71 replies to this topic

[Red94]

New post: Huq's Pen: The five stages of grief
By: rahat huq

• I don't really know what to tell you guys.  I don't really have the energy to break down a play or anything, right now.  Maybe that will change in the next 48 hours.  But right now I'm just straight up depressed.  In the Kubler-Ross model, I'm somewhere between depression and acceptance.  Before the series began, I was in stage 1: denial.  I predicted Houston in 5 because I decided to turn a blind eye to some of the glaring warning signs coming from this team.  After the losses in Game 1 and Game 2, I felt anger.  I reached the bargaining phase right before and then after Game 3: "we can't expect major adjustments like the team making crisp defensive rotations or running anything resembling a coherent offense down the stretch, but maybe they can make some basic tweaks and we'll be fine."  The miraculous win actually made this worse, leading to delusions of grandeur.  And now here we are, depression and acceptance.  It is what it is.  I'll watch, I'll cheer, I'll be here the whole way.  But I'm human too.  I don't have it in me to hold out hope on the team pulling this out.  If it happens, it happens.  But I just don't have the energy to keep hoping - not with the way the team has lost these three games.
• I think for me, what hurts the most, is seeing Dwight Howard and knowing there aren't many more years left in the tank and one of them is about to potentially be completely wasted.  That block late in the game when he dialed the clock back to 2010 and completely erased Nicolas Batum was one of the most awe-inspiring sequences I've ever seen in the twenty years I've been a fan of this team.  There's just something about a superstar big man that gives you chills.  And it's going to be wasted.

• Jeremy Lin: nothing left to say on this point.  Depression/acceptance.  It's gotten to the point now where, each time he kicks the ball off his leg in a critical situation, I can only just smile and laugh.  Depression/acceptance.  If Houston does go on to lose this series, I don't know how Lin is back next year.  For a guy whose game is entirely based upon confidence, he's completely damaged goods.  The only thing keeping him here is the fact that it might take multiple picks just to get someone to take his contract.  Unless they pull off Carmelo or Kevin Love, the decision to choose Jeremy Lin over Goran Dragic, while fundamentally sound in theory, will be one Daryl Morey will regret for some time.
• As is normally the case, Houston completely sputtered down the stretch, coughing up a ten point fourth quarter lead.  I tweeted that we needed to maintain a cushion because I didn't like our chances fighting a close game.  The problem there is that it's pretty much impossible to maintain a cushion against a high octane team like the Blazers.  You simply have to execute down the stretch.
• Again, just some bizarre, bizarre playcalling down the stretch.  There were multiple plays where the team used Chandler Parsons as the primary ballhandler/initiator, in one instance in a pick and roll with Dwight Howard.  In retrospect, this actually made perfect sense: Harden/Howard, when used, had proved to be a pretty much unstoppable play, so the natural thing to do would be to just not run it and use Parsons in Harden's stead.
• But seriously.  You'll notice a change in my tone from the first two games.  Not much anger.  I'm deflated.  I don't really know what they were doing there.  Anyone with a modicum of basketball acumen knows that Chandler Parsons doesn't have the quickness/ballhandling ability to attack an offense as the primary initiator.  His drives are off of the rotation of the pass when the defense is not set.  McHale made this same blunder at the end of one of the Grizzlies games this year when, after Parsons hit like ten threes, the hamster running on the wheel in McHale's head said, "hmmm.  He just hit ten spot up threes.  The natural thing to do here would be to just hand him the ball and let him create."  Just baffling, baffling stuff.  If Harden was gassed, why not just run pick and roll with Lin then?  He atleast has the ability to attack the rim and make something happen.  Why would you ever run a play for Chandler Parsons?
• Perhaps almost as egregious was that the team then spent the next few possessions attempting to forcefeed Dwight Howard in the post, an exercise which is always an adventure it itself.  To his credit, Howard converted a few times, but he predictably turned it over on one play, and nearly did another time.  Going by the numbers, even the eye test from this series, posting up Howard against Aldridge is not a smart move.  It was to the point last night where I was screaming for them to run the Harden ISO because of how bad their other choices were.
• Speaking of Harden, what the hell happened?  There was an almost eerie stretch late in the game, before he revved it up again, where the entire situation had a Scottie Pippen feel to it.  (reference: After Phil Jackson drew up a play for Toni Kukoc to take the final shot in a '94 Bulls playoff game, Pippen refused to enter the game.)  By the time Red94 goes to press, I'm sure more will come to light regarding this, and I don't want to speculate...but that was just really, really odd.  I'm hoping Harden was just gassed, and that is definitely a likely possibility given his lack of conditioning.
• I don't understand how the team went multiple possessions without giving the ball to Harden.  When I rail against the 1-4 flat, I'm not saying he shouldn't be involved at all!  Harden should be the focal point of EVERY SINGLE PLAY down the stretch.  It should just be in different looks - off the pick and roll with Howard, pick and roll with Lin, off the catch at the elbow.  Sigh.  It's almost like McHale was thinking, "oh.  we shouldn't ISO Harden?  Okay, I get it.  You must mean not give him the ball at all for a four minute stretch."  Hashtag logical conclusions?
• I'm really actually hoping Harden just quit/was gassed, because it is downright chilling to think that McHale drew up for Harden to not touch the ball for the majority of overtime.
• Before Troy Daniels hit one of the most miraculous shots I've ever seen, from the corner, the Rockets hadn't scored a basket in over five minutes.  To say Houston has late game execution problems would be a gross understatement.
• I ignored this throughout the year, but I'm starting to become of the opinion that Chandler Parsons and James Harden may not be able to coexist at the wings on a team with championship aspirations.  That's not a knock on Parsons, who played great last night, but it's just far too big a strain defensively to have two bad defenders at those critical spots.  But anyways, there will be plenty of time to revisit this over the offseason.
• Game 5 is on Wednesday.  We'll see what happens.  I don't have the energy right now to look ahead.  Maybe I will tomorrow - we'll see.  That's all from me for this morning.

