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@  SadLakerFan : (16 September 2015 - 04:37 AM) Man, as a Laker fan, I'm learning how little you care about the off season when your team sucks. Anyway, a quick moment to remember Moses. Still remember watching the 81 team as a kid - losing record, NBA Finals. I would have cried w/joy if they could have beaten the Celtics.
@  jorgeaam : (15 September 2015 - 08:30 PM) http://bleacherrepor...ist-after-crash
@  jorgeaam : (15 September 2015 - 08:30 PM) So to celebrate his new contract, Montrezl Harrell saved someone's life on monday
@  thejohnnygold : (14 September 2015 - 04:36 PM) A good article from Blinebury talking about when Hakeem and Moses used to play in the park. LINK
@  rockets best... : (14 September 2015 - 02:29 AM) I agree totally. I got to watch his Rocket days and the man was a hell of a player. BIG MO R.I.P.
@  Mario Peña : (13 September 2015 - 05:24 PM) Sad to see Moses pass. I don't remember watching him as a Rocket but I do remember his Philly and Hawks teams. He was the perfect man to mentor Dream. It's a very sad day for his family and friends and there are many.
@  majik19 : (12 September 2015 - 09:01 PM) i just saw a post wishing Yao Ming a happy 35th birthday... am I the only one whose mind is blown that he's only 35?
@  cointurtlemoose : (08 September 2015 - 01:17 AM) aaaah, thanks jorge
@  jorgeaam : (08 September 2015 - 12:21 AM) Love it how Hinkie and Morey always target the same players, but hoping he isn't another Covington
@  thejohnnygold : (08 September 2015 - 12:03 AM) Christian Wood has signed with Philly
@  jorgeaam : (07 September 2015 - 10:32 PM) If I'm not wrong, he hasn't been waived yet, they have until october 4th to do that
@  cointurtlemoose : (07 September 2015 - 05:39 PM) Anyone else surprised that Kostas hasn't gotten picked up by anyone yet? I wanna see that guy play somewhere
@  redfaithful : (05 September 2015 - 10:48 PM) Llull line from today loss to Serbia: 30MIN 1-10PG, 0-5 3PG, 4-4FT 6AST, 1TO, 4REB, +/- -11
@  Losthief : (03 September 2015 - 02:27 AM) this dude's gun fired and all he got a misdemeanor at bush lol: http://abc13.com/new...ush-iah/815795/
@  Losthief : (03 September 2015 - 02:26 AM) theres more articles all over, but the jist is houston (and texas) doesn't really arrest for it, they just recommend you leave it in your car when they catch it. So seems dwight got lucky he was in texas and not cali or the NE.
@  Losthief : (03 September 2015 - 02:22 AM) honestly we should just be glad they caught it...
@  Losthief : (03 September 2015 - 02:21 AM) response: http://nymag.com/dai...n_airplane.html
@  Losthief : (03 September 2015 - 01:42 AM) one bullet left in the chamber is diff than fully loaded and ready to go. Still stupid...but not like he was prepared for a shooting spree.
@  jorgeaam : (02 September 2015 - 09:33 PM) http://www.tmz.com/2...t-get-arrested/
@  jorgeaam : (02 September 2015 - 09:33 PM) So according to TMZ (I know, I know) Dwight Howard had an incident last month in which he took a loaded gun into an airport, but he was allowed to give it to a friend to take it back and wasn't arrested.

Photo

Would you rather...


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#1 Red94

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    Posted 01 May 2015 - 02:53 PM

    New post: Would you rather...
    By: Mitchell Felker

     

    ...have the only actual, functioning lightsaber or your very own dragon to ride?

     

    Wait, wait, wait.  Thats not what I meant.

     

    Basketball.  Spurs, Clippers.

     

    Game 7.

     

    Saturday night.  Staples Arena, Los Angeles, CA.

     

    Lob City and the last(?) ride of Tim Duncan and his Immortals.

     

    All for the chance to play our Houston Rockets in the second round of the Western Conference Playoffs.

     

    So, who will you be rooting for?

     

    I mean it has to be dragon, right?  Imagine showing up to work on that bad boy.  Or a first date?  Game. Over.

     

    But, then again, how can you turn down a lightsaber??  Even Han Solo wishes he had a lightsaber and he had an almost-dragon.

     

    Okay, okay.  Seriously.  Who should Rockets fans be rooting for tomorrow?

