ClutchFans Game Thread: Mavericks @ Rockets 4/30/2005 (Playoffs Round 1, Game 4)

Another sleepless night.

It looked like we had the game.

And then the whole team tenses up, and Dallas hits shot after shot.

 

I didn't see it, but if that is true, then it just feeds more and more into my theory that Yao is despised by the media because he is Chinese, and thus is seen as the "enemy".

If you are Chinese, you wouldn't understand, it is an American thing, watch Rocky IV and you will understand

 

You know what's the worst thing about all this? I wouldn't mind losing to a better team that plays honest, sound, and fundamental team basketball. I'd still be upset we lost, but at the end of the day you fight the good fight, make improvements and move on. But to go down against a team with a flopper like Dirk Nowtizki, a guy whose acting jobs caused Doug Collins on TNT to comment, is just incredibly infuriating. Dirk is the epitome of all that we disliked about Malone/Stockton/Hornacek and he gets away with it because of the character of their owner, Mark Cuban. The man complained to the refs about Yao setting moving screens and what happens? Yao, for the first time that I can remember all season, gets called for a moving screen this game. That's not to say his feet weren't moving on the play, but as a referee you have to be consistent in your playcalling and not give in to Cuban's bellyaching for the sake of addressing it. I seriously hope Dallas gets what's coming to them should they move deeper into the playoffs, similiar to what happened with Karla retiring without a ring. This team does not play like champions.

 

Terry won this game for them. Good news is Nowitzki's offensive stats still suck.

If Gundy can limit those open looks Terry keeps getting, we are in good shape. I just wish the next two games were on the road.

 

Yah, but how many teams lost to Utah during the Malone/Stockton reign? Dirty play or not, life is not fair, and sometimes being "smart" or "tricky" gets you further than being "honest".

But I agree with you, I would take an honorable, hard-working, do-it-the-right-way team any day of the week over a flopping, dirty team like the Jazz and the new Jazz-light (Mavs). The day the Rockets become such floppers is the day I stop watching/supporting them.

 

I'd agree with your assessment of the role players on this team vs. the role players on the Rockets' championship teams, but I still don't think TMac is on Hakeem's level in those playoffs. In those two postseasons, Hakeem was the most unstoppable force in the playoffs. It's too bad Jordan wasn't around for those two years to show which of those two forces would have ended up prevailing.

And TMac is playing at an incredibly high level, but he has not been the threat that Hakeem was in the 4th quarter, and it's going to be difficult for him to do so since most of his offense originates from the perimeter instead of in the low post.

 

In both game down the stretch, JVG was outcoached somehow by the rookie MAV coach.

In Game 3:
1) When TMac came in from bench at 7:30 mark with Rox leading by 8, he should have given Yao a 2-min breath time who was being tired after playing the whole 2nd half.
2) Did not call time out soon enough when MAV rallied from 8 down to take the lead the first time at the 4th to get the players regrouped and the fans energized again.

In Game 4:
1) Did not instruct the players to dump the ball inside.
2) Needed to remind our guards to defend Terry's 3 point shooting.
3) Never once complained to referees for bs calls.
4) Not calling timeout when TMac rebounded at 5.7 sec.

 

Dont you think it's a litter easier when you have Terry, Stack, Finley as your role players. Those shots Fin and Terry made was one on one pure phsyical rise up. I dont have a guy outside Tmac and Yao can do that.

 

Was anyone sitting in section 432 and see me fall?

Some jackasses were horseplaying behind me and one of them fell into my seat while I was standing, and when he hit me, I fell forward and rolled down on top of people until I finally stopped 4 rows down from my seat.

I got a skinned knee and a pretty bad scrape/cut on my right arm, but didn't notice because the Rockets were up 88-82 and I was happy.

Of course, as the game progressed, the injuries started to sting pretty bad

 

Umm no. Avery litttle to do with this outcome. I think he knows it too.

 

Well obviously this was a heartbreaking loss. I just hope the players themselves have not their confidence. We need JVG to get this team ready to play by monday night. All we need to do is cut down on the TOs and not leave Terry completely wide open. If we do those two things and Dirk doenst go off we should be coming back here up 3-2.

