Harden is bricking like crazy and not playing any D. Looks tough tonight. Some other players gonna need to step up. Lin is doing his best to keep them in it. He might need 40 tonight.
Sure. And if that happens who is going to score? That is what you aren't getting. The problem with the Rockets tonight isn't really defense. It is that no one but Lin and Harden are scoring. You could put Beverly or whoever in the game, but the Rockets still wouldn't score enough points.
Lin is struggling with his 3 point shot in the 2nd half. He missed twice on the one sequence where Houston was able to get some offensive rebound. On the other end, Houston lets Dufus scored on them. That's twice on Asik.
And this would result in the Rockets winning more games, right? So, replacing Harden with a better - but still not very good - defensive player who won't score 25 ppg will make the Rockets a better team? Is that what you are saying?
Nobody is asking to trade Harden. But if you actually watch the games, you'll see Harden is a ball stopper on O and doesn't give 100% defense every play.
I've seen the games. Harden is their 2nd best player and it isn't close. Harden is not Lin's problem or the Rockets' problem. McHale is both. (As is a general lack of talent or depth on the team, especially in the frontcourt). Which makes the obsessive Harden bashing ridiculous. The guy has flaws as a player, OK big deal. That doesn't justify the hatred that he gets on his site. It really makes me think that folks will only be happy if it is Lin and 11 scrubs. Well, no, because then they would complain about the team not winning.
The hatred towards Harden is only when he hogs the ball when Lin clearly has a better shot or is on a hot streak. Yes, same posters here simply hate Harden but that's a small minority of posters who don't really follow basketball outside of Jeremy Lin.
"The hatred towards Harden is only when he hogs the ball when Lin clearly has a better shot or is on a hot streak."
Reality checks: 1. Harden plays shooting guard and was brought in to be the team's leading scorer and main guy on offense. 2. Harden is the only proven scorer on the team, and without his offense the team goes nowhere. (This WAS NOT the case with the Knicks last year.) 3. Lin plays PG.
This Rockets team as it is currently constructed is not one where Lin is going to get to maximize his offensive potential. The irony is that if you want to see Harden share the ball more and Lin score more points, you need to root for the Rockets to get a frontcourt guy that can score.
Have you been watching the games? Most of the Rockets' players are bad at defense AND offense. Yet they get none of the vitriol that is directed towards Harden.
Despite everything that's gone wrong...the Rockets would still have a good chance if it weren't for the two horrible NON-CALLS on Jeremy. He was hammered and should have 4 FTs this quarter.
The run won't happen when you are playing 1 on 5. Houston's 2nd team aren't playing well tonight. D-Mo is a turn over machine and nobody can stop Denver's bigs.
The first team isn't playing well either. The only one playing well is Lin. As bad as Harden is playing, he is still 2nd in scoring, 2nd in assists and 3rd in rebounds.
My question is why the heck does Lin need help on Andre Miller posting on him? I really don't understand that concept. Lin can hold his own against Miller.
Houston needs to worry about Igloo more than anything because he has been wrecking havoc when he is in the game. First against Garcia and then against Harden.
Play the bench now. It is time to concede the game. The Rockets clearly look tired and aren't playing tonight. They let Denver's 2nd team destroy them.
Harden iso'd all game, and passes it off for people to bail him out.
He was TRYING to play heroball, too bad Karl shut him down, because he is PREDICTABLE. He either drives to left, or takes a screen to the right for a jumper.
OK. And without Harden playing his game and getting to the line and scoring 14 points, would the Rockets be better off or worse off? Who else on the Rockets was going to score those points? Beverly? Asik? Smith? Garcia? Jones? Anderson? A bunch of guys who would never even get on the court for Denver? PREDICTABLE Harden is one of the 2 Rockets players that would actually get playing time in Denver or on most other NBA playoff teams.
You guys want the return of Linsanity, but playing that style would give Houston NO CHANCE on offense.
@Unknown, the hell are you talking about? Do you understand what iso ball is? Hero ball? Do you understand how Harden scores and facilitates vs how Lin scores and facilities? They're night and day. You prefer Harden's style while some of us prefer Lin's.
It's NOT about Lin vs Harden, it's about learning how to use BOTH players effectively. The coaching staff hasn't quite figured it out yet.
He simple does not coach defense and does not hold players accountable.
The only good thing Denver's commentators said all night was their bashing of Harden's "matador defense." Later they said, "He doesn't like to get back on D after a miss, does he?" Asik gave up, too. Jeremy got hammered all night with moving screens and no-calls...and he kept fighting.
McHale will coach defense when he gets good defensive players. Right now he doesn't have any, and expecting guys that he needs to score to tire themselves out on defense would mean fewer wins, not more. It would make you feel better about Lin having to play second fiddle to Harden, but the Rockets would be nowhere near the playoffs right now, and would not get any lottery picks for their trouble because they traded them away.
Defense is effort. we have smart players on this team. All we're looking for is effort, especially from harden. Put a hand up in someone's face, run back on D when you miss a long two. It's not that hard.
"McHale will coach defense when he gets good defensive players."
Dumbest statement ever.
