Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Rockets vs Lakers Game #17 Game Thread

512 comments:

  1. It will be one tough game bc the Lakers are pissed after a disappointing lost against Orlando.

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  2. Good luck Jeremy Lin and GOD bless you.

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  3. Down by 10 already so early! #sigh

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  4. Lin picks up 2 fouls early and has to sit. Bryant playing out of his mind. The Lakers, especially Kobe, playing like they have a point to prove.

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    1. Haha. To be fair, loads of people were expecting something like this. However, I wasn't expecting Toney Douglas to be (at this point, 2 mins remaining) to be scoring leader for the Rockets lol

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    2. Extra motivation for the Lakers indeed.

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    3. Kobe needs 52 points to 30,000.
      [Trying tonight?]

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    4. Yeah, what was Lin thinking? Anytime a defender tries to draw a Charge on Kobe ... they will ALWAYS call it a blocking foul!

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    5. @via

      probably, and the loss to the Magic was embarrassing.

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    6. At this point it is probably better to let Kobe get his shots. Not like waving a hand in Kobe's face does much when he is in this mood anyway.

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  5. Toney Douglas on fire!

    This may be a bad night for Lin, with limited minutes due to his inability to stay out of foul trouble.

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    1. When Douglas is your leading scorer, you know your team is in trouble.

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    2. It's the way that the Rockets are playing offense. They are only shooting jumpshots, they are not driving or using the pick n' roll. Douglas and Delfino are hitting the 3-pointer. The rest of the team is ice cold from outside. That's all they got going for them.

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  6. Lin deferring to other teammates again. He seems to do that a lot when playing against elite teams. Now he picks up 2 fouls for overhelping on D.

    I hope Coach Sampson saw that Lin was a much better defender on Kobe than Parsons.

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    1. Lin's defense was so excellent against Kobe that he had to try that Larry Bird's over the back board shot.

      Noone in the Rockets is shooting well except for Douglas. I agree that Lin can take a page from him to be really aggressive and score and not just defer to his teammates.

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    1. Lol! Yeah! Maybe lin will be bench a lots of time

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    2. wonder what Doug had for dinner...

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    3. believe it or not he is capable of scoring a lot. Its once in a blue moon but it happened before.

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  8. Dougie is playing with confidence. He's keeping Rockets in this game. Playing good D also.

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  9. I don't think Lin is coming back into the game this half...

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    1. Well, Douglas is playing so well. He's carrying the Rockets.

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    2. it's actually good for Lin to see that he needs to be aggressive like Douglas. he's just in so let's see how he plays

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  10. Argh Lin shooting that high arcer from the three again

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  11. Lin is 1-4 shooting.

    Meanwhile, Douglas has 12 points to lead the Rockets!

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  12. Those two quick fouls took Jeremy out of his rhythm. Happened last season against Boston, too.
    I think he'll come on strong in the second half, though...

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    1. The Rockets are playing scared. It's like they are so intimidated by Howard's shotblocking that they miss every shot.

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  13. I don't care about the arc. That one missed to the side by a mile -- an ugly shot.

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  14. Seriously, the Rockets are 4-18 from 3-point range ... yet they keep shooting for 3's. SMH.

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  15. Rocket's offense is out of synch. They need either Douglas or Delfino to make some 3 pointers. Harden, Parsons and Lin can't make the 3PTs so far.

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  16. Seriously you just know that 3 pointer by Lin wouldn't go in once put it up. He needs to get a more consistent form.

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    1. He practices his new shooting form a lot, he practices more hours than any other player on the team. But he seems to revert to his old habits high pressure situations.

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  17. 3rd fouls ! He is killing himself man .

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  18. Was it a floater or a shot -- that was an ugly shot also -- forced it. Dougie to the rescue. Lin really looks bad today.

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  19. When Rockets making threes, the floor opens up and Lin gets to penetrate. When no one is shooting well from beyond the arc, Lin's and Harden's poor midrange becomes very obvious.

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    1. The Rockets looked very intimidated from the opening tip. I think they saw the Lakers team, remembered the last time when DHoward and Kobe dominated them, and got scared.
      They're losing this game mentally.

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    2. I don't know about Harden but Lin has a mid range game. He just doesn't use it here in Houston for some reasons. I don't know if it's the coaching as they perceive the mid range shots as "less efficient".

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    3. Cara: Lin is really only making shots at the basket consistently this season.

      http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/linje01/shooting/2013/

      Look at all the misses from midrange. His percentage has dropped like a rock from his Knicks %. His scoring from the rim has been better than last year but his jumper/floater from midrange is gone.

