A realistic view of what this loss means for the series

Just quoting for truth. Kool aid drinkers couldn't tell that the Clippers Spurs series was played on a much higher level than the Rockets Mavs. We just got lucky that the Mavs suck.

 

I really don't know why they don't just start Jamal Crawford @ the PG and let JJ Reddick be their key off the bench guy? Better yet why is somebody as good as Jamal Crawford regulated to coming off the bench and not starting from some team elsewhere if not for the Clippers? He's clearly their best 2 guard as well.

 

You do realize you are describing CP3 and the Clippers, as well. This is the exact criticism of them over the years. They really cannot afford to lose this round, or the media will pounce on them mercilessly, and CP3's legacy as a play-off loser will be tarnished even more.

And cut the crap about Mavs being injured, like we aren't.

 

Exactly. Rust plus overconfidence plus Harden did not take losing the MVP race too well. Also playing against a wounded animal. Perfect storm.

Glad we got humiliated and not have lost by 1 point.

Still as many said its only game 1 and hopefully it is a wake up call.

Cleveland and Atlanta also lost their first game at home. So yes it happens.

 

All goes back to McHale as well.... But i'll give him a pass and say the Rox aren't as deep as the half ass Rockets Hater Barkley suggests. This Rox team isn't anywhere near deep considering Dmo is out and he was the only real viable option that could balance out Griffin's play for the other team. Deandre Jordan is about or equal to Dwight when all things are said and done. I'm disappointed at Josh Smith and his punk ways. He really has no post game and lied about studying Dmo's game because he's not playing like it. On top of that he's a really annoying whiner at the moment. Whines all the time more so than CP3 or Dirk from last series.

 

We didnt get blown out, they raised the lead from 9 to 17 or whatever in the last 2 minutes when we gave up.

It was a 3 possession game, we failed to turn the tide.

 

We know our flaws, unless you were delusional.

We only have two maybe three plays. It isnt that hard to figure out what it takes to defend us.

 

No competent ball handler when Harden is off the court. I swear Jamal Crawford has better handles than Harden when it really matters.

 

I wonder how much impact a "long layoff" really has on a team. I'm not disagreeing with you per se, just want to discuss this a bit more.

Look at the Warriors for instance. They've been off even longer than the Rockets. And they played game 1 looking like they didn't miss a beat in their home win against the Grizzlies.

So is it really the "long layoff" that is the primary factor for the way the Rockets played the ENTIRE game? I mean having some rust in the first half...I can understand. But for the ENTIRE game seems a bit of a reach.

How does this loss compare to the Lakers' game 1 loss at home against the Rockets in '09? Are there any parallels that can be drawn (other than the Lakers were coming off of a "long layoff" as well)?

 

Jamal Crawford has better handles than 98% of the players in the league.

 

Ok that is just fan speculation. What makes you think Harden was so "adversely" affected by the MVP voting that he just sucked in Game 1?

I saw a James Harden that actually was not defended as tough as the Mavs series and it seemed that he felt he could just flip the switch and win the game. That's just playing with fire. This is the 2nd Round of the playoffs...at home. Harden had no business playing the way he did. The effort and energy and focus clearly was not there.

 

No CP3, no focus. Howard shouldn't be talking to people during a playoff game, either. Cringe-inducing.

Harden is feeling bad for himself after losing the MVP and has no fire. Defensively he's regressed back to what he was after being pretty damn good defensively. All th e same habits and the not giving a **** from last year.

 

That is just weak if that is truly the case. I, however, don't think the MVP voting adversely affected Harden enough to impact his terrible play.

 

I hate losing, but I still think we will win the series. Our players are much better than Matt Barnes and Austin Rivers. Harden will play better, he has to much pride to play ****-tier when JJ Redick is guarding him. Dwight is looking great. We will regress to our mean and not play like this the rest of the series. We are the better team.

 

Did Josh Smith ever have a post game? I swore he did but it hasn't showed up these PlayOffs at all.

 

Huge let down of a game. How - and if - they bounce back in Game 2 will decide not only their fate in this series, but perhaps will tell us a lot of what we need to know about this team and its core as a whole.

The leadership group - in particular Harden - and the coaching staff responded to last year's disappointment with a renewed focus, more attention to detail on the defensive side, and thanks to some personnel changes greater variation of offensive plays.

How will they follow-up on their lackadaisical play from the last game? I’m expecting a much much much better effort in game 2.

 

What does rust mean, exactly? No need to give the Rockets an excuse like that. It's always a convenient narrative for why teams lose, though. I'll give you that.

Rust didn't cause us to turn the ball over 7 times in the first quarter by being overzealous and excited trying to run too much and carelessly. We were actually very charged up. It seemed like over-exuberance to me to try to be a Showtime bunch of greyhounds running the ball, which is as much about being inexperienced as undisciplined. We won the first half, and should have blown them out in that first quarter with more care for the ball.

And even if there was rust in the first half, the 2nd half meltdown was not about rust...just flat out lack of execution on defense ... lack of focus ... and pretty much quitting at the end.

 

I hope mchale calls him out. Harden taking only 10 shots by the 4th was inexcusable. I wished mchale would've benched him. I'm his biggest fan and mad as hell that he didn't get MVP but he really just went through the motions tonight. The bad thing was he was having a good shooting night and he was still trying to pass.Take off man! The rest of the team will play off your scoring.

Jones I completely give up on. Thank god we didn't trade Dmo. Good lord he sucks.

 

The Mavs were a lottery quality team masquerading as a playoff team

 

McHale disagrees with you, Will. According to him, the reason we lost was bexause we didntplay with energy.