 

 

 

[Bigtkirk]

The inconsistency of adequate production at the PG position is the team's biggest flaw.

[rocketrick]

New post: Huq's Pen: The five stages of grief
By: rahat huq


I think for me, what hurts the most, is seeing Dwight Howard and knowing there aren't many more years left in the tank and one of them is about to potentially be completely wasted.  That block late in the game when he dialed the clock back to 2010 and completely erased Nicolas Batum was one of the most awe-inspiring sequences I've ever seen in the twenty years I've been a fan of this team.  There's just something about a superstar big man that gives you chills.  And it's going to be wasted

I doubt D12 is looking for your or anybody else's sympathy in terms of X numbers of years left in his tank going forward and the supposed "completely wasted" opportunity and season this year.

Don't forget the missed dunk in the 1st half that lead to a Portland fastbreak.

Don't forget the blocked shots at the rim by Lopez and Aldridge.

Don't forget the swipe by Matthews in the waning minutes of the 4th quarter when Harden was a couple of feet OUTSIDE the 3 point line and Matthews was the only only defender on that side of the court and still managed to swipe the ball.

I am one of D12's biggest fans and will continue to be a big fan of his the rest of his career no matter what happens going forward.

But to feign how sorry you feel for D12 because you think the Rockets are wasting this season, well.............to me, that's unacceptable. NBA Basketball is clearly a team game that sometimes comes down to one errant whistle or bounce of the ball or inconceivable shot. Nobody on the Rockets is immune from not making any mistakes or flubs during any of the games which becomes magnified when those mistakes/flubs occur late in the 4th quarter, and in this series, in overtime.