You coach defense regardless of who you have. McHale even says it himself, they rely on their DEFENSE to create offensive opportunities, yet he does not coach defense.
14 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists = not doing anything. Harden was easily the 2nd best player tonight and you bash him instead of the 9 that were even worse. Gee, that is logical.
Only thing he did well was shooting FTs. He couldn't penetrate, couldn't shoot, couldn't defend. He was garbage today, even his biggest fan McHale benched him.
Oh yeah, I forgot you are reading boxscores, otherwise you'd know this.
I am not reading boxscores. I am pointing out that despite how badly he was playing, he was still easily the 2nd best player the Rockets had tonight. McHale benched him, true, but when that happened, we saw that Harden was their 2nd best player, because that was when the game got out of hand, and Lin was "benched" shortly thereafter. Harden was garbage, but so was the whole team other than Lin, and even Lin struggled with his shot during a critical stretch in the 3rd quarter when it was still a winnable game.
I never said that the game was lost because Lin was struggling. I only said that Lin had that scoring drought when it was still a somewhat competitive game in the 3rd. But even had Lin gone 5-5, the Rockets still would have lost because Lin wasn't getting any help from anyone else.
TJ was their second best player? First off I disagree, especially since Harden's 12 points in the 1st half - even if they were mostly from the line - were much more significant than anything that TJ did in either half. But even if you are correct, then that just proves that the Rockets had no chance.
Yes even though Rockets led for most of first half, they had no chance.
What's the difference?
- Karl adjusted, McHale didn't, but according to you it wasn't McHale's fault - Harden was getting blasted by announcers all game about his bs piss poor defense and was taken advantage of by Igloo and Miller all game. Karl was definitely playing to Harden's tune, yet Harden kept going ISO and forcing terrible shots, he never got into rhythm at top of the key and just kept bricking shot after shot, or passing the ball after he burned shot clock forcing Lin to take a shot with 2-3 seconds left. Yet he still does not pass the ball, even thou Garcia was open and Lin was cutting. And he is still the 2nd best player? He played like a scrub today. So predictable, drive to the left, jumper to the right. Cross overs on isos and try to split defenders, easy just post 3 in his way and watch him take charges.
Good night everybody. Turning to another channel now. Going to watch Iron Chef since Houston can't play Defense tonight, got out rebounded, missing a ton of shots, bad TOs and can't defend the perimeter as well. Just chalk it up as a bad night for Houston. Hopefully they can rebound the next game.
The frontcourt was slow, tired, complacent and clumsy.
A gazillion missed assignments and 50/50 rebounds given up. Asik was particularly cringe-worthy. He didn't even want to be there. At one point in the first half, he just watched McGee catch a ball tun 10 feet towards the hoop and dunk without so much as moving a muscle. Faried ate Smith's lunch in the 1st half.
Refs iced it in the early 3rd when Lin was leading a comeback -- two non-calls at the rim on layups, fastbreaks on the other end.
This is where experience comes into play. Not poised enough to deal with Nuggets bigs. TJ not enough energy as manimal and he seems to have a knack to pick the right places to go. As much as asik improved, he's not versatile enough. He has ways to go. Harden really needs to work on defense. No matter how much you score, a tam like this can keep up with more balanced scoring.
Better to face OKC or even the Spurs as a 7th seed than the Nuggets as a 6th seed. Nuggets are matchup nightmares. OKC has a sub-par coach and a feast-or-famine Westbrook. Spurs have Ginobli down and Parker banged up and their age in a fast-paced 7 game series can be a factor.
Look at it this way, Jeremy got his stats, put on a GREAT SHOW and the Rockets are better off in the 7th seed with no chance to face Denver.
Somehow Iguodala owns Harden whenever they play against each other. Bad matchup for HOU and this game shows clearly the mismatch. Playing against the SPURs in the offseason may give ROX better chance to go deeper into the playoffs.
Iguodala only had 18 points, and a lot of those were when Harden wasn't guarding him. Plus Wilson Chandler had 21 points, Corey Brewer had 22. Andre Miller also exceeded his season average with 11. The Rockets got toasted, plain and simple.
Were you one of those people who claimed that the solution to the Rockets' problem tonight was benching Harden? How did that work out?
Look, everyone on the Rockets stunk tonight but Lin, and even Lin's shooting went cold during the worst time during a critical stretch in the 3rd quarter. Harden played poorly but everyone else was worse on both ends of the floor. That is reality whether you want to deal with it or want to continue the season of Harden bashing.
I didn't suggest benching Harden neither had i bashed Harden. I'm not shy in telling you Harden is a liability to the team because of his lack of defense.
Lin didn't "go cold", he scored 5pts in 3 minutes after Harden sat.
Nuggets had momentum. Rox was trading shots, Lin was facilitating, and they adjusted to triple teaming him, and that's when DMo committed back to back TOs that broke into part of a 8-9pt run, Rox couldn't recover after that.
Yeah, don't get me wrong. Houston will probably lose to whatever team they face.
But never underestimate the power of Linning. Ever since high school, he's almost always at his best when the stakes are highest.
