ClutchFans Game Thread: Grizzlies @ Rockets 3/4/2015

I've never had a bad call or no call bother me as much as this one.

 

This. Not Hardens fault other guys have missed so many games to where the totals are so far apart.

 

This happens unfortunately in the NBA and hurts due to the other calls Gasol and Lee got in the final minute versus the no call Harden got. Harden not getting a call isn't bad if the whistle is also being swallowed on the other end. I was mad last night but it's on to the next game now. The kicker is that a victory would have put the Rockets in the driver's seat to win the division for the first time since the 96-97 season (which is really sad in and of itself).

The Rockets also put themselves in the position where a late call could come back and bite them. They went from up double digits late in the first quarter to down by double digits late in the fourth quarter. Yes the refs blew the call, but the Rockets have got to execute better too during other parts of the game. When you find yourself in 50/50 situations in the final minute as the Rockets often have this year, some are going to bounce the other way.

Hopefully, the Rockets use this game to throw in some new wrinkles in end of game situations versus going hero ball. The result of this game has nothing to do with needing another playmaker, we just need to do something other than watching our best playmaker try do it all by himself as the default setting in close and late situations.

 

People need to look at our remaining schedule.

2nd seed is very very possible.

 

I think it's released in the late afternoon/early evening the following day. As for the NBA making amends, I imagine the refs will hear through the grapevine to give Harden a sh-tload of free throws in his next game or two in order to make up for their f-up last night. I don't envy the Pistons and Nuggets.

 

Eh, save them for the match against the Blazers and Clippers.

 

Imagine tying Memphis at the end and losing 2nd seed due to the tiebreaker that we lost last night, only to play OKC in the playoffs and we exit in the first round

All because the refs blew an obvious call for the sake of "not wanting to end the game on a pair of free throws"

 

How is that fair to the Nuggets + Pistons? That would be clear rigged officiating. I'm not knockin ya but if that's how the NBA goes about things, that is absolutely absurd

 

Believe me. I've been obsessing over the schedule for weeks. The 2nd seed ain't happening. We have to make up 4 games in the loss column now that the tiebreaker is gone. Let me repeat. We lost the tiebreaker thanks to last night. Don't let the 2-2 series split fool you. Memphis has the edge on conference and division records and that ain't likely to change. So barring a late season collapse by the Grizzlies combined with an incredible surge by the Rockets, kiss the division goodbye.

Now as for the 3rd seed, that's still within the Rockets' grasp. But I would argue that the game at Portland next Wednesday is almost a must win now in order for that to happen. The Blazers are playing too well lately for us to count on them to collapse on their own. They do have some tough games coming up(as do we), but if they beat the Rockets next week, they clinch the season series 2-1 which would require us to finish ahead of them in the standings.

The 4th seed thankfully is still a strong possibility. Yes, the Clippers, Mavs, and Spurs are right on our tails, but they have some tough games coming up and they all have to play each other(along with the Blazers and Grizzlies) several more times. When that happens, one of them is guaranteed to lose which benefits the Rockets. The key to clinching at least the 4th seed will be in April when we play the Spurs twice and the Mavs for the final time. It also wouldn't hurt to beat the Clippers next week in LA in order to hold them off.

 

Has the refs report for last night been released?

 

Indeed, but its going to be tough. We don't play at home too much for the rest of the season. Lots of road games coming

 

It's not fair to them. I never said it was. That's the whole point though. The NBA is so messed up when it comes to officiating that you have to lobby the refs to get calls. Look at what Cuban did with Yao in 2005. If he hadn't said anything, that series may never have gone back to Dallas.

Unfortunately, Morey, McHale, and Les will have to do likewise. B-tch and complain until the calls go their way. And once in a while, McHale is gonna have to get T'd up during a game. Slamming a water bottle at a post-game interview is not gonna cut it.

 

Not yet. It'll be posted at the site below when it is released.

http://official.nba.com/

 

I am quite surprised that Morey hasn't sent out a tweet or something about last nights game.

 

As the season winds down towards the PLAYOFFS and we start playing playoff teams we are going to see more and more collapsing defenses at the basket.

This is why an effective 3-point shooting power forward and a good 3-point shooting PG are important to us along with that second playmaker/attack guard. By the way, we traded that second playmaker/attack guard/3-point shooting bomber away to Philly for KJ McDaniels.

We're now down the the last quarter of the season, 21 games left, and over half those games against teams with winning records either already in the playoffs or fighting for their playoff lives. Those games will be dogfights. Add to that a couple team in the EC who have losing records but are busting their tails trying to get a bottom playoff seed and we don't have but around 5-6 games that are what you would consider rollovers (teams not really competing for wins).

I'm happy about the Cavs win Sunday but honestly that was a gift handed to us by the free throw shooting gremlins who saw to it that Lebron missed 8 freebies and shot 27% from the line. If it hadn't been for that we're riding a 3-game skid right now 1/2 game above the 6th seed.

So we're going to see much, much more closeouts at the rim with teams leaving us open to shoot those 3-balls. Gotta knock 'em down. That's why DMo's and others' 3-point shooting is more important by the game.

 

The whole "not wanting the refs to decide the game" excuse is pretty lame. What if Randolph tackled Harden and threw him off the court? Would the refs have swallowed their whistles then?

No... of course not. So the reality is the refs made a decision to not "decide the game" based on how Randolph fouled Harden. Which again, is completely wrong, since Randolph's foul completed effected the outcome of the play, and as a result, the outcome of the game.

Not calling the foul there risks the integrity of the game if not the safety of players at the ends of games... because if the accepted practice is to swallow the whistle in the last two minutes, you can be sure that players will push the envelop of physically defending the guy with the ball (heck, all the players on offense)... knowing the refs won't call a foul.

 

Morey is smart enough to do THAT behind closed doors - publicly doing that would probably result in quite a large fine.

He is an exec he is held to a higher standard than a coach/player.

DD

 

You're going to always look at the last play as the one that decided the Rockets' fate, but in reality, it's the play that Rockets should have never allowed to be the one at the end if we would have put them away a lot earlier. Don't let ONE PLAY decide your fate.

Does he send out tweets when his opponents get robbed, too? If no, then it's only going to make him look like a whiner because he only complains when it's done to his team.

 

Is it me or the last few games the opposing players seem to be allowed to be rougher on Harden in general

Even in denying him the ball . .they seem more grabby and physical

Rocket River

 

They need to implement a challenge flag similar to football that the coach can use for certain situations like these. You're right that Randolph tackling him, wrapping him up, shoving him, etc is basically the exact same crime as what he did last night. The results will always be an impossibility of Harden making that play