Memphis Grizzlies @ Houston Rockets on 1/24/2014

It’s hard to sweep an opponent for four games. Everything has to go right for it to happen, and even then it doesn’t always happen. Familiarity, learning offensive sets, random chance and varying level of mental engagement mean that anything can and does happen over four games. So far Houston leads the season series with Memphis 2-0. By Sunday, the series will be over. Sitting at 7-2 against the Southwest Division, the Houston Rockets seek to keep that division record up, especially given the tiebreaker implications. The problem is that tehre’s no reason to believe this will be easy.

With Marc Gasol back in at the center position, these Grizzlies are a much different animal than the one the Rockets beat twice. The inclusion of Courtney Lee as a three and d player also adds another wrinkle to an already difficult out. The Grizzlies have been gradually clawing their way back to the playoff picture, and they’d be happy to claw the Rockets a bit, too.

Of course, the Rockets are also in a better position. Chandler Parsons and Terrence Jones are exploding. Patrick Beverley is back from injury and defending like a maniac. For the first time since November, the Rockets are starting to come together and look like the team they hoped to be. Given, wins against teams like the Sacramento Kings and the Milwaukee Bucks don’t carry the same sort of cache that teams like the Portland Trail Blazers do, but every game counts, especially for a team finding itself.

As always, the watchword against the Grizzlies is defense. Gasol anchors a stingy squad, and Tony Allen remains one of the few players who can slow James Harden down. Harden vs Allen and Gasol vs Dwight Howard should be interesting matchups in a game that will serve as a preview for the same battle the following day. While not a hot matchup in a leaguewide sense, these two teams have a history and a desire to take each other down.

While the Rockets are fighting for playoff seeding, the Grizzlies are fighting for their playoff lives. A far sight from the 5th seed most expected them to rest at, Memphis began the year sluggishly. Still reeling from injuries to Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, the Grizzlies need to prove that they can hang. The Rockets, as inconsistent as they are, need to prove they can dominate. It’s hard to dominate the same team, however, and Houston may learn that the hard way this weekend. With the same team as their opponent two nights in a row, it’s time for a newly-hot Rockets team to show that they can stay hot.

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Total comments: 23
  • Sir Thursday says 1 day ago

    Glad to see more rational voices here this morning :)

    One thing is certain--every single player on the court for that final possession will benefit from watching the film of that play.

    Any anti-Lin accusations must be put to bed. His BFF Parsons had the ball--why wouldn't he pass it to him if he could have?

    Also, I thought the play before the last one--where Parsons drove right and threw up that prayer of a fade away--was supposed to be a lob to Dwight, but he was off and caught a little rim which threw off the entire play. Dwight was right there for the alley-oop if that thing is on target ( or off depending on what was supposed to actually happen--maybe he was shooting it?). Given that Dwight jumped early I thought it was an alley-oop and not a shot.

    I can't seem to find video of that play, but here is a link to NBA.com's highlights (fast forward to about the 2:01 mark to see the last play). I re-watched that last play a few times. Memphis was able to anticipate every move, pass, and cut leaving us with nothing. By the time things started to open up (i.e. Lin flashing to the open spot and Howard was actually free for a potential back-side alley-oop) there was 1.5 seconds left. The problem is that happened .5 seconds after Parsons gave up on finding anything better and had just passed it to Bev. If he had waited for Lin I doubt he would have had time to get the shot off.

    Here is what Parsons had to say about it--seems James Harden may have been freelancing a bit and didn't go along with the plan.

    “They (Grizzlies) came out and trapped and I was going to throw it back to James (Harden) and James cut and I guess he was denied and I couldn't really give it to Dwight (Howard) so I just kind of got stuck and I picked my dribble up. I should have kept my dribble alive.”

    Here is McHale's take on the same play:

    “It was a pick and roll. They put two on him (Chandler Parsons). Dwight (Howard) rolled and we didn't come back and replace behind. Chandler was hot so we tried getting him the ball on a little action with the pick and roll with Dwight. They (Grizzlies) put two on the ball and we didn't fill in behind.” (Source)

    Sounds like Harden is getting the finger pointed at him. For those who portend he gets a free pass--that's him not getting a free pass. In the video you can see Lin scramble to replace Harden on the left wing, but it was too late--there just wasn't enough time.

