Houston. And the Houston game coming up

[GreenRunsDeep33]

Well Stevens did it again. Played small ball right into the Rockets hands. They had 2nd chances and we didnt play any bigs. Its frustrating watching Steven's coach at times.

Why didnt we push the ball down one and even if we miss and foul, it would've only been a 3 pt game if they hit two FTs.

Stevens can always get us right there but cant seem to close out big games and get us over the hump. Best 2nd place coach in the league. Ugh

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Well, we didn't have Kemba tonight and boy, we could have really used him.

He would've helped, but they still should've won. Their shooting was terrible, especially the five straight misses in OT when they had a 1-point lead and Houston was missing—Boston could've iced it there.

[iadera]

Brown was just terrible. We can't always rely on Tatum. Smart was our best guy. In last 4 posessions we couldn't make basket. That's not the way you play big games.

[Somebody]

I really don't get people slating Jaylen for his performance this game. He has never been asked to shoulder an offensive load as heavy as he's currently carrying with Kemba out injured, he'll have some growing pains when he's thrust into a primary role on offence against quality teams. He'll refine his game the more he's thrown into such situations, I wouldn't be too worried about his performance last night. Give Jaylen the patience you guys gave Tatum and he'll blossom into a two way superstar before it wears thin.

[ozgod]

I didn't see the game live, had to watch it this morning. So who's the forum-elected Celtic pinata for tonight? So far I'm seeing the usual suspects of (in no particular order and with the stated reason for being the cause of the loss)

Smart - shot too much and poorly (9-22 and 5-15) for who he is
Hayward - didn't shoot enough (8-16) and missed a 3
Tatum - shot poorly (9-27) and tried to play hero ball
Jaylen - shoot poorly (9-23) and defended poorly
The bench - didn't shoot at all (1-4)
Brad - didn't call a timeout at the end (his reason was he didn't want Houston's switch heavy defense to threaten the inbounds pass but whatever)

So who was it? Who do we blame till Tuesday comes around and they have time to make amends? 

[Who]

I have to say I am enjoying Houston a lot more since they went small.

They were the ugliest (good) team in the league by far before they made this change. Watching Houston play was like being tortured (basketball torture). I couldn't stand watching Harden's ball-dominance. And adding Westbrook to that mix only made things worse. But their offense is a lot easier on the eyes since they went small. They are no longer disgusting to me.

I suppose Westbrook is a big part of that. I love seeing him do well. A player that plays with as much fire and intensity as he does. I can't help but root for him to do well.

[Surferdad]

I have to say I am enjoying Houston a lot more since they went small.

They were the ugliest (good) team in the league by far before they made this change. Watching Houston play was like being tortured (basketball torture). I couldn't stand watching Harden's ball-dominance. And adding Westbrook to that mix only made things worse. But their offense is a lot easier on the eyes since they went small. They are no longer disgusting to me.

I suppose Westbrook is a big part of that. I love seeing him do well. A player that plays with as much fire and intensity as he does. I can't help but root for him to do well.

Houston's level of defense last night is unfamiliar to me.  They challenged at the rim in spite of their size.

[BMark]

I have to say I am enjoying Houston a lot more since they went small.

They were the ugliest (good) team in the league by far before they made this change. Watching Houston play was like being tortured (basketball torture). I couldn't stand watching Harden's ball-dominance. And adding Westbrook to that mix only made things worse. But their offense is a lot easier on the eyes since they went small. They are no longer disgusting to me.

I suppose Westbrook is a big part of that. I love seeing him do well. A player that plays with as much fire and intensity as he does. I can't help but root for him to do well.

Houston's level of defense last night is unfamiliar to me.  They challenged at the rim in spite of their size.

This is the point the announcers were making last night. Houston may lack size but they certainly don't lack strength and toughness.  I felt the Cs were exposed a bit last night for their lack of physical strength and Kemba is not going to help improve that.

[ozgod]

I have to say I am enjoying Houston a lot more since they went small.

They were the ugliest (good) team in the league by far before they made this change. Watching Houston play was like being tortured (basketball torture). I couldn't stand watching Harden's ball-dominance. And adding Westbrook to that mix only made things worse. But their offense is a lot easier on the eyes since they went small. They are no longer disgusting to me.

