When Dmo gets that hot, the refs need to call a foul on him to get him out of the game. It's just the way it is for Houston big men.....
The game was frustrating. I was pissed and disappointed that the Rockets couldn't overcome it by getting a few stops and making the jumpshots they did decide to settle for... However, it could be good for the team long term (i.e. playoffs). Did they learn something about how to play when the refs are calling and apparent one-sided game (legitimately or not)? Did McHale learn something about what lineups are effective in that type of game?
So does the Rockets front office not own a phone? Can they not also call the league office and complain about games like this? Can McHale not get a tech during the game to sway the officials? Are the players incapable of calling out the officials during the game even if it leads to a T? BTW, I don't know why Pop would call the league and complain about the Rockets free throw attempts after our last game against the Spurs. Going to the line as much as we did and bricking nearly half of them helped San Antonio win.
I am afraid we are still closer to the team that lost against Portland, as compared to a almost sure shot 2nd round playoff team, despite our progress. Unless, we can get another playmaker who can shoot/defend and play along Harden most of the time, our situation will be precarious.
Stop whining about the referees, this was far from a rig job, calm down and watch it again, you'll see. We lost this game by: - not respecting their outside shooting (Pau, Butler, Kirk & Mirotic all got wide open looks which is also a credit to them. I saw some bad rotation defense though and not enough fire from us on defense to get into their faces. - down the stretch, the Bulls played with a lot more intensity and we crumbled. Our late game execution on defense was bad, but our offense was just terrible. Consecutive ISO ball by Harden, Smith hoisting up shots (that three in the corner is a shot he shoots at a decent percentage so that it went in was not all luck), bail out shots, D-Mo not getting post ups etc.
We were +5 with D-Mo in the game, -21 with Smith in the game. Having Smith in the game in crunchtime was ridiculous imo
Wellp, this needs to be updated. The Rockets have lost 6 of their last 10 games. We are now 4-7 against the top 5 teams in each conference. 1) Hawks - Lost 1/1 2) Bulls - Lost 1/1 3) Raps 4) Wiz - Lost 1/1 5) Cavs - up next --------- 1) Warriors - Lost 2/2 2) Portland - Won 1 without Aldridge and Lopez 3) Grizz - Won 2/3 - (one game without Randolph in OT) 4) Mavs - Won 1/1 5) Clippers - Lost 1 Cleveland will be excited with the addition of Smith and Shumpert, and I am sure LeBron will look to attack early. Will be tough. Let's hope we can win the next one and improve that record because you know Cleveland will be a top 3 team when it is all said and done.
This makes no sense given the points in the paint disparity... The REASON Harden stopped driving was because he wasn't getting any calls. Why take a layup that people can contest without fear of a whistle when you can take a more difficult to guard three worth 50% more points?
Ow yeah, one more thing: why in the world was D-Mo guarding Noah and Dwight guarding Gasol?? Pau murdered us with his outside shot since Dwight does not want to go out there. Noah plays inside, Pau can play both and Pau is less physical so the obvious was just to let D-Mo guard Pau no?
Entertaining game, despite disparity in free-throw shooting attempts. Not likely to happen, but a Bulls-Rockets finals would be a good one to watch... unless Chicago keeps home court (by current comparison). Even if Rockets could make it to the Finals, it is unlikely they would have home court. Home court is what teams at the top fight for because it is a real advantage. The West is just tough. The East, while not as deep in good teams, has some very good teams to contend with.
I'm pretty sure we have made plenty calls to the front office. But as we all know the league really doesn't like the Rockets. Teams have been complaining about Harden and the Rockets flopping all year. And it's clear that they are not calling the same fouls for Harden so far this year. Plus Howard is always getting abused out there.
You know how many times that call goes the other way on any player in the nba? Flopping that is. Come on man. Stop with the excuses. Lack of execution. Another game the threw away
