014 - 11:29 AM

                        I witnessed history in person at Toyota Center and our team was on the wrong side this time around. Especially stunning considering how well the Rockets played the first half, even after starting out down 10 early in the game only to take a 14 point lead by half-time. That was a 24 point swing. 

                         

                        But to have to suffer through the worst half of basketball I am quite certain I have ever witnessed in person on the NBA level, that was painful.

                         

                        For sure the Thunder did a great job of clogging the lane in the 2nd half. There just weren't any open lanes to exploit. And on top of that they were able to contest each and every shot the Rockets were able to shoot in the 2nd half. And the icing on the cake was that the vast majority of those shots seemed to be taken too many times at the end of the shot clock with the ball in the hands of the wrong Rockets player.

                         

                        The player rotation was much different this game than any I remember the Rockets playing this season. Casspi getting only 6 minutes raises a red flag with me. Did he get injured in the first half? Motiejunas had some nice moments on the offensive end of the court tonight but just couldn't seem to make the right defensive play or get a key rebound in the second half when it mattered most in my opinion. We really miss a player like Asik in this type of game. I give OKC a lot of credit with their physical play, the Rockets just couldn't handle that as well as they could have.

                         

                        The 2 missed free throws when the game was still within reach by Chandler Parsons late in the 4th quarter just seemed to prove how much of a lid there was on the Rockets end of the court in the 2nd half. 

                         

                        Just like with all the other tough losses the Rockets have suffered through this season, I believe this lesson will not soon be forgotten. If anything, this should toughen the Rockets for future battles that are headed our direction this season.

                         

                        The only positive thing I can think of to say is the fact the Rockets did play some stellar defense in the 2nd half to keep this game within reach until the final 2-3 minutes of the game on a night when the Rockets offense set NBA records for futility in the second half. They never gave up until the bitter end and that does build character in the long run.


                        • 0

                        #15 SDrake

                        SDrake

                          Newbie

                        • Members
                        • Pip
                        • 30 posts

                          Posted 17 January 2014 - 01:32 PM

                          You want a big offseason change, you expect a big offseason change, and there will be one. Firing McHale.

                           

                          Absolutely.  This year's team is disorganized and inconsistent.  40 games into a season a team shouldn't still be trying to find its identity.  McHale often seems absent during games.  By the time he does make an in-game adjustment, the situation has long since passed.

                          I miss last season when the team executed quick ball movement to create an open shooter and was one of the best teams in the league on the fast break.


                          • 0

                          #16 feelingsupersonic

                          feelingsupersonic

                            Officer

                          • Moderators
                          • 1,550 posts
                          • LocationHouston, TX

                          Posted 17 January 2014 - 02:03 PM

                          Last season more members on this forum were calling for McHale to be fired than this year, there were even a few calling for Morey to be fired. Kind of funny if you ask me.
                          • 0

                          #17 Richards

                          Richards

                            Junior Member

                          • Members
                          • PipPipPip
                          • 371 posts

                            Posted 17 January 2014 - 02:35 PM

                            McHale supporters' last year excuse was this was young team blah blah. Now they got two superstars and we should be much better than this.

                             

                            What is McHale's strategy? His only method was "ride the hot hand". He did that many times and he always, repeat always, slow to react. Forget about proact that he had no clue.

                             

                            I


                            • 0

                            #18 Dayak

                            Dayak

                              Newbie

                            • Members
                            • Pip
                            • 29 posts
                            • LocationBorneo Island

                            Posted 17 January 2014 - 02:46 PM

                            That was.... embarassing. But still i put my trust in this young team. I'd love to see Asik stay with us for the rest of this season but now i'm starting to lose my respect on him. I have an assumption that his injury is fake, he just doesn't want to play for the Rockets anymore. I wish i have to eat crow for saying this, but damn! It was so frustating.
                            • 0

                            #19 Richards

                            Richards

                              Junior Member

                            • Members
                            • PipPipPip
                            • 371 posts

                              Posted 17 January 2014 - 03:04 PM

                              Yes. I also think that Asik injury was a fake. A fake by Morey or Asik or both. Not really sure who made it up.

                              As you know, unless you were in hospital wing, almost all injured NBA players were on bench watching team play. I didn't see any pictures of him lately.


                              • 0

                              #20 Freebird

                              Freebird

                                Junior Member

                              • Members
                              • PipPipPip
                              • 193 posts
                              • LocationRaleigh, NC

                              Posted 17 January 2014 - 03:16 PM

                              I hated the collapse, but honestly, I felt it was just a matter of running out of steam.  They had a hard-fought win the night before in NO, so the energy levels are going to be lower than normal to begin with.  Couple that with the adrenaline rush that was the first half, and then dealing with the defensive uptick that OKC adjusted to in the second, and it doesn't seem out of the ordinary.  Not like we've been lighting it up for the past month.

                               

                              Can't wait for Bev to get back.


                              • 0




                              0 user(s) are reading this topic

                              0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users