Right, whats the biggest lead they had through the entire series, i cant recall em being up more than 8. N that was in game 2 only
I certainly think it's possible but it's going to be tough to win 3 consecutive playoff games with this schoolyard offense and Harden's disturbing carefree attitude.
If we somehow beat portland, I am going on a limb here and will say we will win the west. IMO opinion the blazers may be the toughest team in the playoffs this year.
I definitely think they have to be hungry for it. But like Chuck, Kenny and even Dream have all said in the past 12 hours, it's a mental game at this point. If they are hungry, if they really want it, if they STICK TOGETHER, and if they take one game at a time without worrying about the next one, I truly believe they can pull it off. Those are a lot of big ifs, but all possible IMO.
This series could easily be 3-1 Rockets, 2-2 tie or even a sweep for either team. Even with all the BS calls and stupid mistakes and lousy play we have gone through, every game has been determined in the last few possessions. So I think we still have a chance. Anything could happen. But, we can't keep playing like we have in this series, if we want a chance. Harden can't keep going iso in late game situations, Lin can't keep making stupid mistakes at the end of games, Parsons can't keep disappearing in the second half of games, Asik can't get into foul trouble early in the second half, McHale can't make mistakes with line ups and plays and so on. We have to play our game, if not perfect games to win this series. If we win Game 5, I believe we will get a Game 7 and who knows what happens in Game 7? But we must play our game and play together or else we will lose.
Rockets' lack of unity is what worries me. Two very different messages coming out of those lockerrooms last night. ETA: Nevermind. What he actually said was that it's hard to play against the other team "and ourselves too," which leads me to believe he's referring to our stupid mistakes. Accuracy fail.
It does not matter if Portland has won 3, it does not matter if Houston has won only 1, all that matters is the present, the NOW. Just as many of you have said "one game at a time" Do not dwell on the refs or the boneheaded plays, it is now irrelevant. All that matters is the present, and if the Rockets just focus on that, all will be well. Of course hitting your shots and not playing like boneheads does help a little. I will be looking forward to our next topic of discussion when we head back to Portland.
Let's just win Game 5 first. Then we can talk about Game 6. Then Game 7. Momentum leading into the playoffs is so important. The whole "peaking too soon or hobbling into the playoffs" belief is real. Doesn't matter how much better we are on paper or in our regular season split. Fact is we let everyone get rested and stale for too long, while Portland came in on a winning streak and gelled. If we lose this series, I'll hate it, but I'll tip my hat to Portland and accept it as right. Right because Game 1 was completely pissed away (McHale's words) with schoolyard lack of poise & clock management. Game 2 was lost because we thought the answer to Aldridge's 46 pt night was to let him get his fill on his favorite jumper unguarded. And Game 4 was again a lock of poise between Harden & Parsons being unnecessarily risky when we had the chance to really jump up on them, and the huge Lin blunder. I hope it gets to 7, but I don't see much growth right now under McHale. Getting this team to not play so "Helter Skelter" was something they identified and tried to fix at the very beginning of the season, and here we are in Round 1 losing 2 games because of leads coughed up with lack of poise in the final minutes.
I would be even more shocked if there ends up being a game 7 than I am at the rockets completely choking two games away.
How this team responds in game 5 will tell a lot about how well McHale can motivate this team. There is no reason in the world that we shouldn't come out with a ton of fire for this game. But in OT of game 4, you could tell the team was beginning to give up a bit. For McHale's sake, he needs to keep their spirits up. One game at a time. If he cannot motivate them in game 5, then I don't want him back next year. This is what a coach is supposed to do. This is his job. And even if it's not on the line, it should be.
The Referees says otherwise.. Its gotten to the point where I'm not worried about Portland, but how the referees will screw us over
If we win 5 there is a LOT of pressure on Blazere at home to win 6. The whole no series win thing forever etc etc
How on earth do you guys even think we gonna have a chance? It was over when they didn't protect their home games. 0-2. That's the series right there. I donot see us winning the next 3. I honestly donot. Because we can't close out games when it counts. Our players just can't be trusted in crunch time for 1. We have no reliable scoring. DH is awesome but he can't score every time down the stretch. Harden been ASS so far. Parsons shrinks in the second half. Lin gets you nervous might as well bench him. That leaves us Troy Denials. I mean Seriously? We are just ****ed up. And you look at Portland. If i were the coach, I would not hesitate going through LMA and Lillard down the stretch because they are proven to be reliable at least in this series. 2. We can not get stops. Our D has never been good thanks to coaching. We can build a lead but we can't protect it. 3. Mchale. This guy costs us 2 games except game 2 maybe. I donot see him suddenly become a good coach doing X's and O's etc. I be really surprised if we pull this off. Not that i am pessimistic, just being realistic.
