ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Blazers 4/27/2014 (Playoffs Round 1, Game 4)

The truth about last night is, i am more pissed at the fact that there was really no one to blame. The team as a whole played well last night. They just came up short. The refs made bad calls, but both ways and definitely not as bad as game one. Even McHale had a decent coaching game.
Also, for all you guys bagging on Jeremy, yeah he made a few mistakes but he also played pretty good defense as well. So he pulled his own weight.
As a matter of fact, if the team played like that the entire series, they would either be 2-2 or Rockets 3-1.

 

It's anyone's series for the taking. This series has no home court advantage. A couple of more FT, one less mistake and we could easily be up 3-1. While it's easy to pin the blame on Lin, the mistakes were made all game long. ALL game long! I know Batum is good, but not that good!? Regardless of all the mistakes, this is current Rockets. I believe we can still do it, I'm rooting for the best in each player. I know the stats are against us, but I still believe. The question is, do you?

 

Every game thread... same fanboys, same excuses, same lies, same hate for anyone not Lin.

His sane fans jumped ship after they got a year's dose of reality, and the only ones left clinging by their fingernails are psychotic soccer moms and obsessed fanboys. Defend Lin at all costs and blame everybody else for his idiocy! Sooooo funny.

 

We are done just a Medium Well Cooked Steak. We might win the next game but after that, put a fork in us.

 

Regardless of all the mistakes mentioned before, the 11 missed free throws is what chaps my ass.

 

This. You don't deserve to win if you can't hit free throws.

 

You're such the fanboy that you can't even recognize the differences between both situations and both players' mindsets leading up to those turnovers. Here's a hint: One is fearless, the other is a headless chicken in constant r****d/panic mode.

 

Both TOs were bad, but Bev wouldn't have even been in that situation if Lin would have just held onto the ball.

 

Lin wouldn't have been in the situation if the Rockets as a whole could have kept a double digit lead and not throw leads down the pisser.

Granted Lin's mistake was beyond huge, it was just the icing to the already pathetic display by the Rockets as a whole.

 

It cuts both ways. The Blazers were up 5 with 2 1/2 minutes left and gave up a 7-0 run to the Rockets.

 

You are right, and it is all about matchups. But its infuriating because mchail is not a coach who will get you anywhere near a chip, we are wasting time with him.

 

OK, I know it is unlikely (to the point of being almost impossible) for the Rockets to win this series now. But it would be beautiful destiny if they did.

"The 1994-95 Rockets are the only team to come back from a 2-0 and 3-1 deficit in a series, the same situation Houston is in now."

 

Yay! I'm officially a fanboy now! Not.

 

Well we've been over that a bunch of times. McHale simply wasn't getting fired until this season was over at the very earliest. He got the team to the playoffs last year and actually did a respectable job in that OKC series(it helped he was going against Scotty Brooks who's almost as inept as he is). Not to mention his daughter died during the 2012-13, so the PR hit wouldn't have been good. And he reportedly was a factor in Dwight deciding to come here last summer and did lead the team to a 54-28 record this year, so he wasn't getting canned mid-season.

Unfortunately a loss to the Blazers may be a necessary poison pill to swallow before the organization moves in a new direction. I just hope we can look back a year from now and say it was worth it.

 

True and I'm not putting the loss solely on him (our pathetic defense is the biggest reason), but that turnover sticks out like a sore thumb.

 

Lin really, really needs to work on his handles, they are pretty awful for a PG, he fumbles the ball even on a basic behind the back dribble and you rarely even see him try to dribble between his legs because his handles are so sloppy. If Lin had Hardens dribbling skills he could be scary with his speed and first step. I hear he has good work ethic so he should be doing ball handling drills all summer, Nash used to walk around his college campus dribbling a tennis ball all day, that's the level of training Lin needs to put into his dribbling, his bad handles is also the reason that Harden and the other Rockets don't trust him sometimes to bring the ball up.

As for his shooting I don't know if he will ever be a consistent outside shooter, he doesn't seem to have it in him to be that type of player. Right now he's basically a John Wall type with crazy speed and acceleration but his handles are some of the worst for an NBA pg and his 3pt shot is inconsistent. I'm not a LOH either, I been supporting him since day one but I'm just recently noticing how bad his dribbling skills are for a pg and if he just improve that one area his teammates would have more confidence in him.

 

Woj:

Howard re-emerge as an elite player?

I was there last night and game one. Last night, from a defensive standpoint, he dominated the game down the stretch. The problem for Houston, offensively, what is their identity? The Blazers, you know how they'll play and how they need to play. They share the ball and play through their stars, spread the floor. Houston? For a quarter, we'll go iso Harden, then Dwight for awhile, then Parsons. It's like they're taking turns. It's a little like we saw at first in Miami. They're more talented top to bottom but haven't learned to play together and they don't defend well enough. They're obviously fighting for their life.

Power Forward and point guard - Lin and Beverley are backups. You start to understand this is a different level.

They'll have non-traditional PG because the ball is in Harden's hand. Beverley is beat up. He gives them a dimension they need. If you play in the back court with Harden, you better be able to defend. Not only does Harden not defend, he has no interest in doing so. You can't go forward and have a championship level team with Harden disregarding things on defense the way he does, no matter how many points he scores.

 

Do you miss him now?

 

jeremy lin sucks. he cost us game 4 I am pissed!!!!

 

Tell me something new and hasn't gone over like 1000x in last 18+ hours.