Rockets blow it in the clutch, again...
The first few weeks of the season, it's been hard to tell who these Houston Rockets are. How should they handle team X versus team Y? Would Rick Adelman have this bunch playing the same aggressive, snarly defense Jeff Van Gundy brought to Houston? Would a motion offense or faster tempo change the fact that a few of these Rockets couldn't buy a basket even though they were wide open against the Utah Jazz in the first round?
Would we find out that Van Gundy was never the problem, that his offense wasn't sticky and that it comes down to having player who can knock down open shots?
It's still too early to answer any of these questions wholly, but a few things are clear to me after watching the Rockets blow it all in a 100-94 loss at home.
The Rockets have dropped five straight, including two mind numbing losses to the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies.
Matt Bullard might be right when he says don't panic just yet. I hope he's right, but history is not on his side.
For the basketball team whose fans coined the term "clutch city," there hasn't been a hell of a lot of clutch lately. It's been mostly choke, give up or make excuses.
Tonight was no different.
"We didn't execute tonight," Adelman said after the loss. Well, no shit Rick!
The excitement about these Rockets has been genuine and deserved. General Manager Daryl Morey racked up some of the best deals of the offseason--nabbing Argentine forward Luis Scola, Mike James, Steve Francis and Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry in the draft.
There's no question about it. The Rockets have the physical talent to beat any team in the NBA in a playoff series. On paper, they are championship caliber.
On the court, a different story has unfolded. There have been stretches and signs--Scola pouring in two consecutive 20 point games and Wells' monster rebounding effort against the defending champion Spurs--but that's it. We've seen flashes of how great this team could be, but then again, when the Rockets thumped the 76ers late in the season 124-74, we saw it then too.
What these soul-searching Rockets will find is that promise won't cut it when it counts. If the Rockets fail again this year and fizzle out of the playoffs, no amount of excuses will get them off the hook.
Morey did his job, now the players must do theirs.
After a stinging loss tonight, some observations:
1) Avery Johnson is a filthy liar. The man will play his starters 70 minutes if it allows him to beat a Texas rival. The man's greedy, he wants to win. Rockets fans can only hope the Mavs coach's audacity and competitive spirit will backfire again as it did against the Golden State Warriors.
2) When Tracy McGrady's jumpshots go in, he looks like an unguardable God. When they clank, he looks like a poor decision maker in the clutch who has never been out of the first round.
Bottom line: The Rockets will never win an important playoff game as long as T-Mac continues shooting crap jumpers. With 24 seconds left on the clock, the star guard has no excuse to pull up for a contested step back.
Give the Dallas Mavericks some credit. They can defend bad decision making. Despite a season high 12 assists, his mistakes were ample.
Until McGrady learns that attacking the rim is not about garnering a status quo highlight on Sports Center, he will be a perennial loser. When will this underachiever and former scoring champ live up to his promise?
When he slahes to the basket every time he touches the ball, I'll bat an eye.
I hope Adelman understands as I do that shit heaves like the one he threw up with less than 30 seconds to go tonight will NEVER get it done.
I said it last year and I'll repeat: the Rockets are only as good as their inside scoring. I love T-Mac and his wonderful talent, but I hate him for rarely living up to it. Dunks and layups impress me more than jacking up ill-advised threes, Tracy.
3) Yao Ming has made strides in becoming a more dominant low-post scorer, but there's still work to be done.
Yao becomes undefendable when he plays up to his height and skill set. If he plays like a 7-6" center with more moves than the crowd at an Earth, Wind and Fire concert, he will answer to no one.
Dirk Nowitzki has not proven he can guard any dominant low post players in the clutch. Just as in the Nov. 5 loss, Yao found himself in a one on one situation with the reigning MVP. Rather than aggresively swoop to the basket, Yao backed down and passed the ball. Pardon my language, but Yao needs to fucking charge at Dirk, dunk on his fucking defensive liable ass and secure a three point play.
It hurts to use such ungraceful language to describe a beloved player, but he must do this if he wants to win.
4) The Rockets must understand that in games against rivals and title contenders, nothing in the first three quarters matters. I wish I could applaud Battier's three point play early in the first quarter, but I can't. Such brilliance was not duplicated in the fourth quarter when it counted.
They sucked away a commanding 17 point lead and blew it all. Or maybe they just plain sucked.
Why does this team I love frustrate me so?
With the team learning a new offense from a new coach, Bullard might be right in not immediately pressing the panic button.
However, given that this team has not triumphed the first round in 10 years, I wouldn't get too comfortable either.
Stacked Southwest Division typifies NBA's problem
Those privvy to arguments about pro basketball in Texas have likely heard this one ad nauseum.
