Yes, I know we have not been writing much since the Rockets were unceremoniously dumped by the evil Utah Jazz. I can only hope that you all understand why... for the 2007/2008 NBA regular season was the most entertaining and fun-filled season in almost 20 years.
In fact, I think I enjoyed this year even more than 1994 and 1995 (because the playoffs were far more entertaining than the regular season then). This year we had a 22 game winning streak, Kobe's march to the MVP, the rise of CP3 and Dwight Howard, the re-birth of the Boston Celtics with KG and Ray Allen, a dunk contest that didn't suck, and so many other awesome storylines - specifically the greatest Western Conference battle of all-time.
.......... then the playoffs started.
And everything went to hell.
I'm not even talking about just the Rockets anymore. With so much anticipation for the playoffs following the regular season, I'm not sure the NBA higher-ups could have screwed the pooch anymore than they did.
I tried to watch every single playoff game this year. And for the first month or so I was successful in reaching my goal. I even watched the awful Raptors/Magic series. And the overrated LeBron/Wizards contests. To be blunt - it's all been disappointing.
We knew the best teams in the NBA were probably the Lakers, Celtics, Spurs and Pistons. So it was not a surprise that these were the teams that comprised the NBA's own "Final Four". What bothered me is how we got there. And as lame and cliche as it is to blame referees for how the games turn out - this year there is no avoiding it.
Last year had the stink of the Suns/Spurs suspensions and the Tim Donaghy scandal. The year before we had to deal with the NBA handing the Miami Heat gift-foul after gift-foul. To the extent that I went from being a Dwyane Wade fan to finding him incredibly annoying. The running joke for more than a year was that even mentioning Wade's name drew a foul and two free throws. The 2006 NBA Finals were that much of a sham.
Which made me naively believe that the 2008 NBA Finals would somehow be different. I mean, come on, it's the Lakers! And the Celtics! The glory days are back! Kobe... KG... Gasol... Pierce... PJ v. Doc! What could possibly go wrong? In a word: everything.
Now, full disclaimer -- I am not a Lakers fan. Nor am I a Celtics fan.
I am a big fan of both Kobe and KG.
But the referees are absolutely killing my ability to watch the NBA right now. I don't care that the Lakers are down 2-0. I do care how/why they are down 2-0 and why instead of continuing to watch the game on Sunday I decided to switch to watching Rounders. I think I made the right choice. There is no way possible that Leon Powe should ever shoot more free throws by himself than an entire team should. Ever. I don't care if you try to rationalize it as a statistical anomaly or a fluke or some other creative excuse. It should not happen.
Now, here are three immutable rules about the NBA:
1. Stars do and should get more foul calls than the average player.
2. The refs should never decide the game by calling fouls with time running out (i.e., the Fisher/Barry play in the Spurs series comes to mind)
3. The home team will always shoot more free throws in a playoff game.
And I'm okay with these rules. If applied consistently.
Now, I watched the first 15-20 minutes of Game 2 in absolute horror. If the Lakers were a jump-shooting team that never took the ball to the basket and settled for 3s every other time on offense, I could understand why they only shot 10 free throws for the entire game. That would make sense. Yet Kobe, Gasol and Odom did nothing but take the ball to the basket and try to make layups. With someone in green draped all over their arms/shoulders/back. Result? No foul... and an inevitable missed layup. On the flip side, every time a Celtic would throw his hands up in the air (aka, "pulling an Iverson"), the referees took the bait and blew the whistle. Kobe, Odom and the snowboarding Euro guy all had 2 fouls each seemingly before the first TV timeout. And....... goodbye TV audience when Kobe isn't playing. Way to think it through, NBA.
Meanwhile, the running joke has been that no matter what happens, David Stern will assign Bennett Salvatore to ref Game 3 in L.A., presumably to make sure the Lakers win and we have a 6-7 game series. I mean, haha, that's funny right... no way David Stern would ever be that obvious in his attempts to "fix" the Finals like that...
and then...
I see the announcement of today's officials.
Not only do we get Bennett Salvatore. We also get Joey Crawford.
David Stern isn't even trying to be subtle anymore.
And I'm no longer going to be subtle when I announce here that I won't even bother watching the Finals until we get to Game 5 now. If Kobe shoots less than 15 FTs tonight, I'll be stunned. Lakers should win by 15 or so... easily. And that's a shame.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
The NBA: Where the Playoffs make me sad happens
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Random playoff thoughts now that Rockets are out
That Chris Paul guy is really, really good. Imagine how good he'll be when he's 1/2 as good as Rafer Alston!
Deron Williams is really good, too, but he's no CP3 just yet. Sorry, Utah.
