Game Thread GAME# 75: ROCKETS @ BLAZERS - MARCH 30, 2017 - THURSDAY, 7:30 PM (PST), TNT

[H.C.]

uhhh.. Where is @Superbeard ???????

He posted about injuries, shooting, defense blah blah. Think he said something about Howard too. Typical Rocket fan stuff.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Not sure why you're comparing players when only one is in a d'antoni system. Better comparison would be Nash vs Harden.

Because the raw numbers are little bit misleading. Harden's 2:1 ratio isn't stellar, but it's not quite as damning as just pointing to "OMG 6 turnovers!" As for Steve Nash, I don't really see the comp. A) he was a much different kind of point guard, and B) he is an all-time great at the position. I don't think Harden is an all-timer as a facilitator.

 

[H.C.]

Because the raw numbers are little bit misleading. Harden's 2:1 ratio isn't stellar, but it's not quite as damning as just pointing to "OMG 6 turnovers!" As for Steve Nash, I don't really see the comp. A) he was a much different kind of point guard, and B) he is an all-time great at the position. I don't think Harden is an all-timer as a facilitator.

Isn't the knock on Nash is that his numbers were inflated due to being in D'antino system?
Does Harden not deserve the same knock and therefore compared to the player who arguably ran the system more efficiently than Harden currently is?
I think it's a pretty fair comp especially when I gave the advanced numbers.

 

[crandc]

In post game I was struck by Dame saying "we trust each other". That was not true earlier in the year. Then Nurkic pointed to his wrist standing behind Dame. Quick learner.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Isn't the knock on Nash is that his numbers were inflated due to being in D'antino system?
Does Harden not deserve the same knock and therefore compared to the player who arguably ran the system more efficiently than Harden currently is?
I think it's a pretty fair comp especially when I gave the advanced numbers.

That's why I pointed to his A:T ratio and not raw stats. If Harden were playing a more "normal" system his raw turnovers would be a lot lower (probably).

 

[blue9]

Isn't the knock on Nash is that his numbers were inflated due to being in D'antino system?
Does Harden not deserve the same knock and therefore compared to the player who arguably ran the system more efficiently than Harden currently is?
I think it's a pretty fair comp especially when I gave the advanced numbers.

I thought the knock on Nash was that he only played on one end of the court. Similar to Harden. And that's where players like Rondo, Williams, CP3, Westbrook measure out to be better than players like Nash/Harden.

 

[blue9]

In post game I was struck by Dame saying "we trust each other". That was not true earlier in the year. Then Nurkic pointed to his wrist standing behind Dame. Quick learner.

They need to stop trusting Aminu and Turner on the perimeter - they put far too much trust in those guys.

 

[Pinwheel1]

They need to stop trusting Aminu and Turner on the perimeter - they put far too much trust in those guys.

Yeah it needs to stop. Other than the shot clock winding down there is no excuse for it. Every possession is critical this time of year.
And both are pretty players are pretty good at attacking the basket. There is no reason they should not drive to the basket. Yes they are wide open, but they are also wide open to drive as well. chief played well last night when he got in the lane.

It was telling though that Terry pulled Aminue after his two missed 3's in crunch time. Which is fine by me. I like the Dame, CJ, Crabbe, Moe, Nurk closing unit against most teams.

 

[SIeepwalker]

Kinda amazing to me that we can win against the 3rd best record in the league when CJ goes 12/3/1 on 27% shooting.
We're a great team

 

[Reep]

Test 1: Can you decisively beat a division rival in an important game to both teams: PASSED
Test 2: Can you compete with a solid playoff team on your home court: TBD

This game is about confidence and swagger to me. If you beat, or at least strongly compete with, Houston then you feel like maybe you deserve to be in the playoffs. If you get dominated at home then you may have to do some soul searching.

Impressed they passed test 2. I'm sure they will lose some they shouldn't, but they have shown a lot of growth.

 

[Pinwheel1]

In post game I was struck by Dame saying "we trust each other". That was not true earlier in the year. Then Nurkic pointed to his wrist standing behind Dame. Quick learner.

It is interesting how our end of game offense has evolved so quickly with the addition of Nurk. There is less of a need for Hero ball because both Dame and CJ have legitimate options to pass to. Before they just passed around the perimeter and then tried to attack. Now they have a player inside they can trust to make a play. And make a free throw if he is fouled. Think about that. What good was throwing the ball into Plums or Davis late in ball games. Did we want them at the line?

