To those upset about last nights loss , I want y'all to understand that the rockets were holding back .... now, OKC may have been holding back too ( I don't know) , but the rockets for sure were . First of all, Shumpert and farried didn't play . Those are two of our higher energy guys . Farried is probably healing up to 100 percent and shumpert is in intense training to wipe the long-two from his brain . Secondly , I can't tell you how many times harden ( and Gordon a few times ) split the defense , had a clear lane to the basket , and then decided to float it up . In the playoffs harden is going all the way to the rack .. TO DUNK . Same with Gordon . Those guys could have thrown down some jams last night .... but they were saving it . Third . Harden didn't even try to go at George until the last play . Some of that is following the path of least resistance ( obviously James would rather try vs Schroeder) .... but James is also a competitor , he wants to go 1v1 vs PG and school him . It's not like he doesn't have confidence to do so . He was saving his tricks until he needs to use them in more important circumstances Finally , on the play where harden let PG guard him ... he ends up with a wide open 3 that he missed . James shot attempt to end the game was great . How many guys get that wide open on PG ? So we went out there last night to bump bodies a bit . mission accomplished . It would have been nice to get out there with a W , but too many things were working agaisnt us .... perhaps most of all , that we weren't going all out . I'm excited for the playoffs no matter who we play . You can be lucky , be good , or have both . Let's hope the team finds its best form and catches a break here or there
You don't think so ? I know the game looked physical ... and it was . But , I really do remember times where it seemed like harden and Gordon had open lanes to throw it down and they chose not to. Maybe it was just poor decision making , but I think they were saving those dunks for later
They weren't holding back. They knew how important this game was, they knew how bad we needed it, and they came up short. It is what it is.
They definitely didn't hold back last night. The guys out there wanted to win that game. It didn't happen. They move on quickly to what really matters this weekend. Now on the other hand, missing your actual coach and not using all the pieces that we'll see in the playoffs was significant. In that sense it was a "hold back" per se. But the results of the last regular season game doesn't change the playoff outlook for me.
They definitely weren't...conversely a tough loss before the playoffs may be beneficial. Look at tape and make adjustments. Can't win them all. Sometimes you have to tip your hat.
It's okay guys, Rockets were holding back, so OKC can get the confidence they need going into the playoffs as PG said in his post game interview.
The Rockets went wild in the last moments of the game last night, in a bad way. There was one possession late in the game where Chris Paul (?) threw a wild pass to Eric Gordon who threw a wild pass to PJ Tucker and he threw a terrible pass to Harden that was stolen by George. Terrible. It's one of those awful moments as a sports fan where you see the team going haywire or collapsing and you remember you have zero control in the matter. Like when you try to punch someone in a dream and you can't. There are so many brutally close losses this season where you say "if this guy had been healthy, they would've won." I think D'Antoni would've made the difference last night. Just hope we can have a full team for the playoffs, coaches included.
mm, i wanna say we were absolutely trying; just poor execution down the stretch as has happened a fair amount of times this season. also pj being the sole defensive guy on our team kind of ran its course. He had no legs by the end of the game to chase russ.
This. The Rockets wanted the #2 seed bad. The Rockets just didn't not execute at the end of the game and lost by 1 point on a 3 point shot made by one of the 5 best players in the world. The clearest path to a title for the Rockets was to wrap up the #2 seed and face the Warriors in the WCF. Having said that, I don't think the Rockets championship odds changed much other than playing the Jazz in the first round instead of OKC/SA/LAC. The Rockets will have to beat the Warriors, regardless of whether it is in round 2 or round 3 and will still face the winner of the Blazers/Denver but in round 3, instead of round 2. At this point we all know the Rockets weaknesses (primarily a long swing to defend and switch), and it is time to see if this Rockets team is just good or is title winning good.
Conner McGregor is a living stereotype of the shanty Irish. The guy has put the advancement of Irish people back at least 150 years. As someone who lives part of the year in Ireland, I can tell you that the Irish are quite aware of McGregor's antics.
They were definitely holding back. In a real playoff game, Gordon will not have ball in his hands for play making. Not with CP3 and Harden on the court.