 

Just returned from the game and here are my observations:

(1)No Motion in the Offense- It seemed like we wasted 1/2 of the shot clock just bringing the ball up trying to set-up in our half court offense. Once we got the ball passed the midstrike, Mike James in particular, stood at the top of the key and dribbled, while everyone else remained flat footed in their initial position. Spacing was non-existent. Then as the shot clock wides down, James moves in a step or two, and shots a 17-20ft shot with a man in his face. Horrible offensive execution.

(2) Turnovers- all of a sudden this team is having issues with handling the ball. It's almost reminiscent of last yr's struggle with the ball. This is very alarming considering how this team took care of the ball during the regular season.

(3) Role Players- tonight Mike James and JB (very uncharacteristically) were forcing shots and trying to be the hero, instead of making the extra pass. At one point after what it seemed like 10 bad shots in a row by Mike James, T-Mac pretty much refused to let James bring the ball up, succiently telling him to F-off. Our assist #s tell the story of the night.

(4)Rest T-Mac- I was telling my cousin at the end of the 3rd quarter when we had built a nice cushion that T-Mac should get a breather. How can you expect someone to play an entire half without a single breather. It didn't work for Lebron and it's not going to work for us. For those rowdy fans who constantly cheer and scream all game; you know the feeling of be drained at the end of the game, back hurting and all. Just imagine the physical and mental toll of actually playing for 2 straight quarters without a breather.

(5)Yao's Picks and Screens- Instead of pounding the ball in down low, Yao was running around setting picks for everyone. I can understand the picks for T-Mac, but not the entire team. He looked like a bumper car out there, with every Mavs player on the court running into him at one time or another.

(6) We play better with our backs against the wall. Being that our backs are now against the wall, I expect to see the unselfish, low-turnover prone, well executing rockets we all know and love to come out in game 5.

 

Rox is the team this year is a team that when they win, they win several in a row, when they lose, they lose in a row. I believe Rox will bounce back next game or even win the game after next game, but we will close this series gracefully

 

Yeah I just dont see the Rockets losing 4 games in a row to finish the season. If they dont win game 5 i am positive they will win game 6 and force a game 7.

 

Anything is possible....its the playoffs.....who knew that the home team will never win a game in a series.....JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY, HAS THAT EVER HAPPEN BEFORE???

 

It has never happened before in a seven game series that went the full seven games.

 

Now I believe there're something mysterious in this world.
I watched the first two games on TV, we won those two.

For some reason I found I can't watch TV anymore just before the third game was about to begin. So I have to use a website through which I could watch the game online. Everything looked good before 88:82.

After I saw Yao finished his 'AND 1' play and the scoreboard changed to 90:82, I lost my internet connection.... I don't know why, I just couldn't access internet at that time. I knew the result of the game in about 2 hours when the internet problem fixed...

Today, I watched it online again.. and strange things happened again... I lost my internet connection at exactly 88:82.... I was mad and almost destroyed my computer. A bad feeling came to my mind and we lost again...

88:82, this is an obstacle not only for the Rockets but for my computer. My TV will come back to me next monday. That means I don't have to watch the game online anymore.
We will win the next two games, believe me.

 

I blame this loss on TMac. Don't give me the sh*t that we won't be in the game without him, or he shot 50%, yada yada yada. He is a MAX player, and was supposed to do what he was doing, and do it the right way.

I have no problem with he forcing the issue when we couldn't find any thing going, but how could he be so stupid during the last 3+ minutes? We had the lead, Yao was dominating inside, sent Dampier to the bench with his 5th, what did TMac do? He just came down the court, force the issue by taking a bad shot! He didn't even look at Yao at all when everyone who was watching knew the ball would go to Yao! To me, that was the momentum change for the game, because Yao picked up two quick fouls within a minutes right after that. It's unbelievalbe.

 

Go back to your Suns' board!

 

Thats a strange story but hopefully you are right...
Incase you dont get your TV back by Monday please do not use your computer. Go to your neighbors house or a bar and watch the game there. Your computer is evil