Yeah I can see why there is now more of a trust factor. Now there are 3 options late. The next step is having a 4th.

 

[Natebishop3]

Kinda amazing to me that we can win against the 3rd best record in the league when CJ goes 12/3/1 on 27% shooting.
We're a great team

This is why we have so desperately needed a third option. When one of Dame/CJ are off, we need someone else to step up. Fortunately big Nurk and Harkless stepped up last night.

 

[Pinwheel1]

This is why we have so desperately needed a third option. When one of Dame/CJ are off, we need someone else to step up. Fortunately big Nurk and Harkless stepped up last night.

And Crabbe

 

[BlazerBeav]

They need to stop trusting Aminu and Turner on the perimeter - they put far too much trust in those guys.

Turner certainly, but Aminu seems to have shot MUCH better from deep since midseason. I'm not saying I want a high volume from him out there, but it's not bad.

 

[blue9]

Turner certainly, but Aminu seems to have shot MUCH better from deep since midseason. I'm not saying I want a high volume from him out there, but it's not bad.

With his form, it's just by pure luck that the ball ever goes through the basket. He shoots his FTs from his ear! Dunk or pass. Don't dribble, don't play-make, don't shoot jumpers, don't try to cross anyone over, don't run a fast break - pass quickly or dunk the ball. Those are the only two things he should ever do on offense.

 

[H.C.]

That's why I pointed to his A:T ratio and not raw stats. If Harden were playing a more "normal" system his raw turnovers would be a lot lower (probably).

He averaged 4.6 turnovers in 15-16 so not a lot lower, a year he wasn't even 2/1.
Identifying the a/t ratio as a way to minimize the actual turnover numbers he has isn't a very logical.
Nash ran that system better in his worst year, than Harden is doing it now in a season where he might end up co-mvp.

I thought the knock on Nash was that he only played on one end of the court. Similar to Harden. And that's where players like Rondo, Williams, CP3, Westbrook measure out to be better than players like Nash/Harden.

Nash is knocked for a lot of things as why he isn't a top 5/10 guard to ever play.
The three main knocks are rings, inflated numbers due to system, and defense.
whether or not those knocks are valid isn't something I'm willing to get into.
Nash > Harden

 

[Pinwheel1]

With his form, it's just by pure luck that the ball ever goes through the basket. He shoots his FTs from his ear! Dunk or pass. Don't dribble, don't play-make, don't shoot jumpers, don't try to cross anyone over, don't run a fast break - pass quickly or dunk the ball. Those are the only two things he should ever do on offense.

Although I pretty much agree with you, I would add that his floater around the basket is acceptable too.
But yes it was nerve wracking watching him lead the break a few times last night.

To his credit he did only have 1 turnover last night. (2 steals and 9 boards) So he played well. But he still needs to take a page from Vonleh who has cut down on the 3's while playing closer to the basket.

It confuses me that Vonleh/ Aminu and Nurk/Leonard play the same positions but in both cases the bench player plays on the perimeter, while the starters do not. I see no reason for this.

 

[Chris Craig]

WHAT A GAME!!!!

And know @Chris Craig I could not hear you. You need to work on your game!

Then you are hard of hearing

 

[SIeepwalker]

The Rockets broke the Single-Season 3-Point Record this game... But do you know on which 3 pointer ?

Oh, yes you know. Yeah, the one that just popped into your head. Yes, this one.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Turner certainly, but Aminu seems to have shot MUCH better from deep since midseason. I'm not saying I want a high volume from him out there, but it's not bad.

Aminu is such a fucking enigma. You never know what you're going to get - and I'm not talking season-to-season, or even game-to-game. How many times have we seen Chief swing from bad Chief to good Chief, or vise-versa, on the same damn play?

That said, like everyone else, his 3-point shooting has really picked up, even more than Dame, C.J. and Crabbe, since Nurk arrived. Of course, with the way he shot the 3 earlier in the season, he had the most room for improvement.

Here's his 3FG% by month:

October - .214
November - .273
December - .269
January - .267
February - .417
March - .415

With the way he's been shooting the 3 for the last two months, I'm comfortable with him taking every open 3 the opposing team gives him. The question is, are those recent percentages sustainable. History tells us it's not likely, but with Chief you never know what's going to happen until after it happens.

BNM

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

Aminu is such a fucking enigma. You never know what you're going to get - and I'm not talking season-to-season, or even game-to-game. How many times have we seen Chief swing from bad Chief to good Chief, or vise-versa, on the same damn play?

