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@  RocketMan : (26 June 2015 - 05:46 PM) I'll take them. No complaints. Dekker can score. Other guy will catch lobs all day.
@  jorgeaam : (26 June 2015 - 03:23 AM) So Dekker and Harrell were ranked 16 & 17 in Chad Ford's rankings, solid draft
@  txtdo1411 : (26 June 2015 - 03:11 AM) Nevermind. Should have known we were getting another 6-8 PF. I do like his tenacity. Versatility is definitely the theme here.
@  jorgeaam : (26 June 2015 - 03:08 AM) Called it
@  txtdo1411 : (26 June 2015 - 03:02 AM) Jo young reminds me of an Isaiah Canaan type of player with a tad bit more height. Would it be a reach at 32?
@  jorgeaam : (26 June 2015 - 02:55 AM) Ok, I'll stop calling out players
@  jorgeaam : (26 June 2015 - 02:52 AM) Montrezl Harrell and Kevon Looney (who many projected to be a lottery pick) still on the board, I'd say Rockets get one of them if available, specially Looney
@  jorgeaam : (26 June 2015 - 02:45 AM) Nevermind about RJ :(
@  jorgeaam : (26 June 2015 - 02:43 AM) They got Larry Nance Jr. he was projected as a late 2nd rounder
@  majik19 : (26 June 2015 - 02:42 AM) let's see who the Lakers get with the Jeremy Lin pick
@  jorgeaam : (26 June 2015 - 02:41 AM) RJ Hunter*
@  jorgeaam : (26 June 2015 - 02:41 AM) Some interesting players left, specially Rk
@  jorgeaam : (26 June 2015 - 02:38 AM) I'm still waiting for Morey to make a trade that will blow our minds
@  majik19 : (26 June 2015 - 02:29 AM) well i guess PG wasn't as big a need as we thought. Big sign that Beverly is going to be resigned?
@  jorgeaam : (26 June 2015 - 02:24 AM) Oh, he got traded to Minnessota
@  jorgeaam : (26 June 2015 - 02:13 AM) But I must say Tyus looks like the kind of players the Spurs will grab
@  jorgeaam : (26 June 2015 - 02:03 AM) Tyus might still be at 32
@  Cooper : (26 June 2015 - 01:51 AM) instantly wrong
@  Cooper : (26 June 2015 - 01:48 AM) Wright might still be there at 32
@  jorgeaam : (26 June 2015 - 01:46 AM) Grant is going to the Knicks for Tim Hardaway, so maybe Tyus

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Houston Rockets 109 Dallas Mavericks 121: No D in Dallas. Or rebounding. Did I mention no defense?


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#1 Red94

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    Posted 27 April 2015 - 08:25 AM

    New post: Houston Rockets 109 Dallas Mavericks 121: No D in Dallas. Or rebounding. Did I mention no defense?
    By: Mitchell Felker

    Do you believe in jinxes?  Because to me, they always seemed so silly.  In high school, guys who wouldn't wash their socks after big wins weren't insuring a repeat performance, they were only making their shoes stink.  I personally just never had much use for superstition (and certainly didn't need any help making my shoes stink).

     

    But jinxing was on my mind when I wrote the headline for Game 3's post-game coverage, "You may or may not want to consider thinking about possibly pulling out your brooms".

     

    I was a little cautious at first with the headline, afraid to outright upset mystical forces that I don't understand and/or believe in. But as I got to writing and re-watching some of the game, I couldn't help but notice how dominant the Rockets looked; Dwight snatching every rebound, Harden slicing and dicing the Mavs defense.  Even though it was a wire-to-wire game, the Rockets had absorbed two 30-point performances by Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis, and saw every trick in Rick Carlisle's toolbox and still came out on top.

     

    So if i was a little concerned at first that perhaps I was being too cavalier with the title, by the end it was all I could do to not out-and-out guarantee the sweep.

     

    But I was wrong: maybe jinxes really do exist, and Rick Carlisle definitely still has a few tricks up his sleeve.

     

    First off, Carlisle made the obvious decision to start JJ Barea and my new least favorite player in the whole world, Al-F@#% Aminu, in place of Raymond Felton and Richard Jefferson.  In all honesty, that should be an indictment of Carlisle, not praise.  Starting Ray Felton and Richard Jefferson?  What was he thinking?!

     

    But beyond just shaking up the starting five, Carlisle used Aminu as his own personal Kawhi Leonard, and was rewarded with a very Kawhi-performance: 16 points on 6-10 shooting and 3-5 from deep, with 12 rebounds (4 offensive), 2 assists and 1 block.  After doubling to force the ball out of Harden's hands in Games 1 & 2 and getting beat over the top, the Mavs tried playing him straight up in Game 3 and the Beard went off for a playoff career-high 42 points.  But last night with Aminu starting, Carlisle had him hound Harden one-on-one all night, keeping Harden out of the paint and even forcing a turnover on an eight-second violation after poking the ball away in the backcourt.

     

    And it wasn't just stifling defense; Aminu was all over the court, making plays on both ends.  He swatted a Harden layup into the second row in the first half, bullied Harden on the block in the fourth quarter for a vicious dunk and grabbed multiple offensive rebounds at the worst possible times.  The Rockets just had no answer for his energy.

