ClutchFans Game Thread: Warriors @ Rockets 5/25/2015 (Western Conference Finals, Game 4)

I wonder if this is a combination of everyone loving the Warriors and everyone hating the rockets.

 

Lowe & Russillo

ZL: Warriors know they're going home game five. When you're up 3-0 and two home games in the bag, it's hard to get up for that game. D wasn't as good. Blew basic on/off ball rotations and missed a lot of shots early. This is what I said about the Clippers. This Rockets team, sometimes you can't figure out how they're good. They're not unbelievable at any one thing other than having Harden and getting to the FT line but they keep coming at you. They don't care about being down, backs against the wall. I've gained a lot of respect. They're not as good as the Warriors. They're -28 for the playoffs. Warriors will have to come out and earn this.

RR: With you on the Rockets. They're not as good as the Clippers.

ZL: I said that last week and the Rockets fans went crazy. They're not as good as the Clippers and that's not crazy to say.

RR: We have outcomes that don't mean the team is superior. They're not better than the Spurs. Portland, you got them at the right time with their injuries. ... I think about the Jets. When they played in 2 AFC title games with Mark Sanchez, that was not "The Jets are an elite team". Even though the Rockets can say going in next year, "We were a series away from the championship", that's not who they are.

ZL: It reminds me of the Celtics in 2012. Rose got injured, they beat a mediocre Sixers team and they ran it back. It reminds me of that. That team got lucky and probably didn't belong in the conference finals. You can't get brainwashed or carried away by playoff success in a small sample size. I don't think this applies to Houston. This team will be good but the West is a bloodbath. Would they be favorites in the East?

RR: Not against a healthy Cleveland team. When you write down teams if they won a NBA championship, would it be a surprise? Houston would. Harden thing has been cool. Even though there are parts of his game to be upset about and the way he's called, I'm glad more eyes are on him to see how special an offensive player he is. Who else does he have? They have one guy I trust offensively late in a situation, not just taking a shot but making the right decision. One guy. That's amazing a team can be this far. If you ask Smith to make the right decision with 4 minutes left based on shot clock, open and who else is out there, he makes the wrong one. Terry will put it up, Dwight we know who he is and is limited. That's crazy to believe Harden can still be this good without anyone else a defense is scared of.

ZL: With Harden on the floor, Warriors +1. With Harden off, Warriors +26. Warriors are winning the series when Harden is on the bench and they can't do anything. Cleveland is killing people with LeBron on the bench. They are manufacturing points out of Smith & Dellavedova. Watch those early 2nd Q and early 4th Q or late first, late third stretches when the stars sit. If GS wins those stretches with Curry out, you're in trouble. If Houston loses, it gets murdered without Harden. If this Cavs team wins with LeBron on the bench, it's over. Harden was ridiculous. That's what worries me. I don't know what they have when he's not making insane play after insane play and Smith isn't making three pull-up 3s in a row. That's not sustainable to me. Maybe they'll prove us wrong again.

 

screw zach lowe. I don't care how much interweb cred he has.

 

This means the NBA may try to extend the series? We can hope.

 

Headline: Sports Writer Admits He's Dumber Than Daryl Morey

 

Great points, Harden is all we have at the moment on offense. Sure, Josh made some threes and finally finished his drives, but his overall play still sucked. The shots he took were awful, he just made them and while he deserves credit, the boneheaded plays he made in game 4 and all other games are just infuriating. How many times does this guy throw a pass to nobody, run a fast break slow and shoot the earliest shot available with no rebounding. Our whole team needs to stop that, because it happens about 5-10 times a game where we have zero chance at an offensive rebound and hoist up a shot with 15-20 seconds left.

 

Hey, at least 3 teams in all these years have forced a game 7

 

9 down, 7 to go.