This is more an exposure of the lack of coaching than lack of player talent or heart Rocket River When you team looks lost and heartless . . .. imo . . that is coaching
I quit and I posted a thread to protest this team as it is I will not watch any games until at least MilkHair is gone.
This feels exactly right for me. I defended the team, Harden, the coaching staff, everyone all throughout the playoffs. I never stopped watching the game, and I'll watch Game 5 on Tuesday. But I quit emotionally on this team some time in the 3rd quarter when I realized that the Rockets don't know how to beat the Clippers. Until that moment, I KNEW we were going to take the series in 7. I understood that a team can be on the wrong side of a blowout and still win the series; look no further than the Clippers for that. But in that moment in the 3rd, I lost all hope for this team. Mostly because this is not the team I watched throughout the regular season. Sure, I'll watch the next game. But deep inside, I know how pointless it will be even if we somehow get a victory from it. Only the Clippers control this series. If they want to win, they will. This is about as bad as I've ever felt to be a Rockets fan since 1992.
I stopped watching but this goes way beyond coaching. This team has folded at the first sign of trouble the last two games, much like the Heat did in last years finals. Our players are showing the mental capacity of a rec league youth team.
I mean, I'm shocked that this wasn't more expected. The clippers have owned us. I don't care if we split the season series, they have never been a good match up for us. And that just takes us to the main point. We were never ever contenders and I never thought for a second we were. When you're a contender, it's not about matchups. Even against the Mavs I didn't think we played great. They were just a disaster and very injured too. Yes the josh smith Howard alleyoop session was great, but that was more on them being horrible than us being great. Do you really think we'd be able to pull that off against the clips or spurs. We only won 6 more games than the seventh seed this season. Doing it without Howard doesn't mean we would have won so much more with him. Other guys stepped up during the season. But we were never the second best team in the west.
The playoffs is a game of adjustment. There's no such thing as a bad match. All teams at this point got enough talent. McHale's so inflexible that he had to rely on hack-an-andre to win at a very early stage.
You see what happens when you have a former player coach that played with Larry Bird. Larry made it all so easy. The rest of the team just had to show up. Sure, McFail got his points with those long, sloppy flailing arms. But, this player's coach BS means the team has no clue come playoff time. Just flail your arms around like McFail would have done and shoot those noodle arm hook shots all game long. Meanwhile, Mr. Bird (cough...Harden) over there looking for more assists and not scoring enough. Harden is no Bird and Dwight is no Hakeem (or even Robert Parrish). Rockets basketball...I mcFailQuit you anti-Birdites. Shakes fist. Going home...
But you said it yourself. The Rockets didn't play well against the Mavs. And I agree. Offensively they did fine since Dallas is a horrible defensive team, but they gave up 110 points per game in that series despite the Mavs suffering a ton of injuries and being led by an old Dirk, moody Monta, and scrub Barea. So I don't think our 3-1 predicament is because the Clippers are a bad matchup. Remember, they didn't have Chris Paul for the first 2 games. They've gotten little out of him the last 2. He's the biggest mismatch for the Rockets and he's been a virtual non-factor. We're getting lit up by the likes of Austin Rivers which tells me the problem is with the Rockets, not their opponent. It's really not that complicated. If the Rockets are gonna surrender 119.5 points a game like they've been doing in this series, they're gonna get demolished tomorrow night and the season will be over quickly. I don't care how good of an offensive team the Clippers are, they should not be scoring 120 a night. The Warriors were the best offense in the NBA this season and the Grizzlies are absolutely shutting them down in their 2nd round series. I'm not asking the Rockets to be that good defensively, but they should at least be capable of making the Clippers work to hit triple digits. We're letting LA reach that mark by the end of the 3rd quarter for chrissakes!
So many there are really emotionally invested in this team. So a win is like taking a hit of that drug just to get on that high.(Thanks Dopamine!!!) And when they lose,.. hell breaks loose becuase the addicts didn't get their fix. Knee jerks can be annoying but that's just how our bodies work sometimes. Especially if your invested emotionally. (The Fanatics!!! )
I did not and will not quit on this team However, after a quiet moment to myself after last nites beat down, I have come to accept that I may not ever witness a rockets championship in my lifetime. (Nor a Texans or at Astros c'ship) I am at peace. I may not spend my money to go in person, but I will NEVER quit on the Rockets. (Texans or Astros)
Yeah, it makes no sense to quit on the franchise and the team. Especially in the Morey system half the team might be gone mid-way through the offseason anyway. I guess its easier to support this team knowing there will be changes and that they are inevitable.
I can go through tough times with the team. I can watch the team get out talented and lose by 40. A team with heart can get outclassed and embarrassed, but you will still admire them for putting all their effort and body on the line. The Celtics, Nets, Magic, Pistons, Timerberwolves are a joke roster wise this year, but they put their body on the line every game and fight with all sweats and blood. I could care less if the Rockets are down 30 because things aren't going their way. But right now I have no respect for the players and their attitude. If you are down 30 with 5 minutes left, then your mentality should be to shoot 3s and get a stop every 10 seconds until you tied up. Right now all I see are players who rather lie down and get stepped on than fight for a championship. No killer instinct, no effort, no hustle, NOTHING. I sure as hell do not want anything like that to be a representative of me. When I go play in my rec league, I usually talk about how crazy Harden is to be able to take so many hits but still carry the team on his back. That this guys has so much heart to win big for the Rockets. I've been as quiet as a mime the past week.
I am not going to sit here and lie. I quit when we lost game one. My mind could not comprehend how we lost to a clippers team with short rest and no Chris Paul. I did not want to believe it but I knew in my Heart we did not have the talent to win key match ups. If Griffen had not have gotten that staff infection and missed those games the clips would have had a better record. We are over achieving right now and the truth is we need a better role playerso to get to the next level.
this. as heartbreaking as it was to admit. durant is coming back next year, the pelicans are only going to get stronger. maybe LMA goes to the spurs. it is so difficult to win a championship in the NBA, maybe we just don't have what it takes. that's also the great thing about sports though, you never know. i have no hope for this season but from an objective perspective I still believe there is a ~5-10% chance we win this series. things are actually looking pretty good for the 'stros and texans tho
