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.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Where to lay the blame?
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
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!
