9 replies to this topic

[Red94]

New post: Recap: San Antonio Spurs 114, Houston Rockets 92.

[Alituro]

Yes, this and the OKC games let us know just how far away we are from contention. The more I watch Lin, the more my suspicions about how he was brought here are verified. This had to be a directive from Les to do nothing but once again boost his teams popularity internationally, rather than a result of the complex metrics Morey employs when recruiting. How much longer does it go on? 3 years? There were good reasons why we cut him to begin with. I think it would be wise to try and make him 6th man and start Douglas to play with Harden and the starters. While Lin has got something to prove in his pursuit of stardom, Toney knows he needs to defer to Harden and play like a true point, and I'd much rather have Douglas spotting up in the corner when the defense collapses around Harden than Lin, and he's not even that good in that situation, but Lin's shooting is deplorable. Patterson needs to work on his rebounding in a BAD way, he is an excellent defender and a smart offensive player, but once a shot is jacked up, on either end of the floor, he ceases to exist. I think the biggest hole on our roster right now is at the PG position, which is a shame knowing what we had there last season. If we can fix that problem, it will go a long way to winning more games, shooting % will go up and turnovers down.

[Jeby]

The mental image I had going into this game was of Jack Sparrow hopelessly swinging his sword into the mouth of the Kraken.
Kudos to James Harden for being the sword. Bigger props to the San Antonio Krakens.

[Bigtkirk]

This was Asik's first really off game of the season, and his lack of interior defense was a big factor in the Spurs getting the easy baskets they needed to open a big lead. Given his emergence last season, it's hard to remember that Lin remains a relatively iuexperienced PG by NBA standards and that he is going to endure growing pains just like all PG's do. The best thing about games such as this is that it's only one and it's time to forget it and play another.

[Stephen]

Three thoughts from the wreckage.

While it was garbage time,Jones started playing w/more assurance as the 4Q went on.
He took the ball up the court,looked to be involved in what little offense there was outside of Cook's chucking. A far cry from the scared player who was giving away the ball as if it was a boiling hot potato.
He had a couple of nice passes,one off drive to open Douglas for a three,another out of lane to teammate who swung the ball to a more open 3pt shooter.
Took it to the rim a few times-even if one was w/just a few seconds left-a breach of NBA etiquette :)

Marcus Morris cannot create his own shot against any but the most hapless NBA defender.

Worst of all was the abandonment of any motion in the Rockets offense. It returned to "get the ball on perimeter,try and get past your man,then drive into heart of the defense and hope a miracle happens".
This is the worst possible offense for Lin as he is not a spot-up shooter and is being denied the screens to get him past his man and into open court space.
It's the dribble-drive college offense where the other players are relegated to spot-up shooters...and the results say the Rockets are poor spot-up shooters.
Instead of sticking Lin,Parsons,Morris and Delfino in the 3pt corner and hope their defender gets ADD and leaves them,I'd like to see a return of last season's weave. The offense where the bigs would set screens above the FT line,the wings would weave along the 3pt line and rub off the screens,opening up shooters and lane avenues-the offense that was so successful last yr.
The one the Rockets have abandoned w/Harden on board,but that plays to the strengths of Harden,Lin and Parsons.

[Bigtkirk]

One thing I neglected to mention is that I hope Sampson and McHale noticed how Pop uses his bench. Regardless of how much promise the Rockets have shown during the first 18 games of the season, the reality is that this is a development season for a young team. The only way to develop is to play. Playing the young bench players will result in growing pains, but it is in the best long-range interests of the team at this point.

[Rahat Huq]

One thing I neglected to mention is that I hope Sampson and McHale noticed how Pop uses his bench. Regardless of how much promise the Rockets have shown during the first 18 games of the season, the reality is that this is a development season for a young team. The only way to develop is to play. Playing the young bench players will result in growing pains, but it is in the best long-range interests of the team at this point.

Very important point and something I've written about a lot. But it won't happen, simply for the same reason managers don't follow the same intersets as stockholders in any industry. Incentives aren't aligned. McHale has to think about his job and career - he's not thinking about the future of the Rockets. Popavich basically IS the Spurs, so his interests are the same as the Spurs.

[xsamc1]

I think it would be wise to try and make him 6th man and start Douglas to play with Harden and the starters. While Lin has got something to prove in his pursuit of stardom, Toney knows he needs to defer to Harden and play like a true point, and I'd much rather have Douglas spotting up in the corner when the defense collapses around Harden than Lin, and he's not even that good in that situation, but Lin's shooting is deplorable.

I wouldn't mind seeing Lin come in with the second unit but I have to disagree with you when you say Douglas knows how to defer to Harden. Douglas is a shooter. He'll jack up shots when he's hot and when he's cold and he does it when Harden is in. Douglas was so unpopular in NY because he'd jack up shots even when he was cold and continue to do it until D'Antoni would bench him. I don't have any statistics but I'm sure Douglas makes more attempts per minute than Lin. What's annoying for me as a Lin fan is the fact he's constantly standing on the 3 pt line and jacking up 3's when that's not his shot. He should drive to the basket or at least pump fake and take 2 steps closer to the basket and shoot.

[amacbrooks12]

It's really a shame that it didn't work out with Kyle Lowry and Goran Dragic. If we had kept either one we would be several games above .500 and we wouldn't have to worry about our PG not producing points. Both Lowry and Dragic would've played well with Harden because they don't need the ball in their hands 24/7 to score unlike Lin. Both Lowry and Dragic are also excellent three point shooters (something Lin is not and it's hurting us), and both have been putting up great numbers in points, rebounds, and assists this year. We were all right when we assumed that losing Lowry and Dragic was going to bring struggles to this team. Even Aaron Brooks would've been producing better numbers than Lin currently is, and he is actually doing quite well in SAC with all the problems and guards they have. I just hope either Lin is in a temporary slump or we find a better PG at the deadline/ FA.

[Rahat Huq]

Lowry = No Harden