I can see OKC getting a bit rattled whereas Denver would not. Westbrook might try to "take over" in a close game to show up Harden or embarrass Lin...and he might shoot his team out of the game. He can drop 40 on you or go 6-20 with 8 TOs. And Brooks is not a master tactician who can adjust on the fly like Popovich and Karl.
And I am not shy in telling you that other 10 players on the team are a liability because of their lack of offense AND defense. Just as I was not shy in telling you that Iguodala only had 18 points with almost half of that being when Garcia was guarding him.
So Hou lost by 22 and 30 pts the first two times they met. What did I miss? I didn't see those games but I did see the third game between these two teams and it looked like OKC was in control till Hou came back about 7 mins left in the game. If that game was in OKC, Hou would've lost that game.
Quit telling me to "watch the freaking game" when you are going to keep spouting stuff that isn't true. I am talking about the stretch that Lin missed like 5 straight shots. Lin started out 6-8 then finished up strong but really struggled with his shot in between.
it's great seeing the obvious progress jeremy has made in the past 2.5 seasons in the nba. i dont remember seeing any other player develop and improve so much so soon - but then i havent been so captivated by any other athlete in my life.
Denver is such a dangerous team. When they had Danillo Gallinari i predicted them to make it to the finals. Without him I'm not so sure. Still have a chance. Keeping my fingers crossed. Lakers still my team, but absolutely no hope this year. Lakers might surprise in the first round. Rockets no match for Denver yet. Lin had a great night shooting. On a back to back with Denver was too much to ask.
BTW, like I said, Gallinari is overrated -- Chandler and Brewer did a GREAT job tonight. Chandler is actually shooting higher %s than Gallo and Brewer is the better defender and "intagibles" guy.
Yeah, that's another silver lining. He showed he can BRING IT on both games of a back-to-back...despite fatigue, despite cheating refs, despite poor support from teammates.
Even though I am not a huge fan of his, it looks like giving Josh Smith a big contract to play PF is the best (only) way to significantly improve this roster anytime soon. Hopefully the Rockets are already in contact with his agent.
Although I am a Lin fan, I think Denver just dare him to shot and drive. They just focused on clamping down Harden and our 3 pt shooters. I believe Jlin feels bad no matter how many pts he got because the whole team is collapsed on both ends of the floor.
Houston was tired, Houston matches up poorly against long deep athletic teams like Denver, and Houston really doesn't have that many guys with both skill and talent (they have some guys with one or the other but few with both).
Brent Yen you're delusional, he shot some contested shots and was aggressive. You can't stop Lin, Harden was missing shots and doing nothing on the defensive end as well as the rest of the team.
I continue to blame Mchale for the problems with Lin and harden. I still believe that they could be HOF pair of PGs for the Rox if coached properly. They really can compliment each other. Lin wants to pass and set up his teammates and harden is a natural shooter and he wants to shoot. It's not like Lin wants to take 20 shots himself, in fact CP3 would read Lin to pass every time Lin made the penetration and stole at least 3 passes the last time they played. How hard can it be to make this happen naturally? How hard can it be when Lin wants to pass and harden wants to shoot to make an offense to work that way?
I have repeated many times since the beginning of the season that for all of Mchale's talk of ball movement and not sticky, he has harden doing ISO all too often and all of sudden the players stop moving because they don't want to clog the lane. But I also saw how Harden deliberately step aside for Lin to shine in the games against the Knicks. I really don't think it would take that much to convince harden to play more team ball or even play defense. It's all about accountability and consistency. Mchale is inconsistent with his treatment of his players.
Looked like a goal tend on the Faried block.
ReplyDeleteIt was at least a foul...
DeleteHe was also hammered down low on a fast-break but the refs decided to take matters into their own hands.
So sick of NBA refs...most are corrupt racist SOBs.
Here come the REFS to CHEAT LIN.
ReplyDeleteHAMMERED TWICE...no call.
Denver getting every little light contact at the rim.
bullshit i know
DeleteReally? No foul on that Lin layup? No wonder the Nuggets' got such a good home record!
ReplyDeleteHe got elbowed in the face too on the in-bounds pass right in front of the ref and no call...
DeleteLet's go, Jeremy!
ReplyDeleteWow I freaking hate farique.
ReplyDeleteLet's go, Jeremy!
ReplyDeleteDenver has our number..
ReplyDeleteThey have better players.
DeleteIf Rockets had Faried, they could go far. He's great defender and his offense is only going to improve.
ReplyDeleteDenver plays defense!
ReplyDeleteDefense is much easier when you're playing 8 on 5.
DeleteASIK is garbage tonight. Hasn't come down with a single 50/50 rebound all night.
ReplyDeleteOuthustled and totally clumsy.
He is tired. He obviously needs help, either a legit PF or a physical SF. Houston has neither.
DeleteYeah Asik has been awfully quiet tonight
DeleteUnfortunately Asik shows up against scrub teams, helped by setup passes from Lin and Harden. Against top teams he doesn't have the luxury.
DeleteI know he's tired but so is everybody. He's not even turning his head the right way.
DeleteSO many untested dunk where Asik just watches.
Harden is bricking like crazy and not playing any D. Looks tough tonight. Some other players gonna need to step up. Lin is doing his best to keep them in it. He might need 40 tonight.
