Rockets/Clippers - the end of the road

The Rockets finish up a 5 game road swing tonight in Hollywood-land.
So far the good guys are a disappointing 2-2 on this trip. A victory is much needed tonight to have a winning trip and also to maintain pace in the West (if playoffs started today, we'd still be in L.A. - facing the Kobes).

I'm just sad I won't be able to see any of this tonight. No Yao means no "you can't f--king stop me" YouTube worthy moments. Bummer.

Rockets: 51-25, 6th in West (23-15 road record), 5-5 last 10.
Clippers: 23-53, mathematically eliminated since November (13-25 at home), 2-8 last 10.

Seriously, if we lose tonight (8:30pm CST), this will be more embarrassing than the Kings game. I don't even care if the NBA sends Scott Wall to ref the game and he brings along Steve Javie and drags Jake O'Donnell out of retirement as an added edge against the Rockets. We cannot - repeat - CANNOT lose this game.

The key to winning? Pass the ball to this guy and keep Elton Brand busy on defense:



Also, Tracy, I know you are the best offensive player on our team. This is not in dispute. You are the only one truly capable of creating your own shot. The only one capable of playing legitimate 1-on-1 offense and being successful.

That said - if you take 25+ shots, that is a bad, bad, very bad thing for our offense. Ricky's system relies on ball and player movement. This implies that people are passing the ball. The "find T-Mac at the elbow and let him work" offense hasn't worked the last 10 games. It sure as hell won't work in the playoffs. If you take 20-22 shots a game (and theoretically make 10 or so), that is ideal. Scola needs to get 10-12 shots a game, minimum. Even Rafer needs 8-10 shots. Bobby Jackson will get his and so will Battier... but Scola needs your help. Pass him the freakin' ball!

Go Rockets! Win #52 tonight!

Next! We got next!

Portland is on the schedule for tomorrow night. In Portland.

Things we need to accomplish during this game:

1. Realize that the Rockets are going nowhere if Tracy McGrady shoots 31 times a game. Especially if he only makes 12. Who does he think he is... Rafer?

2. Pass the ball to Scola. 20 points last night, but he only got 9 shots. Nine. Scola should be shooting more than Rafer. I think we can all agree on this.

3. Do NOT pass the ball to Chuck. Luther Head actually passed the ball to Chuck on a break 20 feet from the basket last night. Luther... and Rafer/Bobby and Aaron... do not pass to Chuck. Chuck is to layups what Dante Hicks is to hockey on the roof. Don't pass to this guy - he sucks. (Chuck is great at pretty much everything else though.)

4. Either use Carl Landry or don't. If he's not healthy, rest him. If he's healthy, freakin' play him! You don't limit guys with a 24 PER to 10-15 minutes a game. You exploit this!

5. Get back to playing defense. Last night the Kings shot 51% from the field. 51%! Artest had 7 open looks for 3s and he hit four of them. NBA players make open shots. Our defensive intensity died in that Boston game it appears. Except for Shane. He's still DPOY.

6. Wag the finger. Fuck Scott Wall - keep wagging the finger, Dikembe!

7. Play Mike Harris. I realize we are pushing towards the playoffs, but if our starters are all averaging over 40 minutes per game, we aren't going to have anything left once the playoffs do start. Mike Harris is an energy guy who hustles, rebounds and plays defense. But he's been glued to the bench the last 6-7 games.

8. Make free throws. Not that I should ever have to repeat this, but the Rockets still only shoot 72% from the FT line this year. That's just not going to cut it in close games in May. Especially since the 72% figure is much, much lower if we remove Yao from the equation. Sadly there are only TWO players on our active roster that shoot over 80%. Luther Head and Aaron Brooks. And they don't exactly shoot lots of free throws.

9. Find that extra gear. During the Streak, the Rockets never let teams stay in the game. We'd get the slightest lead in the 2nd quarter and Landry, Bobby, Luther, Novak, Harris and the gang would extend the lead into double figures. Our biggest lead against Sacramento? 6 freakin' points. Crush the opponents' spirit, guys.

10. Get angry. The critics are ready to engrave your tombstone, guys. Some even suggest you might not even make the playoffs now! We know this isn't true, but you must quit giving people ammunition to critique and question. Seek and destroy!

"First one to fall down gets the call!"

Matt Bullard had the right idea. The only way to win tonight was to be the first player to fall down. Now, I know the Kings were on the wrong side of the worst officiated game of the last 20 years (Game 6 of 2002 Western Conference Finals versus Lakers), but tonight was almost as bad.

There are three ways to referee a basketball game:

1. Let them play. I tend to like this - the better players don't need to be coddled and those that want to play actual defense do not fear ticky tack fouls. Aggression tends to win here.

2. Call it tight. In certain games, I understand this as well. You can't let a game get out of control. So, you call a couple tight fouls early on to informally announce to the players that it will not be a wrestling match. Your calls just have to be consistent.

3. Completely fuck the whole thing up.

The referees tonight opted for Option #3. Now, I'm not saying they were "in favor" of the Kings or anyone. No - the Kings got it just as bad as the Rockets. Brad Miller's ejection was complete horseshit. Moore got dinged for two offensive fouls that were phantom at best.

I think Scott Wall (the white referee who wasn't Joe Forte) just didn't want to be there tonight. He never blew the whistle early on. Except to call the Ts on Miller.

They even called a T on Dikembe for doing his trademark finger wag... even though Dikembe has direct permission from Godfather Stern himself to wag that finger!!!! What did he need tonight? A fucking court order? Apparently so!

Yes, it was that bad, the referees even ignored the directions of the Commissioner.

Poor Carl Landry wasn't even allowed to play tonight. Set a pick? Foul. Get position on defense? Foul. Get run over by Kevin Martin? Sit your ass down for your 5th foul!

McGrady went o-for whatever he shot in the fourth quarter, even though he was hacked on everything. Including the last second shot. It's hard to make a 15 foot jump shot as the meat in a Kings sandwich. Real hard.

The worst call of the night brought back memories of Yao and the Golden State game from December... Chuck Hayes was positioned solidly for 2 full seconds. Maybe longer. He did not move. He did not extend his arms. He did not shift his feet or even breathe. Rafer took the pick, made the shot.............. but it was waved off because apparently picks were illegal tonight. Garcia fell down when he ran into Hayes, and Joe Forte called a pity foul. Words cannot describe how bad Forte fucked up that call.

This was a game of two halves. The first half was a "let 'em play, we are too tired to blow the whistle tonight." Second half? Different story. Players were adjusted to a more physical game, only to have the rug pulled out from under them. 53 total fouls called in this game. 5 each on Battier, Hayes and Landry. Scola "only" had 4. Mikki Moore had 5 for the Kings. Ron Artest? He who fouls more than anyone in the NBA? Only 3 fouls. Un-be-fucking-lievable.

Rockets could not afford to lose tonight. Refs didn't give a shit.

Now - the Rockets did not lose because of the referees. The inconsistent calls just put T-Mac and Rafer on tilt... and we couldn't close out the game.

Two questions I would like answered though. (1) There is one minute left in the game and the Rockets are down by 1. The play? An isolation for Chuck Hayes. Who takes a left-handed hook shot that naturally misses. Chuck Hayes was our best option!??! (2) With 35 seconds left, Rafer decides to win the game by tossing the ball off the backboard to himself. Not surprisingly, it leads to a jump ball against a much taller man. What. The. Fuck?

Final score? Kings 99, Rockets not enough. Fuck, fuck, FUCK!

New gameplan: Give Luis Scola the damn ball.