Why can't some just not accept the fact Portland has a good, no, a really good, team? I for one never expected this series to be a 4-1 or 4-2 type of series although many on this board were expecting a 4-1 series with apparently some easy blowout games along the way. That in my opinion was and is more inconceivable than a young team (our Rockets) still learning the ropes during the heat of the playoffs.

Edited by rocketrick, 28 April 2014 - 01:29 PM.

[feelingsupersonic]

Seems like I always agree with you Bigtkirk. Both Beverly and Lin seem unworthy of starting and closing though I do see them as good backups. I'm not going to complain about the past moves with regards to point guards but I do hope the point guard situation gets a shakeup during the off season at minimum. Trading one of the two would be the right move in my opinion.

[rocketrick]

New post: Huq's Pen: The five stages of grief
By: rahat huq


Anyone with a modicum of basketball acumen knows that Chandler Parsons doesn't have the quickness/ballhandling ability to attack an offense as the primary initiator.  His drives are off of the rotation of the pass when the defense is not set.  McHale made this same blunder at the end of one of the Grizzlies games this year when, after Parsons hit like ten threes, the hamster running on the wheel in McHale's head said, "hmmm.  He just hit ten spot up threes.  The natural thing to do here would be to just hand him the ball and let him create."  Just baffling, baffling stuff.  If Harden was gassed, why not just run pick and roll with Lin then?  He atleast has the ability to attack the rim and make something happen.  Why would you ever run a play for Chandler Parsons?

• Perhaps almost as egregious was that the team then spent the next few possessions attempting to forcefeed Dwight Howard in the post, an exercise which is always an adventure it itself.  To his credit, Howard converted a few times, but he predictably turned it over on one play, and nearly did another time.  Going by the numbers, even the eye test from this series, posting up Howard against Aldridge is not a smart move.  It was to the point last night where I was screaming for them to run the Harden ISO because of how bad their other choices were.
• Speaking of Harden, what the hell happened?  There was an almost eerie stretch late in the game, before he revved it up again, where the entire situation had a Scottie Pippen feel to it.  (reference: After Phil Jackson drew up a play for Toni Kukoc to take the final shot in a '94 Bulls playoff game, Pippen refused to enter the game.)  By the time Red94 goes to press, I'm sure more will come to light regarding this, and I don't want to speculate...but that was just really, really odd.  I'm hoping Harden was just gassed, and that is definitely a likely possibility given his lack of conditioning.
• I don't understand how the team went multiple possessions without giving the ball to Harden.  When I rail against the 1-4 flat, I'm not saying he shouldn't be involved at all!  Harden should be the focal point of EVERY SINGLE PLAY down the stretch.  It should just be in different looks - off the pick and roll with Howard, pick and roll with Lin, off the catch at the elbow.  Sigh.  It's almost like McHale was thinking, "oh.  we shouldn't ISO Harden?  Okay, I get it.  You must mean not give him the ball at all for a four minute stretch."  Hashtag logical conclusions?
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• RocketRick's Response:
  
  I just rewatched the last 8 minutes of the 4th quarter and Chandler Parsons was given a grand total of 2 (two) opportunities with the ball on the offensive end of the court. Both times Parsons was passed the ball during the sequence of the play and not given the ball from the very beginning of the play. Parsons did miss both of his shots, both drives to the basket. The first one was when Portland had the lead 99-97 with 4:30 to go in the game and Harden passed the ball to Parsons I assume because Harden felt that Parsons had a better angle to the basket than he did at that moment. The second time Parsons touched the ball was with 3:20 left in the game and the score now 100-97 in favor of Portland. Parsons missed his shot and the ball went out of bounds on Portland. A few seconds later harden shot and missed a 3 point shot.
  
  So I just don't get why you thought it was a terrible thing to give the Parsons the ball twice at this stage of the game considering Parsons had a really nice game, etc.? Hindsight is 20-20 and Parsons missed both shots so yes, I too wished the Rockets had run something differently there. Still, I don't get the gist of your frustration.
  