     

    There is a thread dedicated to this very question in Red94's forum, and it certainly leans "go Clippers", but not as much as I expected going in.  There's concerns about the never-dead Spurs, met with fears of what CP3 might do.  The Clippers short bench, matched with the Spurs tired legs.  You could really go round-and-round looking at the pros and cons.

     

    To me, it basically boils down to one question: After a grueling seven game series, with six days of rest for the home team and only two for the survivor, would you rather the Rockets face the Spurs aging depth, or the Clippers athletic trio and short bench?

     

    The case for the Clippers

     

    It all starts with what the Clippers don't have, and I mean more than just an NBA-level bench:

     

    Kawhi. Anthony. Leonard.

     

    Kawhi Leonard was basically put on Earth to stop James Harden from getting buckets.  He's long, strong and wildly athletic, with hands like a shortstop and the reach of a red-zone wide receiver.  If Harden is the puppeteer to the Rockets' marionette, Leonard is a giant rusty pair of scissors that wants to give him tetanus.  Harden was a mixed bag against Leonard this season, but in their final matchup of the season with so much on the line, and in the second game of a home-and-home to boot (similar to what things will be like in the playoffs, where teams have more time to scout and prepare), Leonard held Harden to just 16 points on 5-19 shooting, and did so without fouling (Harden shot only six free throws).

     

    And then, there's also that bench.  That dreadful, eyesore of a Clippers bench.  The bench that can't stay on the court, over-extends the starters and leads to tweets like this:

     

    The bench that had been leaning awfully hard on Glen Davis, and may have just ended his season.  It's being called a sprained ankle, but my first reaction - and everything I've seen since - was that he hurt his achilles.  I could be wrong, but either way, chances are he won't be 100% anytime soon.

     

    So what does that leave the Clippers' frontcourt?  A whole lot of Hedo Turkoglu and Spencer Hawes, who has played only eight minutes in the playoffs.  How sweet is it going to be watching Josh Smith come off that Dwight Howard screen and Hedo Turkoglu is scrambling to get back to him?  Doc Rivers is going to wish he had Dirk's lead feet on defense.  And if the Clips don't find minutes somewhere else, how long can Griffin and Jordan stay productive with all that wear and tear?

     

    And then there's Austin Rivers.  How effective is that sputtery high-dribble going to be with Corey Brewer lurking?  Good luck getting to the rim, Austin.

     

    But probably the biggest advantage to avoiding San Antonio: No Hack-a-Shaq.

     

    (And for the record, it is called Hack-a-Shaq. We don't rename the "Bird Rule" every time it's used on another player, it's simply "Team Y exercised the Bird Rights on player X".  Same with with Hack-a-Shaq.  That is the first and last time I will ever agree with Reggie Miller).

     

    There's no way Doc Rivers can play DeAndre Jordan 36.3 minutes per game and try to employ Hack-a-Shaq on Dwight or J-Smoove.  The level of hypocrisy required can't possibly exist in this, or any, universe.  Gregg Popovich, however, has mastered his most sinister of game plans and wields it like a Jedi with his lightsaber.  He could take a shining moment in recent-Rockets history and turn it into a three hour perversion.

     

    Yup, that's it - Popovich knows best - Lightsaber it is!  But only if it's one of those new ones that everyone hate-loved, and in Mace Windu-purple.

     

    The Case for the Spurs

     

    I still haven't completely figured out how the Spurs are hanging with LA in their series (OK, yes I have).  Tony Parker looks like 32 year old who has played 1200 games (plus international) with nary a rest for 13 straight years.  Tiago Splitter has barely played all series before last night and, while he was decent, is still limping around with a bum-calf.  Danny Green is slumping badly, and as for Manu Ginobili, well, see: Tony Parker.

     

    And while we're on the subject of age and health, when was the last time Dwight Howard looked this good?  Would you rather see him bang against DeAndre Jordan for 40 minutes and (possibly) wear him out, or feast on a 39 year old and a 240-pound stiff with a bad calf?  Dwight has had big games against the Spurs in the past, when their only option was to "unleash" Aaron Baynes against him, and is primed to do so again.

     

    Also, remember what JJ Barea did to the Rockets defense in the first round?  Well, Rajon Rondo isn't walking through that door, but Chris Paul very well could be.  The Rockets had no answer for a 5'9, 180 pound microwave and now we're supposed to be looking forward to matching-up with the best point guard since Isaiah Thomas?