     

    And speaking of energy: JJ effing Barea.  I could save myself some time and just copy & paste what I wrote about him after Game 3, but unfortunately for me (and Houston), I wasn't effusive enough for it to really work for Game 4.  Barea was even more aggressive last night, going for 17 points, 13 dimes, 3 boards and a steal.  As I've stated before, nothing Barea can do will ever take away how happy he made me in the 2011 Finals, but dammit if he isn't trying.  Patrick Beverley may not have have been able to make a huge difference against the likes of Steph Curry and Chris Paul, but boy do the Rockets miss him against the Mavs diminutive point guard.  He's just too quick and too crafty for elder statesmen Jason Terry and Pablo Prigioni, who both had terrible games with Terry missing eleventy open threes and Pablo providing next to nothing.

     

    Monta Ellis had another killer game, following his 34-point Game 3 performance with 31 last night.  He only hit two threes, but they were both back-breakers as the Rockets were trying to fight back from a 20+ point deficit.  Dirk Nowitzki wasn't quite as spry as he was in Game 3, but his timing could not have been worse for the Rockets.  It seemed like every shot he hit was either capping a big Mavs run, or hitting the breaks on one for the Rockets.  With Houston switching so much, Dirk had no problems finding a wing to backdown and shoot over.

     

    As for the Rockets, everything that they did well in Game 3 was missing last night.  Harden (24 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast & 2 stl) played decent, but hardly looked like an MVP candidate.  Aminu's length really frustrated him at times, and his usually solid post-defense was nowhere to be seen against Dirk and Aminu.  Trevor Ariza had, by my memory, his worst game as a Rocket.  He wasn't just a non-factor, he was a huge hindrance.  There were multiple times when he took the dreaded pull-up 19-foot jumper in transition that everyone knows the Rockets hate.  He did little to take advantage of Dirk's defense when he was matched up with the lead-footed German, and was a total non-factor on the boards, usually one of his strengths.  I was glad to see it wasn't just me that was so bothered by Ariza's performance, even Trevor himself noticed:

    Quote:

     

    "I take a lot of responsibility because I didn't play particularly well. I played with low energy. That won't happen again."

     

    But Ariza was hardly the only Rocket to play substandard.  Dwight Howard, so dominating on the glass in Game 3, couldn't be found after the first quarter of Game 4.  He started solidly, scoring 8 points in the first while abusing the Mavs big men on the block and out of the pick-and-roll.  But after the opening quarter, the Mavs were monsters on the boards and nothing Dwight did seemed to help.  By the end of the game, he wasn't even really fighting for rebounds anymore and the Mavs finished with ease.  And let's not even discuss his free throws.  After going 12-18 from the stripe in the first three games, he probably deserves some leeway, but 3-13 is unacceptable.  Josh Smith caught fire in the fourth quarter, scoring 18 points on 7-7 shooting (hitting 4 threes, including two dagger step-backs) in the final frame, and made a game out of a blowout. But even when paired with Howard, he couldn't help the Rockets on defense or especially on the glass.

     

    The Mavs had 16 offensive rebounds to the Rockets 7, and as Houston (read: Josh Smith) was fighting back at the end, Dallas grabbed back-to-back offensive boards leading to a Monta Ellis three-pointer that was essentially the nail in the coffin.  For some reason McHale went away from Terrence Jones as the game went on, but he still had an easy 13 and 6. McHale admitted afterward that he should have played Jones more, and he certainly would've helped against Dirk and on the glass.  Nick Johnson logged a few minuted for the first time this series. and although he didn't make much statistical impact, I wouldn't be surprised to see him log a few minutes in Game 5 as well.  His energy on defense was noticeable and he looks more capable of keeping up with Barea than the rest of Houston's backcourt.

     

    The truth is, Houston looked like a team that had a 3-0 lead and was playing on the road.  Everyone knew the Mavs weren't going to lay down, and yet the Rockets played like that's what they expected.  Things will be different in Houston on Tuesday, when the Rockets will look to close things down in Game 5.

     

    San Antonio and Los Angeles look like they're headed for seven, so there's still time to get some rest before round two, should the Rockets make it that far. (See what I did there?)


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    #2 thejohnnygold

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    Posted 27 April 2015 - 04:36 PM

    Forget the jinx.  Rockets just wanted to win at home.  It's by choice!

     


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    #3 majik19

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      Posted 27 April 2015 - 10:10 PM

      Just making sure - did you mention no defense? 

       

      The scary part is our defense wasn't any good in game 3 either... we were just even better offensively. 


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      #4 RocketMan

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      Posted 27 April 2015 - 10:20 PM

      We should make a few more threes and free throws this coming game to even things out enough to win.


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      #5 Mario Peña

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      Posted 27 April 2015 - 10:42 PM

      There are not many playoff teams the Rockets shouldn't run with but I think the Mavs have the personnel to out run and out gun Harden and company. Rockets need to control the boards, slow the tempo and use Johnson in the first half to tire and abuse Berea while preserving Terry/Prigioni for the second half.
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      Not all isolation plays are equal.


      #6 ClutchCityFan

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        Posted 28 April 2015 - 05:24 PM

        I was actually very happy to see coach put Johnson in the game but that missed wide open layup won't do him any favors. Hope he gets the start.


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        #7 bernardo

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          Posted 28 April 2015 - 11:22 PM

          Can we please not overract to a loss, please? Teams with 0-3 deficits have never come back to win the series. It has never happen, so odds are that it won't happen again. The 3 PT shot was falling for them, for us it wasn't. Few more threes by the Rockets and a little bit of defense (that wasn't there in game 3) will make the difference. Let's close this out tonight.


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