DeleteFaried > Greg Smith + T Jones
ReplyDeleteIf Rockets had Faried, they could go far. He's great defender and his offense is only going to improve.
ReplyDeleteThe Rockets should get PF Josh Smith in free agency. They can afford him, and no one else will offer him close to what the Rockets can.
DeleteGame over I think.
ReplyDeleteUnless they sit Harden and get some defense in there.
Sure. And if that happens who is going to score? That is what you aren't getting. The problem with the Rockets tonight isn't really defense. It is that no one but Lin and Harden are scoring. You could put Beverly or whoever in the game, but the Rockets still wouldn't score enough points.
DeleteLin is struggling with his 3 point shot in the 2nd half. He missed twice on the one sequence where Houston was able to get some offensive rebound. On the other end, Houston lets Dufus scored on them. That's twice on Asik.
ReplyDeleteLin is tired.. That's when his shots fall short. Same with harden.
DeleteThey aren't really falling short. They are off to the side a bit.
DeleteLin probably getting tired. Sub him out now. Missing a ton
ReplyDeleteor not. Lin still confident
DeleteIguodala just bodychecked Lin -> no call
ReplyDeleteHe actually pushed him in the back and got the dunk. The commentators went orgasmically wild.
DeleteNope - he ran into Lins side and Lin fell.
DeleteHouston bigs have NO court awareness. Morey really needs to find a legit NBA power forward ASAP.
ReplyDeleteRockets look like a team that played last night AND the mile high air is killing them now.
Stupid stupid play by Harden to take a long 3 pointer with nobody ready and set. Faried was able to run out on the other end and got the easy dunk.
ReplyDeleteOH MY GOD STOP PASSING THE BALL TO HARDEN SIT HIS ASS DOWN LONG BRIK BECOMES FAST BREAK ARRRRGGGHHHH!!!!
ReplyDeletelmao
DeleteMcFail sub out Harden instead and leave Lin with Bev, T Jones, Anderson and D-Mo.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised too. Is McHale actually punishing Harden for taking another bad shot?!?
DeleteWhat da hell is up with this Denver scoreboard
ReplyDeleteOMG finally Harden sits!
ReplyDeleteJLIn with 20 with a nice looking mid-range jumper!
ReplyDeleteThe moment Harden sat down, Lin scores. What a coincidence.
DeleteMiller just faked out Beverley... come on BEV, the guy is 37 years old.
ReplyDeleteBev can't guard smart PG's.
DeleteLOL Mchale benched Harden
ReplyDeleteIs McFail conceding the game by letting his 2nd team play with Lin in there against Denver's high flying circus act?
ReplyDeleteTJones looks lost on D.
ReplyDeleteHarden has 14 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists and you are cheering their sitting him. Simply amazing ...
ReplyDeleteIt's cause he's lazy on D (more than anyone else on the court) and bricking shots. Give him some rest.
Deleteopponents scored on him more than his 14points...
DeleteYou are right. The Rockets would be a much better team without Harden. They should trade him for Steve Novak.
Deletei wont suggest to trade harden. he just needs to play D.
DeleteLol he has 2/10 many of them led to fast breaks.
DeleteAnd yes horrible D, he should sit.
And this would result in the Rockets winning more games, right? So, replacing Harden with a better - but still not very good - defensive player who won't score 25 ppg will make the Rockets a better team? Is that what you are saying?
DeleteNobody is asking to trade Harden. But if you actually watch the games, you'll see Harden is a ball stopper on O and doesn't give 100% defense every play.
DeleteI've seen the games. Harden is their 2nd best player and it isn't close. Harden is not Lin's problem or the Rockets' problem. McHale is both. (As is a general lack of talent or depth on the team, especially in the frontcourt). Which makes the obsessive Harden bashing ridiculous. The guy has flaws as a player, OK big deal. That doesn't justify the hatred that he gets on his site. It really makes me think that folks will only be happy if it is Lin and 11 scrubs. Well, no, because then they would complain about the team not winning.
Delete@Unknown, where is this coming from? Do you watch the games? Harden's defense is beyond crappy.
DeleteThe hatred towards Harden is only when he hogs the ball when Lin clearly has a better shot or is on a hot streak. Yes, same posters here simply hate Harden but that's a small minority of posters who don't really follow basketball outside of Jeremy Lin.
Delete@redking:
Delete"The hatred towards Harden is only when he hogs the ball when Lin clearly has a better shot or is on a hot streak."
Reality checks:
1. Harden plays shooting guard and was brought in to be the team's leading scorer and main guy on offense.
2. Harden is the only proven scorer on the team, and without his offense the team goes nowhere. (This WAS NOT the case with the Knicks last year.)
3. Lin plays PG.
This Rockets team as it is currently constructed is not one where Lin is going to get to maximize his offensive potential. The irony is that if you want to see Harden share the ball more and Lin score more points, you need to root for the Rockets to get a frontcourt guy that can score.
@Kauaiblue:
DeleteHave you been watching the games? Most of the Rockets' players are bad at defense AND offense. Yet they get none of the vitriol that is directed towards Harden.
