we were already down 92-89 before the flagrant. they only got 4 points out of it (96-89). we had more than 9 minutes to make that up. stop blaming the refs people. if we would have made some stops down the stretch and got buckets from them then we could have won.
they did make a realistic run at the end.....although the game seemed out of reach, those points at the end were contested, they worked for them, so i dont think they're the usual garbage points a team gets the last minute or two of a game they can't win. I don't see the point in calling out the team and blasting them for problems on offense ona night they easily scored 100 and basically dismissing their poor defense because "this team wins with offense". I'm not even sure you're dismissing it though because you're aware it's a problem, but it's like you don't think it should be costing them games. They scored like 35 points in the last quarter. Technically they did lose the game because they couldn't score 42 instead, but how realistic is that? Not very, so the game couldn't have really been that winnable offensively, especially with a team who's better defensively than what they were showing. It was on the defensive end were they had a shot to win this one. Don't have the weapons to do it? Then they're screwed, tough luck. Blast them for not fixing a consistent problem, but for offense? And in this game? I think many of us get that this team will needs to outscore opponents to win games, but the fact is teams don't win rings or usually go deep into the playoffs with poor defense. When we say they need to play better defense, we're really saying "the team needs to acquire defense". How will we get it? Who knows. Morey and RA probably don't even know, but we need it for sure.
Mr. Space City, they only got 4 points out of it? Yeah, well they only won the game by 6 points. They got handed points because of Wade's underhanded drama queen tactics and that cost us the game.
our 91% free throw shooter missed 4 free throws. it's not the refs fault he missed free throws. that's 4 points right there. we had over 9 minutes to make up a 7 point deficit. that's not what cost us the game. not getting defensive stops and turning those stops into buckets in the 4th is what cost us the game.
D-Wade said this We did put up a great effort. A win would have been wonderful. but we dont have sufficient talent to beat a three headed monster. I think we are set for playoffs if we continue like this.
It was a GREAT effort. Victory would have been unbelievable, but the loss was expected. IMO this team is playing much better than expected, and can win any game over 90-95% of the teams in the league. Teams that we just do not possess enough talent to win over: The Heat, and the Celtics.
D-Wade also said this, (On being injured) “It just gets me mad. I’m real mad right now. I hate playing in Houston.”
We knew this was a problem coming into the season. All our hopes were resting on Yao coming back healthy and being able to be that defensive stopper in the middle; which is realistically what this team needs--a defensive-minded center. Our perimeter players bring enough offensive value to compensate for their defensive shortcomings and then some, so we need to look elsewhere to improve the defense so that we don't harm our offense in the process. In fact, I was calling for us to draft a shotblocking, rebounding center, and while I like Patterson, he certainly isn't that. I don't know what the solution is now. People keep saying we should trade for a superstar, but scoring isn't our problem and it hasn't been for awhile. Say we replace Battier with Melo, probably giving up Brooks, Martin, or Scola in the process. In this scenario we've probably upgraded our offense a bit but we may actually have downgraded our defense. How does that help the defensive problems? Defensive. Minded. Center. Unless Morey magically makes Dwight Howard available, there aren't any superstars who fit that profile. What we need is a really good roleplayer.
I'm actually proud of our team. They played tough against an overwhelmingly more talented team, and could have won. Hopefully they see that as a positive and build on it.
We are just 1 superstar away from beating a Super Contending team! Get it done Morey and let's start blowing out these Elite teams once SuperStar comes!
there wasnt even 1 blk from our team, mia had 9. Also, the whistles slowed the game down for Mia - in a 4 min span there were too many calls. it took us out of our rythm which played well for Mia. We are a team that like the Free throw line but in this case, it hurt us.
theyre all as much important parts of the game as the other. The Rockets faults dont negate what else did and didnt happen. It may not be the the "sole" reason, but it did contribute to the loss in a very close game. missed FTs happen, and sadly so do horrible calls for the superstars of the league. You may not like people whining, but points are points, especially in a close game. Its not a wonderful point to make, but it is a valid one.
Kevin Martin put up a lot more effort on D than he usually does...but he made 1 mistake everytime in the 2nd half, he started playing Wade up close and tight. That is the wrong way to guard both Wade and Lebron, when these guys are at or beyond the 3 pt line, you back off at least 2 or 3 steps. That takes away them beating you on the 1st step, and if Wade is beating you taking 3's, you can take that. The most surprising thing is that NO ONE told him to back off, not even Shane, you could see that Shane was backing off of Lebron until he got about 15 ft from the basket. They were probably keeping Martin on Wade because Martin has probably as fast of a 1st step as Wade, but last night it just wasn't working, so that's when you should back up and let Wade come to you.
Miami shot 58% from the field, and the Rockets shot 42%. We probably should have been blown out of this game, but the Rockets did a great job by grabbing 16 offensive rebounds, and only turning the ball over 6 times. It's almost impossible to win games when the opposing team shoots close to 60%. The Rockets didn't have a great night shooting, but they did score 119 points against arguably the best defensive team in the league. So, I'm not all that concerned about what we did offensively. It was our lack of defense that once again lost the game for us. I keep hearing people say we need that one "superstar" to take us to the next level. But if that "superstar" can't improve us as a defensive team, then we aren't likely to win many more games than with our current lineup. This is what worries me about players like Carmello Anthony. He may improve us as an offensive team, but if we still can't stop other teams from scoring, then we aren't likely to see many additional wins. Instead of making a trade for a big time offensive player, we may need to make some moves to bring in some players that are more balanced in all parts of the game. Maybe not as exciting as getting that dynamic offensive scorer, but could be what this team needs.
Like many posters have correctly pointed out, this team has no problems scoring. What will kill the Rockets is the absolute lack of a rebounding/shot blocking demon. We didn't have one last year and we expected Yao to help out on that end this year. How wise was the latter giving Yao's injury history? Not much.
If the refs gave the rockets preferential treatment, and we got 4 free points instead of the heat, then what excuse do the heat have for losing? Stop trying to turn a blind eye. I know it's wrong to blame the refs because it's not the right thing to do. Obviously we made mistakes and we still could have won, yet we didn't. However that is part of basketball. The refs giving the opposition 4 points is not what I want to watch. I don't want to watch Wade b**** about an injury a 10 year old child could take, and then have the refs give them points for it.
There is one big guy who I think Morey should go after: Javale McGee. Yeah, I heard that he is a bit of a headcase and he looked silly trying to dunk from the ft line, but he is a true 7-footer who is a natural at blocking shots. In the right environment such as Houston, he is likely to develop into a very nice center. McGee would have made Wade's life quite more difficult yesterday. Morey should inquire about this dude and see what they want for him.
