The rockets have had double digit leads of 10+ (as many as 13) points 8 (by my count) different times in these 4 games (including game 2) and the Blazers have had a double digit lead 1 time (very early in game 1), and yet, this Rocket team has never been able to put their collective foot on the Blazers throat and string together enough defensive stops to blow them out. That is beyond frustrating to me, and a bit inexplicable. Yes, the Blazers have a good team, yes there are some talented players on their roster, but why can we not just shut the door on them when we ae in prime psotion to do so. Tonight was a textbook example: We had an 11 point lead early in the 3rd qtr and had 3 straight playes where we had transition breaks that could have blown the game wide open and Parsons thows the ball away to Bev on an awful pass, then Harden does the same with a garbage pass to Parsons on a clear dunk opportunity. Game one was clearly lost by missed FT's with a double digit lead w/ 4 mins left, Game 4 was just awful defense, terrible offensive sets and missed shots, and then Lins dumb assery on that play that allowed Mo "D-bag" Williams to hit the 3. Why can we not blow this team out when we get up by 10-13 points ????
Hey don't let me stop ya man, a dude has got to do what a dude has got to do... Knock yourself out bro !
One word: "Coaching". Hours and hours of tape and analysis by your staff....and this is what you pull out in playoffs?
wo fat has covertly vegetablized mchale's mind through hypnosis in order to sabotage the houston rockets and their taiwanese point guard
I think the team lacks the killer instinct! when they were up by 11 and had those fast breaks -- mental breakdown with turnovers. I remember watching a tv recollection of rockets v Knicks and Rudy saying "it's time to demoralize them". I've never heard McHale say anything like that to the team. so I think it begins up top. the coaches don't have that mentality to instill in the players
You gotta believe Morey is ****ing livid right now with the way the team has under performed in closing out. Too bad the Rockets have been on the wrong side of the double sided coin 3x now
Lack of execution down the stretch - thanks to incompetent clueless coaching by McHale Boneheaded plays down the stretch - thanks to Lin
The defense just isn't good enough. The Rockets can build leads, but when the opponent absolutely needs points, they know they can get them immediately and in bunches. It's hard to demoralize a team that's aware of this. It's also the downside of the Rockets' pace - a 10 point lead for them is about the same as a 4 or 5 point lead for most other teams because they burn possessions so quickly. And yeah, quitting the boneheaded unforced turnovers would really, really help.
Do we even know if they're doing any sort of analysis? If so, what the hell adjustments are they making other than plugging Asik into the starting lineup? The reason we keep blowing leads is simple. We don't play defense and we resort to ISO ball in the 4th quarter. That's a recipe for disaster.
I think like the OP Said, those 3 transition plays in a row where the Rockets had a chance to blow the game wide open and threw the ball away tells me it's not the refs. They simply just threw the ball away twice and the 3rd time was a charge. Just poor execution honestly.
What really sucks is that this series could be 3-1 either way, 2-2, or even over at 4-0; again either way. Additionally, the one guy who I would've been most concerned about disappearing under pressure (DH) has been solid as a rock. Sucks to see his great play wasted in losing efforts. Harden had been consistently good and CLUTCH all season, I definetly wasn't expecting him to struggle and appear scared when his scoring ability mattered the most. I expect Lin to turnover the ball, he's done that all season long. But watching him play solid ball all game then revert back to his poor play during crunch time is deflating and... Just sucks. Through four games, this has been a GREAT series for evey single type of basketball fan there is - Except for those pulling for the Rockets. For us, it sucks.
/thread This was our biggest single weakness coming into the playoffs: not having a playoff-quality team defense. The best offensive coaching in the world can't make up for lackluster team D in the playoffs. You have to be able to make late game stops, and we don't seem like we can.
The inability to maintain a large lead normally is because of youth, inexperience, poor coaching or preparation. I think most of us would agree the coach part has always been questionable. Youth, clearly some of our guys are still developing. I wasn't expecting a WCF appearance this year but I was hoping to get out of the first round. All in all, it's been a ridiculously close series even though I'm disappointed at the outcome. Three out of four games going into overtime? Crazy.