I enjoyed this article from J.A. Adande: http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/clippers/post/_/id/7943/as-rockets-returned-clippers-reverted I especially liked this part: [rquoter] Or maybe there's something to franchise DNA, something to wearing a jersey no matter how many times the design changes. Only a handful of teams have enough history and magic moments to produce a video this long and this goose bump-inducing. (It might be my favorite video I've seen at any arena.) Only eight teams have ever come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a series, and one of them was the 1995 Rockets. But back to this squad. Even though they've never been past the second round together, they feature four players who played in the NBA Finals elsewhere: Howard, James Harden, Trevor Ariza and Jason Terry. "What we showed tonight was that we have the resolve, and we have championship heart," Terry said. The Rockets finished the season with 56 wins despite injuries to Howard, Patrick Beverley and Donatas Motiejunas. After living among the West's elite for most of the year they slipped to the lower half of the playoff bracket in the final week, only to win their final three games to lock up the second spot. "We fought through a lot of adversity," Josh Smith said. "It's just a testament of what we did throughout the season."[/rquoter] Note that before game 6, he had the following to say: [rquoter] 4. Who wins Game 6 between the Rockets and Clippers? Adande: Clippers. Playing at home should help J.J. Redick, Jamal Crawford and Matt Barnes, who shot a combined 6 for 30 in Game 5. Plus, this series needs to be put out of its misery. Only one game has been closer than 16 points. And the fouls, and the free throws and the fouls. Gutierrez: Clippers. Seriously, this series needs to end. It just hasn't been great to watch. Clippers win because they're home and have a shot at their first conference finals. But everybody wins once this series ends. Haberstroh: Clippers. They're not going to miss 26 3-pointers again. James Harden (triple-double) and Dwight Howard (exactly 20 and 15) hit traditional markers, but I felt like that win was fool's gold. The Clippers are too good to let the Rockets walk all over them again, especially on their home floor. The Clippers finally get to the conference finals. Stein: Clippers. Props to the Rockets for forcing a Game 6 few thought they had in them after the twin debacles of Game 3 and 4 in L.A. But the Clips have so much to gain by finishing this thing off at home and potentially getting to Oakland earlier than the Warriors can for a potential Sunday start in the Western Conference finals. Just can't see Chris Paul and Blake Griffin letting that opportunity slip. Windhorst: The Clippers are the better team right now and they absolutely don't want to face a Game 7 in Houston. I honestly don't have a great feel for how it will play out, but you assume it's the Clippers' game.[/rquoter]
JA was pretty sad after the game...his face reminded me of Bob Costas when the Rockets won the title.
Damn it. Seeing Dream and Clyde in those stupid ass looking uniforms still pisses me off. We should have never switched and we should go back. Dress for where you want to be, not where you are.
Got the feels... again. Props to Adande for mentioning the tradition. There is a sort of organizational DNA, a history that sits in the back of players' minds. And it might be happening for the Clippers too, in the opposite way.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IebhPrKQGzs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> That should be posted everywhere. DD
Lol. Why was ESPN so sad last nite? I just don't understand. Their mood was like a spoiled child who found out last second they weren't getting their party at Chucky Cheese. I loved every bit of it btw. It was SAME mood when we won the championships. Suck it ESPN
It was a good read but he needs to fact check himself. JA mentions our players with Finals experience and leaves out Brewer. Then he mentions all of our injuries throughout the season and leaves out TJ. Still, I like the respect for our team and tradition.
I don't think he was a rocket hater but he was definitely upset the Knicks didn't win...I remember the camera being on him for a split second before he knew he was on the air and the frown he had on his face was priceless.
That ESPN video was even better, the guy could Houston credit instead of calling it luck like some chumps try to say this was. What curse word did he want to use for the Clippers choking? He said a tropic fruit and a certain body part?
Current video: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WeffkmNWuak?showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
After this season they are going to have the clip of Josh Smith's bounce pass to Corey Brewer for the dunk to that.