After game 3 the Rockets better start looking in the mirror and think about what just happened. You stole home court advantage in game 1, played okay in game 2 and coming out like a bunch of losers in game 3. Forget the refs, they made some terrible calls in game 2 but we played so terrible we didn't even deserve to win. What should we expect now ? A full mental breakdown and getting blown out at home ? Truth is, Phil Jackson has made the adjustments, the Lakers players have made adjustments while the Rockets have done the same things for 3 games but worse with each and every game. The same problems we had in games 1 & 2 the Rockets showed in game 3: - Turnovers - Bad FT shooting - Bad 3pt shooting - Overdribbling - Going 1-on-1 - No ball movement - No body movement - Getting blocked - No easy buckets - Etc. The only thing different was we outrebounded them for once, we got into the paint more and we involved Yao more than in game 2. They outhustled the Lakers, played good enough defense but no offense and no energy. The offense was there in game 1, less in game 2 and almost zip in game 3. The Rockets looked tired last night, came out like they have already given up and RA went back to his old substitution pattern. Sometimes I wonder whether these guys really have team meetings, watch the game video together and point out what goes wrong. I seriously doubt the Rockets come in prepared every single night after seeing game 2 & 3. If you talk about individual play: - AB still overdribbles, does not create anything for his teammates, is still afraid to take a shot and does not look enough for Yao - Artest still overdribbles, goes 1-on-1 while ignoring the team, still throws up off balanced shots with a hand in his face and still gambles too much on defense - Wafer still does not know when to go for his own shot or look for his teammates, cannot play solid defense, cannot finish a simple layup and makes it too hard on himself by running into 3/4 lakers - Lowry still cannot run a simple fast break, can still not get a layup and does not look enough for easy opportunites - Battier still does not mix up his defense, does not look to block the shot and does not get himself involved on offense Team play: - Nobody even trying to block a shot - Nobody helping on the defensive end except to collapse on penetration - Still commit p***y fouls and dumb fouls - Still no ball movement, just standing around watching plays - Etc. Then there's Rick Adelman going to his old ways and contributing to our loss last night. The starters were terrible in the 3rd and the game was slipping away so what does he do ? Wait..... I cannot believe how this guy has had so many succesful teams when he is this stubborn. Every single low IQ-ed nitwit knew the bench would've at least gave us some energy to decrease the deficit. Guess what happens in the 4th ? The bench came out and did way better but it was too little, too late. Does RA know the playoffs have already started ? With regards to Brent Barry I am seriously questioning why he was brought here ? Everybody figured to be there when the playoffs come and when Wafer took the spot of first SG off the bench, most people thought he would be good insurance when Wafer was doing bad. Guess what ? Wafer is doing terrible these last 3 games, yet Barry gets only a few mins at that was in the game we won. With regards to guarding Kobe I am still trying to figure out why they do not mix it up. Shane has been guarding him for most of the game and while doing a good job, it is not enough. Why not double-team him, put Artest on him, foul him hard whatever. Artest did a terrible job on Kobe last night so I get why Shane guards him the most of the time but these guys are supposed to be All-Defensive team, the two best perimeter defenders to shut Kobe down !! Guess what, he's had over 30 in every single game. Then there's the mindblowing play of Ron Artest who all of a sudden after two succesful games where he was under control, goes back to his old ways. Not just old ways, but also coming out with no effort. The guy did dive for the loose ball, he threw away several passes and didn't even seem to care. I find it shocking because Artest always was there to hustle and fight, no matter what had happened. He was the perfect example of our game 3 breakdown, just no energy or nothing from this guy except for a few beasting muscling his way to the basket on offense. Does Artest know the playoffs have started ? In a previous thread I talked about the Rockets playing hard but not smart. Yesterday they did neither but I also referred to the way they foul. After 3 games and 143 minutes of play finally someone fouled hard, ironically it was Artest who didn't seem to care the whole game. Last year it was also just one foul that was playoff worthy. Do these guys know the playoffs have started ? The TOs are just careless and after 3 games of having more turnovers than assists you wonder what's in story for game 4. Can we expect a number in the 20s ? Do these guys know the playoffs have started ? Truth is, the Lakers are not better than the Rockets. Please do not come to this forum if you believe LA is better than Houston. Lakers are just playing better which is not a compliment to LA, rather a message to HOU to take a damn good look in the mirror. This series is already one where people will say "what could've been" yet this time it's different. Rockets are simply shooting themselves in the foot by playing this dumb. The question that remains: do the Rockets know it's the playoffs ? Does RA know ? Does Artest know ? Does AB know ? At least the fans did last night, but the Rockets decided not to take advantage of home court. Mind boggling really Guess Barkley was right on the money when he said do the Rockets have enough offense. Where will the points come from ? This team has the talent, please stop saying we're not as talented and mainly win because we work hard, but are just not playing smart. Let's pray the Rockets will finally play smart in game 4 because I can honestly say if the Rockets do not win this series / lose other than in a close game 7, they have done themselves, the fans and Mutombo too short. Rockets are much better than what we've seen in these 3 games, let's hope they bring it in the next 3 and win em all !!!!