Lol Unknown isn't even watching the game, don't waste your breath fellas.
DeleteDespite everything that's gone wrong...the Rockets would still have a good chance if it weren't for the two horrible NON-CALLS on Jeremy. He was hammered and should have 4 FTs this quarter.
ReplyDeletewith harden out u going to see a run by the rockets.
ReplyDeleteHas the run started yet?
DeleteHas the run started now?
DeleteStill waiting for that run to start. Any second now ...
DeleteDenver's lead got bigger when Harden sat. Maybe you meant a run by the Nuggets?
DeleteThe run won't happen when you are playing 1 on 5. Houston's 2nd team aren't playing well tonight. D-Mo is a turn over machine and nobody can stop Denver's bigs.
DeleteRun...ning out of gas.
DeleteThe first team isn't playing well either. The only one playing well is Lin. As bad as Harden is playing, he is still 2nd in scoring, 2nd in assists and 3rd in rebounds.
DeleteWe need Lin and Harden to be ON if we're gonna win this game.
ReplyDeleteHarden needs to turn on his scoring for the Rox to win.
DeleteMy question is why the heck does Lin need help on Andre Miller posting on him? I really don't understand that concept. Lin can hold his own against Miller.
ReplyDeleteHouston needs to worry about Igloo more than anything because he has been wrecking havoc when he is in the game. First against Garcia and then against Harden.
Deletecause they're stupid. It makes no sense.
DeleteWe're gettgin out rebounded on defense really bad.
ReplyDeletetrading shots but at this pace Rox will win Denver is tired we have fresh legs in there.
ReplyDeleteI think the fatigue will set in for the Rox in the 4th
DeleteKenoshi, are u fucking crazy? Denver is the one with fresh legs!! They're running roughshod over the Rockets!!'
Deletedude... i agree with haywood. rox is getting a taste of their own medicine.
DeleteWhen i said that they just put in 3 people from the bench. Sure its a back to back but these guys didn't play much minutes either game.
DeleteThey did all right trading shots for a while, until they stopped playing defense altogether.
why is dmo in?
ReplyDeleteMy God, take out D-Mo. He is terrible with passing. Caused two TO already.
ReplyDeleteHe hit Jeremy's face with that bounce pass
DeleteLol DMo and his TOs...
ReplyDeletePlay the bench now. It is time to concede the game. The Rockets clearly look tired and aren't playing tonight. They let Denver's 2nd team destroy them.
ReplyDeleteDMo 2 bad passes then tops it off with an airball. Growing pains for rookie team.
ReplyDeleteAnd he airballs.
ReplyDeleteLol 19pt lead. Garbage time.
Now you know why GEORGE KARL is the Rocket's biggest FEAR.
ReplyDeleteThey can't beat him. He knows the keep the ball away from Jeremy on offense. And to SWARM him on defense, relying on refs to cheat him enough.
It always works because McHale is an awful coach who never teaches defense or set plays for his PG.
Or maybe Karl just has better players, a better deeper more experienced team. Ever considered that?
DeleteLin is playing Hardens role in this game and more. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteit would work but the team is playing no defense despite Lin's efforts
DeleteDeAleck's streak ends tonight...
ReplyDeleteRockets can't stop Denver.
ReplyDeleteThis game is over. Hou looks a few steps slow tonight. No interior defense whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteDenver just pwns the Rox...
ReplyDeleteYup.
DeleteKarl > McHale + Fatigue + Harden's 1st Half Hero = Certain Doom.
Not to mention refs icing the games with no-calls on Jeremy after he led them within 3. They give him calls once the game is over of course, lol.
DeleteHow was Harden playing hero ball in the 1st half when Lin took more shots, and he had only 1 less assist than Lin did? Geesh ...
DeleteLol way to watch boxscore and not the game.
DeleteHarden iso'd all game, and passes it off for people to bail him out.
He was TRYING to play heroball, too bad Karl shut him down, because he is PREDICTABLE. He either drives to left, or takes a screen to the right for a jumper.
@Kenoshi:
DeleteOK. And without Harden playing his game and getting to the line and scoring 14 points, would the Rockets be better off or worse off? Who else on the Rockets was going to score those points? Beverly? Asik? Smith? Garcia? Jones? Anderson? A bunch of guys who would never even get on the court for Denver? PREDICTABLE Harden is one of the 2 Rockets players that would actually get playing time in Denver or on most other NBA playoff teams.
You guys want the return of Linsanity, but playing that style would give Houston NO CHANCE on offense.
@Unknown, the hell are you talking about? Do you understand what iso ball is? Hero ball? Do you understand how Harden scores and facilitates vs how Lin scores and facilities? They're night and day. You prefer Harden's style while some of us prefer Lin's.
DeleteIt's NOT about Lin vs Harden, it's about learning how to use BOTH players effectively. The coaching staff hasn't quite figured it out yet.
I feel like we're talking to a child.
Lol his only argument is "he put up 14pts"
DeleteNevermind that he cost Rox at least 20+.
Personally TJ played better than Harden. Scored 13pts and DEFENDED, shooting 5/11, compared to Harden's 2/10 and matador defense.
