Mark my words. Reed’s minutes will disappear in the playoffs.

NO! NO! A THOUSAND TIMES....NO! Not Reed's minutes! There is NO WAY the Rockets can survive without Reed!

All ROFs need to go to the front of Toyota Center and PROTEST!! @WoodDavidWood and @DaDakota

 

"Quick - KD do something!" - Ime Long's offensive system in the playoffs.

 

I think it’s more about matchups when it comes down to it, not that Ime is a master at rotations to take advantage of matchups. Without Luka and Reeves, the Lakers will have a backcourt of Lebron and Kennard. What scoring punch do they have other than those two?

Do you let Lebron get his and stop everyone else or try to suffocate Lebron who is a really good and willing passer? I think when Lebron is in the game, we should probably have a backcourt of Amen and Josh and/or Tari and play him one on one, but it is not obvious like it was when you had Maxey and Edgecomb. We are also playing the refs, so we need to try and limit Lebron from getting downhill.

With Reed we would have one more ball handler in the game, which could limit turnovers and keep the Lakers from getting a lot of transition buckets which would be another way the Lakers could generate points. It’s a conundrum. Missed 3’s also turn into transition, so Reed would need to really knock down his shots in the playoff pressure cooker. Is he ready?

I’m curious how other non-RFO’s would manage the rotations against Minnesota, the Lakers, and the Denvers. I’m probably being hood-winked, but I’ve been encouraged by Ime adding more plays and movement in recent weeks and am starting to think we have a punchers chance to make something happen in the playoffs, rather than just writing it off as a development year for Reed, in particular, and playing him monster minutes. The right play against the Lakers could be to start Reed so that we limit transition buckets where Rui and Ayton could hurt us in addition to Lebron. I’m really not sure. If Ime goes back to spamming Durant and Sengun ISO”s, then it’s obvious to me that defense will have to win the series, which would mean Reed’s minutes are limited.

 

Its insane, the rockets have an entire season of data, and most of all...their recent run to explain WHAT WAS WORKING...and was isn't

Udoka has an insistence on doing things a certain way that he will look to against the worst teams in the league for validation just to revert back to what the overwhelming evidence indicates against.

nobody is advocating for the rockets losing, but those of us that have seen this play out are tired of this dude being a couple of steps too slow and subjecting this fanbase and team to a constant ass whooping.

 

I'm not sure what a RFO is. I don't see the Rockets as a very flexible team with the current healthy players. I see the Rockets being able to play some combination of Amen, Eason, Okogie, JSJ, Durant, and Holiday with Sengun. I'd probably not play Okogie with Amen and Sengun though in the playoffs. Without Sengun, there are just a lot of combinations that work with Reed.

 

Reed’s absence will imply Sengun & Kd ISO’s, lack of movement, amen not getting his dunks and Jabari not finding open shots, known as ugliest offense ever trying to over talent the opponent. It is not just a player choice, it is a choice about how we’ll play, it is departing from what brought life back to the team.

People talking about we are winning without Reed. Isn’t it just two games and no tough opponents? The whole winning streak, good play, positive vibes in the team was about finding the correct roles. Not playing Reed enough is simply giving that away.

and I’ll go crazy if I see Tate out there.

 

Are you a Rocket's fan??

 

The blame is on Udoka’s bad planning here - opposing teams immediately start targeting Reed when he’s on the court and he becomes a liability when he’s not hitting his shots. I think there’s an OK defender in there, but he needs reps and Udoka refused to start him all throughout the year and work on figuring out a solution and now here we are, it’s a risky proposition to rely on a guy who has basically rookie-year level reps during playoffs now.

 

Guys, I knew this was coming.....YOU CAN NOT PLAY REED AND SENGUN TOGETHER!

The statics, as well as the eye test proves it! Our defense suffers. And if you don't believe me, just listen to what others are saying!

