Where nobody knows your name

Go Rockets!

Game 5: Where Utah takes the night off

Oh yeah! *That* was beautiful!!!

If you had told me a team would win by 26 points last night... I'm not going to lie, I would have suspected the winner would have been Utah. The Rockets are not exactly built to win playoff games by 26 points. We grind it out, wear you out - and then win by 5.

Utah disappeared last night. There is no other explanation.

Not that I am complaining - watching the Rockets kick ass and take names brought back fond memories of February and March. Good times. It also reminded me of 1994 and 1995. Even better times.

And, yes, the Rockets' defense is that good. Now you have more evidence.

Additionally, McGrady showed up for the fourth quarter, finished with 29 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists (and one gorgeous Kobe-esque fake-out of Andrei in the fourth quarter). Of course, McGrady did get a little jump shot happy and took about 4 more three-pointers than he should have (1-4 on the night). Nevertheless, he somehow finished with a 50% shooting night! A friend reminded me this morning that this is the first time in 23 games or so that McGrady shot 50% or better. Is T-Mac back???

Your obligatory Luis Landry line:

26 points (10-20 FG, 6-7 FT), 17 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists.

The Rockets won when Shane Battier couldn't do anything on offense. The Rockets won even though we let Luther Head sneak into the game for 14 minutes. Luther did absolutely nothing in those 14 minutes, but hopefully Ricky saw that and duct-tapes Luther to his locker before Game 6.

Of course, the most impressive thing about the whole night?

The Rockets shot 15-19 from the free throw line!!!
Only 4 missed FTs!!!

It's not record-breaking or anything, but I'll take 78% shooting from this gang any night.

The second most impressive thing about last night?

The Rockets won even though Steve Javie was the referee. Trust me, that scared the s--t out of me when Lee sent me a text message pointing out that Javie was in the building. Javie scares me and he is notorious for being unfriendly to the Rockets.

Bit of advice for Utah? Stop flopping...

Anyway, Game 6 is now 'necessary' (and Game 7 will be, too).

Go Rockets!

Let's Take This Thing to a 7th Game!

Last night was an absolutely wonderful experience. After complaining about the lack of fans in their seats prior to tip-off, by about 1 minute gone in the first the crowd was fully in place and rocking. I have been to Game 7 of the Finals, and to Game 3 of the Finals and it was not louder than it was last night. The arena was absolutely electric. Apparently only the real Rockets fans (and there are real Rockets fans that didn't make it) decided to show up for this game and I could not have been prouder of the fans for the first 46 minutes of the game. Utah Sucks chants (No, it's not classy, no I don't care), Let's Go Rockets, stomping and clapping left and right, it was a great experience. I do have to take a minute to whine about fans leaving early though. There is absolutely no advantage to leaving with 2 minutes to go in the game, none. Please, next time, sit your butt down and cheer for the team who just gave you your money's worth.

I'd also like to take a moment to say something to the guys over at MyUtahJazz and here goes: FU guys! FU completely! Stop being such nice, upstanding, good fans that I feel like I have to defend Jazz fans! I really liked living in my world that assumed all Jazz fans were a-holes, that whined incessantly and went home with their ugly wifes. Now I know that most Jazz fans are good people that just love their team and aren't any more irrational about it than I am with my team. Seriously, screw you guys.

I've ridden him a lot in 3 of the first 4 games, and I will praise him as he deserves it, but Tracy was incredible last night. He didn't really change where he shot the ball from, he changed how he shot the jumper instead. He didn't fall away from the basket, instead he used repeated spin moves and picks to shoot jumpers that he was able to step into or jump straight up for. It turned into his first non-sub 50% shooting night in 23 games. Good job Tracy! Instead of using his knee as a limiter, he drove just enough that the Jazz were forced to think about it. That opened him up to a decent amount of clean looks at the rim and it paid off. Good game overall and finally a good 4th quarter.

The team moved the ball well and played phenomenal defense, we even got a few favorable non-calls on some ridiculous flops by the Jazz. I loved every minute of being there last night.

Now we just have to take care of business in Utah to bring it home!

Game 5: Where I better be going home happy!

Yeah, guess who got a ticket to the game tonight?
(Other than Lee, dammit!)