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    4. oops, I meant [Cara:] mid range shots -> perceived less efficient/ undesirable.

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  20. ahhh! damn. seems like lin and harden struggle big time vs. the big name teams

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  21. You know your team is in a bad way when Douglas is outscoring the starting backcourt on slightly more than half the attempts. LOL.

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  22. interestingly the Rockets 2nd unit played better against Lakers first unit. They're not afraid to shoot the ball.

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  23. Houston and Lin in particular are stinking it up big time.

    All except for Toney Douglas!

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    Replies
    1. TD 14 pts on 5-for-8 shooting or Rox would have 31 pts on 12-for-45 shooting.

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  24. Can't believe this is a NBA game i'm watching in the last two minutes of the first half.

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  25. Looking at the replay that was very obviously a charge by Kobe. JLin was standing right in front of him, and he leaned right into him. Charge by Kobe, but the refs would never allow that :(

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  26. I am not going to call Dougie a scrub. He has a good game when he feels confident. Probably the worst half I have seen Lin play.

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  27. If I were the Rockets coach, I would try to roll out a lineup of Douglas, Lin, Harden, Parsons and Asik lineup. Let Lin guard Kobe and put Parsons on Jamison.

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    1. 3 guards no PF? Such a small lineup vs lakers big men though

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  28. i just don't get it...it's the lakers...you're at home...you've had like 3 days of rest? WTF.

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  29. The Rockets are shooting themselves out of the game, taking too many 3's that aren't falling. Going to isolation game really early in the shot clock.

    The only thing keeping the Rockets in the game right now is offensive rebounds.

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  30. Sims should play some strategy game from the bench, is the starters are not in the right mind. Just rest JL and JH for couple of minutes and let the second team run.

    Hopefully that would build some fire in JL and JH. Comeon guys...lets go....

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  31. The Rockets (except for Toney Douglas) have shriveled up into a fetal position in the face of the mighty LA Lakers! LOL.

    As Kobe Bryant recently said to Pau, "it's time to put your big boy pants on!"

    The Rockets need to put their big boy pants on and stop humiliating themselves.

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  32. Lin seems to be intimidated by the weak defense of Duhon. Got cut off on the dribble drive and threw it away. He needs to develop some kind of spin move, behind the back dribble, etc. when the defender cuts off his drive path.

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    1. I'd like to think it's the presence of Dwight that is infecting the brains of the Rockets starters. I'm more annoyed that Lin is letting Duhon drive by him so often. Duhon! Argh.

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    2. Yeah, he just doesn't look right today. Offensively or defensively, missed a wide open layup.

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  33. Put in Douglas

    Play a three guard lineup

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  34. Well atleast sampson realized Delfino should be playing instead of Patterson.

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  35. Lin always double team in the paints and let wide open outside ! That's not good

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  36. Lin sits after his fourth foul after trying to draw a charge on Kobe... again...

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  37. Stupid lin! 4 fouls already ! Why ? Take that risk?

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    1. It seems to be second nature for him to help on defense. He probably doesn't even think when he does it.

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    2. exactly what i was thinking! Stop trying to take the charge when you are in foul trouble! No need to reach on howard on double teams!

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    3. I won't say Lin is "stupid" for what he is doing, but I will say that it is bad defence. He was staying on his man and playing smart defence the last few games and today he reverts to overhelping, letting Duhon penetrate, and trying to take charges against Kobe.

      I wonder if he is overenthusiastic against Kobe today because he wants to prove a point over the "death stare".

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    4. To qualify though - I am not sure if the overhelping is coach mandated. To be fair... every coach double teams Kobe and Lin was just unlucky to be on that assignment on a few plays

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    5. He's letting Duhon get around him because he's in foul trouble, and if he so much as breaths on anyone, he'll get whistled for a foul. Apparently nobody told the refs that Jeremy Lin is a future All-Star and should get some calls going his way.

      The refs are strongly Pro-Lakers.

      Some players just have that instinctive "Autopilot" on defense and offense, they are conditioned to play a certain way.

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  38. Houston's shooting is turrible as Barkley would have said! Harden is just cold.

    Hope they gut it out before it's too late. Lin needs to come out gunning in the 4th.

    At least Lakers is helping with silly TOs

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  39. Come on ! The lakers is not too strong now.no gasol , Nash .

