In my opinion, offensive talent show when you do everything right on defense and the offensive player still scores. Or, you try to do everything right on defense and the offensive player is so good that he makes you look dumb when in fact your defense was okay but he just schooled you. For Utah: Boozer is offensively more talented than Scola or Landry. Boozer can make shots that are defended well. Okur is more offensively talented than Deke or Scola or Landry. Okur's outside shooting is such a threat that it enables his pump drive shot which has been very effective. Scola hits a jumper when he's open because the D sags not because Scola crosses you over to get open. Scola has a decent up and under move and other post pivot moves but isn't great. Landry is a good finisher, not great. Neither of the Rockets front court guys are more talented than the Utah guys. As for PG, DWill is uber-talented...Rafer is underrated, but still it's Utah by far here. AK-47 can hit the outside jumper and score on the drive. He is more talented than Battier on offense. Battier is a great 3pt shooter, but that's pretty much it. T-Mac is more talented than Brewer, but Brewer did own T-Mac on like 5 possessions this game. Brewer can blow by T-Mac. Brewer can shoot. And T-Mac tends to not pay attention to his man. Korver is all talent when it comes to shooting. Bobby Jackson was actually defending him well, but he took some tough pull up jumpers with hands in his face. So yes, I think Utah is more talented offensively. And they are as a team, bigger, longer, faster, and stronger (especially without Yao). ESPN just said D.Will is from Houston? WTF? "The kid from Houston burning the home town team"???? And for all those b****ing about the refs...Yes, the refs sucked, but they sucked for both sides. Maybe it favored Utah more, but it wasn't like Utah didn't get screwed a bunch of times too, b/c they did. You'd have to be a blind homer to believe that only the Rockets got screwed by the refs in this game.
if we would have won back to back in utah, that would have been special. and we should have. very very close. great game.
I just saw the replay which further p*sses me off. We have Landry vs Okur and TMac vs Boozer on the boards. Should have been Deke vs Okur and Hayes vs Boozer We had to call time out after the free throw anyway
Correction, all four of the Rockets best players on the court are injured. I forgot about Landry's knee.
Exactly. I had to confess that I did not have much confidence after the first two games. But these two games, even the lost one tonight, brought my faith back. I have to pay my ultimate respect to every player of our team. They may not have made every necessary play, but they put in 100% effort every minute. And I deeply believe that we still have a chance in winning every game of the next three games. Just do it, one game a time!
Hay any fan could vent. Didn't you see that commercial. I hate the Rockets, I love the Rockets. Oh please make the Ft, etc. Call me what ever you will. My wife's call me worst. Besides, I have not jumped on or off the bandwagon. I have just been a fan. There is no bandwagon for me. Just wishing they made a few more FTs. Didn't help the Refs are inconsistent. If they let them all play then why is Scola getting the crazy calls? But TMac cannot lead the Tmac and do everything then lay a bomb at the line. Now was TMac tired again? Alston is back so that won't fly. TMac is the best player on the court and tonight, in the 4th, when the Rockets crawed back, he did not perform, no he did not. P.S. his line looks good but would you trade that in for a Steve Novak 3pt that wins the game? That was the only shot he made, that game against Sac but that was the game winner. Has TMac made a game winner in the playoffs? Can anyone find out?
The announcers also saw the shove and mentioned it, I went back and slow-mo-d it and Okur had the old Jazz forearm shiv in Landry's back and pushed Carl under the basket so Okur could gain position over Landry. Carl needs to gain muscle this summer. And yes for whoever mentioned it Mauer the ref did screw us again on the Korver/Battier jump ball. Either that or Korver was out of bounds. I'll take either one. Rick Carlisle was such a "homer" for the Jazz. Gosh Tmac and Landry and Scola get hacked so many times by the Jazz players - multi times on one possession and NO CALLS! HOPE WE DRAW DENVER NEXT YEAR. Tmac is like the anti-Wade or anti-Iverson. Feels like Kirilenko could hit him with a shovel and it would only be 50-50 that it would be called a foul.
Williams torched Alston twice in a row in the fourth though, so I'm not sure there's a big difference. And Brooks penetrates.
that was a heartbreaker...no excuse for missing free throws...no excuse for that last rebound... they played their hearts out...... we will take game 5 and then game 6 will be right there for us!!!
Too many chances thrown to the trash, then we almost made a miracle. T-Mac once again a no factor in the 4th and missing crucial FT. Scola with stupid fouls, too nervous, he need to stay focused but ok, he's learning. BTW Rockets shown once again to be a better overall team just playing with a bunch of young guys, unfortunately we unable to make some pression on the Jazz.
I think that if you arent in fact blind, you must have been watching the game with a blindfold. The Jazz got screwed by the refs? Really now... when?
We were shooting 36%. You can blame us for missing free throws, you can also blame refs but you can't win games in playoffs shooting 36% That's ALL
looked at a certain way free throws determined every game. jazz shot lousy from the line last game. but, despite being subpar from the line, you have to respect this game. neither team was perfect, but we were competitive. it was close. we played hard. i think the refs could have given us the game as easily as they gave it to utah.