...

that's right -- me!

So I'll be eating and drinking in one of the suites while the Rockets fight their way back and hopefully make a legitimate series out of this whole thing. We win tonight and Utah *has* to win Game 6. No way we lose Game 7 if we can force it.

And Tracy, if I hear one complaint about the coaching, your shoulder/back/knee or why Matt Harpring isn't playing nice with you... I am going to snap faster than the Principal in Billy Madison would have if anyone got caught cheating. Joe Johnson scored more points in the 4th quarter last night against Boston than you have combined in four 4th Qs against Utah so far. And Boston plays MUCH better defense than Utah. You have no excuses. None.

Not to sound like Al Davis, but... just win, baby!

(I've just been informed I am not allowed to cuss during tonight's game. I promised I would behave. Don't make me have to break my promise, guys... please don't do it.)

Game 5, Win or go Home

Why is it that I always get busy whenever the Rockets have something big going? Work has been nuts this week and while I have had a ton of thoughts, I haven't had the time to put them down on the blog. Pair that with the fact that my new laptop didn't get here until today, and my old one has decided to not allow typing on a consistent basis and you get a gap in posts. Luckily, or unluckily if you don't like emotional craziness (I happen to be amused by it), Dave has filled in during my absence, never skipping an F-Bomb laced, TMac not driving the lane hating, beat.

Tonight the Rockets take on the Jazz in Game 5 of the first round of the NBA playoffs. If they win, it's back to Utah, if they lose, it's back to the drawing medical ward to hope and pray Tracy and Yao can finally stay healthy for an entire season together. I will be there, live and in person, sitting all by myself screaming my head off. Dave is still trying to find out if he will get a ticket from a friend, but hopefully we will both be in the building.

If we win tonight (and I'll be honest, it will have to be a hard fough win), the Jazz better watch out because this series WILL go 7. And even though the Jazz are the better team with Yao out, they might not be able to win the series in that 7th game.

On a quick note: Tracy, suck it the fudge up, stop whining. Either you can play or you can't. If you can, I do not care one bit how much you have to go through to get there. That 19MM is a good soother of sore knees.

Additional reasons to hate Karl Malone

Not that it should take much energy or effort to hate Karl Malone... the guy is a certified ass-clown, but today we have more evidence supporting the cause:

http://www.deuceofdavenport.com/2008/04/karl-malone-father-of-year.html

(The "Father of the Year" label for Mr. Malone is sarcastic - just in case you were wondering)

Where to lay the blame?

Yes, the referees were awful (to both teams, but they killed the Rockets at the end)

Nevertheless, THIS is why the Rockets lost:



Take a close look at that. 36.7% FG shooting. 31% from deep. Another sub-70% night from the free throw line. (Thanks for that 4-8 effort at the line Tracy. Thanks a lot.)

McGrady misses 16 shots.

Bobby Jackson misses 90% of his shots. Including a layup the Jazz were conceding at the end. Nice touch.

Luther Head fired off two shots as fast as he could. And missed.

Why the hell is Rafer Alston shooting 18 times?

Luis Landry had a combined ten shot attempts. Most of those were on putbacks from McGrady and Bobby Jackson bricks.

For a team that plays such great team defense... the team offense was like a street ball game. First player to touch the ball shoots. That made it really easy for Utah to defend us. Look closer. The Rockets somehow converted 29 shot attempts successfully. Less than 50% of those were assisted by a teammate. How do you go through an entire game with only 14 assists?

Of course, what you can't see in this boxscore is McGrady attempting all of one shot in the 4th Q, and mostly standing around the three point line the whole time. Rafer was doing his best Steve Francis interpretation by dribbling out the shot clock. Bobby Jackson was doing his best John Starks impression. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

So, in conclusion, yes, I still think the refs hosed us on the Okur rebound at the end. But the reason the Rockets lost (since McGrady seems to savor the available excuses) is because the Rockets could not run, shoot or pass. Not necessarily in that order. Oh, and it would have been nice to give Mike Harris a chance. I still maintain that is a lost opportunity to match-up better against Utah.

That said - the Rockets are going to win Game 5. That means Game 6 will be the key to everything, because the Rockets will win Game 7 if they can force it.