    I see this as a good loss. We learned some things. We played terribly start to finish and still had a chance to win it at the end. I'll be curious to see how the game is officiated tonight. I couldn't understand the refs last night. They were allowing a lot of banging down low, pushing, pulling, tugging on jerseys--no whistle. Then, D-Mo and Gasol brush shoulders (which Gasol initiated) and it's a whistle. :huh: Parsons gets tackled shooting a 3--no whistle. There were missed calls both ways--I'm not saying it was a factor in us losing. I was just very confused about the way they called/did not call a lot of fouls.

    I think I agree with McHale's read of the play. With Gasol stepping up and trapping like that, Parsons needed a release valve on the other side of the court to reset the ball. Usually in that situation you see the other player in the backcourt float up a few steps above the three point line to give an easy escape option. That should have been Harden's job, but instead (perhaps assuming that Parsons would be able to split the double team but forgetting that Marc Gasol is 7 feet tall and built like a house) he chose to cut across the lane and try to get open at the free throw line. Chalk it up to inexperience playing off the ball in situations like that, maybe? The positioning of the Memphis defenders made it impossible to pass the ball to anyone except Beverley, so that's what he did.

    ST

  • Jatman20 says 1 day ago

    Courtney Lee gets 5.2 million his year....5.45 million next year and 5.68 the following. Lin gets about 5 million this year.....close to 15 million next season. Whether its cap hit or actual salary-I find Lee cheaper in the long run. I would have run Lee as the starting PG with Beverley coming off the bench. Lee compliments Harden well.....for those quick little PGs put Bev on them. I know Asik was the one offered for Lee and Bass. Only management knows if they could have moved Lin after the deal. Lee helps three of the Rockets current problems.....3 point shooting (spot up shooting) and perimeter defense and FT shooting (91% from FT line this year).


    So in summary Lee 11 million spread over the next two years or Lin 15 million next year. Dallas broke up a championship team in hopes of luring all stars....

    Hope it works out for Houston. Patience that is.

  • thejohnnygold says 1 day ago

    Glad to see more rational voices here this morning :)

    One thing is certain--every single player on the court for that final possession will benefit from watching the film of that play.

    Any anti-Lin accusations must be put to bed. His BFF Parsons had the ball--why wouldn't he pass it to him if he could have?

    Also, I thought the play before the last one--where Parsons drove right and threw up that prayer of a fade away--was supposed to be a lob to Dwight, but he was off and caught a little rim which threw off the entire play. Dwight was right there for the alley-oop if that thing is on target ( or off depending on what was supposed to actually happen--maybe he was shooting it?). Given that Dwight jumped early I thought it was an alley-oop and not a shot.

    I can't seem to find video of that play, but here is a link to NBA.com's highlights (fast forward to about the 2:01 mark to see the last play). I re-watched that last play a few times. Memphis was able to anticipate every move, pass, and cut leaving us with nothing. By the time things started to open up (i.e. Lin flashing to the open spot and Howard was actually free for a potential back-side alley-oop) there was 1.5 seconds left. The problem is that happened .5 seconds after Parsons gave up on finding anything better and had just passed it to Bev. If he had waited for Lin I doubt he would have had time to get the shot off.

    Here is what Parsons had to say about it--seems James Harden may have been freelancing a bit and didn't go along with the plan.

    “They (Grizzlies) came out and trapped and I was going to throw it back to James (Harden) and James cut and I guess he was denied and I couldn't really give it to Dwight (Howard) so I just kind of got stuck and I picked my dribble up. I should have kept my dribble alive.”

    Here is McHale's take on the same play:

    “It was a pick and roll. They put two on him (Chandler Parsons). Dwight (Howard) rolled and we didn't come back and replace behind. Chandler was hot so we tried getting him the ball on a little action with the pick and roll with Dwight. They (Grizzlies) put two on the ball and we didn't fill in behind.” (Source)

    Sounds like Harden is getting the finger pointed at him. For those who portend he gets a free pass--that's him not getting a free pass. In the video you can see Lin scramble to replace Harden on the left wing, but it was too late--there just wasn't enough time.

