Houston Rockets at Detroit Pistons Game Thread

[mightybosstone]

I just watched Sportscenter highlights from the game and two things jumped out at me. The first one was the interview with Harden after the game. The dude has been behind Durant and Westbrook in the spotlight his whole career and absolutely killed it tonight as the No. 1, but given a chance to talk about himself, he credited the team and his teammates for the victory. I love a humble superstar. The second thing that stood out was the elite status that tonight's performance put him in. They said only three players ever put up this kind of a stat line: Larry Bird (twice), Dwyane Wade and Michael Jordan. And I got chills when Stuart Scott mentioned the last Rocket to put up 37 points and 12 assists in a game: Hakeem Olajuwon.

[DreamShaker]

I missed the game, but when my wife read me the stats on our ride home I was giddy. What a debut! My only gripe is Morris getting so many minutes. I despise him. Jones needs his minutes.

[WhiteSoxGod]

we need to trade Morris for a clipboard that Coach McHale can use

lol exactly Morris is garbage play Motiejunas.

[rocketfuel]

I'm glad Lin can create his own shot because Harden's going to get triple teamed pretty soon.

[rocketfuel]

stats so far:

Lin - 6 pts on 50% shooting / 5 assists / 3 steals
Harden - 19 pts on 61% shooting / 3 reb / 5 assists
Asik - 8 pts on 100% shooting / 4 reb / 1 block

looking good so far... hopefully they can keep it up!

Yes. Nice trio. I wonder what stud Morey is going to add to this nice young crew.

[rocketfuel]

wow, i didn't know the beard could dunk like that!!!

Don't let the beard fool you. He may look like he's 45, but he plays like he's a 23 year old in his prime.

[TMAC94]

If anyone missed Harden tearing it up, you can see his highlights here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCAF...eature=g-all-u

[Heediot]

James Harden has some sick body control in the paint. Him and Lin are relentless attacking the hoop. Bright future for your back-court.

Another thing I liked about Harden is he is decisive. He doesn't negate ball movement as much as guys like Melo, etc.

[rocketfuel]

I liked the aggressive tempo. It just seemed like I saw half a dozen Lin throwing to an open Harden for an easy hoop or the Rockets racing to the other end of the gym for a quick play... 6 guys in double figures. Harden did it right. He's the guy coming off a championship contender so he wasn't shy about attacking. That backcourt looks like it's going to really push the tempo this year. Fun to watch. It would help if more guys from the bench emerges and maybe one more scorer to go with the Harden/Lin combo who were 49 points and 20 assists. Morey might want to find a frontcourt player that can add 18-20 a night.

[eternal slumber]

If anyone missed Harden tearing it up, you can see his highlights here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCAF...eature=g-all-u

Asik with some finesse move and nice finish around the rim. didn't know he had it in him. Harden made him really looked good on offense.

[rocketfuel]

Holy crap. Who's Georgina Wilson? I lost my train of thought.

[MonroeFAN]

Piston fan here..

Good game last night, I definitely thought we were going to win. Harden played incredible basketball last night. I noticed quite a few cheapshots from him though, and I hope he doesn't continue to do that. If he manages to stay out of trouble, what an incredible pick up for you guys. No disrespect intended with this post, just my thoughts from the game.

[EDUTEXANS]

I cannot tell you guys how happy I am after this first game. Harden was awesome all night long, Lin and Asik were also good. And Delfino was on fire.

A couple of worries though. Why the hell is Morris starting and Patterson and Jones not getting any minutes? I don't even see Patterson's name on the Rockets' bench, I absolutely hated the rotation with Smith and Morris playing more than 40 minutes combined. Smith isn't ready for the NBA, too many fouls.

There were also too many turnovers, but I think it's understadable for a team that hadn't played together.

And the thing that worries the most, when Harden is out, where our score is going to come from? He played 44 minutes, and the 4 minutes he was out, we couldn't score.

[Driven]

I just watched Sportscenter highlights from the game and two things jumped out at me. The first one was the interview with Harden after the game. The dude has been behind Durant and Westbrook in the spotlight his whole career and absolutely killed it tonight as the No. 1, but given a chance to talk about himself, he credited the team and his teammates for the victory. I love a humble superstar. The second thing that stood out was the elite status that tonight's performance put him in. They said only three players ever put up this kind of a stat line: Larry Bird (twice), Dwyane Wade and Michael Jordan. And I got chills when Stuart Scott mentioned the last Rocket to put up 37 points and 12 assists in a game: Hakeem Olajuwon.

Is he being humble or just smart?

[astrosmaniac]

I cannot tell you guys how happy I am after this first game. Harden was awesome all night long, Lin and Asik were also good. And Delfino was on fire.

A couple of worries though. Why the hell is Morris starting and Patterson and Jones not getting any minutes? I don't even see Patterson's name on the Rockets' bench, I absolutely hated the rotation with Smith and Morris playing more than 40 minutes combined. Smith isn't ready for the NBA, too many fouls.

There were also too many turnovers, but I think it's understadable for a team that hadn't played together.

And the thing that worries the most, when Harden is out, where our score is going to come from? He played 44 minutes, and the 4 minutes he was out, we couldn't score.

patterson has a strained leg muscle and was out for the game