ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Raptors 10/8/2019 (Preseason)

Just watched the game. My thoughts on the pre season so far..

Harden looks amazing. Mid season form. I’ve never seen him like this before.

EG looks fantastic too. If he can be more consistent this year the sky is the limit.

I fear Westy will shoot us out of some games but his transition offense with the ball is beautiful

Ben can stroke the 3 but his defense is atrocious

Thabo looked okay. Kind of slow

I’m worried a little about PJs shot

I fear the defense this year. This was my biggest fear this off season and I know it’s only pre season but that fear looks to be legitimate. We need to have a top 10 D to stand a chance.

 

ain this season.[/QUOTE]

I saw a couple of plays where the explosiveness was there. So I'm willing to bet he just isn't turned on at the moment. Efficient or not this is a dude that has averaged a triple double three straight years. I don't think this game is any indication of what his energy level is at full or close to fully turned on.

Yes, this remains the problem. Sure guards "rule" the NBA now, but you can only get so far with PJ Tucker as your starting 4 and absolutely no one backing him up.

Is it correct that they can't trade EG until February 29th (so after the trade deadline)?? How they going to get an upgrade at PF then?

 

A wise observation. House may be the best choice for now.

 

Ryan can make the team. He showed some confidence shooting the 3 off Westy's passing. Spacing is a must. D/Rebounding and our SF problem is glaring. Tuck needs help at the 4 too. Thabo can't make much of a difference.

 

Anderson was -7 in a 5 pt loss. He shot well but that just shows you how much of a defensive liability he is. He should get Gerald Green treatment and immediately yanked if he can't get in front of his man.

Thabo was +11. He will contribute more to the team than Anderson as opponents wont go off on him.

 

I'm pretty sure that's just his J.

 

after watching the game

defense and rebounding were looking mad sus...Toronto got to the rim so easily...it was looking like pre-game layup lines at times

a faster pace wasn’t just a cliche talking point, they’ve been looking to get out on the break and get into their sets faster...more passes are being made each possession...this is preseason tho, we’ll see if they revert back to bad habits

Harden is locked in...looking like he could average 32, 6, and 9 this season with ease

Russ looked rusty with his handle, and he made some weak passes that resulted in turnovers...he needs more time to shake off the rust and get acclimated with his teammates...his 3 point shot, especially off the dribble, looks broke AF

6 threes? Nah son, please cut that out.

Sefalosha was a good pickup. Clark continues to never impress me. Clemens has supreme confidence, but I don’t see MDA giving him any regular PT once the season starts.

We still need help in the frontcourt. We need some length. We need height. We need to get it from someone who isn’t like 35 too. If Capela goes down, RIP to our defensive rebounding.

side note: I really like Siakam. He’s the only reason I’ll be paying any attention whatsoever to Toronto this season. Keep balling Pascal.

 

Is there a link for yesterday's game? thx!

 

Rockets need to upgrade end of bench talent, losing 17 point lead is not acceptable.

Our end of bench guys need to step up, this loss was on them.

 

Offense has looked good. Finally pace has increased significantly (Rockets stans were delusional about pace last year). Rebounding and defense still looks terrible, so it could be the exact same issues as last year because MDA is in love with small-ball lineups.

 

lol how many times did you guys make excuses last year by saying "the other team was just on fire." At a certain point, it's because of the defense. A lot of easy layups and whatnot.

 

LOL took u 3 games to notice that rockets are playing faster? u slow asfk

 

Westbrook made the game very enjoyable with the fast tempo. I haven't felt like this in possibly 7 years.

 

This loss is on WB, he is mr triple double, mr 100% but he played the game like he is on fumes and had like 2 rebs the entire game while bricking a ton of shots. I'd rag on him but he just came back from arthroscopic surgery and wasnt even supposed to play so w/e. If him being there allows Harden to become Super Saiyan H then thats still better than Cp3 drama at the end of the day.

We also lost this game due to rebounding specifically the lack thereof. Capela has that article about how he was gonna dominate and then he comes out with 12 and 6. Bruh. 5'10 Fred Van Fleet had as much rebs as Harden, WB and EG combined lmao what was that? Tucker played great D as usual but he was 0 pts and 3 rebs, thats not the way to play for an extension dawg.

As far as backups go Clemons, Maclemore and esp Thabo are all keepers imo, we should be solid at guard and sfs this season. PF can def use some work but with a mix of Thabo, Isiah, Tucker and hopefully Benett they should be able to manage. No team can be dominant at all positions anyway, PF def one of the weakest positions with oremier PFs like AD unable to lift their team to success so having weak PF lineup isnt that bad.


Clark and Scrubberson are trash as expected. Clark can't shoot and Scrub can't defend and reb why Rox are still bothering with these 2 are beyond me. I'd rather take a chance on completely unknown player from Gleague.

We have some flawed players but we do have potential. Whats worrisome though is we have Mr. Dumbtoni as coach I have 0 confidence he will be able to manage the rotations wisely. Most likely he overplays the vets in the regular season and we flame out in the playoffs cuz we had a 6 man rotation for 82 games.

 

I dont want to see Gary Clark in the season, I dont want him taking anyone minutes or a spot

 

Raptors are a team with defensive stud athletes all over the court and Harden was trolling them at one point. The argument for James being the greatest offensive layer will get louder if he plays like this in the regular season and more importantly the playoffs

 

this. any coach can have harden go full throttle all season and make the playoffs

we need a coach who can consistently develop and play a deep rotation in order to harden get some rest during the regular season

and make the necessary adjustments during the playoffs

so far MDA hasn't shown he can do this

 

So what deep rotation do you both want D'Antoni to play???

The same bench that threw up a 17 point lead?

 

that's pre season. and you know in the regular season any coach will stagger starter's minutes.

all these guys are capable for 15+ minutes a game depending on matchups. develop and play them. just like what kerr, pops, and nurse does. stop playing WB, harden, ego, Tucker 40 minutes a night. Develop and play a 9-10 man rotation rotation during the reg season. So in the playoffs he can have a 8-9. Not a 6-7 man rotation in the playoffs like all these past years.

1. WB
2. Harden
3. Ego
4. Tucker
5. Capela

6. Rivers
7. House
8. Thabo
9. Tyson
10. McLemore

11. Green
12. Clemons
13. Ryno

 

Rockets have not had a deep enough bench the last 2 seasons to play 8-9 rotation never mind 9-10, where have you been?