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  40. Really have to take this one. Friday will play the spurs

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  41. Did I... did I just see the Lakers double team Douglas at half court...

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  42. Yeah...this is just an off-night for Lin, Harden and the Rockets.

    It happens. The early fouls really took Jeremy out of his game.

    Wizards beat Heat tonight...sometimes you just don't have it.

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    1. Harden is 2-18 and Houston is only trailing 7.

      Hope Asik, Lin and Parsons can come back and make a run to steal this one!

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    2. There is an element of truth in it BUT there is no pau, chris duhon is an alright pg and they had 3 days of rest...
      Also, for some reason when Lin and Harden play the lakers ,they always seem "off" for some reason.
      So far, the Rockets are are not a very good road team AND they have trouble with teams that are quite athletic (nuggets, okc) and those with big men.
      In my opinion, although we all like Lin playing to his strengths(points in the paint), he has to develop other offensive weapons in the long run.
      Every time Lin has a good game, he always ends up having a bad game the next that is why sometimes I dont know whether to get excited or not when he does well LOL...well he is still a work in progress .Hope he continues to improve :)

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    3. yeah it could, but for LIN, he seems to be having a lot of them so far this season.

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    4. It sucks but yeah that's the reality. Don't want to hear about early foul trouble this or that. He just didn't perform and it's a big problem.

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  43. Replies
    1. I think if he keeps on playing like this, he will get more minutes.

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  44. Fck... Toney Douglas is outplaying Lin tonight...

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    1. Be happy for him. He isn't taking Jeremy's job anytime soon.

      And it'll help take heat off Jeremy for a bad game if they somehow manage to win.

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    2. This one is really on Harden if you ask me. Man the Beard looked awful tonight.

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    3. I agree. I'm very happy for Douglas. Also, he seems like a very amicable guy. I don't think he's the scrub some have claimed. Sure it's just one game, but it's noteworthy. And he's had noteworthy games prior to this one.

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    4. yeah, i think douglas can be a solid role player. He sucks because he's not a "point guard." He's more of a nate robinson points off the bench/hustle type of guy.

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    5. I can see why you pointed out harden but to single him out when he's not the only one playing horrible today is... pretty biased. This loss is on everyone who didnt produce/perform is more fitting.

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    6. Looks like it might actually be a win though.

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  45. The thing is ... The Bench of the Rockets is coming up big and going on a scoring run everytime they go in. They are hungry, playing with energy ... and are not intimidated by the overhyped Lakers.

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  46. Douglas is really playing well. Gotta give the credit to him to keep the game close. Lin can learn to be aggressive like Toney

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    1. It's just an off-game for Jeremy after he was hot all week -- the two early fouls made him stop being aggressive (can't drive hard or play tough man-to-man).

      Go Toney go. He's deserves a big game. I wanna see Jeremy and Douglas on the court together. Harden is even more off than Jeremy tonight.

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  47. 4 pts down... 5 mins to go... Time to Hack-A-Dwight?

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  48. Thank God for Laker's silly TOs.
    18 TOs for Lakers vs 9 TOs for Houston.

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  49. Replies
    1. Well, you can't blame the coach. Douglas was carrying the whole starting lineup.

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    2. freaking lin needs to take this personally! i hope his competitive nature really makes him improve. sittin out in the finishing of games against portland, chicago, and now this .

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    3. He played terribly against Chicago and now the Lakers.

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    4. Just o.O when TD getting 4Q minutes over JLin...

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    5. He has no competitive nature, he's not playing for personal glory.

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    6. LIN needs to take this personally and get better. I can't blame the coaches for leaving douglas in...

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    7. crap. douglas is inching his way into more minutes....lin come on man!

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  50. Harden still trying hero ball and turns it over...

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  51. couldnt they sit harden and put lin in? I know it sound crazy to people but Harden is having a far worser night than Lin

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    1. never happening. like it or not, harden is considered numero uno 80 mill man on the team. lin is considered a solid piece..nothing more..

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    2. No. Harden this season and lin this season is why harden is on the floor now

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    3. Coach has no confidence in Lin. Will use every little excuse to bench him, and Lin isn't playing super-duper good to justify being on the court.

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    4. Doesn't matter. Harden could be 1-19 and still be on the floor. He's highly paid ... and he's Black.

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    5. yeah life's not fair. when you are considered " the man" of the team, you can get away with pretty much everything.

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  52. Rockets bench > Lakers starters??? hahaha

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    1. Looks that way.

      Maybe Lin needs to come off the bench, his game is really frustrating to watch today.