  Harden pretty much touched the ball all but 4 plays in the final 8 minutes of the game. 2 plays Beverley brought the ball up the court and passed directly to D12 into the lane. One play was a foul on Portland, ball out of bounce to Houston who immediately passed the ball into Harden who then took a step back 2 and missed. The other play from Beverley to D12 ended up with a good shot for D12 in the lane that just missed. The other 2 plays that Harden was not involved with was when Beverley brought the ball up the court, passed to Parsons who drove to the basket and missed. The 4th time was also a play where Beverley brought the ball up the court and passed to Parsons on the other side of the court who then drove into the lane, missed but the ball went out of bounds last touched by Portland. Harden receives the inbound pass and misses a 3 point shot (3:12 left on clock, 100-97 in favor of Portland).
  
  I don't understand your frustration that (1) Parsons was given the ball to create even though it appears to me he had a good lane to the basket and just wasn't able to finish, one play still ended up with a Harden opportunity to score so really just 1 play involving Parsons that ended up with nothing for Houston.
  
  In regards to your take that Harden didn't touch the ball for a period of 4 minutes, sorry, I just don't see that. Harden was involved in all but really 3 plays in the last 8 minutes.
  
  I'll review the overtime period and comment on that separate.
  
  I think it's just frustration and overreaction that the Rockets couldn't quite get over the hump.
  
  These are the guys the Rockets want to see touch the ball in the final 8 minutes and other than Parsons, I would say Harden and D12 had plenty of opportunities that didn't quite pan out.
  
  It's just not possible or realistic to expect any team to score on each and every possession in a tightly contested Game 4 of a Playoff series
   
   
   
  

Edited by rocketrick, 28 April 2014 - 02:25 PM.

[John P]

Both Lin and Howard were painful beyond belief to watch.
The post ups with Howard were just cringe worthy. I get working to get Lopez fouled out of the game...it worked. But for a guy who is very clumsy with the ball, and the O that we have known all year works best when passing around/flowing, then stopping everything so that Howard can puts around and bounce the ball of his whatever, it just dumbfounds me.

Lin also, did some bonehead moves where he drives and makes no or terrible decisions. I am not even counting when Williams swiped the ball from behind him. That is a legit mistake..he couldn't see him behind him, but just on so many occasions Lin just screwed up.

Bev at least knows his limitations and readily passes off on O to a more capable leader. ...but we need a PG who can lead and pass....not just a D and maybe a occasional 3 player.

So sad. You could see McHale so exhausted at the end of the game talking to the press. I don't know if it is that he is stressed about losing his job or just losing period, probably both, but with the O so stagnant in key stretches, with a normally great O in non-clutch time, he takes the blame.

Is there a team that made it back from being down 3 to 1? Can we play perfect ball for 3 games?

[rocketrick]

Both Lin and Howard were painful beyond belief to watch.
The post ups with Howard were just cringe worthy. I get working to get Lopez fouled out of the game...it worked. But for a guy who is very clumsy with the ball, and the O that we have known all year works best when passing around/flowing, then stopping everything so that Howard can puts around and bounce the ball of his whatever, it just dumbfounds me.

I would encourage people to go back and watch the game again if you DVR'd the game, particularly the 4th quarter and overtime.

D12 is an important part of our offense and if the Rockets just ignore him, they do so at the peril of their team. It is much easier for Portland to defend the Rockets when D12 isn't getting his touches.

By the way, D12 ended up shooting 7-14 FG's, 11-17 FT's, 14 Rebounds, 2 Blocks, 2 Steals, 2 Assists 25 total points with only 3 turnovers.

So I just don't get why it's such a bad thing for the Rockets to feed our big guy?

[Johnny Rocket]

My take:

 

--We still have a decent chance (35%) of winning the series.

 

--You can focus on Lin, but really, Beverly deserves a lot of the blame.  Lillard has had a great series, and Rahat's prediction of the Rockets winning in five was predicated on Beverly shutting down Lillard.  Lillard is a perhaps a lot better than we thought.