Players who are not good? Luther Head.
Detroit could be a really scary team if they could find a way to stay awake for an entire 48 minute game. But it doesn't look like that is going to happen.
San Antonio cannot win in even numbered years. Sorry, Robert Horry.
Why the hell is Phoenix so eager to let Mike D'Antoni go? They should get rid of the Fat Ass first. They were fine until he showed up.
Kobe Bryant is going to be the MVP. He's my favorite non-Rocket still active in the league (hello Reggie Miller!), but even I would have voted for Chris Paul this year.
Yes, I still view Robert Horry as a Houston Rocket....... *I* didn't trade him for Barkley.
Did Toronto actually make the playoffs? I don't remember their games being on TV. Ever.
Boston had its wake up call. The LeBrons are toast.
Joe Smith, however, has escaped the exclusive Tracy McGrady club. Translation? He has finally made it to the second round.
Adonal Foyle is still in the NBA? Wow.
The Utah Jazz still suck. And I hate them.
The referees have been quite awful (again) this year. If it is a foul, call it. But don't call it a foul the first time and then ignore the same infraction later just because it's the fourth quarter. That's weak.
David Stern probably wants to fine me now.
I think Carlos Boozer's acne broke my HDTV.
Luis Scola: still a badass.
The Eastern Conference really is that bad.
If Denver were in the East, they'd be no worse than the #3 seed.
The Rockets would have beaten every team in the East except Boston. And maybe Detroit. But only "maybe".
I actually miss Bill Walton's commentary.
I'm very thankful for Charles Barkley's commentary. And JVG.
If the Celtics win the whole thing, would Doc Rivers be the worst coach to ever win a ring?
If Phil Jackson wins his 10th ring, could his ego actually get bigger?
It's too bad Michael Jordan hates Isiah Thomas. How awesome would it be if MJ were to hire Zeke to be his assistant?
The Jason Kidd and Shaq trades sure worked out, huh?
If I were to vote for MVP, I would have voted (in order): CP3, Kobe, KG, Dwight Howard... and then LeBron. I'm getting sick of people saying LeBron is the best player in the NBA. He's not. He's very, very good... but he's not the best. Yet.
Am I the only one who constantly feels the urge to punch Matt Harpring in the face?
Carmelo Anthony: dumb, moronic or just a lush?
Was it really just two years ago that the Mavericks were 2 games away from sweeping the Heat? (Then the refs stepped in...)
I really think the Lakers will win the whole thing, but New Orleans is even better than I previously imagined.
The Houston Rockets are going to kick ass in 2009!
Friday, April 18, 2008
The Playoffs
It's playoff time and Dave and I finally got our wish; a playoff rematch of last year's heart breaker. It's Houston vs. Utah and I for one cannot wait. I absolutely revel in the fact that no one is giving the Rockets a chance this year. It's exactly what happened when the Rockets were on a 12 game winning streak and Yao went down, and we know how that went. Anyone saying they thought the Rockets would win 55 games, that is not a Rockets fan, is lying. And yet that's exactly what they did. A record that is one game better than Utah's, something that everyone seems to forget.
Tonight the Utah Jazz come into Toyota Center for Game 1 of the NBA first round series between the two.
The series will be played as such (ALL TIMES IN CST):
Gm. 1:Sat., April 19: at Houston, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Gm. 2:Mon., April 21: at Houston, 8:30 p.m. (TNT)
Gm. 3:Thu., April 24: at Utah, 9:30 p.m. (TNT)
Gm. 4:Sat., April 26: at Utah, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Gm. 5*:Tue., April 29: at Houston (TBD)
Gm. 6*:Fri., May 2: at Utah, (TBD)
Gm. 7*:Sun., May 4: at Houston, (TBD)
* if necessary
For some reason ESPN had the game at 9:30 CST until this morning, and I checked NBA.com as well and the game is now set for 8:30 CST.
The match ups:
Point Guard:
Bobby Jackson, Aaron Brooks (Rafer Alston in Game 3) vs.
Deron Williams, Ronnie Price, and Jason Hart
Rafer Alston should be the starter here, and as much as he has killed me at times this year, he has impressed me as well. If he would simply stop having mental lapses in games and realize that he is a good, not great, passer, things will fully click. He's out for at least the first two games of the series and should return for Game 3 in Utah. Bobby Jackson will get the starts and probably run the game about 50/50 with Aaron Brooks. Brooks has been tutored well by Jackson and his game is very similar to Jackson's from about 5 years ago. That is a very good thing. Bobby has settled down his penetration as he is getting older, but his shot is still pretty solid and he can drive the lane, and will, when it is there.