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    2. the 6th man?? they are getting good publicity these days.

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  53. I'm a big fan of Greg Smith.

    Smith is by far the best low-post finisher the Rockets have. Would love to see him play with Jeremy more -- remember that awesome preseason CP3-style dish during preseason?

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  54. You gotta love it seeing Parsons and Lin are standing to cheer their teammates from the bench!

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  55. Frustrating game for Lin fans.

    Foul trouble early and most of the game, never getting any kind of rhythm, not seeing any action end of game.

    Tony is playing out of his mind this game though, gotta give the dude some props, even if it's at the expense of Jeremy.

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  56. That will take the lin's confident back to hell

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    1. Nah he'll be ok since Golden Boy Chandler Parsons is on the bench too.

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    2. well if this is all it takes for lin's confidence to go down the drain, then I would seriously consider him capable of being a productive player in the nba. It's the pros, everyone is trying to take your spot. not just bc of the fame, but the $ too. so no, i doubt this does anything to lin.

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  57. Toney, Toney, Toney! Hehehehe. Good for him.

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  58. DOUGLASANITY!!!

    And the D12 Hack-a-thon continues...

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  59. Even Dwight is going to get into a FT rhythm at this rate lol

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  60. Oh oh, ClutchFans is going to start calling for Douglas to start over Lin.

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    1. It happens all the time Lin has a bad game.Even when he has a good game, it is not enough for them. Gotta get used to it. Lin did bad so he does deserve some criticism. I am still happy for Douglas though. He got no love back in ny and I would like to assume that he had Lin's back even when Lin started over him. What is frustrating is that Lin seems to under performs in big games. Hope it is just a coincidence and not a mental/confidence thing.

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  61. Carlos Delfino jacks up a contested 3-pointer .... Why?

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  62. Dwight is PISSED lol!

    Even if Rox loses this has been entertaining 4th!

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  63. The hacking strategy may not always work ..they should be looking to score too.

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  64. Lead 1 pts . Don't need to foul horwatd

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  65. I bet TD didn't think he'd lose his starting job to Lin last season. Jeremy's got to step it up.

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  66. Such bad luck that in games when Jeremy is benched/playing a bit poor TD explodes lol.

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  67. This is such an entertaining game OMG

    I am lollin' so hard here

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    1. AND GREG SMITH MAKES BOTH FT!

      15.7 seconds to go!

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    2. :)Greg Smith almost iced the game now!

      I'm lovin' the energy in Toyota Center!

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    3. Douglas misses his first FT of the season! WOW! 2 pts differential with 8 seconds left

      And you know Kobe can hit those threes

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    4. You know he will take the shot now

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    5. me too this feels like im watching a comedy show. I know Jlin played bad tonight but this is a big LOL to the lakers. I mean toney Douglas of all people and howard's FT woes showing again. So much for the new face of the franchise. Kobe is probably pissed.

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    6. Kobe wasn't the same after JLin's elbow to the face lol

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  68. JLin wasn't focused today. Parsons wasn't focused today. Asik was getting mauled inside by the much more athletic Dwight Howard.

    That's the reason all 3 are sitting on the bench.

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  69. Wow, they might just win this game thanks to TD/Smith

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  70. Greg Smith deserves more time. Maybe at PF alongside Asik.

    You can only run the PnR with a big who can finish.

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  71. Great win for Rox, disheartening as a Lin fan

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  72. Rockets win ! Using their Bench and Hack-a-Ho strategy down the stretch.

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  73. Rockets wins after being down 17!!!!!!!

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  74. Poor shooting night and still a double double for harden

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  75. Before anybody gets their panties up in a tizzy about Douglas outplaying Harden (I mean Lin), let's not forget that the Houston starters have been extensively scouted.

    Sometimes in the NBA, bench players can take advantage of being unscouted.

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    1. @Khuang

      I'm fine with that. My question is how does TD get 17 shot attempts in one game vs. Jlin only taking 8 shot attempts? I know TD was probably hot all night, but it still doesn't make sense why Jlin can't take 17-19 shot attempts like Harden does.

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    2. The bench is also scouted in the NBA, are they not? UNLESS a player basically plays no minutes, but TD is a backup pg, I'm pretty sure he's scouted.

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    3. True! Although we'd like to see Lin be the star every night, it's good to see the strong chemistry in Houston Rockets.

      You can tell Parsons, Lin and Asik are genuinely happy for their teammates to pull this upset!