    I see this as a good loss. We learned some things. We played terribly start to finish and still had a chance to win it at the end. I'll be curious to see how the game is officiated tonight. I couldn't understand the refs last night. They were allowing a lot of banging down low, pushing, pulling, tugging on jerseys--no whistle. Then, D-Mo and Gasol brush shoulders (which Gasol initiated) and it's a whistle. :huh: Parsons gets tackled shooting a 3--no whistle. There were missed calls both ways--I'm not saying it was a factor in us losing. I was just very confused about the way they called/did not call a lot of fouls.

  • Jatman20 says 1 day ago

    Game brought out the same problems.....[1> poor 3 point shooting (outside of Parsons). [2> Depth-2Q we were out scored 23-15 (a re-curring theme).


    Whether its a post up guy backing up a defender under the rim and kicking out or a facilitator penetrating into the paint and kicking out.....the theory is sound; the ability to produce is failing the Rockets due to not knocking down the 3 point shot with consistency. All the teams are going to uptempo-spacing systems. Miami duo of D-Wade and LeBron penetrate and kick out to 3 pointers....that is how they have won the last two championships. If we had completed the deal for Lee and Bass....we would be a more sound team.

  • thenit says 1 day ago

    Beverley played solid defense the entire game and drew the key offensive foul in the final few seconds of the game that afforded the Rockets one last shot at a win. Coach McHale substituted Beverley out of the game for Lin for the final play. When it's a back and forth game with both teams struggling on the offensive end, usually the best decision is to play your best defensive players as McHale chose to do by keeping Beverley in the game for the majority of the 4th quarter. One good play, one good bounce, and the Rockets manage a win in a toughly contested game by 2 likely playoff teams later this season neither of which any other team is anxious to meet in the playoffs.


    Bev was in the last play just saying.like I said it was good D by Memphis and I didn't mind the call we just played a superior D. Judgment on mchale can be better evaluated on if he makes adjustments tonight to see if we get better shots and pushes the pace that fits our team better
  • dood says 1 day ago

    "Unfortunately, Harden (perhaps not used to being without the ball in such situations) cut in towards the free throw line instead of popping out to receive a reset, so there was nobody for Parsons to throw the ball to. He finally got it to Beverley who had no choice but to throw up a heavily contested prayer at the buzzer that was way off."

    Watch the game again. Lin was wide open. But the coaches, players and writers don't even consider Lin as an option and conclude: "There was nobody for Parsons to throw the ball to." Better to pass to the man who was shooting 1-11 and was covered like a blanket. Hard to believe that was the best play that McHale could come up with. Oops...Rockets lose again.

    I think your bias is blinding you. Lin was sitting in the corner all the way across the court, with 4 Grizzlies between him and Parsons (the double team + Lee & Prince). On the last possession, the last thing you want to do is turn it over (especially true for the ballhandler), and a lob pass all the way across the court with time running out would be too risky, and Lin would've gotten closed out by a long defender (Prince) by the time he caught the ball anyways. So yes, there really was no one to pass to besides Beverley since Harden cut right after Parsons picked up the ball. It was just a terrible play (resulted in a heavily contested shot by Beverley). If I was McHale I would probably have it inbounded to Harden and had Parsons off the ball. Actually, if I was McHale, I would've morphed into Mark Jackson after Parsons' 3rd or 4th 3 and let him go Curry on their heinies. 3s from Parsons on every fast break and 3s off picks. :DThat would've been a lot more fun than that anti-climactic ending.

  • rocketrick says 1 day ago

    If your 4th best shooter from the field (and 3rd best if you exclude Centers) (Lin) is having a good shooting night, it might make sense to get him more than 6 shots while one of your worst shooters (Beverley) who is having a bad shooting night takes 11 shots. Simple math suggests that had 2 or 3 of those shot opportunities gone to Jeremy Lin as opposed to Patrick Beverley, the Rockets probably would've scored enough points to overcome a 1 pt deficit.

