I honestly don't think the Rockets will win this series if Chris Paul doesn't play in Game 2. The Rockets will undoubtedly win Game 2 if he sits. But they won't feel good about it. They won't feel as if they've won at all. They will question whether they can actually beat a healthy version of this team on the road in Game 3. Frankly, in the Clippers eyes, they've already won. And they'll play and feel like it. The Rockets are on the opposite end. You people better hope Chris Paul plays in Game 2. If they beat a Clippers team with Paul in Game 2, it'll give them faith and confidence. This is just my opinion. I think the mental aspect of this series is what will sway things.
It all starts with Harden, he was the main culprit for handing the Clippers free points after points. His 9 TO's led to aprox. 17 points for LA. He can not come out next game and play so carelessly and expect to win, he sets the tone for us, we can not blame role players for not playing well when our supposed "MVP" refuses to take the game seriously. Jogging back on defense, ball-watching, gambling with hacks rather than being in proper position is not playoff winning basketball. Dwight looked solid for most of the game, he is looking like he's playing with a chip on his shoulder, wish we could say the same our "MVP".
It really is one game and unfortunately they lost in horrible fashion. In the playoffs, momentum is really game to game. If they come out flat in game 2, then obviously the players were blowing smoke about wanting to win a title. Demoralizing is blowing two 20 point 4th quarter leads at home then having to go on the road. This is a mere blip on the radar if you bounce back and win game 2. The true measure of this team is whether they see game 1 as a wake up call or a death knell. If they roll over and decide to act woe as me like some are in here, then they deserve to lose and possibly have the team drastically retooled because the right guys aren't in place At the end of the day, the talent on this team can out do anyone in a 7 game series outside of the Warriors right now if they show up and want it. Let's see what happens the next couple of games before we call this series over.
It's the playoffs. A loss, is a loss, is a loss. Whether you play a tight game where you get beat by last second shot or whether you get the snot beat out on you on your home floor. The next two games will tell us a lot about the mental make up of this team. The people waving the white flag already while analyzing this loss are just panicking. The Dallas series was a cruise this is going to be a dog fight. Settle in and enjoy.
I 3rd this and join whatever minority that is not making this point loudly enough. The Rockets have played poorly (turnovers and inconsistent D) 4 playoff games so far. Dallas just sucked at making the Rockets pay for their mistakes. Last night, the Clippers took advantage of those opportunities, and they've been playing good ball in 7 of their 8 games this post season. They've just been more consistent.
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http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2015/5/...aunts-rockets-crowd-for-failing-to-make-noise Doc Rivers openly taunts Rockets crowd for failing to make noise
Remember, before the Mavs-Rockets series Mavs fans and probably players thought that they're better than us they will win the series against us. In the first game Mavs doesnt care about the ball, they had too many turnovers but we played with hunger and energy, at the end we nearly blow them out. After the first game of Mavs-Rockets series, Mavs fans thought they had an unlucky game with so many turnovers, they thought Monta Ellis didnt gave a crap about the game because he think he can make it over in other games of the series. And we all see what happenede. We really wanted to win that series and we were the better team against them, we crushed them. Now we're exactly in the same position as Mavs players and fans after the first game of Mavs-Rockets series besides they we're not a competitive team in Rockets's standarts. In the game two this series, our players better play with WILL, and our fanbase should stop masturbating themselves with the thought of ''its just a one game'' Because In the playoff you dont have to luxury to select a game to play with energy or not. Lets say we can, you wont skip a western playoff semi final first game in your HOUSE against a team with their leader is injured and they eleminated the reigning champions&team of the century just 2 days ago. That was a game that we should have won last night, sometimes you can lose the games you have to win against weaker opponents but if you dont gave a bit of crap during the game THERE MUST BE SOMETHING WRONG with your players mentality. The coach must fix that mental problems, thats why basketball teams have coachs, therapists and all the other coaching staff things. And please stop kidding yourselfs with saying it's just a one game. I'm not saying we cant win this series, but it was not just a single game. It was the camera tape of our players mental problems. You just cant play selfless and careless in that point of the season, there's no excuse.
You know. . . it seems like some people have been quieting waiting, wanting and begging for the Rockets to lose so they can say . . .. SEE SEE THAT STYLE DOESN'T WORK MY WAY IS RIGHT AND THEIR WAY IS WRONG LOOK AT ME!!! LOOK AT MEEE!!!!!! seee I AM RIGHT!! YOU ARE WRONG ROCKETS SUCKS . . .. Rocket River Relax, nancy
I highly doubt their is a crowd saying "its just one loss". My stance is that we lost, but our composure should not be blown. Our team is great, it has been all season. If we are able to win the championship we will have to be able to overcome adversity. Because I think our team will be able to rebound from this, I am not trying to point fingers. That is just my perception of things. I felt obligated to share it since I am most likely in the "just one loss" category.
backs to the wall for sure. "don't misuse the opportunity" <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XoOOtI5-EdE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
A loss is a loss, I can deal with it if we gave our best effort and we were just beat. This loss however pisses me off because we truly didn't bring it. We didn't have the effort a championship contender needs. They didn't take care of the ball as usual and they made us pay.