I don't know....if he is as passionate about his team as we are about ours, of course he's looking for excuses, and of course there will be sour grapes. Portland had a legit shot to win both of the games here, so I'm sure he and all of Portland is very frustrated. People on this board should undertand. Heck, even when we win 2 at home, there are still posts and threads about how much better Portland is than the Rockets. And...I'll say that I like fans booing every call against the Rockets, legit foul or not. I don't like the "Portland Sucks" chant though. Not enough bad blood between the two teams to start saying that kind of stuff IMO.
I didn't have a problem with much of what he wrote. Of cousre he's going to be frustrated: his team just lost two very winnable games on the road. When it's that close you're going to complain about missed calls. I know how he feels; I still can't get over that Finley out of bounds call from 2005. I took exception with the two things he said in regards to the officiating on Yao and the crowd. His comment about how the refs won't let Portland play Yao straight up is straight up garbage. Portland played Yao straight up in game 1 and got murdered. They were humiliated on national TV, but at least they were playing honest defense. What they're doing now is wrestling Yao, denying him position by wrapping up his arms and body. I'm glad the refs are starting to call fouls on that crap because they would never let Scola or Hayes manhandle that softie Aldridge like that. And complaining about the crowd booing calls is ridiculous. Every fan boos calls against their team, even those classy Blazer fans. I'm just glad the Toyota Center is finally rockin! You could feel the intensity even through the tv.
he says "Any one of them could have won the game. Any ONE. But collectively they ended up costing us." That's why they lost... because the Rockets are one. Not individuals. Hayes and Battier's duo defensive effort was a glorious instance of proof. Basketball teams with stars that an perform are great. But the one things that trumps it is basketball teams who are playing team ball. This is something Adelman has been trying to make happen. Notice we almost lost because of Ron Artest jacking up shots? Everyone else played team ball and we won.
I rewinded DVR's to 3:09 left in the first quarter. It was not a shot-clock violation for sure. I watched it frame by frame which clearly showed 1 second left as scola had released the ball.
It's so refreshing listening to the other team's fans complain about the refs after a loss. And isn't hearing how Yao was babied <sp> by the refs just make your day? Hilarious stuff. Ah yes, It's nice being the fan of the 3-1 team in a series. Lets just not turn into the '95 Suns. One more Rockets. Just win one more.
I'm getting way ahead of things here but I wonder, if Portland loses the series, if they will try to pick up a veteran or two. They have a great young core but I don't simply letting them grow together is the right answer. They need someone other than Roy who isn't afraid of big shots. It would seem they may have a PG issue and might want to get a veteran there. I think they are discovering that Steve Blake isn't a guy who can handle playoff basketball.
