A realistic view of what this loss means for the series

The Clippers just beat the most disciplined, mentally tough team in the league - it is no surprise that they come in ready to play ball.

The Rockets were not prepared for this level of play, they lack leadership in the organization from the coach on down.

DD

 

9-10 hours later. I feel about the same as I did before, we dropped the ball and now it's up to us to at least respond in Game 2.

Terrific points all around Will.

 

I've been saying it from the beginning that we shouldn't look forward to playing the Clippers. They have our numbers during the regular season and they'll have our numbers in the post-season.

The biggest problem is we don't play disciplined defense. We often beat teams by seeing who can score the most and we often beat teams who play equally porous defense as us (see Dallas Mavs). This doesn't fly when you're playing defensively disciplined teams like the Clippers, Spurs and with loaded offense.

The fact that CP3 sat out in the first game and we still go whooped is a very ominous sign that this serious is pretty over before it even began. CP3 will more surely sit on the bench for most, if not, all of next game. Doc is not afraid of us. The Clips are definitely not afraid of us either. From Griffin down to the Austin Rivers, none of them even see us as a legitimate threat. Come on, when you just beat the Spurs in a grueling 7 game series, this is like practice for them. We are two levels down from the Spurs.

When you don't scare your opponents, you've already lost half the battle.

 

I thought it boiled down to turnovers and poor bench play. I feared Josh Smith might take his numbers from the Dallas series as motivation to go back to chucking and it appears he has. Let's hope McHale sets him straight before game 2 because we need him to play big minutes against Griffin. I thought Brewer played with his usual energy but the shots just were not falling and he seemed jittery with some of his mistakes. Prigioni was solid as usual but we know we need Smoove and Brew to contribute or we don't get the W.

The good news is that turnovers are about focus so that can be fixed and that Dwight looked phenomenal and, IMO, outplayed Jordan. I cannot say enough about how good Dwight moved on the court. Dwight vs. Deandre alone makes this series worth watching.

 

So ******* frustrating man.

The last time we were here, Yao and Artest played with heart I'm Game 1 and we pulled out one on the road. We may have more talent but I question our desire.

 

Signs that your team is f**ked:

- Austin Rivers and Matt Barnes basically has about the same amount of points as your MVP-level All-Star player

- Old Man Pirgioni is the best 3-pt shooter on the court

- Crawford continues to eat the Rockets for dinner

- NOBODY, I mean NOBODY on the Rockets has an answer for Griffin. NOBODY

- CP3, their best player and team captain, hasn't even suited up yet

 

I felt like we'd lose this thing in 6 going off the way we've played the Clippers the past 8 games and the fact we're down 2 key starters.

That was before understanding the extent of Paul's injury.

As it stands now I think we should be favored. Paul might not be the same again this year.

The worst part about losing last night is that the Clippers don't have to make adjustments going into game 2. I think we win the next 2 and right the ship. I feel like this thing comes home for game 5 as we begin a fresh 3 game series tied 2-2.

 

All the turnovers that dallas couldn't capitalize on, LA did.

The thing that kills me is that most of the turnovers are 1) while we're trying to push the ball up too fast and 2) result in an easy basket for LA. So in essence, each turnover is like a 4-point turnaround. That's the only thing that kept us from winning every game against dallas by 20 and what may eventually keep us from beating LA.

Every time we make a stop and get a rebound, we try too hard to push the ball up the court and end up turning it over. This is the playoffs. If you get a big stop and a rebound, hold the ball and set up the half-court offense. Run if the opportunity is there, not on every single possession.

I'm telling you, this helter skelter offense is going to be the end of us.......

 

This. Every game I watch, the rockets create a mess of a game and somehow manage to win it. Sloppy, undisciplined basketball.

It worked against a sorry dallas team but it's not going to work in the 2nd and 3rd sound.

 

I'm going to say almost the same thing I said after we lost to Dallas in game 4. We got punched in the face by a tough savy team who have been fighting for their playoff lives. At this level of competition you have to expect to get punched in the face a few times.

It was a bad loss and the Clips did expose many flaws in our team. The same thing the Suns could've said in 1995 when they took the first two games at the Summit against the eventual 1995 championship Rockets. As any player and coach knows at high level competition the difference in talent isn't that much so minor things can greatly magnify results. The Rockets lost but one game aint close to a whole series.

With a few right adjustments both in strategy and more important, mentality, the Rockets could come back and dominate the next game.

 

Yeah, that's our Rockets, alright :grin: Always giving hope to those who need it. Most giving team in the whole league.

I thought it was hilarious that Chuck in the halftime show was actually being kind of charitable toward the Rockets by blaming their poor play on rust. Pffft. They weren't rusty; they were doing the exact same stupid crap they were doing toward the end of the Dallas series. It's just that now they're facing a confident, prime-years contender with a whole buffet of certified Rocket-killers instead of a declining has-been.

Oh well. We'll see how they respond in the next game...

 

I just don't understand how they never "woke up" throughout 48 minutes. Did it NEVER dawn on them that they're in the second round? Are they ready to go golfing?

 

We are destined to take at least one game in LA, so technically LAC have to take two games in our court. I figured we would lose one game at home I just didn't think it would be Game 1.

All of our problems are fixable, but obviously Game 2 is a must-win. Everyone is upset because of the lack of effort and play from our guys, but remember it's just 1game in a 7 game series.

 

It's just how the Rockets play. They are giving up 115 points a game in the last 4 games. They give 8 more points a game than any team currently left in the playoffs. They play the way they play and if it doesn't work they are just screwed. Cuban is an ******* but he is right that there is no more predictable team than the Rockets and everybody knows it.

i really thought this team was different this year but after 4 straight games of no longer playing good defense in the playoffs I am starting to think that we are the same level of team that we were last year.

 

If they don't wake up in Game 2 ... they are going on a fishing trip. Never mind golfing.

 

It was a wake up call for the Rockets from the coaching staff all the way down to the players. The Clippers went through a battle to beat the Spurs and are mentally where the Rockets need to be in the playoffs.

To me our biggest problem was turnovers and 2nd chance points. It's already tough to score in the playoffs and here we are giving them easy points. Everyone needs to step up and prepare themselves mentally more than anything. The Rockets thought they were ready but the Clips showed us we weren't.

 

The defensive intensity was there in spurts in the first half. I was feeling very confident with about 5 minutes left in the second quarter.

But in the second half, when we should have made our charge with fresh legs, I saw a lot of guys just standing around, and (per usual) Smith/Jones failing to box out the power forward.

 

i saw such careless passing yesterday..it was like a practice.

 

A realistic view is that the Rockets and the fans waited 1 year and 2 days for a conference semifinal, after having our collective hearts broken in exactly 0.9 seconds over a year ago. We waited 1 Year and 2 Days for that embarassing debacle of quit last night. That is our reality right now.

 

I hope you are right, man. I am definitely prepared to lose games and even a series, but I want to see some fight, the proverbial going down swinging. Players need to let it all out from now on.