Had he not burn shotclock and move the ball people like Garcia would have more chance to shoot.
Oh that's right, its only Lin's job to find open looks...Harden is absolved of that responsibility, in this no PG system.
did mchale bench the defense of the Rox? good god
ReplyDeleteAt least Jeremy got his stats, heh. He showed he can BEAST on a back-to-back.
ReplyDeleteToo bad none of his teammates showed to play. Except Jones and Garcia, maybe. Even a little defense makes this a game.
DMo experiment should be over now. He was terrible last night too.
ReplyDeleteKarl turned up the heat with his press defense and tired the Rockets out early. McHale had no idea how to counter.
Now would be a good time to give lin a break
ReplyDeleteDMO just doesn't look good
ReplyDeleteDenver fans get four free tacos tonight! Denver already over 100 points.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was one Dollar tacos - not free tacos
DeleteTake Lin out please. He needs to rest. This is very weird now
ReplyDeleteIt's time for Lin to pad his stats. Lol
ReplyDeleteyeah. gets its not so bad. Lin plays 100% every second. nuts
DeleteMeh.
ReplyDeleteLet Lin try to stat-pad a few more minutes. He deserves it.
oh well, Denver can't miss so expect this will be a loss.
ReplyDeleteDMo should be replaced by Garcia and Asik should be in the game.
Lin is out now and AB is in. McFail conceded the game with Houston losing by more than 20+ points.
ReplyDeleteMcHale conceded the game by showing up.
DeleteHe simple does not coach defense and does not hold players accountable.
The only good thing Denver's commentators said all night was their bashing of Harden's "matador defense." Later they said, "He doesn't like to get back on D after a miss, does he?" Asik gave up, too. Jeremy got hammered all night with moving screens and no-calls...and he kept fighting.
JLin was the only one who was keeping Rox in the game. But - cant do it all by himself. Hardens D? What D?
DeleteMcHale will coach defense when he gets good defensive players. Right now he doesn't have any, and expecting guys that he needs to score to tire themselves out on defense would mean fewer wins, not more. It would make you feel better about Lin having to play second fiddle to Harden, but the Rockets would be nowhere near the playoffs right now, and would not get any lottery picks for their trouble because they traded them away.
DeleteGeesh ...
Defense is effort. we have smart players on this team. All we're looking for is effort, especially from harden. Put a hand up in someone's face, run back on D when you miss a long two. It's not that hard.
DeleteNo team is made up of 5 tony allen's.
"McHale will coach defense when he gets good defensive players."
DeleteDumbest statement ever.
You coach defense regardless of who you have. McHale even says it himself, they rely on their DEFENSE to create offensive opportunities, yet he does not coach defense.
I guess that makes him a good coach.
OK Kenoshi. You go get 12 D-League players and turn them into the best defensive team in the NBA. That would make you a good coach too, I guess.
Delete@Unknown, your bbiq is bad.
DeleteYes, that would make me the best coach in the NBA!
DeleteDamn DeAleck failed me.
ReplyDelete23pt 8 assists Lin did well considering the massive defense that was layed on him.
All good runs have to come to an end :(
DeleteA schedule loss is hard to avoid.
He would have had 30 with fair officiating. No horrible no calls and 5-6 moving screens, two of them HARD bone-jarring hits.
Delete*Two horrible no-calls
DeleteLol yeah the moving screens were horrible, someone had money on this game.
DeleteOur defense killed us tonight...
ReplyDeleteLol 2nd/3rd stringers aren't even bothering to defend.
DeleteWas fun for 2 quarters oh well.
I want to see Tim play!
ReplyDeleteHarden was not doing anything on both side. Iggy got hot under his watch.
ReplyDelete14 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists = not doing anything. Harden was easily the 2nd best player tonight and you bash him instead of the 9 that were even worse. Gee, that is logical.
DeleteOnly thing he did well was shooting FTs. He couldn't penetrate, couldn't shoot, couldn't defend. He was garbage today, even his biggest fan McHale benched him.
DeleteOh yeah, I forgot you are reading boxscores, otherwise you'd know this.
@Kenoshi:
DeleteI am not reading boxscores. I am pointing out that despite how badly he was playing, he was still easily the 2nd best player the Rockets had tonight. McHale benched him, true, but when that happened, we saw that Harden was their 2nd best player, because that was when the game got out of hand, and Lin was "benched" shortly thereafter. Harden was garbage, but so was the whole team other than Lin, and even Lin struggled with his shot during a critical stretch in the 3rd quarter when it was still a winnable game.
Lol...
DeleteGame wasn't lost because Lin was struggling, it was because of DMo's costly TOs at the wrong time and 0 defense during their 9pt run.
Like I said, watch the game. And no, TJ was their 2nd best player today, not Harden.
@Kenoshi:
DeleteI never said that the game was lost because Lin was struggling. I only said that Lin had that scoring drought when it was still a somewhat competitive game in the 3rd. But even had Lin gone 5-5, the Rockets still would have lost because Lin wasn't getting any help from anyone else.
TJ was their second best player? First off I disagree, especially since Harden's 12 points in the 1st half - even if they were mostly from the line - were much more significant than anything that TJ did in either half. But even if you are correct, then that just proves that the Rockets had no chance.
