I def agree with the OP and I think the posters that are saying "So what? We won" aren't seeing the bigger picture. We are very lucky to have played the Thunder because there are very few teams we would've beaten playing like we did this series. Poor shooting, poor rebounding, poor execution overall. However, we had a game-plan and I think we played Russell perfectly. Let's see how MDA adjusts to our opponent for the next series because I do believe in his ability to come up with a game-plan. I'm happy that we have come this far after a poor performance last season. I will be grateful for how much we have accomplished, but I simply don't see us getting past the Spurs at this point. Would LOVE to be proven wrong and I wouldn't be surprised either. Let's go boys! EDIT: Forgot to mention that Harden had a poor series and we still won. We won in a way that we shouldn't have; shooting poorly and not riding Harden's coattails. So if the law of averages is true, we will go off in the next series or maybe for the remainder of the playoffs! Harden generally does well against the Spurs, so look for him to get his shot back!
errr we just played 4 straight games of 5 on 8 and won 3 of them. that shitshow tonite was particularly egregious. hard to play your game when the other team is allowed to hack nonstop on every drive
You're right. At least, we ARE capable of playing better. Let's hope winning in 5 gives our guys the time to rest, fix their shots, and mentally fortify themselves for something tougher than this series. And, nervewracking as it was to watch, this 4-1 series win should be special to Rockets fans just because we got to see the anointed MVP shoot his team out of multiple possible victories and then act like a child when the final bell tolled.
Great thing is we've been winning based on our D and our 3 point shots not falling That's a good sign
This is the style OKC forced us into playing and that we played to match up with OKC . Our choices and therefore responses will be different against other teams . We won't play like "this" va other teams because the other teams won't play like OKC ... If they do then we will play how we played and we will win lol .
They just need to execute better at the end of games and Ryan and Ariza need to stop hesitating on open 3s. Harden has a bunch of time to rest his ankle now. The formula worked in this series; the Thunder made a conscious decision to take away threes, so we scored 50+ points in the paint in every game but one (48 in G2), and took over 30 FTAs in all five games. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but teams very rarely win games wire-to-wire in the playoffs.
All I can say right now is ALL IS FORGIVEN........(until the 2nd Round starts). All the myriad of ways that the Rockets shot themselves in the foot throughout the series, just could not get out of their own way at times, all forgiven. This includes Ryan's exorbitant salary. I'm proud of the Rockets for winning this series 4-1. No matter how you cut it, how you talk about they played bad, 3's didn't fall blah blah, the Rockets did it. They won the 1st round of a tough series (in my opinion) and now have earned themselves the luxury of resting/healing up for the next round. Very proud of the entire ROCKETS squad. Ryan Anderson did hit some much needed 3s during the series. Hope he can hit more and take more the next round. We need him to regain his confidence and let it fly. Winning does cure all in my book. That's the big picture I hope we all as fans can embrace. David
Not trying to be a debbie a downer..i just finished 20 minutes of trash talking my okc friends, feels good. But i want more, i want the focus to pick up so we can go for something real. The win is great and lets enjoy tonight, but i sure hope they r back to work soon except for harden, let him rest that ankle.
The Rockets lost the last few games against the Spurs due to end of game collapses. They were able to overcome against the Thunder but that won't work in the next round.
it would really help if the whole team could stop shooting like Corey Brewer or Sam Dekker from beyond the arc, the 3 point shooting was just abysmal OKC gave us problems because they had such a significant speed and athleticism advantage and Billy Donovan made some adjustments after game 1...we still had the 4th best offensive rating in the playoffs coming into tonight's game despite how poorly we were shooting from deep
Or we will win exactly like this. Nobody knows what will happen next series, but the Rockets were forced out of their normal game plan. They didn't panic or force it, they adjusted and won this series in five games. Adjusting to what the game gives you, and scoring more than your opponents is exactly how teams win. Was it perfect? Hell no, but it was what the game called for, and the Rockets answered.
i didnt read the post but op is right. rockets repeat their level of play in this series they get swept. holy sheez that was a hard game to watch
