ClutchFans Game Thread: Mavericks @ Rockets 11/24/2019

Ben McLemore played like half the minutes in the 4th quarter lmao. Incredible.

 

The Rockets, after a nice 5 or 6 game stretch on the defensive side of the ball, have fully reverted to their horrid defense to start the season. You can't allow scrubs like Hardaway to go off. That dude's been doing nothing all season then puts up 30+ with rebounds and assists smh. Inexcusable.

Also, bad game for Harden to have a bad night from 3. When we were coming back within 5 he had a couple 3 attempts which killed the momentum after going like 2-12 to that point. Westbrook missing layups didn't help either.

Everytime McLemore shoots a wide open 3, I know it's not going to go in. Man that dude sucks.

 

Another mid-day hangover game. Seen many over the recent years. Good thing playoffs are at night otherwise we'd be 4 and out in the first round.

 

There's always that ONE scrub that goes on the Rockets.

 

Seems like that has been true forever. I think that they are usually defended better, and against the Rockets they are open. The "best in Texas" headlines today are really irritating. I am still positive on the Rockets, but they need some changes. Another defender might help, someone who is over 6'8". Rockets also have too many "volume" shooters including Harden. Defense is strategy, but is mainly effort.

 

I never thought of Mac as a shooter.

I think everyone who can shoot the 3, can be considered a 'shooter' when joining the Rockets.

 

....the numbers are clear. we ordered a big mac and got a fukin pinko snowflake vegan burger instead

 

The Rockets chose to penny pinch instead of sign quality depth.

You have to play guys like Ben McLemore when that is the decision your franchise makes.

 

Hasn't Clemmons been hitting the 3? I'm sure he'd be a better option than Ben the Builder's brick laying a**.

 

To be fair , Maclemore hasn’t been awful

He’s been streaky and is at best a role player. He’s exactly what we paid for and harden/wb can make guys like that serviceable

HOWEVER. It’s incumbent on MDA to realize this and to try something else when he’s not hitting , vs leaving him in for 25 minutes . He’s being treated like Eric Gordon.

When he is having an 0-fer , we should be trying Clark or Clemons . Clark is unquestionably better on defense and Clemons can get just as hot.

 

I agree. He's been serviceable. An argument could be made that he's been something like our 7th or 8th best player this season.

The fact that Ben McLemore is that important to the team says all you need to know about how dumb this past offseason was. McLemore is not a rotation player for a "contender" .

You gotta just hope that Morey can swing something at the deadline or with a buyout guy, but we are limited on assets and cap space, so we'll see.

 

Agree, we always seem to go cheap for guys who are on their way out of the league.

But about McLemore, last year he shot 42% from 3. He's never shot under 35% except for his rookie season, and yet he's floundering at 30% this season. Always seems like guys who join the team shoot worse then their career average.

 

I can't remember seeing anybody rattle out 3s consistently like he does. It's almost as he's trying to rattle them out. Normally when they rattle out is because the shot is too flat, needs more arc. I wonder if he's consistently missing them because it shot is consistently flat?

 

To be fair , Gordon (who is a really big piece is out) and house was also our for a while .

My problem isn’t that we don’t have enough depth , it’s that we don’t even give the depth we have a shot. We won games last year with Clark playing heavy minutes , but we won’t try him this year for some reason.

I’d love to get a great wing . But the year we had Luc , Trevor , and PJ was a luxury. Every team will have to play below average players at some point . Not every team has superstars like Harden or WB that can make subpar players look serviceable .

 

this is exactly why these ex players on ESPN keep saying the way Rockets play won't work because our role players don't get to touch the ball enough when Harden ISOs so much.

I used to think it's all BS, but after seeing so many players shoot a career low on this Rockets team, I'm starting to believe it.

We need more motion in the offense instead of giving the ball to Harden to ISO all the time. It's efficient most of the time and he gets to have great numbers but that doesn't mean it's good for our role players that are bricking everything.

 

yet McLemore is getting around the same amount of shots and touches he’s been getting his entire career, and the vast majority of his shots are WIDE OPEN looks created by Harden...you’re talking as if he’s some high usage player that’s been relegated to spectator when he’s been a spectator his entire career just spotting up from behind the arc

he oughta be ashamed of himself bricking this much, especially since he’s supposed to be a “shooter”

sorry, I don’t buy what you’re selling...their main rationale for why our style of play won’t work is because we couldn’t beat GS even tho we pushed them further than any other team while having much less talent than them...let’s not act like we’ve been struggling against all these non-GS playoff teams the past few years when we’ve been whooping their ass for the most part

 

We’re putting too much of a load on a guy who literally was kicked out of the league for not being talented enough for the nba. We usually get this one bench addition come December which fixes our entire scoring and defense. Last year it was rivers, few years ago josh smith and Corey Brewer. Morey has to find something

 

This.

 

The problem with McLemore is that he’s shooting way too many 3’s. His 2 point percentage and FT percentages are at near career highs for him, although in an admittedly small sample size, but he’s doing well in those areas, he just can’t hit a 3 and he’s jacking up way too many of them. Why it is that historically decent 3 point shooters can’t hit them in Houston really is baffling. He’s certainly a better shooter than what he’s been showing here, but so was Ryan Anderson and we all know how that turned out.