Yes even though Rockets led for most of first half, they had no chance.
DeleteWhat's the difference?
- Karl adjusted, McHale didn't, but according to you it wasn't McHale's fault
- Harden was getting blasted by announcers all game about his bs piss poor defense and was taken advantage of by Igloo and Miller all game. Karl was definitely playing to Harden's tune, yet Harden kept going ISO and forcing terrible shots, he never got into rhythm at top of the key and just kept bricking shot after shot, or passing the ball after he burned shot clock forcing Lin to take a shot with 2-3 seconds left. Yet he still does not pass the ball, even thou Garcia was open and Lin was cutting. And he is still the 2nd best player? He played like a scrub today. So predictable, drive to the left, jumper to the right. Cross overs on isos and try to split defenders, easy just post 3 in his way and watch him take charges.
Like I said, watch the game.
Good night everybody. Turning to another channel now. Going to watch Iron Chef since Houston can't play Defense tonight, got out rebounded, missing a ton of shots, bad TOs and can't defend the perimeter as well. Just chalk it up as a bad night for Houston. Hopefully they can rebound the next game.
ReplyDeleteHou cannot make a shot and Den is hitting everything. The top 5 team in the west is very good. Seems like Hou match up with San Antonio the best.
ReplyDeleteI am working and did not get to see this game.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that Houston's minimum wage frontcourt was exposed tonight, plus Harden had an off shooting night.
Yeah.. Asik was off too.
DeleteIt's a schedule loss, KHuang. They didn't get to the hotel from Portland by 4am this morning. Good to see that Lin showed up to play.
DeleteThe frontcourt was slow, tired, complacent and clumsy.
DeleteA gazillion missed assignments and 50/50 rebounds given up. Asik was particularly cringe-worthy. He didn't even want to be there. At one point in the first half, he just watched McGee catch a ball tun 10 feet towards the hoop and dunk without so much as moving a muscle. Faried ate Smith's lunch in the 1st half.
Refs iced it in the early 3rd when Lin was leading a comeback -- two non-calls at the rim on layups, fastbreaks on the other end.
Correct. our frontcourt has always been our biggest issue.
DeleteFunny I don't think I can't take Lin having a great night but the team losing... How things have changed..
ReplyDeleteWhen it rains, it pours. C U all @post game thread
ReplyDeleteThis is where experience comes into play. Not poised enough to deal with Nuggets bigs. TJ not enough energy as manimal and he seems to have a knack to pick the right places to go. As much as asik improved, he's not versatile enough. He has ways to go. Harden really needs to work on defense. No matter how much you score, a tam like this can keep up with more balanced scoring.
ReplyDeletewow, denver is playing with energy and shooting at high percentages - 57.6% overall and 52.4% for 3 pointers.
ReplyDeletewho needs lawson and gallinari?
Because we did not put up good D.
DeleteReally wish we could have won this game. Didn't see it happening but it would have been real nice, especially with lin's stats.
ReplyDeleteYou know, this might be a blessing in disguise.
ReplyDeleteBetter to face OKC or even the Spurs as a 7th seed than the Nuggets as a 6th seed. Nuggets are matchup nightmares. OKC has a sub-par coach and a feast-or-famine Westbrook. Spurs have Ginobli down and Parker banged up and their age in a fast-paced 7 game series can be a factor.
Look at it this way, Jeremy got his stats, put on a GREAT SHOW and the Rockets are better off in the 7th seed with no chance to face Denver.
we're gonna lose against all three anyway.
DeleteAgree. Denver matches up with us just too well. Worst team for us to face in the playoffs.
DeleteSomehow Iguodala owns Harden whenever they play against each other. Bad matchup for HOU and this game shows clearly the mismatch. Playing against the SPURs in the offseason may give ROX better chance to go deeper into the playoffs.
DeleteFacing OKC would probably be the best.
DeleteIf nothing else, it would be really fun -- defending Western champs, Harden storyline, Lin vs. Westbrook, beat 'em last time they met.
And I don't see any evidence that Scott Brooks is anything close to a master of Xs and Os like Popovich and Karl.
@janelin7:
DeleteIguodala only had 18 points, and a lot of those were when Harden wasn't guarding him. Plus Wilson Chandler had 21 points, Corey Brewer had 22. Andre Miller also exceeded his season average with 11. The Rockets got toasted, plain and simple.
I think Hou gonna have a tough time with either OKC or Denver. Prob gonna get swept or win one game if they're lucky.
DeleteIf you only look at the boxscore, you wouldn't agree with me. Suggest you watch the replay before you comment.
Delete@janelin7:
DeleteWere you one of those people who claimed that the solution to the Rockets' problem tonight was benching Harden? How did that work out?
Look, everyone on the Rockets stunk tonight but Lin, and even Lin's shooting went cold during the worst time during a critical stretch in the 3rd quarter. Harden played poorly but everyone else was worse on both ends of the floor. That is reality whether you want to deal with it or want to continue the season of Harden bashing.
I didn't suggest benching Harden neither had i bashed Harden. I'm not shy in telling you Harden is a liability to the team because of his lack of defense.