Deron Williams is the only PG of consequence here, though Ronnie Price has run the offense well in the few games I've seen while D-Will was on the bench. Jason Hart hasn't been playing lately much and rightfully so. Williams recently hurt his tail bone on when Carmelo hit him hard with a flagrant foul and he hit the court. It did not seem to bother him too much against the Rockets the next game, but he sat out the second half (not reading anything into this) against the Spurs. Here is a list, in order, of the best points in the league: 1. Chris Paul 2. Steve Nash 3. Deron Williams 4. Not one of the Rockets, so you get the point.
Advantage: Utah Huge, but Houston decidedly will win the battle when D-Will is on the bench. Williams averages 37 minutes a game, expect that to go to 39 or 40 in the playoffs. So the Rockets need to take advantage for the 8 or 9 minutes he is sitting.
Shooting Guard:
Tracy McGrady and Luther Head vs.
Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer and CJ Miles
Tracy McGrady needs to stop being Tracy and get back to being TMac. The TMac that averaged 30 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in the playoffs before last season took him down to 28.8 PPG. TMac decidedly did not lose playoff games, the teams around him were very sub par or in the case of his first year in Houston, not the better team. That TMac drove the lane, destroyed a player for standing in front of him and did everything he could to win. Last year, and I know it's crazy sounding considering he had 29 points and 13 assists, in game 7 he simply did not take over when it counted. He shot only 4 shots in the entire 4th and played scared. Before that he was dominating. I'd rather have 4th quarter TMac then full game Tracy. Please come back!! Luther Head is the worst entry passer in the NBA, but his shooting can make up for it. As I said in a previous post, unless your name is Tracy McGrady then you should never pass to Chuck Hayes or Dikembe Mutumbo, period.
I must confess that I'm sure exactly how their rotation is run here. Kyle Korver gets a lot of minutes, as does Ronnie Brewer, but I bet both play Small Forward as well. Korver is a deadly shooter that was exactly what the team needed to turn back into the 90s Jazz and play the Hornacek to DWill Stockton and Boozer's Malone. Brewer is one of my favorite young players in the league, and CJ Miles should have gone to Texas and played with DJ, KD and Damion James. Both are good players, with Brewer having the ability to borderline great in about a year or 2. But this year, they are not a match for Tracy OR TMac.
Advantage: Houston, HUGE
Small Forward:
Shane Battier, occasionally Tracy McGrady and very rarely Carl Landry or Luis Scola
vs.
Andrei Kirilenko and Matt Harpring
Shane Battier is bar none the defensive player of the year. Just because he does not have crazy eyes like KG does not mean KG is better this year. Yes, KG is a much better overall player, but is not always asked to D someone up. Shane is our go to defender, the guy asked to stop the other teams SG or SF. Unfortunately Shane doesn't have someone on the Jazz that he needs to stop that is a super star. Luckily though, the Jazz rely a lot of their extra scorers and Shane should be able to stop most of Kirilenko, Brewer and Korver's offense. Shane is banged up but it does not appear to be anything serious. The Rockets will get his peak effort this series, no doubt.
Kirilenko and Harpring are guys I love to hate, but every team in the league would love to have them in the fold. They play suffocating defense and are just dirty enough to get under the skin of other players, but not actually be considered dirty players. That's a tough line to tippy toe, but they do it fantastically. Kirilenko is the better scorer, but Harprings offense is underrated.
Advantage: This is a tough one, but I have to with Rockets, but only because when Tracy plays SF this puts it in Houston's favor, though his minutes at the three are way down. Shane is the better overall defender because he plays hard every second of the game, the same cannot be said of Kirilenko as he can have full game lapses where he disappears. Harpring is all out energy, but is not a starter in the league. Kirelenko can be one of the better offensive 3s in the game, but again disappears too much for my liking.
Power Forward
Luis Scola, Carl Landry and Mike Harris (also Chuck Hayes) vs.
Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap
Luis Scola has emerged as a very good power forward. His motor is non-stop and there are only two downfalls to his game. 1. He travels a little too much, though he is called for it repeatedly even when he doesn't actually break the rule and 2. Because his energy level is so high, he picks up 1-2 ticky tack fouls a game and 1-2 phantom fouls because officials inexplicably will call anything on the guy that is more active. Carl Landry has been down a bit as of late, but I fully expect to see him step it up on the large stage that is the playoffs. The pick and roll came back pretty strongly in a few games lately and I expect that to continue. The PF depth on the Rockets is incredible. Even if Luis Landry gets in foul trouble, Chuck Hayes can come in and is one of the few guys in the league that can actually play good defense on Boozer.
