Ummm no. Because Utah lost we were not playing Denver anymore and thats what matters. Between Spurs and OKC it doesnt even matter.
Jeremy Lin is the reason. If he doesn't play, we win. If he doesn't play in the playoffs, we would sweep the Thunders, the Spurs and the Heat. James Harden is our saviour, God sent him here to rescue our team. He is an angel. But Jeremy Lin (aka Satan/Lucifer the devil) is holding him back. Every time we lose, he is the one to be blamed on.
In all seriousness. I knew we were screwed when we picked up those quick fouls in the 4th quarter. And i know Pau Gasol has regressed since years gone by but man. DELFINO? gosh. Harden and Lin really struggled down the stretch. Mchale went with the bench too long. Brought Lin back too late, blah. etc. gah dont care anymore zzzz
We knew the refs would be cheating the hell out of us and they did. I also knew if it was close our coach would cost us the game and he did. I also said a few months ago if we make the playoffs with this coach we will get swept and we will. We have way too much talent for this to happen in almost all our close games.
One reason - the coach. Should kept harden accountable on all those god damn iso bricks he was chucking up. And....and...cue Lin threads... Ahh, I can't be bothered.....
Why was it huge fpr every Rockets' fan? I was disappointed they lost, but it wasn't that big of a deal.
Yeah. Those darn refs and their offensive rebounding leading to second chance points. Those darn refs combining to hold Harden and Lin to 30% shooting. Those darn refs making Harden hold the ball on too many occasions and passing off at the last second.
1. Unimaginative offense, go one on one, dribble out the shock clock. Don't have a shot, and throw to the wing for a bad 3 point shot. 2. Lineup/Matchup - Delfino on Gasol enough said. We have 47,000 PF's on the roster and we decide to go with Delfino and when is the last time that Garcia has hit a shot? We could have fouled Dwight with DMo, T-Rob, Smitty, and Djones. That is 24 fouls. 3. Our Coach is not genuis but attempts to play one on game night. McFail is not the brightest light bulb and whoever is designing our offensive sets should be fired immediately
At the beginning we push the ball, and play fast (the fastest in the NBA), but at the end in close games, we get very conservative (maybe in order not to loose the ball)? The thing is we are good at playing fast, and not good at playing slow. In my opinion we shouldn't change the game plan just to reduce the risk of loosing the ball. It's a risky game and we have to play our game if we want to win - push the ball, and play fast.. even if it's the end.
I know what you are saying, and appreciate your attempt to restore sanity, but what is frustrating is that: 1. the Rockets have lost a few games recently in similar fashion, and don't seem to be making adjustments. Also, the Rockets are a better team than the Lakers team they faced. 2. harden was 8/25 , with most of the points coming in the first quarter. He had 6 turnovers, and was responsible for a number of other misses, because of the passes he made to teammates with 3 or 4 seconds left on the shot clock after going iso for much of the rest of the time. I still love harden, but the team cannot succeed with him playing like that. 3. mchale has done a good job at letting the players play, but when the team is unraveling like it was last night, he doesn't seem to know what to do. If anything he seems to panic, and make it worse, and his odd substitution patterns play with players minds. 4. i agree about the youngest players point. That's why I don't think this is an indication of how well this team can play. But it doesn't excuse the coaching staff's lack of presence of mind last night. I love this team, and I still believe in them , and what they can accomplish in long term. But what last night revealed was some of the team's weaknesses. Actually writing this post has made me feel better, because it reminds me, for a young team that is growing and learning, having a spotlight cast on their weaknesses is not the worst thing. If they can learn from these mistakes, it can be a productive thing. It will be a test of their character. ... but the coaching staff... I don't know.
Harden's iso and Harden, Lin just jacking up three's when none of them have been going in for a while and are contested
The reason for the lost and hardens struggle despite dropping 30 is all along he didn't want the 7th seed and play the spurs he wanted to play OKC all along
i know lin played badly, but what was he suppose to do when harden passes to him with 3 seconds left while covered?
Guarding Gasol with Delf who gave up 6+ inches Not calling a timeout when needed. Always 3 possession late on calling timeouts when the momentum has firmly swung over
