ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Lakers 4/17/2004 (Playoffs Round 1, Game 1)

Please people, let's get real. No one person lost the game for us. They lost as a team.

 

... cuz he was tired

 

it doesn't matter if they had a good game or not,because they lost and it's 1-0

 

Exactly.

 

No team has ever beaten a Phil Jackson team in the playoffs after losing game one. Jim Jackson and Yao just sealed the Rockets' fate.

 

Where's Mario when you need him?

In spite of the turnovers I was impressed with the way the Rockets played tonight... tough, aggressive, rebounding well, in your face defense... I don't think any of else really expect them to win the championship this year, so any tightly fought playoff game where decisions have to be made in the clutch is a plus... good or bad result, it will ultimately be good for the franchise. I'm looking forward to Monday night.

 

DAMN!!!! What a game! If the Rockets keep this level of intensity on defense through ou the series, they will be in every game no matter how bad they are struggling on offense as it was displayed tonight. If the Rockets play descent and cut their TO's, I like their chances. The key is to keep the same level of defense they displayed tonight.

Huge props to Cat for his D on Kobe, he did an amizing job!

 

so close!!! damn! could almost taste that one!

 

Right now
a moment of time is fleeting by !
Capture it's reality
To do that we must put all else out of our minds. We must become the MOMENT


JJ didn't do it, so don't blame it all on Yao, Francis, or JJ. Collectly they put their selves in a hole the first Qter. They came back with good defense. Now, we let it go and think about what we need to do to correct it. It was bad passes, bad shots taken, etc.

 

What in the hell is Cynthia Cooper drinking?
Please pass one down!

 

Steve needs to realize he can take his man to the hole everytime..and he can also get a shot off and get fouled or score...stop pulling up and crossing it back over after you beat your man.....Go all the way in like you did in the 4th qrtr.

I say we start next game with Kato on Shaq....Try to get Yao into halftime with 1 or 0 fouls. Shaq seems to take it as more of a challenge when Yao is on him...He is more complacent with others.

As bad as the overall 22 turnovers were today, lets remember they already had 15 at halftime...

While getting 7 in one half isnt great....its actually good for this team.

I think 6 turnovers a half would be perfect.

One thing that bugs me so much about the turnovers is they arent on fastbreaks. We play the slowest tempo basketball in the league, we should be able to not make mistakes on passes.

With that said...lets go Rockets!!! Bring home game 2!!!

Tonight was a moral victory for me cause my boy who is a Lakers fan bet on the Lakers in Vegas and they didnt cover the 8.5 pt spread!

Whooohoo

 

4 more "great" performances like this will have us out of the playoffs without even a trip back to LA.

 

Some of you people just crazy?

Blaming Yao for not catching an Airball by Kobe?
Blaming JJ for not making a game winning 3?

No one makes all his shot. It was a good shot. Good play. He missed. That's all. End of story.

Yao had the position. He was fighting for the position at the other side... because no one can anticipate an airball. Get over that. He battled shaq all night.

As for the TOs, they were early.. probably caused by nervousness. it is their FIRST playoff game. I am happy they played hard. tough. all night.

 

I have a busted up TV, and I think my heart is beating funny after that last play of the game.

 

That's like saying the doctor let the lung cancer patient die despite the fact that the patient was a 20 year smoker.

 

JJ took 19 shots? WTF!? Who does he think he is? He is only a role player and role player does not take 19 shots a game.

 

it was pretty clear that he couldn't attack Shaq directly, especially refs were allowing physical plays. He set some good picks, but Cat and SF missed ton of them.

He played well on D. Almost shut out Shaq in the 2nd half, and we outrebounded Lakers by double digits.

 

it DOES matter.. because if we had come out there and played like crap, we would have lost our confidence and the media/fans would be bashing the Rockets. However, they put up a fight and now they KNOW they can hang with the Fakers in the playoffs..

I think YAO and JACKSON will have huge games Monday night to make up for their average performances tonight.

 

so basketball becomes an indvidual game and the turnovers meant nothing. Quit blaming 2 people.