    Beverley played solid defense the entire game and drew the key offensive foul in the final few seconds of the game that afforded the Rockets one last shot at a win. Coach McHale substituted Beverley out of the game for Lin for the final play. When it's a back and forth game with both teams struggling on the offensive end, usually the best decision is to play your best defensive players as McHale chose to do by keeping Beverley in the game for the majority of the 4th quarter. One good play, one good bounce, and the Rockets manage a win in a toughly contested game by 2 likely playoff teams later this season neither of which any other team is anxious to meet in the playoffs.

  • rocketrick says 1 day ago

    "Unfortunately, Harden (perhaps not used to being without the ball in such situations) cut in towards the free throw line instead of popping out to receive a reset, so there was nobody for Parsons to throw the ball to. He finally got it to Beverley who had no choice but to throw up a heavily contested prayer at the buzzer that was way off."

    Watch the game again. Lin was wide open. But the coaches, players and writers don't even consider Lin as an option and conclude: "There was nobody for Parsons to throw the ball to." Better to pass to the man who was shooting 1-11 and was covered like a blanket. Hard to believe that was the best play that McHale could come up with. Oops...Rockets lose again.

    D12 had good position in the lane and was guarded one on one. Unfortunately, Parsons obviouslyjust was blocked off on the left/center views or had a milli-second brain spasm that prevented him from choosing the best way forward. For sure, Lin was wide open beyond the 3 point line on the left and there might (MIGHT) have been enough time for Parsons to pass the ball to a wide open Lin who then could have either passed the ball into the lane to D12 (3 second violation may have been called as he had been there more than long enough) or Lin could have taken a last second shot (much more uncontested than Beverley) from the left wing.

    I don't for a moment understand the McHale hate here. It was a well-drawn out play that afforded better options than Parsons chose. It's called a learning curve. And losing to a Memphis team that is battling for a playoff spot is not the end of the world when our team comes just short of a win after struggling the entire game for any semblance of offense (other than Parsons 3 point stroke tonight).

  • rm90025 says 1 day ago

    If your 4th best shooter from the field (and 3rd best if you exclude Centers) (Lin) is having a good shooting night, it might make sense to get him more than 6 shots while one of your worst shooters (Beverley) who is having a bad shooting night takes 11 shots. Simple math suggests that had 2 or 3 of those shot opportunities gone to Jeremy Lin as opposed to Patrick Beverley, the Rockets probably would've scored enough points to overcome a 1 pt deficit.

  • steven7077 says 1 day ago

    "Unfortunately, Harden (perhaps not used to being without the ball in such situations) cut in towards the free throw line instead of popping out to receive a reset, so there was nobody for Parsons to throw the ball to. He finally got it to Beverley who had no choice but to throw up a heavily contested prayer at the buzzer that was way off."

    Watch the game again. Lin was wide open. But the coaches, players and writers don't even consider Lin as an option and conclude: "There was nobody for Parsons to throw the ball to." Better to pass to the man who was shooting 1-11 and was covered like a blanket. Hard to believe that was the best play that McHale could come up with. Oops...Rockets lose again.

  • thenit says 1 day ago We played ok, and Memphis just had a good gameplay to stop the drives. Mchale went with parsons at the end and I like that call. Big thing for me is to see if mchale can make some adjustment tomorrow to try to push the pace a little. That's when I will make a judgment because adjustments will be needed in the playoffs.
  • thenit says 1 day ago Gasols defence gave me a boner!
  • feelingsupersonic says 1 day ago

    Also, none of you commenting seem to consider how long Gasol, Randolph and Conley have been together and they are all formidable players within their system. Contrast the Rockets situation and how long Howard, Harden and Parsons have had time to gel in the regular season and playoffs.

  • feelingsupersonic says 1 day ago

    In a game where we were out rebounded 42-31, shot only 14 free throws to Memphis' 16, were a combined 4-30 from 3 point range (excluding Parsons 10-14), shot 40% total from the field, and had only 3 big bodies to deal with Memphis' stout front court duo I find a lot of the fan reactions to be amazingly biased.

