Kleeman's Last Word

This isn't about T-Mac...Rockets choke in the clutch

When the Los Angeles Lakers need to thank someone for their miracle comeback in Friday's win over the Houston Rockets, they don't even need to nod at their own team. In the end, it wasn't Kobe Bryant's 53 points, the Lakers' cheer-igniting three pointers or Smush Parker's smothering defense on Luther Head that clinched the victory. It was the Rockets choking in the clutch. Again.
If the Rockets hadn't coughed up their commanding 21 point lead in the second half, none of the above three factors would have mattered. Houston blew it and they blew it big time. Something to the tune of 24 turnovers (more than 16 of which came in the second half), including a silly foul on Kwame Brown with less than a minute in regulation and as usual, that God-awful display of shooting. Managing 4-14 from behind the arc with the crop of shooters this team possesses is inexcusable.
Friday's loss wasn't about the absence of star guard Tracy McGrady. The Lakers played without Lamar Odom and ended on a high note, so missing a key player does not qualify as a valid excuse. The double-digit loss isn't owed to playing back-to-back nights on the road. The San Antonio Spurs played twice in a row this week and won both games.
No, this loss is about something deeper than personnel. The rockets have the players, the talent and the veteran experience. They just don't want it. I'm talking the Larry O' Brien Trophy. No other team in title contention would drop a double digit lead in a game this crucial, in a moment so highly-judged. The Rockets had an opportunity to quell the naysayers on national television and instead they blew it. Again.
The Rockets had every reason to stomp all over this B- Laker team. Kobe and co. visited Houston earlier this week and dished an upsetting loss. Thursday night, the Rockets fell to Don Nelson's Golden State Warriors, a team who can only win by enforcing an underdeveloped run-and-gun style of basketball. The Rockets should have been anguished enough to commit murder and in the first half, things seemed to be going in that direction. Houston ended the first 24 minutes ahead by 18, fueled by the superb defense of Shane Battier and the unstoppable inside touch of Yao Ming (he would also finish the night with 8 blocks), but they closed the game looking like a sickly bunch of 20 and 30 somethings who just contracted E. Coli from a Taco Bell outing.
While two road losses by themselves aren't much cause to hit the panic button, moving to 14-9 on the season is. The Rockets don't need T-Mac to earn a deep playoff berth. They need to finish what they start and learn how to make the ball go in the basket more often. The Lakers outscored the Rockets by 12 in the third quarter and by 6 in the second. The Rockets blew it. Again.
The Rockets saved themselves from a loss to Chicago, after dropping a dynamic 21 point lead. They had dropped a 19 point lead to San Antonio earlier in the week, losing that game by double digits. They led the Minnesota by a dozen in the third nearly a week ago, only to fall in the final minutes by 8. Notice a pattern here?
This isn't Game 7 of the Spurs vs. Mavs series last year, where San Antonio climbed back from a near 20-point deficit to tie, while Dallas still managed to shoot more than 50 percent from the field. No, this is pure slop, exuded from a group of guys who couldn't give less of a fuck if they had the entire City of Houston giving them the finger.
The Mavs and Spurs suffered embarrassing losses early in the season, but both of these other Texas teams have exacted the proper revenge. The Spurs lost by 9 in Golden State a few weeks ago. They returned the next week to beat the Warriors by 40 points, behind 75 points from their high-octane bench.
How long will Houston fans have to wait before the above scenario describes their Rockets?
I have stuck behind Jeff Van Gundy through the last few years of the Rockets' struggles but I can't stand idle any more. Not with this many blown leads to so many inferior teams.
If Van Gundy values his coaching job in Houston, I suggest he get his team's act together so they can maintain the massive leads they begin each game with.
Yes folks, the Rockets blew it. Again.
Van Gundy doesn't have many more agains.

posted by Robert Kleeman @ 11:07 PM