 

--One of the things you lose with the Asik/Howard pairing is the running game.  The Rocket's transition offense looked terrible last night, and the major reason was not having Jones on the floor.  That doesn't mean we should not play the two big men together, but it will have its costs.

 

--One of things I notice watching playoff games is that everybody's offense schemes seem to break down late in games.  Portland hit some big contested threes at the end of the game.  Great shots, but not signs of a well oiled machine.

 

--I don't find myself depressed or angry.  It has been a great series.  If Portland wins the series--and I'm not giving up yet!--they will be a handful for the next team.

 

--There is a real possibility that all four of the top seeds in the West will lose.  Not saying it will happen, but the fact it is at all possible is stunning.  It puts this series--which has been historically great in terms of excitement--in context.

[Charles B]

It is funny how people like to point finger on individual player. A play in a game is just a ONE play!!! We lost because there were many bonehead plays by many bonehead players. The major problem is HOU don't play like a team or understand the concept. Just look at the team stats and you will see what I mean. Other than REB, HOU was terrible in every other categories when compare to POR. 

 

Howard slow ISO post up give too much time for POR to double and triple team him. Harden ISO and slow reaction is so predictable it isn't even funny anymore. Parson no show in the late quarter because of his over usage by McHale so call playing "the Hot Hand" strategy. PBev not so effective so call great defense. Scapegoat Lin bad performance, and the invisible bench, etc., and many more. 

 

When will people going to held the team players and coaches accountable for the TEAM failure instead as a whole? If Lillard understand it, why can't everyone else (Houston fans included) see it?

[RocketMansinceStevieFrance]

You can not get out scored in every 4th quarter and almost every 3rd quarter and honestly expect to win a game in the playoffs... I am keeping my faith because I truly feel if this team would just take it play by play for 48 minutes and get the proper stops on defense and proper movement and shots in the offense they can win any game.

Like I said on a previous post the movement away from the ball during the PnR really concerns me. People always have to be moving with or without the ball to help set themselves up in case the ball handler can not get to the rim which happened a lot than Harden ends up taking an awful shot late in the shot clock.

[essex]

So I guess this is what happens when throughout the entire season McFail runs the offense thru one player seemingly without set plays. I wonder what Popovich could have done with this group...PnRs, drive and kick (Lin's forte vs being misutilized as a spotup shooter). This improv offense has crumbled under pressure.Theres a great video on YouTube by BBallbreakdown with analysis showing widespread fault in this team.

Edited by essex, 28 April 2014 - 03:41 PM.

[txtdo1411]

You can not get out scored in every 4th quarter and almost every 3rd quarter and honestly expect to win a game in the playoffs... I am keeping my faith because I truly feel if this team would just take it play by play for 48 minutes and get the proper stops on defense and proper movement and shots in the offense they can win any game.

Like I said on a previous post the movement away from the ball during the PnR really concerns me. People always have to be moving with or without the ball to help set themselves up in case the ball handler can not get to the rim which happened a lot than Harden ends up taking an awful shot late in the shot clock.

 

I have to agree with this. We have absolutely no movement outside of the two players involved in the PnR. I understand having Daniels or Bev or whoever in the corner for the 3, but there has to be other off ball cuts or screens. 

[Charles B]

So I guess this is what happens when throughout the entire season McFail runs the offense thru one player seemingly without set plays. I wonder what Popovich could have done with this group...PnRs, drive and kick (Lin's forte vs being misutilized as a spotup shooter). This improv offense has crumbled under pressure.Theres a great video on YouTube by BBallbreakdown with analysis showing widespread fault in this team.

So true. For some reason everyone seem to be fixed on the fact HOU lost the game because of one player or one play in the game. How sad.