    To focus the disappointment of losing solely on the shoulders of McHale while ignoring all of the above factors, plus others, seems more like opportunistic pushing of a personal agenda than a legitimate reaction to what happened.

    McHale called a play. He even stepped out of his comfort zone (something we have been calling for). Memphis, when healthy, is one of the elite defensive teams in the league and they showed it tonight. They snuffed out the pick n roll, pinned Parsons, and the players--THE PLAYERS--short circuited the remainder of that possession. Funny enough, a Harden ISO would have been a better possession than that debacle :lol: Memphis played very good defense--good for them. While that last possession could have been better it is not what lost us the game.

    By the way, I thought we played pretty good defense tonight.

    Oh yes, if there ever was a voice of reason it's johnnygold. To me just considering Howard took on the Memphis frontcourt alone is enough to realize this just isn't a matchup the Rockets can win easily, but they came close. Considering how much Memphis dictated the game and how closed down areas on the court were for the wing players not to mention the Rockets lack of big bodies that could grind for paint position or make rim runs, this game was close.

    In a year with a full compliment of bigs and established chemistry this Memphis team will be a much easier out for the Rockets, patience everyone.

  • SDrake says 1 day ago

    I guess Beverley was doing his James Harden imitation by going 1-11. Geez... Why was he shooting so much? He's never been much on the offensive end. And Harden is so inconsistent. The Rockets need some decent guards. Oh how they could use Dragic. Had they only signed Dragic instead of letting him go to the Suns. If Dragic was still on the team, the Rockets would be a #1 or #2 seed guaranteed.

  • Dayak says 1 day ago

    I prefer to have a backup center who play with desire than a top 4 defensive center who doesn't want to play. We desperately need a reliable backup center. At least this game show me that we don't need a 3rd star, we already have it in Parsons :D

  • shuga says 1 day ago

    I'm not blaming McHale for the time out play. I'm blaming him for managing the players on the court. If he rides the hot hand then he should also know when a player is not going offensively and instead of leaving him on, maybe let him ride the pine for a player who is shooting better. I can't be sure how much better Brooks would have been if he took some of Bev's minutes, but I'm sure it is worth a shot when Bev couldn't buy a bucket. And yes, rotations and substitutions are on McHale, not the players.

  • thejohnnygold says 1 day ago

    In a game where we were out rebounded 42-31, shot only 14 free throws to Memphis' 16, were a combined 4-30 from 3 point range (excluding Parsons 10-14), shot 40% total from the field, and had only 3 big bodies to deal with Memphis' stout front court duo I find a lot of the fan reactions to be amazingly biased.

    To focus the disappointment of losing solely on the shoulders of McHale while ignoring all of the above factors, plus others, seems more like opportunistic pushing of a personal agenda than a legitimate reaction to what happened.

    McHale called a play. He even stepped out of his comfort zone (something we have been calling for). Memphis, when healthy, is one of the elite defensive teams in the league and they showed it tonight. They snuffed out the pick n roll, pinned Parsons, and the players--THE PLAYERS--short circuited the remainder of that possession. Funny enough, a Harden ISO would have been a better possession than that debacle :lol: Memphis played very good defense--good for them. While that last possession could have been better it is not what lost us the game.

    By the way, I thought we played pretty good defense tonight.

  • Steven says 1 day ago And the offense would have been worse then it was, because it is playing 4 on 5 with Asik on the court. The sooner he is traded the better for the Rockets. Give D-Mo the minutes so he can improve. He has proven that he is capable enough for the Rockets to have a three man big rotation. That's all they will play come playoffs, barring foul trouble.
  • Buckko says 1 day ago 2nd point this game proves why we need asik. Every time Howard would go out with foul trouble, no one could clog the paint and the grizzlies would build a lead. There is NO ONE who can give us equal production and value in a trade. Everyone discusses a need for a backup center, but isn't trading a top 4 defensive center for a backup seem a little redundant.
  • Buckko says 1 day ago I used to be neutral or even supportive of mchale but I grow tired and cannot say I approve of his coaching of this team. What a waste to Parsons history making night.
  • Red94 says 1 day ago New post: Memphis Grizzlies 88, Houston Rockets 87 - The Rockets Go Down with a (Chandler) Bang
    By: Rob Dover