I suppose Westbrook is a big part of that. I love seeing him do well. A player that plays with as much fire and intensity as he does. I can't help but root for him to do well.

Houston's level of defense last night is unfamiliar to me.  They challenged at the rim in spite of their size.

This is the point the announcers were making last night. Houston may lack size but they certainly don't lack strength and toughness.  I felt the Cs were exposed a bit last night for their lack of physical strength and Kemba is not going to help improve that.

As Brad said, the only place they are small is at the 5. They have plenty of size on the wing and at ball handler.

[knuckleballer]

I have to say I am enjoying Houston a lot more since they went small.

They were the ugliest (good) team in the league by far before they made this change. Watching Houston play was like being tortured (basketball torture). I couldn't stand watching Harden's ball-dominance. And adding Westbrook to that mix only made things worse. But their offense is a lot easier on the eyes since they went small. They are no longer disgusting to me.

I suppose Westbrook is a big part of that. I love seeing him do well. A player that plays with as much fire and intensity as he does. I can't help but root for him to do well.

Houston's level of defense last night is unfamiliar to me.  They challenged at the rim in spite of their size.

I would have liked to have seen Kanter get some minutes to see if he could expose them with his low post game.

[LilRip]

I have to say I am enjoying Houston a lot more since they went small.

They were the ugliest (good) team in the league by far before they made this change. Watching Houston play was like being tortured (basketball torture). I couldn't stand watching Harden's ball-dominance. And adding Westbrook to that mix only made things worse. But their offense is a lot easier on the eyes since they went small. They are no longer disgusting to me.

I suppose Westbrook is a big part of that. I love seeing him do well. A player that plays with as much fire and intensity as he does. I can't help but root for him to do well.

Houston's level of defense last night is unfamiliar to me.  They challenged at the rim in spite of their size.

I would have liked to have seen Kanter get some minutes to see if he could expose them with his low post game.

Spoiler alert: Kanter would’ve been exposed on defense badly. He doesn’t have the agility to help in the paint and then get out on a shooter. Houston pretty much plays 5 shooters at all times. Also, they often do a good job getting the “matchup” they want. I mean, you saw a lot of Theis/Williams/Langford having to guard Westbrook/Harden.

[knuckleballer]

I have to say I am enjoying Houston a lot more since they went small.

They were the ugliest (good) team in the league by far before they made this change. Watching Houston play was like being tortured (basketball torture). I couldn't stand watching Harden's ball-dominance. And adding Westbrook to that mix only made things worse. But their offense is a lot easier on the eyes since they went small. They are no longer disgusting to me.

I suppose Westbrook is a big part of that. I love seeing him do well. A player that plays with as much fire and intensity as he does. I can't help but root for him to do well.

Houston's level of defense last night is unfamiliar to me.  They challenged at the rim in spite of their size.

I would have liked to have seen Kanter get some minutes to see if he could expose them with his low post game.

Spoiler alert: Kanter would’ve been exposed on defense badly. He doesn’t have the agility to help in the paint and then get out on a shooter. Houston pretty much plays 5 shooters at all times. Also, they often do a good job getting the “matchup” they want. I mean, you saw a lot of Theis/Williams/Langford having to guard Westbrook/Harden.

Yeah, maybe.  I would have liked to have seen him early in the game like the second quarter.  He has an effective low post game that might have been able to take advantage of Houston’s short front court. 

[Monkhouse]

We lost by 1 point in a OT thriller without our All-Star PG.

Credit to Houston for making the correct adjustments, playing solid in the 4th, and Tucker/Covington coming through clutch for them.

I think the TO now might've been overstated. CBS trusted his team to make the right play, sometimes it doesn't work the way you want it to.

Let's just hope TOR sucks on this road trip 

[Celtics4ever]

We played our starters almost the whole game, our bench is poor and CBS knows it.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

A lot of talk about Houston's "small ball" working and how it's so hard to match up against, but I still think they'll get knocked out of the playoffs by a team with a huge size advantage, someone like the Lakers.

D'Antoni is the present-day Don Nelson—a good coach, but also very gimmicky and unable to lead a team to a title.