[CT for Three]

As frustrating as it has been to watch the Rockets this series, I think we have to acknowledge one crucial thing: The Portland TrailBlazers, as an aggregate, are playing the best basketball of their lives right now. And yet they are still only winning these games by one possession each game.

 

LMA had the two biggest games of this postseason (and his career) in Games 1 and 2. And the Blazers still only won by the slimmest of margins. Last night, Nic Batum, who I acknowledge has been a Rocket-killer in the past, hit contested three after contested 3. Lillard is hitting 3s from 3 feet beyond the 3 point line. With Bev chasing after him like a rottweiler chases a mailman.

 

Sure, the Rockets have had chances to win each of these games, but the Blazers have stepped up their individual games. As the Jet might say, they are playing over their heads right now. Even with their flaws, the Rockets, with their efforts, may have won every game of this series if they were playing the "regular season version" of the Blazers, but alas. I would wager that no team in the postseason right now would be beating them in a series, maybe with the exception of Miami, but that is iffy in my opinion. I won't make excuses for the poor execution, especially down the stretch, but at some point we have to acknowledge the greatness of the Blazers in this postseason.

 

They might not make it past the second round because hot shooting inevitably goes cold at some point, but right now, the Blazers are playing at their best. The Rox are not. In order to beat the Blazers, our role players will need to play over their heads as well. They are capable of doing this, if McHale will open up the rotation a little bit, but we all know he won't. Right now, Blazers at their best will beat Rox (or anyone else in this postseason at that) not at their best.

[Rockets911]

Lin : "damaged goods"

For anyone trying to pin this on one particular player or one particular play is a complete joke. You shouldn't even write blogs unless it's to stir up controversy which is obvious in this statement. It kind of reminds me of ClutchFans which is ultimately retarded.

You know what's the dumbest thing and this doesn't even take a genius to figure this out so I'm pretty sure anyone here can figure this out.

Lin gets rebound, doesn't call timeout gets it stolen, they shoot a 3 and game ultimately goes into OT

What if ...
Lin gets rebound, dribbles and gets fouled, hits 2 ft's and win the game?

He still damaged goods? How many mentions were there that no one grabbed a rebound to "secure" the game in the first overtime game and LMA got that putback? Not many mentions. Anyone blame Dwight? Parsons? For not blocking out? It's just unbelievable the critism he gets. You even have McHale calling out Lin in the postgame:

"Jeremy gets the defensive rebound and dribbles it out and we lose the ball," McHale huffs. "We couldn't be any clearer, than 'Clear break or timeout."

Then, almost as if catching himself and realizing Larry Bird would have slapped him across the head if he threw a Celtic teammate like that under the bus back in the day, McHale suddenly adds: "That's not (Lin's) fault, he made a basketball play."

Have you ever seen a coach flagrantly call out one specific player as if the lose was totally his fault? Anyone?

My point is not everything is decided on one play. You had a good 8 minute span in the final minutes of the 4th where we only had 2 fg's made. Lin was taken out at about the 6:30 mark, we were up by 5. And he didn't even play overtime really but I guess he can be blamed for that too.

Anyone want to go tit for tat on boneheaded things that happen in a game I can do that but it's a waiste of time. It's a team game, there were multiple plays that could have turned out different. WE lost this game, coaches lost this game, player(s) lost this game.

I joined this board to debate reasonable gameplay and topics. Not to point fingers, if I wanted to do that I'd be on clutchfans which is horrendous. But when I read that garbage statement "damaged goods" as if he's totally useless and doesn't perform it kind of ticks me off. And I'm not even a huge individual supporter. I support the Houston Rockets. Not an individual.

Edited by Rockets911, 28 April 2014 - 04:14 PM.

[Charles B]

Lin : "damaged goods"

For anyone trying to pin this on one particular player or one particular play is a complete joke. You shouldn't even write blogs unless it's to stir up controversy which is obvious in this statement. It kind of reminds me of ClutchFans which is ultimately retarded.