That said, like everyone else, his 3-point shooting has really picked up, even more than Dame, C.J. and Crabbe, since Nurk arrived. Of course, with the way he shot the 3 earlier in the season, he had the most room for improvement.

Here's his 3FG% by month:

October - .214
November - .273
December - .269
January - .267
February - .417
March - .415

With the way he's been shooting the 3 for the last two months, I'm comfortable with him taking every open 3 the opposing team gives him. The question is, are those recent percentages sustainable. History tells us it's not likely, but with Chief you never know what's going to happen until after it happens.

BNM

Aminu is like Corey Brewer but better on D and a lot worse on fast breaks lol such an odd player

 

[jlprk]

It's more surprising that people actually think a player averaging nearly 6 turnovers a game is having a good year.
Can you imagine what people on this forum would say if Lillard was averaging 6 turnovers a game? Holy shit the qq.

Turnover stats go all the way back to the 1977-78 season. In 39 seasons...

http://bkref.com/tiny/usqFY

 

[Boob-No-More]

Aminu is like Corey Brewer but better on D and a lot worse on fast breaks lol such an odd player

Brewer has really fallen off a cliff. The fans in HOU absolutely hated that guy last year. Brewer was never that good, but there were times when he single-handedly killed us. I'm guessing his bad:good ratio is at least 2x worse than Chief's.

I'm fine with Chief coming off the bench. Sure he's flawed, but there is never a dull moment when he's on the floor and I think he gives us more good than bad - on most nights (and by most, I mean => 51%). What he lacks in skills, I think he makes up for in effort and energy. I'm not sure you can rein in his passion without rendering him completely impotent. Stotts seems to have a good handle on when to use him and when not to, for the most part. At least as well as he can for a player as unpredictable as Chief.

BNM

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Turnover stats go all the way back to the 1977-78 season. In 39 seasons...

http://bkref.com/tiny/usqFY

Harden and Westbrook are in a league of their own.

 

[jonnyboy]

I think when Aminu scrambles toward the net like a coked out caveman, defenders are just confused. It looks like complete chaos but it's been working pretty well lately. I think he's actually fun to watch if you can get past the anxiety of thinking the ball is about to get stolen every time he has it. He manages to keep control pretty well despite his strange mannerisms.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Then you are hard of hearing

No doubt about that!!! Im a musician remember!!!

 

[blue9]

To his credit he did only have 1 turnover last night. .

Only because his shot from behind the backboards didn't get tallied as a TO! And he got bailed out by stupid fouls committed by HOU that would have turned into TOs had they not fouled him. But yes, his stat line last night wasn't bad even though he played stupidly.

 

[riverman]

I have really grown to appreciate what Chief does on the court....he has some Rodman in his game..not pretty on offense but he's a rebounding machine and by far our best defender....playing with Nurk we are 10th best defense in the NBA since the allstar break....I watch Chief play all NBA level defense all the time...offensively he's better than some think...he's changed his shot form under CJs mentoring...it shows. his dribble is loose...his passing is loose but all other aspects of his game to me are top notch....he does a lot of the dirty work without much credit for it.

 

[Scalma]

I have really grown to appreciate what Chief does on the court....he has some Rodman in his game..not pretty on offense but he's a rebounding machine and by far our best defender....playing with Nurk we are 10th best defense in the NBA since the allstar break....I watch Chief play all NBA level defense all the time...offensively he's better than some think...he's changed his shot form under CJs mentoring...it shows. his dribble is loose...his passing is loose but all other aspects of his game to me are top notch....he does a lot of the dirty work without much credit for it.

I agree with most of this post, but what, has he really?

 

[Pinwheel1]

With the way he's been shooting the 3 for the last two months, I'm comfortable with him taking every open 3 the opposing team gives him. The question is, are those recent percentages sustainable. History tells us it's not likely, but with Chief you never know what's going to happen until after it happens.

BNM

So it's crunch time and Aminu is in the game with....lets say Dame, Nurk, Crabbe and CJ, and at least two of those have the hot hand....but it's Aminu who is left wide open (with time left on the shot clock) .......do you really feel comfortable with him taking the 24 foot shot in that scenario, or should he pass it back to the better all around shooter?

I pray for other team's 4th and 5th offensive options taking the big shot instead of their star in those situations. Anything to take it out of their hands. Now if it is earlier in the game it is a different situation. But the two in a row that Chief took with 5 minutes to go were not wise IMO. It's just not his role on the team.