This is the turning point game for this team. When you get one of their guys ejected. This is a terrible lost. They are what 6th now? My prediction. Rockets make the playoff but will not get home court AND must play a strong team and lose in the 1st round again. This however, can be the SAME prediction for 6 of the 9 teams fighting for a spot. But the difference is. There is no chance for the Rockets to beat the strong teams if it goes to game 7 and no home court advantage. Bottomline. When the Refs are out of it, you just have to gut check it out. The same "charge" that the refs call as a block is a charge on the other end. The calls were terrible, for all sides. It was bad for both teams. Just have to make the shots while being fouled because you can't count on a call. P.S. That Artest is pretty good. Great defense, 3 point range, drives.
hmm i see . . man if only he did get the call, and if he really did get fouled . . i wonder if tmac would've made at least 1 FT . . god knows.
we should've won...just some bad calls, like that deke technical when he was clearly pointing to the crowd, and a lot of questionable calls from the refs. really frustrating!!! I didn't understand what happened there? looked like a basket and a foul to me??? why did they go the other way?
My sentiments exactly. It seems like he's scared to pull the plug or something. I mean, Rafer wasn't cutting it. Bobby was. Why not give him more minutes? Or Brooks? Or even, oh yeah, out best shooter on the team, Novak.
that is completely and one hundred percent correct, dunno what RA is thinkin these days after the streak ended, sigh.
he was 7-8 for the game. but did we have a timeout? there was 7-8 seconds left on the clock. rafer dribbled the ball up nonchalantly waiting for tmac and when tmac got it, there were only 3 seconds left on the shot clock with 2 guys on him. pathetic.
I think this is very important to understand..that the Rockets cannot win close games with this current team without Yao Ming. They might get out lucky sometimes but they CANNOT close it out because nobody on this team can create their own shot except TMac and he is 1. getting hounded on defense becuse he is the only offensive option and 2. never really was clutch in the first place and 3. is bricking shots a lot more these days. The Rockets have to come out the gate with a killer instinct and close out the fourth quarter like they did back in 22. If the Rockets can't have a sizable lead entering into the fourth quarter my money is on them losing every time. DEFENSE is the key. They aren't going to beat these teams on offense. 15 from Luis, 30 from McGrady (YES he HAS to start scoring like a real champion) and 15 from Alston can help us get by, but power interior defense will win the games.
It wasn't a foul, but even when its that close and the game is one the line a superstar will get that call.
It seems like RA prefers to use a short rotation during the playoffs. He probably believes a shorter rotation is more effective and creates more chemistry. However he should see with this team, more is...MORE (especially with so many 'bench players' on this team. Not a lot of our players can play for more than 40 minutes without a decrease in the quality of their performance)
I hope this loss really wakes this team up. We had not lost to a sub .500 team since January, and while as a fan you expect them do that, you let up against one of those teams at least sometimes (which is our streak was so amazing). I expected us to lose another game in this streak, so now they just need to watch tape, see their mistakes, and take out their anger on the NW teams. Also, hitting a few more three's may help a bit...
He tried - Mike James, Aaron Brooks, Stevie, BJax. Unfortunately, none of them can create offense for others (including Rafer). Only T-mac can, but he's a larger and slower player. Quick point guards that dribble penetrate, can create offense for others in the NBA, and shoot a good percentage are worth their weight in gold (Nash, DWill, CP3). As a T-mac Fan, I'd hate to say this, but I'd rather have CP3 than T-mac (maybe even DWill).
This is why T-Mac gets multiple defenders out high. This is why he should be point guard. Its simple not enough spacing or good enough shooting out on the wings to let T-Mac operate without hassle. If we had him at the 1 in the middle up high and had Battier/Novak in the corners defense cant cheat because if they do then T-Mac will find them. They need to let T-Mac attack within range to get his shot off the dribble and or fight through the pick. The problem is guys coming into the high post giving him very little room to attack and or find open shooters. Adelman needs to realize that when Alston is up high standing 13 feet away from T-Mac the defender is going to cheat off Alston onto McGrady. Problem is defense is only going to allow what the defense gives Alston and that is the wild outside 3. Its a combination cluster problem. Pick n Roll is to easy to defend when T-Mac cant attack and is forced to pass. Not enough spacing on the perimeter mixed in with a bad shooter at either side to aloow defenders to collapse and force the worst shooter to shoot or just to simply get the ball out of T-Mac's hands.
Honestly Miki Moore complained and they turned it around ! The ref even threw his hand down to count the basket ! Just a pathetic call and the Rockets will be getting that stupid " we are sorry " letter from the NBA!
Lack of concentration in the whining moments wound up hurting us. Can't dwell much on this game...yea there were some bad calls for both sides but we can't expect a whistle on the road to save us. These next 4 games are all must wins
I honestly don't think that TO would have helped that much. They got the look they wanted. If anything, they could've called a timeout to bring in Novak. Spread the floor. Oh well, we just didn't get the call tonight. On the positive side, Scola seems to have found his rhythm. How many points did he have, 20? 10-10 from the FT. Great overall game by Rambo.
RA has always liked using shorter rotations. Now, i think RA just wants to solidfy his rotation for the playoffs. He probably holds the belief that guys play better when given more minutes, giving them a better understanding as the game goes along.