You know what's the dumbest thing and this doesn't even take a genius to figure this out so I'm pretty sure anyone here can figure this out.

Lin gets rebound, doesn't call timeout gets it stolen, they shoot a 3 and game ultimately goes into OT

What if ...
Lin gets rebound, dribbles and gets fouled, hits 2 ft's and win the game?

He still damaged goods? How many mentions were there that no one grabbed a rebound to "secure" the game in the first overtime game and LMA got that putback? Not many mentions. Anyone blame Dwight? Parsons? For not blocking out? It's just unbelievable the critism he gets. You even have McHale calling out Lin in the postgame:

"Jeremy gets the defensive rebound and dribbles it out and we lose the ball," McHale huffs. "We couldn't be any clearer, than 'Clear break or timeout."

Then, almost as if catching himself and realizing Larry Bird would have slapped him across the head if he threw a Celtic teammate like that under the bus back in the day, McHale suddenly adds: "That's not (Lin's) fault, he made a basketball play."

Have you ever seen a coach flagrantly call out one specific player as if the lose was totally his fault? Anyone?

My point is not everything is decided on one play. You had a good 8 minute span in the final minutes of the 4th where we only had 2 fg's made. Lin was taken out at about the 6:30 mark, we were up by 5. And he didn't even play overtime really but I guess he can be blamed for that too.

Anyone want to go tit for tat on boneheaded things that happen in a game I can do that but it's a waiste of time. It's a team game, there were multiple plays that could have turned out different. WE lost this game, coaches lost this game, player(s) lost this game.

I joined this board to debate reasonable gameplay and topics. Not to point fingers, if I wanted to do that I'd be on clutchfans which is horrendous. But when I read that garbage statement "damaged goods" as if he's totally useless and doesn't perform it kind of ticks me off. And I'm not even a huge individual supporter. I support the Houston Rockets. Not an individual.

We need Lin as a scapegoat. If he doesn't play, than people need to find another player to take the attention off HOU real problem; which is teamwork. Just compare the 4th quarter defense between POR and HOU. See the difference?

[uojoe82]

The Rockets didn't lose this game on one play or for one particular reason, they lost because the Blazers are a really good team with really good players and a coach making all the right moves. 

 

As the Blazers have shown in the playoffs they look like the better team. Darryl Morey has tried to compare this matchup to a coin flip each game with the outcome being 3 to 1. I disagree. From what I've seen the Blazers have been the better (coached) team and each game hasn't been a 50/50 proposition.

 

A lot of Rocket fans will point to the Jeremy Lin turnover with 28 seconds left (while the Rockets were up 2) that cost the Rockets the game. This didn't cost the Rockets the game. Suspect play calling, iso ball, and horrible perimeter defense cost the Rockets the game.

 

The Lin turnover will stand out to many because one would assume had Lin held the ball or passed the ball the rockets would've held on and won. Well no one will ever know what would've happened. Maybe the Rockets would've held on and won. But as this series has shown no lead is safe. After watching the replay what Lin should've done was pass the ball ahead to Parsons who was open and right in front of him. However Parsons was 0-2 from the line last night. Would he have made the free throws had the Blazers chosen to foul? We dont know and and to blame the loss on Lin for his one play is unfair.

 

Lin made some bad plays last night. The Lin and Harden PnR where Lin's pass was deflected and stolen which led to a transition bucket also sticks out as a bad play. But Lin wasn't the reason the Rockets lost, for most of the series he's been bad from a shooting stand point but he's also the only rocket that has been penetrating the defense and he's also the only rocket that has been passing the ball. He played only 21 minutes last night but he still managed 4 assists. Harden led the team with 6 assists (in  twice as many minutes). The starting PG Beverley had 6 point and 1 assist in 37 minutes. Its obvious by now that Beverleys defense on Lillard is superficial and looks good on TV but has had little impact on the game or Lillards production. Lillard has been able to do whatever he wants this series. In the 4 games so far Lillard has been fantastic. Hes averaging 26 a game and he's been shooting 48% from behind the arc (averaging 3,5 makes a game). He's also increased his assists and rebound per game to 7.5 assists and 6 rebounds per games. In addition he's getting to the line a lot (8.5 made FT's a game) and only turning the ball over 2 times a game while playing 45.5 minutes a game.