In Game 1 and 2, We were killed by rebounding and TOs. In Game 3, the big men did their job and controlled by the boards, but the PG didn't.
There's no point in explaining what all is wrong the Rockets. We know what is wrong. They are in over their heads and trying to play over their ability. Then, when a few plays go South, they get in a rut of playing from behind. It's not a good way to win a series. It's possible to win a series playing over their head...but the odds are against us. Lakers look in a mirror...and maybe comb their hair a little. Rockets look in a mirror...and 20 glaring weaknesses rear their ugly head. No comb in the world can take those knots out. lol. I love the Rockets but even I know when we are outmatched. The Lakers love a challenge and, when they come to play inspired basketball, they are going to take care of business. If the Lakers do not play aggressive and take it to the other team, then that is when they have problems. These last two games...they have come at us full force. And, we have fallen to their mercy. I commend the Rockets for trying to stay with the Lakers. Could they still win this series? Possibly but not likely. Regardless, we have shown a lot of heart trying to play at the Lakers level with our cast of players. It may just not be enough. I'm still pulling for the Rockets and always will. But, I'm way past letting these losses to the Lakers get in my head, get me down, make me lose sleep, etc. cause when the Lakers are playing that well...I can only respond with awe and think "we gave it our best shot". A lot of the Rockets issues of not playing well is directly linked to the Lakers defense. Sometimes, you just have to tip your hat to the opposing team.
I am not coming in saying the Lakers are better then the Rox but Lakers have more individual talent and a dirtbag hall of famer but still a hall of famer. You know what I am tired of all the bandwagon Rox fans jumping on board when we finished off the Blazers and stole game 1 but ready to jump off a sinking ship! Now is the time the real Rox fans step up and follow this team regardless of the outcome. We may not beat the Lakers but we scared the living hell out of them and they went to a level we need to learn. I say those who are with me grab my hand and jump on board those who dont get the hell out we will see you in the promise land! I am ready to sink for the cause are you????(Directed at every rocket fan who has doubts, maybe you should look in the mirror and ask yourself, you a Rox fan?)
What game 3 did you watch, Magic vs. Boston ? The Rockets are not outmatched and the Lakers did not come at us at full force in the last 2 games. The first quarter of game 2 maybe but the refs and our own play decided that game. Last night, it was all on us. The Lakers did not win, the Rockets lost. They shot themselves in the foot by their bad play, mainly on offense. There was a few mins where LA could not buy a basket and the Rockets missed 8-9 straight shots. So they kept the score even while being down 9 or 10 points. That's not to LA's credit because the Rockets played great defense but just were really poor in their decision making, energy and effort on the offensive end.
Whatever floats your boat there. I'm not going to lie to myself. The refs haven't decided a damn thing. That's BS and just an excuse!
Yes, we played horrible on the offensive end. We also played bad on the defensive end. We couldn't capitalize on rebounds. Countless times, I've seen Odom just tip the ball and grab it away from Scola. Countless times, I've seen Gasol just go right over Yao and have the "go get it" mentality. We have to step up. But... Lakers executed very well. Kept their poise, and won the game. Rockets will have to expect this from the Lakers every game. You can't have stupid turnovers from freaking Jordan Farmar. You can't let Kobe open from the 3. Little things add up. Rockets have not lost this series. I really agree with you on that the energy, effort, and decision making was not there, but on both sides of the court.