Tyhe Reed and Sengun tandem does not work

 

I meant ROF’s (Reed only fans), which we know will not put much thought into it, since they are convinced that he needs to start and play 30+ mins since he is our franchise player. That might very well be the way to go, but I’m more interested in the nuances of the matchups other than the Rockets are 16-4 when Reed starts nonsense. If you’re not playing Reed with Sengun much it will definitely move his minutes in the 20 or so range, because Sengun is going to play more minutes in the playoffs unless limited by foul trouble. If he is playing poorly we have absolutely no chance against any team.

 

I agree, so what do you do now that’s it the playoffs and Ime hasn’t prepared Reed. Throw him into the fire or limit his minutes? I’m pretty sure I know what Ime will do.

 

Reed is fine, Ime is not, he will cost this team at least 1 or 2 wins because he is an idiot as a coach.

Reed should be starting, sharing PG duties with Amen and knocking down 3s while his gravity gives others more space to operate.

And yes, on D, he will get blown by some, but he will also get his hands on passes, get steals and blocks to more than make up for it.

Reed is the most important player to this team moving forward in the playoffs.

RE: Matchups, Great coaches don't change to match up with other teams, they force other teams to change to them.....Ime is a terrible coach.

DD

 

It didn’t imply that last game. The Rockets played wonderful team ball with Josh starting. They were getting trounced against Phoenix with Reed starting. The truth lies somewhere in between and should be about matchups and the flow of the game. Unfortunately, Ime is an idiot when it comes to bench coaching and making adjustments. He wants to play “not to lose” down the stretch, which doesn’t work in football or any other sport. We could still play conservatively down the stretch with Reed in the game to limit turnovers if the flow of the game dictated it, but Ime is single-minded and stubborn to a fault.

 

The streak was about players finding their roles and we need Reed for that. Focusing on his defensive weakness is missing the overall benefit.

the old brand of ime basketball will maybe win against La with the ugliest ball we’ll see. It will still beat the Lakers but it will be humiliated in the next round and it will be painful to watch even the first round

 

They failed in the 4th quarter when the Sixers started pressuring the ball, the entire NBA knows to beat a REEDLESS Rockets you pressure KD and Amen with the ball as they are both weak in their handles.....and prone to turnovers at the TOP which lead to easy transition buckets, and we can't keep up offensively because of the lack of 3pt shooting in that lineup.

In the playoffs that FLAW will be magnified, even though you have a guy that is 16-4 as the starting PG that produces a gravity on offense that outscores the other team who has a plus rating for the team in almost all advanced metrics - melting on the bench because they have a dumbass as a coach.

So, yeah, when the team fails, and it will because Ime has no clue how to beat pressure - even though they have a guy with a good dribble and a low turnover rate and high offensive rate just sitting there gathering dust....I guarantee you will hear about it......LOUDLY !

DD

PS. You guys will see.....have seen all year - but apparently too dense to recognize.

 

Well, Tate definitely shouldn't play, that's true.

I generally think Reed is a better option than Holiday, who only really performs better at on-ball defense against small, strong guards. The bigger question is how much we go with that all-forwards lineup where Tari plays big minutes. He's been playing a lot better lately, and should be a decent defensive matchup against LeBron, so I don't know.

 

Josh didn't start till the 2nd half, the rockets were already within 5 at that point and sheppard had played well i nthe first half. The last west coast road trip against the same stronger opponents he was the reason we beat the warriors (almost beat them the second time when senguin **** the bed), beat the suns, and the nuggets

 

100% agree

 

It is amazing how fans are divided on race.

Black fans: Reed and Sengun suck!

White fans: Only Reed can save us! Well, except Sengun!

 

"Its insane, the rockets have an entire season of data, and most of all...their recent run to explain WHAT WAS WORKING...and was isn't"

----------------------------------------------------------- team net ..ortg......drtg,,, mins. games
Thompson, Eason, Durant, Smith, Şengün.......10.4.......122.1...111.7....303....35
Okogie, Thompson, Durant, Smith, Şengün.......8.7........125.0....116.2...352...40
Sheppard, Thompson, Durant, Smith, Şengün...-5.4.......121.2....126.6...272 ..44