     

    Then there's the sheer un-likability of the Clippers.  Maybe this is just a personal one with me, but they have been my least favorite team since the first time CP3 found Jordan for a backdoor 'oop.  Between Chris Paul's constant caterwauling and Doc Rivers' incessant, whiny stink-face, I can hardly stand to watch their games.  And if Blake Griffin is so likable, why does every other NBA big man hate him? (save for Tim Duncan, apparently.)  Of all people, Matt Barnes is the only one I like watching and he's the biggest ***hole of them all!

     

    Final Verdict

     

    Rahat is right: the answer is N.E.V.E.R. the Spurs.  I tried, for the sake of impartiality, to make a case for San Antonio and even very nearly wrote the sentence, "The Spurs may actually, finally, be running out of gas".  But I refuse to be one of those.  And remember that bit about Tony Parker and his 1200+ games?  Well, 39 year-old Tim Duncan and his near-1600 games blocked a Blake Griffin hook shot three days ago.  Let that sink in.

     

    The fact is, after taking a few notes and lining things up side-by-side, it just has to be the Clippers.  Plus, the possible joy of being the nail in the coffin for Duncan & Co. would hardly be worth the sheer terror of having to sit through a seven game series of Gregg Popovich's mind games.

     

    Either series would be a bitch, but only one might end with more scorn from those arrogant, bombastic Spurs fans we all know (I'm looking at you, Dean).  Let's go Clippers!

     

    Dragon, it's definitely 100% dragon.  Who needs a lightsaber when you can fly and breath fire?

     

    Gotta be dragon, right?


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    #2 John P

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      Posted 01 May 2015 - 03:40 PM

      Totally a dragon.  Now if the choice was a dragon or Jedi powers then I would take the Jedi powers (you could then mind meld any dragon to be your pet/friend/etc...   

       

      OK, I was totally leaning toward wanting the play the Spurs but then I realized it was only that if we had to lose to one or the other I really never, ever, ever want to lose out to the Clippers.  I just hate their wining way too much.   Also, I don't get the comment that anyone likes Blake Griffin. I hate all of his and CP3's commercials.  Really, is there no, less annoying players they could get other than those two.

       

      Then you got me with Leonard shutting down Harden, and that we stay pat with the Clippers on any hack-a-shaq strategy.  (honestly, if Josh Smith is on the court but not Dwight then we do hack as Josh is a better FT shooter than Jordan).

       

      Anyway, I also would really like to ram one down CP3's throat.   People should really troll behind Doc during the games in Houston and every time he throws up his hands, make his face, etc...the rest of the stadium does the same.

       

      Anyway, I can't believe that I will ever think/write/say this but....go clippers.


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      #3 cointurtlemoose

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        Posted 01 May 2015 - 05:34 PM

        Just commented in the other thread about how the Spurs aren't looking very Spursian this series...

         

        But then again, on the other hand, the Clippers already look gassed. Hedo even played last night in the 4th. If they advance, and if we come out ready to play and focused, I could see us taking both games 1 and 2 at home against an exhausted team.


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        #4 skip 2 my lou

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          Posted 01 May 2015 - 05:39 PM

          Jedi powers for sure.

           

          I guess I'm not as worried about CP3 tearing us a new one. I see Houston playing Ariza and/or Brewer on Paul when he starts to get hot which is better than having Terry or Prig. I would honestly like to see Johnson on Paul as opposed to Terry/Prig, but chances are he'd pick up quick knick knack fouls. LA NEEDS to have big nights from Griffin, Paul AND Jordan to have a chance.

           

          I hate the spurs and Pops use of the hack-a-shaq. It was unbearable for me to watch our last game with them as he started hacking with 8 minutes to go and wouldn't stop. I think Doc would let the boys play, that way Harden can be more involved when it counts. 

           

          I think our lob with Howard and Smith would be ineffective with Jordan and Griffin as they are way more athletic than SA. Also, the spurs would do nothing to change their gameplan. They can use the same strategy their using against the clips and apply it to us. We are not too different of a team to given them fits.

           

          I'm looking forward to seeing our secondary run over the clippers...and it's always nice to see the last opposing Texas team go down before us.

           

          Go Clips.


