From my blog Reality.Hole : OUCH!!! Mavericks defeat Rockets soundly in Game Seven 116-76 This one hurts, and hurts bad. It feels like a good solid kick in the groin. The Houston Rockets were simply outplayed on both ends of the court and ended up with the worst Game Seven loss in NBA playoff history. Their season over, the Rockets must now reflect on their failure and begin planning for next season. As a devout Rockets fan, all I can say is "Ahhhhhhhhhh! Oh well, there's always next season." With the foundation of TMac and Yao (27 and 33pts respectively in Game Seven), young superstars just coming into the height of their powers, the future is bright. But right now, it doesn't feel that way. Give it a few days and the sting will fade. TMac is finally starting to play like a superstar on both ends of the court, not just offensively. His defense has improved greatly this season, and especially in this series. The great ones make the big step and raise their overall game to another level. I believe that we may have seen Tracy McGrady make that big step this season. Everyone always knew he could score, but (all things being equal) if he can defend like that in 60% of the Rockets' games next season, I could see them becoming a 58-60 win team. A tweak here, a power forward there ... and Houston could easily become one of the top four teams in the West. Perhaps there's no joy in Muddville. But there's no despair here, either. And plenty of good reasons to feel hopeful. By the way, I don't like to be a sore loser, but I hope Dallas gets swept by Phoenix ... and is treated shabbily by the referees in the process. Some bad blood has been stirred by this series, and it'll last a while. Though I'm not really a Phoenix fan, GO SUNS!!! The Germans have a word for that sentiment: schadenfreude . (It's a bit off-topic, but isn't it kind of odd that all our most descriptive, most information-bearing words and phrases are cribbed from another language? Experiment: Try explaining the concept of deja vu in English using less than six words.)
