I personally think it's on the Rockets. Something about their play just hasn't felt right. Truth, for me, it starts with Harden. I don't care what his numbers were, he just looked off and the team followed his lead.
I don't believe Spur is more talented, if they are it's not by far. The difference in gm 2 was Harden being really off and looking lost because Spurs was able to completely shut him out of the offensive rhythm. Gm 3 he seemed to regain that confidence and was playing with more fire but unfortunately our shooters were way off. I know offence is our biggest weapon to beat the Spurs but I really think we need to up that defensive intensity from tip-off to disrupt Spurs. We need to play harder and smarter. I would suggest starting both Nene and Capela together to counter the 2 bigs, grab some rebounds, close the middle and make them take contested 3s and at the same time continues to run.
I picked the Rockets. No team should have to deal with bad calls, but I think every team should PRESUME that they will get bad calls. This is a sport that gets calls wrong all the time. As a team, you just can't let up. Play like you have 10 fewer points than you actually have, just in case. I CAN be mad at the refs in any particular game, but I can't blame them for a loss unless the losing team was playing at a high enough level that the calls really were the difference. The Rockets are almost always NOT playing at the top of their game when they lose. When they are at the top of their game, they'll obliterate most teams and ref calls won't matter in the final decision. The Rockets comprise the players and also the coaches and GM. San Antonio made adjustments; the Rockets have to adjust to their adjustments. If they CAN'T adjust because they're so focused in on a particular system, it's their fault. You have to have contingencies for when the threes aren't dropping and/or the lane is closed.
The refs make some bad calls... The Spurs do their jobs... I hate to say it, but the primary culprit is the guys in red... whether its lack of necessary adjustments.. missing open shots... roller coaster intensity... sometimes, just stupid play... and imo too much gimmicky play (like playing for the foul instead of a bucket) and not enough fundamentals (like boxing out)... but hey, it's just year 1 in the MDA era with Ryno, Eg and Lou all being new to the team... so hopefully this offseason we can add a monster of a big, swap some 'projects' for spot time diminishing vets and be in a better position to truly contend next year...
Hate doing this and blaming things on the refs. We were still down, but they turned the game around and killed out momentum and helped the Spurs jump their lead quickly back up to 9 when we were on a roll. It was over from there after 2 to 3 bad calls in a row.
It's really impossible for me to pick one option because i really think it's a mix of all three, refs were clearly bad in both games, but the Spurs made some adjustments (Pau is better than Lee in every aspect basically) and i do think they're just a better team in terms of quality and balance, also, they have winning mentality, we don't (that's why i predicted them to win 4-2). But at the same time i also think the Rockets choked when they had a chance to strike...in game 2 we're down 5 coming back and we literally stop playing in the start of the 4th while we let Manu and Pau run and fly all over us like a bunch of b**** ass scrubs. In game 3 Ryan -> no show...Lou -> no show...Nene and Pat really had little to no impact...Harden played meh for too much time too...when we were coming back in the second half, down 3 (60-57) he had an absolutely terrible turnover for making a very lazy pass to someone next to him, which got stolen by Mills who scored a 3 a couple of seconds later...after that we missed a shot and they got 3 free throw (Mills flop). So, we had the ball for the possible -1 or to tie the game, but in like 20 seconds we went down 9 again, and even if those 3 fts were pathetic, that pass by Harden wasn't better, it literally killed our momentum, that was the most important moment of the game, we were down 12, we come back, the crowd start to catch fire and suddenly we are -3, you just CANNOT throw a shitty pass like that in that moment. James need to step up in those moments, sometimes it's like he plays in slippers.
I'm just going to say it... this team lacks mental toughness! When calls don't go their way they get all twisted and argue or start lashing out, rather than digging in and moving on to the next possession... When James is having a bad game, he often ends up sulking... When everything goes well, it's a party... shimmy n stir... Faced with adversity... it's low tones, pissiness and nonchalance... where's the fire? They are are still melding... but we need better/more leadership...
Beard showed up in the 3rd to get us back in. Nobody else stepped up. Westbrook mvp voters are wrong. Its apparent that this is a 1 man team also
We beat them in the first game because 1) we were hitting our shots and 2) their bigs (Gasol and Aldridge) couldn't do anything against our front court. Since then, both situations have reversed. It's on us.
Agreed. For 3 games in the OKC series, we came out really flat and acted like we didn't want the game. This team doesn't show much fire / passion. February through April was like this, too, in the regular season. Then, we took game 1 against the Spurs by 30 and that might've been the worst that could happen to this team, mentally. They showed no fire in game 2, yet kept the game close before the final implosion. Game three, even D'Antoni said "A good test of this team will be to see how they handle 'the moment'", aka 'this adversity'. They showed us who they are. As mystifying at the officiating has been, you can't sulk about that. That should be fuel for your fire to go out and give some hard fouls on the other end and make some things happen. This Rockets team plays way too casually for my tastes. Disappointing.
Gee. The forum look has changed. I've been away all this season, successfully not watching a game at all during the regular season. I didn't miss it. Then on the very night the playoffs started I got an urge to see when they started on Root Sports and it was like an hour away that night (Sunday evening, as I recall). Some things really haven't change. D'Antoni Isp?) and personnel changes haven't really changed the "system" much. It's just that he's more on the same page with Morey's "system." After watching the first series with OKC, I knew there is no way the Rockets are going to the Finals as currently constructed. What's new about that? Even if the Rockets win Game 5 against the Spurs, I don't see them winning the series. The Spurs "system" logged 6 more wins ( I think ), than the Rockets "system" this season. I recall during that first blowout win against the Spurs that one of the announcers paraphrased a quote from D'Antoni, that of all the years he's coached he finally feels like he's gotten 100% of what he has wanted in a roster. His comments after losing Game 3 of this series indicates he, like Morey, is myopic about the "system." I don't get it. Look at the number of 2-point shots that Leonard makes (and has made) against defenses. Until common sense can be introduced into the analytics of the rockets system, they will be more subject to up and down performances, rather than a more dependable one. Popovich's analysis of how to throw a wrench into the Rockets system is basic, common logic. If the Rockets would reintroduce the 2-point shot as a higher priority in their choices of "what the defense is giving them," they would not be so easy to throttle. It's called playing basketball. More than likely, "over and out" (for both me and the Rockets) until next season... if even then. It really has been nice to not watch the regular season.