DeleteLin didn't "go cold", he scored 5pts in 3 minutes after Harden sat.
DeleteNuggets had momentum. Rox was trading shots, Lin was facilitating, and they adjusted to triple teaming him, and that's when DMo committed back to back TOs that broke into part of a 8-9pt run, Rox couldn't recover after that.
Like I said, watch the freaking game.
Yeah, don't get me wrong. Houston will probably lose to whatever team they face.
DeleteBut never underestimate the power of Linning. Ever since high school, he's almost always at his best when the stakes are highest.
I can see OKC getting a bit rattled whereas Denver would not. Westbrook might try to "take over" in a close game to show up Harden or embarrass Lin...and he might shoot his team out of the game. He can drop 40 on you or go 6-20 with 8 TOs.
And Brooks is not a master tactician who can adjust on the fly like Popovich and Karl.
@janelin7:
DeleteAnd I am not shy in telling you that other 10 players on the team are a liability because of their lack of offense AND defense. Just as I was not shy in telling you that Iguodala only had 18 points with almost half of that being when Garcia was guarding him.
So Hou lost by 22 and 30 pts the first two times they met. What did I miss? I didn't see those games but I did see the third game between these two teams and it looked like OKC was in control till Hou came back about 7 mins left in the game. If that game was in OKC, Hou would've lost that game.
Delete@Kenoshi:
DeleteQuit telling me to "watch the freaking game" when you are going to keep spouting stuff that isn't true. I am talking about the stretch that Lin missed like 5 straight shots. Lin started out 6-8 then finished up strong but really struggled with his shot in between.
I'm referring to the series between Hou and OKC btw.
DeleteKarl adjusted to Lin like I said he would. And no he missed 3 in a row then made a floater, he did not miss 5 in a row.
DeleteWatch the game lmao.
DMO has really become a liability... Wow
ReplyDeleteandre miller, ageless wonder, still performing at a high level. hope to see lin performing at a high level 15 yrs later...
ReplyDeleteHe's definitely someone Jeremy should watch tape of (he probably does already).
DeleteWhen Jeremy gets older and loses a step or two, the savvy that Miller displays will help him make up for it.
Jeremy's already very savvy, but every young PG in the league can learn from Andre.
it's great seeing the obvious progress jeremy has made in the past 2.5 seasons in the nba. i dont remember seeing any other player develop and improve so much so soon - but then i havent been so captivated by any other athlete in my life.
DeleteDenver is such a dangerous team. When they had Danillo Gallinari i predicted them to make it to the finals. Without him I'm not so sure. Still have a chance. Keeping my fingers crossed. Lakers still my team, but absolutely no hope this year. Lakers might surprise in the first round. Rockets no match for Denver yet. Lin had a great night shooting. On a back to back with Denver was too much to ask.
ReplyDeleteBTW, like I said, Gallinari is overrated -- Chandler and Brewer did a GREAT job tonight. Chandler is actually shooting higher %s than Gallo and Brewer is the better defender and "intagibles" guy.
ReplyDeletei think this was the best b2b game by mr. jlin. he's found his groove, rhythm and confidence the last few games. couldnt come at a better time.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's another silver lining. He showed he can BRING IT on both games of a back-to-back...despite fatigue, despite cheating refs, despite poor support from teammates.
Deletei agree. it seems like the rox players were playing scared by the speed and length of the nuggs with the exception of jlin.
DeleteEven though I am not a huge fan of his, it looks like giving Josh Smith a big contract to play PF is the best (only) way to significantly improve this roster anytime soon. Hopefully the Rockets are already in contact with his agent.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I am a Lin fan, I think Denver just dare him to shot and drive. They just focused on clamping down Harden and our 3 pt shooters. I believe Jlin feels bad no matter how many pts he got because the whole team is collapsed on both ends of the floor.
ReplyDeleteHouston was tired, Houston matches up poorly against long deep athletic teams like Denver, and Houston really doesn't have that many guys with both skill and talent (they have some guys with one or the other but few with both).
DeleteBrent Yen you're delusional, he shot some contested shots and was aggressive. You can't stop Lin, Harden was missing shots and doing nothing on the defensive end as well as the rest of the team.
DeleteI continue to blame Mchale for the problems with Lin and harden. I still believe that they could be HOF pair of PGs for the Rox if coached properly. They really can compliment each other. Lin wants to pass and set up his teammates and harden is a natural shooter and he wants to shoot. It's not like Lin wants to take 20 shots himself, in fact CP3 would read Lin to pass every time Lin made the penetration and stole at least 3 passes the last time they played. How hard can it be to make this happen naturally? How hard can it be when Lin wants to pass and harden wants to shoot to make an offense to work that way?
DeleteI have repeated many times since the beginning of the season that for all of Mchale's talk of ball movement and not sticky, he has harden doing ISO all too often and all of sudden the players stop moving because they don't want to clog the lane. But I also saw how Harden deliberately step aside for Lin to shine in the games against the Knicks. I really don't think it would take that much to convince harden to play more team ball or even play defense. It's all about accountability and consistency. Mchale is inconsistent with his treatment of his players.