Do not panic!

[YugoRocketsFan]

The loss today vs Utah was nothing to be afraid of, come playoff time we will be ready-er than ever, T-Mac will be a differen't player, Yao will be an even better player and Rafer isnt gonna take as much shots. We will give a lot more effort. It wasn't a blowout, and we began the game in the least possible way and the crowd wasnt giving us the support we needed. Only reason we lost today was mainly Rafer, and our starters playing way too much, and lets not forget Rafer.

I am ready for the playoffs!

[rhino17]

Some of you guys need to stop just blindly supporting anything the Rockets do. They are not the perfect. They make mistakes everyone does. And we can criticize them because they are obviously not ready to play with the elite quite yet. Some of you support Rafer just because he is a rocket. If he was on another team, you;d realize he was trash.

[yaozhuxi]

agree. even without homecourt advantage, rox still should be able to beat jazz. couple of years ago, spurs got swept bu grizzless in regular season, and they paid them back 4:0 in playoff. so will be rox as I sincerely believe.

Originally Posted by YugoRocketsFan The loss today vs Utah was nothing to be afraid of, come playoff time we will be ready-er than ever, T-Mac will be a differen't player, Yao will be an even better player and Rafer isnt gonna take as much shots. We will give a lot more effort. It wasn't a blowout, and we began the game in the least possible way and the crowd wasnt giving us the support we needed. Only reason we lost today was mainly Rafer, and our starters playing way too much, and lets not forget Rafer. I am ready for the playoffs!

[pli777]

Originally Posted by rhino17 Some of you guys need to stop just blindly supporting anything the Rockets do. They are not the perfect. They make mistakes everyone does. And we can criticize them because they are obviously not ready to play with the elite quite yet. Some of you support Rafer just because he is a rocket. If he was on another team, you;d realize he was trash.

Agreed althought it wasn't a bad loss today, it was a tough loss in the end and it could have gone either way (well, sth like that). If Tmac continues to play like today in the playoff he will never be out of the 1st round. Hopefully the loss will serve as a boost rather than a knock back.

Go Rox!

[sbin]

Exactly, we believe and we are true rox fans

[wireonfire]

But it was certainly a disheartening loss. On a night Boozer had a very much subpar game, we couldn't even beat them.

[YugoRocketsFan]

Originally Posted by wireonfire But it was certainly a disheartening loss. On a night Boozer had a very much subpar game, we couldn't even beat them.

As did the rest of the Rockets, but hey at least Luther Head and Bonzi will be in the playoffs

[pli777]

Originally Posted by wireonfire But it was certainly a disheartening loss. On a night Boozer had a very much subpar game, we couldn't even beat them.

That's right, it's the way we lost it that make it so freaken hard to take.
Oh well, we are not dead yet.

[rhino17]

Originally Posted by YugoRocketsFan but hey at least Bonzi will be in the playoffs

No, he wont

[solid]

I still believe the Rockets can beat the Jazz in a seven game series, BUT, it is apparently going to be an incredibly dull series, "mud-wrestling-basketball style," and it may not happen. To listen to Barkley brag about his prediction for the next year will be hard to take. Key: TMac's shooting. If he continues to take 25-30 shots and make less than 30% of them, it is so over. The Role players are marginal to poor (except Battier, but he is no big offensive threat) and can't sustain without an All-Star performance from both TMac and Yao. If the Rockets want to scare the elite teams, they need more talent.

[trickywhiteguy]

yes this was a tough lose.. but we shouldn't panic...

1. I feel that if Luther was able to play we would of won this game...
2. I hope that in the playoffs we will get back the t-mac that will actually drive every once and a while.
3. We did a good job on Boozer and thats something we can take positive from this game.
4. Hopefully Rafer will stop thinking he's Ray Allen

[olliez]

As long as Rafer is running the PG, Rockets will NOT go anywhere.

His horrid 3-pt shooting will cost Rockets the Playoff series.

