Game #21: Houston Rockets 119 - Toronto Raptors 109

[DanH]

Starters:

TOR:
Lowry
VanVleet
Anunoby
Siakam
Gasol

HOU:
Westbrook
Harden
McLemore
Tucker
Capela

(Hopefully) Interesting stats:

- Raptors rank 7th in ORTG (110.6), 4th in DRTG (102.7), and 3rd in Net RTG (+7.9). We are 15-5. That's tied for the 4th most wins in the league (and 3rd best win %).
- Rockets rank 3rd in ORTG (113.4), 16th in DRTG (108.5), and 9th in Net RTG (+4.9). They are 13-7.
- This will be a clash of styles. The Rockets rank 29th in how many of their baskets come off assists (53%), the Raptors rank 5th (64%).
- The Rockets are a middling rebounding team. That still gives them an advantage there against the Raptors, who rank 26th in offensive rebounding and 29th in defensive rebounding. Both teams are middling for turnovers, so the Raptors will likely lose the possession battle again and will need superior efficiency to win out. On the year, the two teams have nearly identical eFG% and TS% numbers, so it will come down to how effective the Raptors' defence can be, and how much they can limit the likely rebounding deficit.

It's been 20 games so I've kicked off my annual performance tracker for the Raptors. So far, adjusting for quality of opponent, home-away and back to back effects, the Raptors are projecting as a 61 win team (by pythagorean wins) and a 54 win team using the more conservative performance standard deviation approach (which only projects us at 13-7 right now, so that 54 is effectively 56 looking forward only).

Performance model predicts a Raptors win with a 62% likelihood.

[Jclaw]

Nice to see DanH stepping up for the Rockets, Sixers, Clippers gauntlet. No the hero we deserve but the one we need...or something like that. From Goldblum's flailing hands. Go raps

[KeonClark]

Nice to see DanH stepping up for the Rockets, Sixers, Clippers gauntlet. No the hero we deserve but the one we need...or something like that. From Goldblum's flailing hands. Go raps

All that fun now its time to get serious

Goldblum:



DanH:

[planetmars]

[KeonClark]

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/1...mvp-nick-nurse

Great article, heavy on the "basketball nerds" x and o's

Still thinks we're a championship contender, and thinks OG deserves first team all defense

[golden]

lol. I thought that type of crazy sh*t only happened to us.

Props to DanH for stepping up with the GT, but I can only imagine what Goldblum would have done with 'Beard' or the name 'Harden'.

[KeonClark]

lol. I thought that type of crazy sh*t only happened to us.

Props to DanH for stepping up with the GT, but I can only imagine what Goldblum would have done with 'Beard' or the name 'Harden'.

If they end up giving that to the rockets and replaying the game, it will turn out the "getting screwed" curse was Derozan this entire time

[007]

Rockets are easily the most salty franchise in the league. There’s no way the game actually gets replayed, right?

[MixxAOR]

My hope is that they play like 2014 Spurs before Kawhi became ISO god. Feast on mistmatches and trust in ball movement /player movement and have elite defense. Siakam trying to shake Bam is just not his game right now. I rather have him space the floor and force other players to drive and force Bam to help. Siakam bringing Bam/Isaak/whoever out of the paint is already a victory. That requires other players to take advantage (toughest defender is on Siakam: go to work on your match up).

Perhaps Nurse is trying to develop his iso game but throw pick and roll/pop once in a while

[golden]

Rockets are easily the most salty franchise in the league. There’s no way the game actually gets replayed, right?

Dan Morey just likes to be publicly perceived as "doing sh*t". That's worked out well for him.

[Demographic Shift]

Rockets are easily the most salty franchise in the league. There’s no way the game actually gets replayed, right?

It has the same chance as the New Orleans fans court challenge to overturn the result of the NFC championship game because of a missed DPI call that cost them the game.

[KeonClark]

Dan Morey just likes to be publicly perceived as "doing sh*t". That's worked out well for him.

Daryl changed his name since China fiasco?

but yeah, the annual "harden and his rotating cast of sidekicks" doesnt seem to be championship ceiling to me

harden is gonna retire as the most prolific scorer of this generation but no titles. Hes t mac if he stayed healthy

[planetmars]

I didn't post it but the reason they couldn't challenge that play was because D'Antoni took too long to make that challenge (you have 30 seconds from the time of the dead ball to make the challenge). He spent too much of that time bitching out the ref.

[golden]

Daryl changed his name since China fiasco?

but yeah, the annual "harden and his rotating cast of sidekicks" doesnt seem to be championship ceiling to me

harden is gonna retire as the most prolific scorer of this generation but no titles. Hes t mac if he stayed healthy

I guess I'm assuming Morey will be the one submitting the challenge to the league office on behalf of the Rockets. Remember 2 years ago when the Rockets compiled some type of "dossier" with reams of data supposedly validating their claim that the refs were biased towards the Warriors? Morey is almost always involved in every marquee free agent rumor or trade. He just likes to be relevant, which isn't a bad thing. He's kind of like a more competent Bryan Colangelo.

[G__Deane]

I really hate the loss to the Heat because this game worries me and could start a mini-losing streak.
Kyle and Siakam better bring it because Westbrook and Harden will just torch you over and over and over