 

Not only are the blazers dominating the PG matchup but they are also winning the All Star guard matchup. Harden might be scoring more per game but Hardens shot volume and turnovers in addition to his defense are killing the Rockets.  

 

Harden was good and bad last night. He's scoring but its taking a lot of shots for him to get his points. For the series hes shot the ball 103 times. That would be OK but hes making less than 35% of his shots. Behind the arc he's been even worse. After 4 games he's shot 41 three pointers making a paltry 27% (thats rounding up). He's never been a great three point shooter but these percentages are getting to the point where he needs to stop shooting threes unless he's open. I won't even start on his defense because whats left to say?

 

The blazers have figured out how to contain Harden and James has done little to adapt. Matthews has done an admirable job of defending Harden and Harden continues to force the ball to the rim leading to heavily contested shots or turnovers. He's not getting calls and this isn't surprising. I would love to see Harden try to be more selective about shooting and try to be more of a playmaker. I doubt this will happen.

 

Dwight on offense was great and his rim protection was great (and needed considering the number of blazers taking turns going to the rim). But the rockets offense of your turn my turn is killing the flow of the game. The ball doesnt move once it gets to either Howard and Harden. In the first half Parsons was great because he was being aggressive when he got the ball. In the second half its as if every rocket player was instructed to give the ball to Harden or Howard and then wait. This offense is baffling.

 

Troy Daniels has been spectacular shooting the ball but like the rest of the Rocket perimeter players he too is bad at defense. This might be attributed to his inexperience but he could also be learning D from Harden. 

 

I didn't expect the Rockets to contend this year but I thought they would get out of the first round for sure. When the playoff matchups were up I wasn't as confident as many Rocket fans about easily beating the blazers but I still thought the Rockets were the better team and in a 7 game series the better team usually wins. Well i had the wrong team as the better team.

 

One other thing, to blame the PG play is easy and understandable but having James Harden means that the PG will always be option B when it comes to running the offense. Even if the Rockets had a more established and experience PG like a Rondo or Dragic it would still be the Harden show. Do you really think Harden would ever relinquish control of the offense to another guard? We see how Harden reacts when the Rockets choose to play D12 in the post. If Mchale ever to Harden that the offense was moving to a more tradition PG central offense Harden might never leave the bench in protest. 

 

 

[uojoe82]

We need Lin as a scapegoat. If he doesn't play, than people need to find another player to take the attention off HOU real problem; which is teamwork. Just compare the 4th quarter defense between POR and HOU. See the difference?

Thank You.

 

Lin took the ball from Williams in game 3 and passed it to Daniels for the game clinching 3. WIlliams took the ball from Lin in game 4 that led to an eventual blazers win. However in game 4 the Rockets also had 5 addtional minutes to lose the game. 

[miketheodio]

this is highly disappointing in the way this is happening.

 

whatever happens, whoever is enforcing the notion of a unstructured offense (undisciplined defense as well), needs to take a real honest look at this idea.

Edited by miketheodio, 28 April 2014 - 04:32 PM.

[RocketMansinceStevieFrance]

Another note is I really feel like another big key is in every game the Blazers have controlled the flow of the game in every stand point. The Rockets have tried setting the pace but the blazers always seem too bounce back with a fast break 3 or a big dunk. If the Rockets can control the 2nd half pace for just 1 game I truly feel like we will see a different outcome.

BUT, I am also not sure if Harden is truly ever going to scale back and play the team game if he does than the Rockets will only get better and harder to beat. Like parsons says this team will not win unless they play the team game.