yes the team may have choked in the playoffs for longer than we care to remember, but it's not like it's been the same squad over and over. The past history has nothing to do with it, what are the common factors from our team now and 12 years ago? Anyway, my viewpoint is, screw history, we're taking care of business tonight.
One thing to keep in mind..is that there are quite a few players on this team that weren't around during most of the early exits. - Barry,Wafer,Lowry,Artest Few players that were only in one - AB,Landry These guys weren't around during all of these "choke jobs".
precisely.. and i certaintly don't know what Clutch is basing his assertion that such a trend is a now "dead thing of the past"... because it most certaintly is not.. it's been displayed throughout this very season.. sustained all the way through the last game of the season.. and now this very postseason.. i don't see why we so comfortably latch to the one game blowout in the series as proof that the Rockets have the edge.. out of the 5 played.. 4 of which were consistently close contests up to the final minute.. or look to their regular season success against this team.. knowing fully well that the playoffs are a different animal.. where the pressure is all time high.. exactly the type of smothering atmosphere that seems to bring the worst out of these Rockets.. if we want to look at the regular season.. let's also look at their poor record in come-from-behind-contests.. this team has yet to surmount that old failing of their's.. and apparently they haven't seem able to finally overcome themselves.. even in the postseason.. those close games the Rockets managed to win.. we've seen it before.. they will have those spurts of attack.. that regains them leads here and there.. that has gotten them out of mental and effortless ruts.. against the middle to lesser teams.. through this very season.. but never sustained to where they break away.. they have yet to display such determined and focused endurance.. you can't sit there and believe the such equally close contests with such lapsing approach and here-and-there "resiliency" would've cut it enough for those 2 victories against the Jazz.. or even the Dallas Mavericks for god's sakes.. certaintly won't cut it against the Lakers.. now finally that the Blazers do show them actual sustained gumption.. that they won't be eliminated so easily.. in game 5.. what happened..? those here-and-there spurts weren't enough.. and they.. as they commonly do under pressure.. panicked.. went "stupid".. and collapsed.. this trend of their's is far from a "dead thing of the past"..
These are like the lean years between 1988 and 1992 (of course shorter).I remember watching the 1993 playoffs against the Clippers (yes the Clippers!!) in the 1st round and they took us to 5 games. I remember thinking not again and then Maxwell drained some ridiculous three with the shot clock running out and it seemed to give them their momentum back. They won the game just barely. But that was their beginning and the rest is history. This team needs more time together to make a serious run yes, but I think all of us know they need to put this 1st round rut in the past, where it belongs, NOW. As long as they do that, everything else is gravy. We HAVE to go from here.