    The volatile nature of the Rockets' offensive output has been on show a lot recently. When everything flows and the shots fall they've shown they can get past the 70 point mark by half time. Unfortunately tonight showed that it is very possible to see the other side of that coin, especially when faced by a determined and disciplined defence. The Grizzlies slowed the game down, clogged the lane, and generally made it as tough as possible for the Rockets to score. In the end the Rockets only just surpassed their first-half total from the Portland game in the full four quarters of play tonight. Despite Chandler Parsons unleashing a rain of three pointers, the two teams remained neck-and-neck all the way down the stretch and in crunch time the Grizzlies got the stops they needed to hold on to a slender one point margin of victory.

    • Parsons went 0-3 from beyond the line in the first half and all of his shots looked miserable. He wasn't jumping straight up and seemed to be putting even less arc on the ball than usual. I was all ready to write about how sometimes when his form collapses he has a tendency to go into slumps, but then in the second half something incredible happened. The shots still didn't look great - flat, often taken from well behind the three point line and taken from strangely angled jumps. But somehow they all went in. In the end he was 10-11 on three pointers in the second half and finished with a game leading 34 points - a monumental number considering how low scoring the game was and the fact that no other player surpassed 20.
    • There were a few downsides to Parsons' play, unfortunately. One was that he was being forced to take these difficult long threes to bail out what was otherwise one of the worst offensive showings I've seen from the Rockets this year. Harden and Beverley were frustrated at every turn whenever they tried to drive. They would end up in a thicket of long limbs and stout bodies - there was always someone between them and the rim making the shot difficult or infeasible, and another defender hanging around in just the right spot to make the kick out awkward. Both had awful shooting nights as a result, going 2-11 and 1-11 respectively. This lack of production out of penetration bogged down the Rockets' offence and made manufacturing good shots in the half-court a tedious and difficult process.
    • There wasn't an easy release valve in the post either. Howard had issues with foul trouble that limited his ability to be aggressive in the post. And when he did catch the ball on the block he was clearly bothered by Marc Gasol's length. Hook shots that would normally be taken straight up had a bit of fade on them, and where he usually is very good at putting the ball up accurately here there were several wild misses caused by the unsighting effect of Gasol's big body. He did much better when matched up against Randolph, but unfortunately the Rockets were unable to force the defensive switches to get Gasol away from Howard all that often.
    • Memphis' transition defence tonight was very good. It felt like every time the Rockets looked to push the ball the camera would swing round to point at the Grizzlies' paint only to reveal at least three defenders already back in position to snuff out any thought of attacking the rim. They weren't quite at Pacers-level of consistency, but they're pretty close and that bodes ill for the turnaround game tomorrow night in Memphis.
    • Have to talk about the final play of the game. The Rockets had the ball on the side-line with 9.3 seconds left on the clock and down by one. There was a conundrum - do you run a play for the ice-cold Harden or the red-hot Parsons, bearing in mind that Harden is a lot more comfortable in such situations but had been guarded really well all night by Courtney Lee? McHale went with Parsons, but the results were not good. The play was a Parsons-Howard pick and roll, but a good hedge/trap by Gasol broke it up. Parsons' lack of comfort with the situation showed as he made the crucial mistake of picking up his dribble. I suspect someone more experienced would have kept the dribble alive and looked for a secondary option. Unfortunately, Harden (perhaps not used to being without the ball in such situations) cut in towards the free throw line instead of popping out to receive a reset, so there was nobody for Parsons to throw the ball to. He finally got it to Beverley who had no choice but to throw up a heavily contested prayer at the buzzer that was way off. It was disappointing to lose a game in that fashion after Parsons' offensive outburst really should have been enough to put the Rockets over the top.
  • Comic Book Nerd says 2 days ago

    Is it confirmed that Tony Allen is back from his broken hand? ESPN still lists him as out as of Jan 20th. It says that his time table said he would be back around now, but is it confirmed? Otherwise doesn't this help out the Beard big time?