I kinda had a feeling going in that this would be the result ..... Toronto is a step above all the teams the Rockets have beaten on this tough stretch which goes back to the Utah game being the second night of a back to back and ending with this one the 3rd game in 4 nights. To come out of that stretch 5-1 I don't think you can complain. A rested Toronto team had to play out of their minds in the first half to beat a Rockets squad playing their 3rd game in 4 nights who couldn't hit the ocean from the beach in the first half and it still came down to the final possession. Just be happy Portland knocked off GSW too ..... the standings didn't change.
I agree with the rest of your post, but this just isn't accurate. Both teams played on Tuesday and Wednesday leading into their matchup last night. If anything, the Rockets should have been slightly more rested (4th game in 7 nights) compared to the Raptors (4th game in 6 nights - and 5th in 8).
That the Rockets had a chance to win it at the end on a wide open Chris Paul corner 3 is remarkable given being 19 down. The Rockets fought and clawed their way back from dead. There was one thing the Rockets had to do tonight - not get spanked and give themselves a chance to win. A really great team never loses easily, they go down fighting now matter how bad of a game they were having. And Houston kept coming back multiple times - they never quit. How many times did they cut the lead for it to jump back up? And yet they had multiple shots to tie or take the lead in the last minute. The lost tonight, but they showed they were Clutch City and played like a champion. We're still in very good shape.
I’m glad they lost. There is a lot of emotional energy spent on streaks like that. Now they can focus on playoff prep as they can’t break the record for games won in a row. They outclassed the Raptors after the first quarter and they look ready to win the West. I’m not high on the Warriors. There bench is led by Nick Young..
I'd understand if we flew into Toronto for a matinee game after a west coast swing and they were just waiting at home after a couple days off, but this wasn't that kind of scenario. Both teams traveled twice since Tuesday, but neither over significant distance or more than an hour timezone difference. Regardless, it was still Toronto's 3rd game in 4 nights, and that's not "rested" by any standard I've ever heard of.
The Rockets are 34-2 with Harden, CP3, and Capela in the lineup. The 2 losses were by 2 and 3 points respectively. In both games, the Rockets were on the road, came out flat, were down big, and managed to claw their way back to tie the game(104-104 in the first, 102-102 in the second) with a chance to win. Bottom line, it's damn near impossible to beat this team when their key rotation players are healthy. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Only the Warriors and injuries will prevent them from winning a title this season.
Raptors were also without their two best perimeter defenders. Not so sure Harden drops 40 pts on 15/22 shooting if OG and/or Delon plays.
From what I have seen this year, all that matters is if Chris Paul can play four good games out of seven in the playoffs. We are unbeaten this year when Chris Paul plays a good game. He was pretty awful yesterday, musta went out too hard with Drake.
I'm not glad they lost, but this is what they need and what the team should be doing. Only two goals left - #1 seed and more importantly, get the new guys integrated into the system and figure out the lineups and plays for the playoffs when either or both Harden and CP3 are struggling (and they will against defense focusing on them).
Im with you 100 percent. Rox played pretty bad 80 percent of the game. This was the worst Ive seen CP3 play, the team missed a lot of defensive assignments, couldnt hit a 3 through the first 2.5 quarters and still had a chance to win after winning 17 straight in dominating fashion.... cant ask for much more man. Especially considering like you said other teams have to play out of their minds and even get lucky to pry a win... for instance, Lowry wont be hitting as many 3s with such efficiency if we see them again...
This team is freaking special. It’s taken miracles to beat us late. I swear I’ve always been pessimistic about the Rockets but this team is something else. 3rd game in 4 night ON THE ROAD. Talk about heart and Championship toughness. We ain’t losing another game this season. I’m sure the guys are telling themselves that too.
At the end of the day the raptors are 2-0 against us. Last night's game was a tough game the raptors have elite defense it's no surprise that our 3s weren't falling.
Last two losses were 2 points to the pelicans and 3 points to the raptors and don't forget we were playing 3 games in 4 nights. Like jalen said, "schedule lost" especially on their home court. So relax and lets build a 33 game winning streak from here on to the playoff to win the championship.
almost all of those were drives and harden had 37 last game we missing our 3rd highest salary / 1/5th of the cap
Third road game in a row, against a really good team and the best home team in the league this season, and only lost by 3 points? That's not a bad loss at all. Could have been worse. Could have lost by 17 to the Trail blazers or something
It seemed like at the beginning of the game the Rockets were pacing themselves and then the game got out of their hand and they kinda knew they would lose and then somewhere on the way they were like hold up we can still win this?
