Lets step aside from the fact we are missing free throws and not securing rebounds and just take a look at a massive positive that has come out of this series. EFFORT! In my books, this team shows so much heart and gives so much effort. They have done it all year, it was the catalyst for the 22 game win streak, and they have brought the same mentality into the playoffs. Look at the difference in Talent on each teams roster. Then look at how healthy both rosters are. Not only is our best player out, but 3 of our starters ARE hampered by injury (whether you Tmac haters like it or not the guy is injured.) Now take a look at how THREE ROOKIES are getting PT for us and how the refs have made some dud calls (not as many as people on this board say so however) and its a miracle that we arent being blown out every game. It's clear that EFFORT, GUTS, and DETERMINATION have been the clear '6th man' on this team. Yes, execution hasnt always been there, but time after time we see this team get kicked down, and they just get straight back up and make a game of themselves, making their fans proud. Kudos to the Rockets EFFORT.
A for effort? Let see....Boozer has a horrible game at the FT line so he goes out and shoots freethrwos for 2 hours. 100 freethrows and makes 83 how many did tmac shoot? Our current best player put forth no effort....or at least i cant see it
The rockets tried their best. In fact, if you go to visit other teams' forums, they also say the rockets have hearts! The rockets and Jazz are really close team. Winning one and losing one are normal result. If Rafer played in the first two games, we would be 2-2 now. But, we still have a chance to win this series. Let's keep support our team.
Firstly, we have no idea what Tmac did behind closed doors at training so we cant say he didnt try and correct it. Secondly, i said lets look at the positives. The guy comes out, banged shoulder, banged knee, and plays his heart out. Yes shots didnt fall, but thats not the point of this thread. Its to focus on the great effort this team is putting forth and how they are managing to stay in the series with a VERY GOOD Utah team, albeit with much less talent and health.
I agree with their effort, but it is sad to waste all this effort with a LOSS. Because when it is all said and done it is Winning that matters.
i agree. this jazz team is very very good, we are hobbling and four of our typical starters (including yao) are injured, and we are giving the jazz a hell of a series. the jazz barely squeaked this one out and we went through a stretch where we missed 17 of 18 and the refs had their way with us. expect us to come out make a statement in game five, who knows what happens then. this team never gives up.
Bonzi's FT isn't good either. He is inconsistent too. If you watch mavs vs hornets series, you can see it.
This Rockets Team Gets 'B' for Effort during non-game times. boozer goes out and shoots 100 free throws, us? have a friendly free throw contest...
They're making this a helluva series on mostly heart. Every time I look on the floor, the talent differential is pretty obvious, but we've been hanging around thanks to the effort you mentioned. It's the reason that I continue to believe even though we should be getting pummeled on paper.
I swear I was going to start this thread... good post matty. The Rockets being in this game defied all logic. They are without their franchise center playing the toughest home team the NBA has seen in the last 11 years, two guys on their team (Rafer and T-Mac) are taking 55% of the team's shots at a low 30's percent clip and they suck at the free throw line... yet they had a chance to win in the final seconds. Thank you Rockets. Thank you Rafer and Landry for sparking the team in Game 3 and refusing to let this be a sweep, which would have been a personal embarrassment to me against Utah. This is a flawed roster in my opinion, but effort is not one of their flaws whatsoever.
Love 'em! The most gutsy, competitive and "never say die" bunch of Rockets since the championship team. I haven't been this proud to be a Rockets fan in forever. I love a good underdog story, and this team has the battle scars to show for it. I am not bailing out on these guys, I tip my hat off to them. They guys are like a sports version of the Alamo story...
I appreciate them giving us this wonderful season. But Houston fans have waited too long for this team to have any success in the playoffs. I feel bad for the fans.
Great post matty! These guys have been playing with every ounce of effort they can muster, and have been doing it since December (!). No one can question their heart. No one.
Not this year, no. This season we just wanted to make the playoffs, not only did we do that but we won 55 games in improbable, historic fashion. In the playoffs, however, this roster just doesn't hold up without your best player. I don't expect you to understand, however, you're one of the crappiest posters on this board. Nothing but hate comes out of your keyboard strokes...
with this same effort we can win game 5. game 6 will be tough, very tough. if we win that, game 7 at houston.
Well said, exactly right on! Playing the "what if?" game is non-productive. Nevertheless, the accomplishments of our Rockets, considering the losses we've endured this year, are just awesome. No Yao. Rafer part-time. T-Mac's shoulder and knee. Battier playing on one leg for most of the playoffs. Landry rebounding from the broken tooth/nose. Does anyone realistically not believe that the Rockets would have fared better against the Jazz (not to mention having a higher seed) were it not for these major "hits" to our guys? Plenty of heart and effort. Worn down but still fighting. Let's bring the TC roof down by supporting our guys for Game 6!
I agree-- this is one loss I can swallow, though we did miss a whole bunch of opportunities. However, it really is amazing to go toe-to-toe, away, without the starting western conference center. $.02