Game 4: Where the Rockets got hosed

I'm not blaming the refs per se. The Rockets knew they wouldn't get any calls. They knew that the word "charge" is no longer in the rules unless Utah is on offense. Fine, no problem. We worked around it. Until the last 14 seconds where we got absolutely completely hosed by supposed veteran officials. What-the-fuck-ever.

Let me get this straight... if Luis Scola tries to rebound, it's a foul. Even if he has position and his hand on the ball? On the flip side, Okur can push someone in the back... step on them... kick the ball out of bounds on his own... and it's a foul on the Rockets!?!? Fuck that noise.

Of course, if Tracy McGrady could make a freakin' free throw this would all have been a non-issue. Or maybe stop taking 3s. I thought we had stopped doing that. I was wrong.

If Rafer Alston could have passed the ball to anyone in a Rockets jersey, that would have been nice, too. Rafer, it's like Milton and Lumbergh's birthday cake... just pass. Just pass. Contested three pointers are not generally a good offensive option. (Granted the one you made at the end was necessary and we are not talking about that one.)

If Bobby Jackson didn't get pwn3d by Ashton Korver on offense and defense... that would have been super. Not sure BJ could have played any worse tonight.

The ending was complete bullshit.
And - in hindsight - a completely predictable and shitty end to my shitty day.

Game 4: This one is different, this is important

The giddy hangover induced by Game 3 has somewhat subsided (only to be replaced by an NFL Draft hangover). The Rockets need another victory tonight in Utah. So far the Rockets are the only team to win twice in Utah this year. Though we kinda need to also be the only team to win three times now, too. It can be done.

Things to look for today?

1. Big game from Luis Scola. Scola has been productive, but he's not shooting very well in the first three games. If he can go up strong for layups and not try to avoid contact, he can draw fouls and take easier shots. I foresee a 8-12 FG, 20 point, 12 rebound game from Luis tonight. And his tag-team partner will be there as well. Just missing a tooth (a fake tooth, but still...)

2. Tracy McGrady to hopefully not revert to long-distance T-Mac. I was overjoyed that Tracy eschewed the three-pointer from his game on Thursday. I hope he maintains that approach and takes the ball strong to the basket again. If the box score has another 1-5 on 3s next to Tracy's name, that is not a good indicator for success tonight.

3. the Finger Wag. We haven't seen much from Dikembe this series. Tonight is the night he sets the tone early and gets a few early blocks (I hope!!). Wagging the finger at Utah Jazz fans would be particularly awesome, too.

Things I hope to avoid today?

1. Foul trouble. I anticipate a few lopsided calls in the Jazz favor tonight. I have no idea who the referees are just yet, but the Rockets need to know that the refs will likely not be bailing them out of anything and a couple ticky-tack offensive fouls on picks or push-offs is probably going to be called. Probably on Scola too; he's a bit handsy. Rise above it, Rockets.

2. A potential big game from Carlos Boozer. Men who stab blind men in the front for money do not deserve good karma. That said, Boozer has been relatively quiet so far. If he goes for 30+ tonight, we need to find a way to counter that (Scola? Landry? Battier? ... Mike Harris??)

3. This is huge. The Rockets MUST avoid an early deficit. It's one thing to make a 10 point comeback attempt at home. The Jazz are expecting a blowout still. An early sizeable lead would only instill confidence in guys like Kirilenko, Okur, Price and Harpring. Please do whatever it takes to keep Utah from feeling confident.

Prediction?

Nothing has gone according to plan this entire series. The Rockets will get an early lead, play aggressive defense and win another close one by converting free throws and not shooting ill-advised three pointers early in the shot clock.

Also, if I see Rafer or Bobby Jackson go underneath the pick when Deron runs the pick and roll... I might just snap. Deron is on fire so far. Do not go under the pick and give the dude easy looks!!!!! Don't do it!!!

Go Rockets! Bring the series back to Houston knotted at 2!

Not the best start to the day

Uhhh, let's hope the Rockets don't f--k up tonight the same way the Texans f--ked up their first round pick today. That was just... I don't even have the words. The Texans may have just made Matt Millen look smart by comparison.

Ugh.