Toronto at Houston Game Thread

[mightybosstone]

Talk all things Raptors and Rockets in here. I'll miss most of this one, because I have to cover a high school basketball game tonight, but I plan to rush home to catch as much as I can of the second half. I'm looking forward to seeing how Lowry and Lin match up (I don't have high hopes for that one), how the team plays after the McHale situation, whether Motiejunas will get time against Valanciunas and how Parsons continues to improve.

These are the kind of games that the Rockets would have lost the last three years. I'm hoping this new look team does a better job of beating bad teams when they need to and can stay in the playoff picture.

[EDUTEXANS]

I'm not watching the game, but just looking at the numbers, it seems they played well in the 1st half. 61 points, 55% from the field and only 2 turnovers. Lin and Morris playing well, Asik with 9 boards, Harden struggling with his shot but 9 assists already.

[Jatman20]

3rd just started and Lin with two quick asts. Lin and Harden doing it with assists. Patterson shooting well but needs Rebs.

[Jatman20]

Patterson having game of his life. 19 pts 5 Rebs. Two dunks. This is what I like to see from him. Attack the rim. Hope he gets at least 8 Rebs tonite

[FOBolous]

c'mon Lin...get a double double!

[Jatman20]

Lin 9pts/9asts. Lowry 7pts/4asts. Raptors are no contest

[FOBolous]

man if only Lin can play like this every day...

[Jatman20]

Yeah...they're learning where each teammate likes to take their shots. I think he did a poor job working on condition/rehab in the off-season. Now Lin has to play into shape and strengthen on off days like the past couple of days. Nice if he could get 8 assists a game this year. Helps if players are knocking down their shots like tonight.

[EDUTEXANS]

Starting 5 amazing tonight.

[Jatman20]

Yeah...Raptors are weak in the front-court...tomorrow Thunder. Lets do it !!

[mightybosstone]

Man... I wish I hadn't missed this one, but I was following it on my phone all night and am super pleased with how the starting five performed in the box score. Harden and Asik's numbers, in particular, are just disgusting. But I'm also very pleased to see Parsons, Lin and Patterson contribute and for Lin to finally have an efficient night offensively.

They really needed this tonight, because after going to McHale's daughter's memorial and then jumping on a plane to Oklahoma, that OKC game tomorrow is going to be a really tough one to concur.

[mightybosstone]

A few team numbers really jump out from this game that are exciting. First, the big one, which is that they shot 13 of 26 from beyond the arc. Anytime you take a decent number of three-pointers and shoot 50 percent, you should win that game. That's a phenomenal stat. Second, they assisted on 30 of 44 field goals, which shows me they're making good passes and hitting open shots when they're getting them. And third, they had 11 steals, had 27 points off 16 turnovers and 21 fast break points, which shows me they're getting a lot of easy baskets in transition off of forced turnovers.

All of these three trends are the way this team needs to play to be successful. And the more we see them, the more games they're going to win.

[Snakeyestx]

I'm looking at Lin's numbers and to be honest, I'm "okay" with what he did tonight.

16 points
10 assists
3 Steals
4 Rebounds

3 Turnovers

For a 2nd year guy with a 'sane' salary, these seem like decent numbers to build from. I'm really used to the "Point" Guard position to be the lead scorer and shot caller, but to be honest, it seems like the roles are reversed here with Harden (which I guess is okay as long as he avoids hero ball).

I heard about the memorial they'll wear after attending Sasha's funeral tomorrow... I wonder if and when K-Mac will return - some folks just seem to cope better by putting their head into their work.

[FOBolous]

I'm looking at Lin's numbers and to be honest, I'm "okay" with what he did tonight.

16 points
10 assists
3 Steals
4 Rebounds

3 Turnovers

For a 2nd year guy with a 'sane' salary, these seem like decent numbers to build from. I'm really used to the "Point" Guard position to be the lead scorer and shot caller, but to be honest, it seems like the roles are reversed here with Harden (which I guess is okay as long as he avoids hero ball).

I heard about the memorial they'll wear after attending Sasha's funeral tomorrow... I wonder if and when K-Mac will return - some folks just seem to cope better by putting their head into their work.

dude. those are amazing, all-star-esque numbers.

[houstonfan]

I'm looking at Lin's numbers and to be honest, I'm "okay" with what he did tonight.

16 points
10 assists
3 Steals
4 Rebounds

3 Turnovers

For a 2nd year guy with a 'sane' salary, these seem like decent numbers to build from. I'm really used to the "Point" Guard position to be the lead scorer and shot caller, but to be honest, it seems like the roles are reversed here with Harden (which I guess is okay as long as he avoids hero ball).

I heard about the memorial they'll wear after attending Sasha's funeral tomorrow... I wonder if and when K-Mac will return - some folks just seem to cope better by putting their head into their work.

You're "okay" with his numbers? Are you kidding me? If he put up numbers like these every night he would be worth a max contract or dang close to it. To be clear he is no where near that and will rarely put up these stats but come on. And on most teams the point guard is not the leading scorer... They are the one distributing to the scorers.

I also am wondering when McHale will be back though.