Carlos Boozer is a stabber of a blind guy in the back kind of guy. I still firmly believe he has no business being in Utah. Now to get off my soap box, the NBA is a business and that saga is over. Boozer has turned into a very good all around player, though he absolutely can have lapses on the defensive end. His offense more than makes up for that and against the Rockets he rarely misses his high arcing jumper. From reading a few things, it seems that he misses it more against other teams. I'm not sure why that is, but I guess some players just have teams they excel against. I am starting to hate him on Karl Malone type proportions, and that's a really big compliment to his game since he's not a dirty player in any way (like that a-hole Malone inarguably was). Millsap is a good player that plays with energy. He is not, however, even in the same class as Luis Scola, no matter how many Jazz fans try to compare the two. My guess is that some team is going to way overpay him when he becomes a free agent and he'll be another cautionary tale to GMs.
Advantage: Utah, but it's not nearly as big as some people are trying to make it out to be. There is not some huge front court advantage as I repeatedly read about, but there is an advantage.
Center
Mount Mutumbo and Chuck Hayes vs.
Mehmet Okur and Jaron Collins
Mutumbo has tailed off a bit as of late, but really thrives on attention. The playoffs are just the kind of attention grabber he needs to step his game back up. Unfortunately the Jazz don't really have a center, they have a tall guy that plays center like a Small Forward. That means we will see a lot of Chuck Hayes at the 5. Chuck will frustrate Okur on the defensive end, and will frustrate Rockets fans on the offensive end. Not because he's not a relatively competent player on that end, but because Luther Head and Rafer Alston continually give him the ball in the wrong spots.
Mehmet Okur is a good player, he's not nearly as good as the Jazz offense makes him look, but lucky for him, that is the offense that he gets to be a part of. His 7 rebounds a game seem to me to come because other teams forget about him, but that's really a credit to his game. Jaron Collins is awful, plain and simple awful.
Advantage: Jazz I guess? Neither team is inspiring, and just the hole that Yao leaves gives this to the Jazz.
Coaching: Adelman's offense vs. Sloan's offense, but JVGs defense vs. Sloan's "defense". Personally I hate Jerry Sloan and think his offensive is just to out-thug the other team. Adelman's offensive is a thing of beauty, and when the Rockets run it, the efficiency is incredible. This will boil down to how well Adelman can get Tracy to be TMac and how effective the Rockets defense is on the Jazz pick and roll.
Advantage: Adelman, very slightly. Both have gone to the finals twice, but Adelman's offense doesn't call for an illegal "pick and roll" to work (And while it is less so with Boozer and D-Will than it has been in the past, they move a great deal). Adelman also has a .614 winning percentage to Sloan's .603, not to mention a .507 playoff winning percentage to Sloan's .497.
Offense: Next year this will go to the Rockets, this year it is decidedly in Utah's favor. There was an ESPN poll on this and 23.2% said that the Rockets had the better offense. That's just awful, be a homer, but don't be stupid. That leads to the next category:
Defense: In every possible way, and 7 times on Sunday, the Rockets win this. They have the best individual defender in Shane Battier and play better zone and better man to man. It's not close. Yet for some reason, the question on ESPN has had 41.6% of the votes go the way of the Jazz. That is one of the dumbest votes I've ever seen. Even Jerry Sloan would tell you that his team's defense isn't even on the planet as the Rockets defense.
Bench: This should go to the Rockets, but is a lot closer with Yao out and Mutumbo or Chuck Hayes having to start. And I'm assuming Rafer comes back sooner than later. I still believe the Rockets have the advantage.
So given all of that, what does it tell me? It tells me that whichever team wants this more will win, and every advantage helps. The piece that puts it over the top for the Rockets is Home Court Advantage for me.
Rockets in 7, get ready for an epic series!
Let's go Rockets!!!!!
Stay tuned to see exactly what the bet between The Dream Shake and My Utah Jazz is.
Message from a former champion athlete
Prediction: Houston Rockets in 7.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
ESPN is On Notice
A double-barreled middle finger to you, ESPN:
You are all On Notice now!
Hollinger picking Utah really hurts... he was the driver of our bandwagon for so long!
State of the Union Address: Houston Rockets
We are officially in Playoff Mode. And the Houston Rockets are prime participants in this glorious adventure of basketball played at its highest level over the next 2 months. And Lee and I got everything we asked for when it comes to the playoffs. Bring on the Utah Jazz. Who I hate. So very, very much.
Game 1 is Saturday.