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          #5 hardenthepaint

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            Posted 01 May 2015 - 06:04 PM

            If the clippers win the rockets will have seen some of the best luck going back to anthony davis beating the spurs on the last night of the regular season. the fact that they have not run into a team that will employ the hack a shaq stratagey fiercely against them is eventually going to run out. if the clippers win thats great. thats litterally the only other team that wouldnt hack the crap out of us. but the warriors? the griz? the cavs? any other team with competent free throw shooting? if we want to go further, free throws will be a hurdle to cross. if its against the spurs then and we only see the inevitable sooner rather than later.


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            #6 thenit

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              Posted 01 May 2015 - 07:55 PM

              Spurs all the way, just because I rather have the ball in Harden's hands beating leonard rather than hoping that we can stop CP3 with our 40 year olds PGS


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              #7 Steven

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                Posted 01 May 2015 - 11:27 PM

                I want the light saber. Ain't gotta feed that. I own horses, so I'm afraid the dragon would eat'em.
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                #8 rockets best fan

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                Posted 02 May 2015 - 12:50 AM

                either matchup has pitfalls and advantages. the only reason I would like to see the Spurs is just like we touched up Dirks HOF resume' I sure wouldn't mind touching up Timmy's either with a Rocket playoff series loss :lol:


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                you can only warn a man that the bridge is out.....if he keeps driving he's on his own B)


                #9 clydesmoustache

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                  Posted 02 May 2015 - 06:46 AM

                  I think I have to go with San Antonio. A loss to either hurts but to lose to a team of a generation hurts less. I want Texans to succeed but deandres tantrums are just too frustrating to support. You know the one he does when he holds the ball jumps up and down all the way to half court. How he doesn't get T'd up more i don't know.

                  And if we win against san Antonio it is even sweeter. Toppling the old empire and laughing at their admirable but ruthless general!

                  Got to go with the Saber! Bad memories of dealings with Dragons. I thought he was great at first but he turned out to be a selfish egotistical turd. His name was Goran.
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                  #10 Incubus2803

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                    Posted 02 May 2015 - 04:16 PM

                    Ha, Goran.
                    Classic.

                    Edited by Incubus2803, 02 May 2015 - 04:16 PM.

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                    #11 majik19

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                      Posted 03 May 2015 - 03:58 AM

                      well, maybe we'll at least catch a break with paul's hamstring, so maybe our PGs and Paul will be on the same level athletically. 


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                      #12 08huangj

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                        Posted 03 May 2015 - 12:00 PM

                        8 of ten of ESPN's "experts" think that the Clippers will go to Western Conference finals. You gotta remember when half of the "experts" picked the Mavericks to advance and playoff Rondo to be back. And then the national media blames Parsons' and even Rondo's "injury" for the Mavericks lost. Nobody ever mentioned that the Rockets were without two starters.

                         

                        PS: Rondo's "injury" might've been a blessing in disguise for the Mavs, as they really didn't have a chance until game 3.


                        Edited by 08huangj, 03 May 2015 - 12:10 PM.

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                        #13 SadLakerFan

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                          Posted 03 May 2015 - 02:59 PM

                          8 of ten of ESPN's "experts" think that the Clippers will go to Western Conference finals. You gotta remember when half of the "experts" picked the Mavericks to advance and playoff Rondo to be back. And then the national media blames Parsons' and even Rondo's "injury" for the Mavericks lost. Nobody ever mentioned that the Rockets were without two starters.

                          PS: Rondo's "injury" might've been a blessing in disguise for the Mavs, as they really didn't have a chance until game 3.


                          Just got off an international flight to see the result of the game. Absolutely awesome; painful that I missed it. Clippers will be a tough matchup, with CP3 the best point in the L and Redick spacing the floor. Duncan and Leonard vs. Blake and Jordan down low will be epic. What a series.

                          I missed the game tonight but on the bright side, I have a business lunch in Ohio tomorrow and will make a 3 hour drive to be in Cleveland to see the Cavs-Bulls game 1 from a seat right behind the Bulls bench. Can't wait.
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                          #14 rocketrick

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                            Posted 03 May 2015 - 03:19 PM

                            either matchup has pitfalls and advantages. the only reason I would like to see the Spurs is just like we touched up Dirks HOF resume' I sure wouldn't mind touching up Timmy's either with a Rocket playoff series loss :lol:


                            Sorry Rockets Best Fan.........Can't touch Timmy now since he and his team has been eliminated.

                            Instead, can we make CP3 and the Clippers disappear for the 3rd time in 4 years in the WC Semi-FInals??
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