      I'll take Greg Smith's FT anytime over Howard's!!! And he looks like Dwight's twin.

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    4. LOL @ KayHuang,

      Clownin' it up, huh. Nice excuses.

      TD showed JLin how to be a baller. Play like a man, not like a pussy, like Lin has been playin this year.

      Remember, only the strong survive in this world. If you're gonna be weak-n-meek, then someone will take what you have by force. Your words, not mine.

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  76. Lin pushes Greg Smith at the end of the game. LOL!

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  77. I am upset with Lin's performance, BUT really happy for this team. I hope Tony D gets his confidence back and the whole 2nd unit can have something they can work on! That was one hell of a game!

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  78. I didn't see the game but:

    How the hell does TD take 17 shots and Jlin only taking 8 shots?

    Both of them had 4 personal fouls.

    TD played 28 mins vs. Jlin 19mins.

    17 shot attempts = 21 pts = TD

    8 shot attempts = 4 points = JLIN

    WDF, this doesn't make sense. Why doesn't JLIN shoot the ball more.

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    1. TD got the fouls at the end for Hack-A-Dwight... very different. (I think)

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    2. Okay thanks wifflewiffle, that makes sense. So how come Jlin took only 8 shot attempts vs. TD taking 17 shot attempts?

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    3. well Jlin got all the fouls early in the game while some of Toney's foul are on Howard in the fourth.

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    4. JLin lacks confidence in his shot currently, while TD is an old-school relentless chucker.

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    5. Because JLin was shooting/driving like garbage and took fouls early so he got benched since 3rd, and bench was on fire Sampson kept bench in.

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    6. That's true! Douglas fouled Dwight 2 or 3 times between 3:15 and 2:00 left in the 4th quarter.

      Douglas came in hot shooting 3PTs while Lin focused on defense and facilitating but the paint was packed so the PnR was not working, also the 3PT shooting was not falling.

      I agree that Lin needs to be more aggressive in shooting and not just facilitating.

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    7. @wifflewiffle @romz

      Ok thanks for the foul situation explanation guys.

      But what about those 8 attempts vs. 17 shot attempts? Was most of the shot attempts by TD in the 4th or was he just on fire all game?

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  79. Great to know they win. But what happened to Jeremy? Anything wrong with him? Just look at the score right now. Not sure what is happening.

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    1. Lin was in foul trouble all game, couldn't penetrate and never got in rhythm.

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  80. this is so shocking its really funny. probably the worst lost for the Lakers this season. I almost feel bad for them. Well almost.. And this is with Lin and harden playing bad and Asik not even playing most of the 4th.

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    1. All of the Starters were terrible. They were beaten by Douglas. LOL!

      This is more embarrassing than the Magic game. The Magic were at least making shots. Afflalo had like 30-40 , Davis had 20+, Jameer had a double-double.

      But the Rockets players were so terrible that a loss to them seems impossible. But I cannot believe that LAkers still found a way to lose this game. SMH at them.

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  81. SMH at the Lakers...

    Giving up that huge lead and allowing Douglas (of all people) to have a career defining night.

    The Rockets starters were TERRIBLE but still can't win.

    LOL

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    1. Your prediction turned out to be wrong though lol

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    2. Didn't you predict Lakers by 15? Why a sudden change of heart?

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    3. Glad I was wrong. I predicted Lakers would win by 8. It was the right decision to leave out Lin and play Harden and leave Dougie in also. Otherwise, might not have won.

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  82. TD needs a job too. anyway, as long as they're winning, jlin can take his time off.

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  83. YEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!

    That was ridiculous.

    Kudos to the bench (especially Douglas and Smith). Gutsy win for the Rox. The starters just were not in it. At all. Still, I loved watching their support from the bench. This team is really jelling, there will be times when they will have to trust each other and performances like these build on that trust.

    Not much for us to take away from this one, but the Lakers have problems.

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  84. cheers to TD, Smith, and Delfino!!!

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  86. That kid Greg Smith played hard. Me like me like!

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  87. Get ready for the Lin-Hater trolls to come out blitzing this forum. They wait very patiently for a chance to take cheap shots at him... it's almost like ... they have no life of their own.

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  88. It's highest chance that TD will take a lots of minutes from lin in the future.watch!

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  89. Thank god Rockets won. Why is JLin taking charges from Kobe one after another when he's in foul trouble himself? That's not team defense but plain stupidity. Does JLin think the refs gonna call it his way. I just don't understand why he can play great one day and horrible the next.

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