I therefore present the 2008 State of the Union Address for your Houston Rockets.The Houston Rockets are a Team. With a capital "T." Yes, we have a future Hall of Fame elite-level superstar in one Mr. Tracy McGrady. Yes, we also had another future Hall of Fame center in Yao Ming (until Tuesday, February 26th). But there is no ego among this group. There is no "I" in this "team"... and if necessary, they would even mis-spell "team" to leave out the "me" just to prove the point.
Need a defensive stop? Battier, Mutombo and Chuck Hayes are on it.
Need an offensive rebound in traffic? Enter Luis Landry (hey! I haven't been able to use "Luis Landry" in a while! It's good to have it back in the vocabulary!)
Need a bucket? Say hello to T-Mac. No, not Tracy. T-Mac.
Need a laugh? The Cookie Monster has that covered. And if you don't laugh, he's going to wag his finger at you.
That said... let's take a look at the pieces that have contributed to the Playoff-Bound-Houston-Rockets. Oh, and we have homecourt advantage again. Suck it, Utah!
Tracy McGrady
It begins and ends with T-Mac. Last year, McGrady said it was "on him" - probably to relieve the pressure that may have been on Rafer and Chuck and Shane and, well, pretty much the whole team. This year? See above about that whole "team" thing. T-Mac needs to facilitate the offense and NOT shoot those transition threes. In fact, no jump shots, Tracy. No. I want to hear nothing but this for the next 4-7 games:
That's it.
Luis Scola
My new favorite Rocket. Well, other than Yao. Yao is a badass, but he is not walking through that door right now. As I told ESPN yesterday, Luis Scola is the x-factor of this entire series. What we were missing against Utah last year was someone willing to mix it up and not back down to the dirty, dirty Jerry Sloan tactics. Prepare to be undercut, back-picked and flopped to death Houston fans. Luis Scola can fortunately give as well as receive.
Rafer Alston
He's hurt? Good. I didn't want to have to say nice things about him and then jinx the rest of the team because of it.
Moving along.
Shane Battier
The Defensive Player of the Year. And I don't care what anyone says about KG. Shane is DPOY. This series, Shane is going to probably match up with Andrei... who isn't exactly Kobe, LeBron or Carmelo. It's okay though, Shane - you'll get to stop Kobe in two weeks' time. Just be patient!
Dikembe Mutombo
The living, breathing, perfect example of why you ALWAYS have a competent backup center on your roster. Always. Imagine the Rockets with no Yao and no Deke, either!?!? Scary.
Bobby Jackson
He who shall replace Rafer for the next 2-3 games. I was happy when we traded for Bobby J. And I have every bit of faith in him. right now. Daryl Morey is a genius you know - he picks up a vital contributor AND dumps a locker room cancer in Bonzi all at the same time. Brilliant!
Bobby Jackson just needs to stay in front of Deron Williams. Yes, I know... much, much, MUCH easier said than actually done. Bobby can just get in his head and get Deron to go off on the refs, maybe? It worked last time!
Carl Landry
Along with Scola, the missing piece(s) to the puzzle. A year ago, the Rockets started Chuck Hayes and relied heavily on Juwon Howard. Yes, Juwon. Remember him? This year? I think we upgraded massively by getting Scola AND Landry. Landry may not be 100% healthy, but if he's even 90%... and willing to dunk on Boozer's head... well, I'm excited at the mere thought.
Chuck Hayes
A starter last year, and the 7th Man this year. Possibly the strongest man on the team. He can't shoot free throws for his life, but we love the guy. You know he'll do the dirty work and get rebounds. Just do not pass him the ball on the run or in traffic!!!
Mike Harris
Yes, I am listing Harris this high. He could be a HUGE factor for us in this series. The guy is a rebounding machine who has a nose for the ball. He has big hops and, like Landry, just wants to dunk on your head. I hope Ricky is willing to use him more. Granted, he can't shoot very well, but this isn't going to be a "pretty" series... those that want it more will decide who wins. All about the hustle and the dirty work. Or in the case of Utah... dirty plays.
Steve Novak
Yes, our token white guy shooter dude. I dare you to leave him open, Utah. I double dare you.
Aaron Brooks
The rookie blur. Yes, our rookies are better than your rookies, Utah. Brooks might be an even bigger factor than we thought two weeks ago. Rafer is out, and Aaron may be needed to penetrate the Utah defense. Brooks' increased ability to make long-range shots the last month is just an added bonus!
Loren Woods
I do not want to see him enter a game. Ever. Because it means we are down by 20 or more. This is not an option.
Yao Ming
Yeah, how awesome would it be for Yao to walk on the court to start Game 7?
---
These are your Rockets. Ready for some playoff action.
And Tracy? No. More. Tears.
(cue Ozzy Osbourne.)