In fact, I see Rafer's shooting continue to decline over the rest and next season, it's though like he's got some kind of degenerative desease.

[maitredebwx]

We had a 50% play, and we only lost by 3.

[brantonli24]

[GermanRoxFan]

the point is the rockets should beat utah no matter what if they really are an elite team and want to win a championship. the jazz are a good, well coached team but they are not championship caliber. that's why there are no excuses. if the rockets lose in the first round than they are simply not good enough.

sadly, the way the rockets have been playing since yao has come back the rockets really look very faky. their record against the western conference tells it all. and you can see it nearly every game. the rockets, right now, are not an elite team. they let almost every better team get back into games because they can't put them away. and the really sad thing is, though this happens to dallas, san antonio and phoenix too, these teams find ways to win those games no matter what. the rockets on the other hand often simply get out-executed (not out-coached!). this is the problem of the whole team not of only one player or the coach like many want to believe.

yao plays very good basketball for 3 quarters but he has problems making shots when it counts. he has to be more aggressive and he has to dunk the ball more. blowing the majority of his and one opportunities because he wants to lay it in does not bring him and the rockets any further.

t-mac has to hit more shots. i don't blame him for taking (contested) jump shots, because he's capable of making them. but he has to start hitting them when it counts. i'm really dissapointed in t-mac's effort when he has played with yao this season. t-mac, please start making your shots.

the bench play of late has been horrific. i know the rockets have a really, really bad bench because they lack the talent AND the ready players. but we have to get more out of our bench. that does not mean that jvg should play v-span, bonzi or novak. i'm a realist and i know those guys are not ready and can't help. but the players that play have to play better. snyder has all the athleticism in the world so make some plays and play solid defense. luther has to cut down his stupid decisions. and it would help if he would not stand still for about 5 seconds everytime he gets the ball and is not open. juwan has to find his touch again. his veteran leadership and scoring is desperately needed. dikembe needs to be a factor again after his injury.

you could go on and on and on, but you can also put it simple. the rockets don't have the players that it takes to be a contending team. they can overcome this fact by playing at their limit and executing efficiently. that's what jvg preaches. but as of now they have yet to respond on a consistent basis. the rockets lack killer instinct and a contender identity. it's almost playoff time so the time is nearly up. i hope they can still find their identity but right now i'm not very optimistic.

[Double Method]

yep, the rockets lack killer instinct and contender identity.

good post GermanRox.

They don't play good against contenders cause they're not believing in themselves...

I think the only way the Rockets can gain any type of Championship Swagger would be to defeat the Jazz in 4 or 5 games.

We need Yao to dunk more and stop being clumsy with the ball.

[DaDakota]

Originally Posted by Double Method yep, the rockets lack killer instinct and contender identity. good post GermanRox. They don't play good against contenders cause they're not believing in themselves... I think the only way the Rockets can gain any type of Championship Swagger would be to defeat the Jazz in 4 or 5 games. We need Yao to dunk more and stop being clumsy with the ball.

Yep, the Rockets -hope

The Spurs, Mavs, and Suns believe.

Big difference.

DD

[ndnguy85]

how do you know the rockets wont play exactly like they did today in the playoffs?

are u cleo?

[Almu]

Originally Posted by DaDakota Yep, the Rockets -hope The Spurs, Mavs, and Suns believe. Big difference. DD

I believe. I think the Rockets do to.

Here is the thing that I got out of last nights game looking towards the playoffs...

T-Mac is not T-Mac from just 2 years ago. Rafer is worse than I thought. And despite my love affair with the Coach, he is an ass for not reconciling with Bonzi and using his fat ass during games like this. We could of used him in the post to relieve Yao at times and even T-Mac.

Despite that, there is still time to rectify this loss. T-Mac needs to eat his Wheaties or get a new back during the off-season or whatever.

[Sishir Chang]

WE'RE GOING TO UTAH AND DALLAS THEN TO PHOENIX AND THEN TO THE WHITE..um err.. CHAMPIONSHIP !!!!!!

YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!