"You may have the rings San Antonio but we have the I-35."
This proclomation, eschewed by delusional Dallas Mavericks fans, is the disease ailing the NBA. Tom Donaghy sucked for certain, but this paradox could be far more damaging to this great game.
You see, anxious Mavs fans, the I-35 is decided by championships, not one playoff series win or a blowout regular season win. The Spurs win that category easily 4-0. Herein lies the problem: does anything in the regular season matter anymore?
Most NBA fans and aficionados already agree the preseason is a useless jokefest. Many teams took it about as seriously this year as Rob Schneider's Oscar chances. Translation: they laughed it off and figured they'd throw it together over the 82-game season.
But as pressure mounts for two teams in the Southwest Division, it's becoming increasingly clear that few give a rats ass about winning or losing in the regular season.
After trouncing, outplaying and mangling the defending champs 105-92 Thursday night in Dallas, the Mavs seemed to understand how meaningless the win was.
After all, great regular season performances from the North Texas boys the last two years have been nullified by two of the greatest playoff collapses in NBA history.
The only way the Mavs will topple the Spurs is by beating them in a playoff series and winning a championship. Dirk and co. took care of the first item two years ago with a tough overtime road win in San Antonio but forgot to close out Miami. The Mavs authored 67 wins the next season, 6th most in NBA history, including three against the Spurs, but -- well, you know.
Only when the Mavs hoist a Larry O' Brien trophy will they be able to claim superiority over Central Texas's pride and joy.
The same can be said for the Houston Rockets, who have yet to prove their lethal scoring combination of Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming can win them a playoff series.
McGrady is 0-6 in the first round and Yao is 0-3. The Rockets have ended their last two playoff appearances with game 7 losses in the first round--one a 40 point loss in Dallas and the other single-digit affair to the Jazz in Houston. In both series, Houston squandered a 2-0 lead.
Newly selected General Manager Daryl Morey contracted a flurry of offseason moves. He nabbed bruising Argentine power forward Luis Scola in a deal with the Spurs, lured guard Mike James back from Minnesota, rescued Steve Francis from his flailing career with the Knicks, made two solid draft pick choices with Carl Landry and Aaron Brooks and seemingly has the improved services of Bonzi Wells.
The Rockets' slogan this year, "It's Time," implores fans to believe this team is ready to win the big one.
It's all wonderful talk, but that's just what it is - talk.
No amount of regular season wins against the Spurs, Mavs, Suns or Jazz will change the expectations for this team. No one can judge this team's greatness until it lands a playoff series win. T-Mac torched the Jazz a few weeks ago in Utah with a 47-point performance that spurred a victory.
The players said afterward that the win served as somewhat of a game 8 victory. Here's hoping no Rocket player is that clueless.
The only way to erase a playoff collapse is to win in the playoffs, which leads me back to the all-important question: does the regular season matter?
LeBron's James's Cleveland Cavaliers look dreadful in the early going, the Chicago Bulls are stinking it up and the Miami Heat can't even keep a game against the young Seattle Sonics close.
The horrid starts these teams have managed may have shocked some of you. I loosely picked the Bulls to win the Eastern Conference. Jokes on me or is it?
Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich and Andres Nocioni anchor a deep, athletic Chicago team that many expected to rush out of the gates. The above question is applicable here.
If the Bulls land at least a top 5 spot in the conference and arrive at the Eastern Conference Finals, their 1-6 start will mean nothing.
The Cavs are the defending conference champs, and as such, will be the best team in the East until someone knocks them out of the playoffs.
When the Heat had a healthy Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O' Neal they overcame a 2-0 deficit to steal away the championship from the Mavs.
And can anybody call the Boston Celtics a surefire conference champion when they haven't proven the top three players can stay healthy the entire season. If Pierce, Garnett or Allen goes down for an extended period, it's over for Boston.
The Orlando Magic added Rashard Lewis's scoring to an already talented core of Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Carlos Arroyo and J.J. Reddick. But South Florida's other team suffered a first round sweep at the hands of the experienced Detroit Pistons and will be judged only by how far the amped up core can take them in May.
The Pistons have reached the conference finals five straight times, but lost the last two bids to reach the NBA Finals. Only the playoffs will reveal whether this veteran team gives a flip (this time, pun intended Coach Saunders).
The regular season matters in that wins decide playoff seeding. Sure. Wins against elite teams build character and toughness for tomorrow's hopeful. Indeed. Great teams use the regular season to prepare for May and June. Of course.
But beyond that, does the 82-game season matter?
Though it will be mesmerizing to watch and an entertaining spectacle, there are two Texas teams who would tell you probably not.