Did you watch game 2 and did you read what I said ? Please read again because I said the refs and their own play. If you cannot see how the refs called ticky-tack fouls on the Rockets in game 2, ejected Artest with no good reason and did not call a single over-the-back foul on LA then I don't know what else to say to you. There's no hope for you if you start to lie to yourself so please watch game 3 and come tell me that the Lakers came at us with full force.
i don't think the Rockets commit p***y fouls and dumb fouls if fact that's what they did right in all 3 games so far
u can't expect the refs to ref every game perfectly. yes they called some really bad fouls on us and let the game out of control. but they weren't the deciding factor (artest was just ridiculous) we actually shot 29 fts in that game , more than the home team. and game 3 was officiated as fairly as you can get for a playoff game. unless it was as blatant as the mavs series of 04-05, please do not blame the refs. PS - go talk to every fan of every team. they love to blame the refs too
The Lakers are a really good team and to beat them we can't play with type of mistakes we've been making. We didn't have one player that outplayed the person they were gaurding last night. Our coaches do not make adjustments, maybe because there's nothing they can do based on our roster. But this series is only gonna go 5 games if something doesn't change soon. As for our offense, it hasn't looked good since game 1 of series 1. The ball doesn't move, it looks like we settle to much for outside shots vs going to the hole.
In game 2 our play and the refs decided the game, so they were partly responsible. Game 1 & 3 were officiated really well so please do not go into the whole refs thing. It's obvious the refs officiated differently in game 2 than in the other 2 games. However, that's not the point of this thread so please do not focus on that alone.
Great thread, RJ. Agree with pretty much all of your points. A few things though: Rockets apparent lack of inspiration is probably from fatigue. We're just not as deep as LA. Lakers are very long and it's difficult to get things working inside against them, especially when the officials have swallowed their whistles Scola looks like he's playing in slow motion
All we have to do is go to 7-Eleven and ask "Where do you have your IQ boosting vitamins?". Then, you buy them ALL! Take them before tomorrow and I GUARANTEE YOU we win by 10. Then, go to BJ's and buy them in BULK. Take them on the road and...bottoms up! The IQ on this team from top to bottom borderlines on special ed 5th grade. How the hell do we win? Brute force. Thats it. Can't count on Yao every night (his soft ass). Can't count on Artest every night (his crazy ass). What we can count on is in your face D and hopefully some IQ to go with it.
The big issue I have is with RA falling asleep on the bench. Everyone and the grandmas knew Artest and AB needed to sit, so what does he do? He benches Shane. I can't believe it took him that long to make the substitutions. That game was very winnable with the bench and Yao.
The only two adjustments I noticed from Phil Jackson: -Front Yao -Have Gasol face Yao up on offense, much like what Boozer/Okur did to Yao. Fronting basically took Yao out of the picture in over 1/2 of our offensive possessions. And once you lose the inside game, your outside game will soon suffer. Anybody that's blaming the referees right now is just desperate for an excuse. If anything, I think the officiating has generally been slightly in our favor, with the exception of anything called on Artest, and maybe early whistles on Yao in game 2. Let's try to cut the whining about zebras to a minimum. I thought it's pretty obvious how we're losing the games. Turnovers. Game 1: +3 Game 2: +8 Game 3: +11 Out of all the things Lakers are better at, taking better care of the ball is one thing we can control. And when we don't... it's just easy points going back the other way. When you have dribble into 3 Lakers in the paint, or have those errant passes against a long, experienced Lakers squad that gets hands up in the passing lane, you get Game 3. This series is by no means over, but we really need to stop beating ourselves. I still see this going the full 7.
Odom is dominating Scola. In every way. If Adelman keeps trotting him out there to get raped by Odom, he's not trying hard enough.
How is Odom dominating Scola if he is not even allowed to guard him ( which he can do)? Besides, I think it's quite the opposite on the offensive end where Scola should get more touches as Odom can't stop him ( last game Lakers were doubling him at one point)
