Haha had this in mind when I wrote the thread title. Although Im much happier we are in LA's role this time, being the real contender instead of the underdog with no chance to contend. We just have to beat them at home and we are off to our "NBA finals" against GSW.
They're a very good team. They've bought into that gimmicky defense on Harden and it's been more effective as the series has gone on. If they get another scorer to go with Mitchell and Gobert next year they will be a problem.
First ... Juck the Fazz. But they did win 50 in a very competitive WC and play a tough brand of D. Beating them won’t be a scoff, but a true test.
The Jazz played with a positive frame of mind. They knew they were very close to a Game 3 win. We didn't try to set the tone. It was a terrible defeat. There is no guarantee of a Game 5 win. Our guys have to fight every inch of the way in this dog fight. Don't get down or complacent. Focus, and don't look for the refs to bail you out. Defense and rebounding first and last. Go Rockets!
Nothing against Utah but the Rockets could have played a bit better and smarter a friend suggested that D'Antoni should have let CP3 coach last night I kind of agree Utah played a heck of a game Crowder had a career game The difference between GREAT DEFENSE and GOOD DEFENSE is the Whistle I think the Refs allow a bit too much physicalness but only on one end but UTah was able to take advantage of it . Clint's sickness allowed Gobert to roam and do anything he wanted Donovan was who we thought he was Honestly. . . I expected more from Ingles and look for him to go off next game D'Antoni should have tried something a little different Shump has 6 fouls and we should not be afraid to use them I would have been interested to see if Shump and Rivers could slow down Rubio and Mitchell in the 2nd Rocket River
I have no idea what would happen in Gm 5 as I had no idea what would happen in Gm 4. The Jazz are a mystery team to me. They also controlled much of Game 3 but they choked down the stretch and Harden all of a sudden made shots.
Still don’t see Rockets getting past Golden State but whatever...I’m here to support my home boys and their futile efforts to get past them. Have to be way better than the mental midgets we saw last night.
I think as much as I hate to say it, Utah isn't awful, at least not defensively and their regular season reflects that (iirc without looking, like top 2 def in the league)... And I also think it would have been nice to have the Warriors play them if there were a scenario for it etc., but with that said I still expect the Rockets to finish this in 5 and think it'd be the same thing for the Warriors (if they were playing Utah). Almost feel like vomiting for writing that, as the jazz are probably my most disliked franchise... Especially going back to Malone/Stockton aka the grandmasters of flop. Bear Hug Malone would just fall over like a he weighed 25 lbs or less (yes 25, haha, there's no ****ing way). I also love how the Jazz fans call the Rockets floppers, they're not even getting close to witnessing the acting performance of their Jazz teams (especially under Sloan) from the other side. If there were a HOF/Academy Award for it, the Jazz would be the greatest of all time for cheap ass moves, but I guess then they'd have something to show for their bullshit antics.
Also, I'm sure the Jazz fans were crying just having Hakeem and Drexler back in their arena in the stands. I mean other than that bear hug bs and the Barkley injury, the Rockets had their number in 94 and 95, so.... I'm sure for their regular fanbase they still have nightmares about the Mailman not being able to deliver against the Rockets or the Bulls.
Best defense I've seen against Harden and aside from that stopping the alley oops to Capella. Whether that's from Clint being sick or whatever but it seemed like they did a good job of cutting off that option. Hope we're able to make the proper adjustments to not let this series go past game 5.
The Rockets were 5-0 in their last 5 games against the Jazz going into last night. It is very hard to win that many times in a row against anyone, especially against a 50 win team in the West conference that went 31-10 in the second half of the season. The Rockets are not always going to control the 4th quarter and they are not always going to win down the stretch. It is hard to sweep a good team. Just take the loss and move on. Honestly I was surprised it was as close as it was early in the 4th before Mitchell broke through.
I’ll give credit to the crowd for being so loud you could barely hear anything and trying to get into a Harden’s head with flopping chants. I don’t like the crowd one bit, but they had influence on the game.
