NovU wrote:Rockets are half the team without CP3.
Without him, they are kinda like the Cavs, Harden needs to be the best player in the game to stand any chance which is not easy when opponent knows what is coming. There is a good reason why the team became so good right after CP3 joined even tho he is an undersized grandpa point guard which doesnt bode well with the trend. You need 2+ superstars to contend, remember?
That doesn't mean that Harden should dribble down to the end of the shot clock without one pass, and take a contested shot. These are NBA athletes, they can set screens off the ball, get shooters open, drive and kick, run pick n rolls, etc. Nobody had a chance to get into a rhythm (Like when Clevelands offense looks poor, because LeBron is dribbling until the end of the shot clock). Gera;d Green could have been more involved, Capela should have gotten more looks, PJ Tucker could have had more looks. Ariza did a good job a few times getting to the rim (Euro example), but he wasn't allowed to do much more. He wasn't involved. These deep contested shot bricks also cause long rebounds for the opponent to run. That opponent happens to be the Warriors, the best team on the break in the league. It's a losing formula.
Think about how many times Capela came up for a pick n roll (If you watched the game), hardly at all. WHY? Get the defense moving, involved other capable players, let people get into a rhythm. The way he played, and the Rockets played in general after the first quarter was complete trash. That's not basketball. Because of that style, they lost in a blowout, letting players on GS get into a rhythm and have momentum for the next game. Also, Chris Paul just turned 33 this month, not a grandpa by any means. Nash had some of his best seasons in his early 30s.
They showed what they could do when they moved the ball in the first quarter, they could have won this game. They shot under 30% for the second half because of all the garbage ISO ball that was completely unnecessary.
