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@  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.
@  jorgeaam : (31 August 2015 - 10:45 PM) The Los Angeles Rockets, lol
@  redfaithful : (31 August 2015 - 09:51 PM) Seems that Chuck is also on his way to the Clippers.
@  slick shoes : (24 August 2015 - 06:14 PM) ill just leave this here...
@  slick shoes : (24 August 2015 - 06:14 PM) http://www.timeandda...04&font=cursive
@  timetodienow... : (21 August 2015 - 07:20 PM) At least in my opinion.
@  timetodienow... : (21 August 2015 - 07:20 PM) I love having Terry. But the main factor was that New Orleans will NOT compete for a championship this year and the Rockets will.
@  jorgeaam : (21 August 2015 - 03:57 AM) Things that make me like the JET even more

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Golden State Warriors 115, Houston Rockets 128: I Hope You Enjoyed This One


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#1 Red94

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    Posted 26 May 2015 - 12:33 PM

    New post: Golden State Warriors 115, Houston Rockets 128: I Hope You Enjoyed This One
    By: Mitchell Felker

    Jalen Rose is fond of saying, "The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior."

     

    Well, the Golden State Warriors beat the Houston Rockets four times on their way to winning 67 games this season. And of the 16 teams before them to win 65+ games, only LeBron's '09 Cavaliers, Dirk's '07 Mavericks and the post-Russell '73 Celtics failed to win the title that year. Golden State was also 39-2 at home in the regular season. Only the Spurs, Bulls and Grizzlies (in Round 2) have managed to beat the Warriors at home so far this season.

     

    Numbers like that make you wonder if the Rockets ever really stood much of a chance.

     

    But after coming up short in the first two games, and then failing spectacularly in the third, the Rockets finally broke through and beat the Warriors last night.  Some will say that it was a trap game for the Warriors: up 3-0 on the road after a 35-point win, knowing Game 5 is at vaunted Oracle Arena. And they'd be right; it was a total trap game.

     

    But so what. Houston avoided the sweep, and James Harden got to exact some revenge after coughing up Game 2 in Oakland.

     

    Remember when there was a time when people were trying to make James Harden vs Klay Thompson into a thing when talking about the best shooting guard in the league? They would qualify it by using terms like "two-way player" and show funny gif's of Harden not playing defense. So it was fun thinking about all those naysayers biting their tongues when Harden nearly had back-to-back triple-doubles in the first two games of the series with Thompson as his primary defender. Meanwhile, Thompson was working so hard chasing Harden around that he was shooting 37% from the field and only 18% from deep. Splash Brother indeed.

     

    Harden worked over Thompson so well that Warriors coach Steve Kerr was forced to try Harrison Barnes on Harden. It worked in Game 3, but last night it did not. Harden bounced back from his dreadful Game 3 with perhaps his best game of the postseason. And I do realize that I said that exact phrase just two games ago when I wrote about Game 2, but what else would you call a line of 45 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks? He scored as only he can when he's rolling: 13-22 from the field (59%), 7-11 from deep (67%) and 12-13 from the stripe (92%).

     

    But it wasn't just the numbers. The Warriors would not go away last night and every time they fought back to make things uncomfortable, Harden responded, usually with a dagger three. In fact, Harden was so good from deep that even a full-court two-handed heave hit nothing but net.

     

    Thompson did play better when not chasing Harden around, scoring 24 points on 6-13 shooting from three.  He was forced to carry the load for a stretch because of the terrible fall Steph Curry had while trying to block a Trevor Ariza layup. Curry landed hard on the back of his neck and it was called a "head contusion" because team doctors will do ANYTHING to not say the word "concussion". Curry missed the last five minutes of the first half and most of the third quarter, but played about the same after the injury as he did in the first half.  He finished with 23 points and 4 assists.

     

    The Rockets started the game on fire and scored 45 points in the first quarter, thanks in large part to Josh Smith.  Smith shot 5-5 in the opening period, including a couple of pull-up threes in transition. He finished with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks. He was easily the second-best Rocket, but the dreaded Hack-A-Shaq that Kerr used in the fourth quarter marred his performance. He shot only 3-12 from the free throw line, and forced McHale to pull him down the stretch.

     

    Dwight Howard (14 pts, 12 reb, 2 stl & 2 blk) played well and really frustrated Andrew Bogut, holding the big Aussie to 0 points and just 8 rebounds.  But while fighting for a loose ball in the third quarter, Bogut shoved Howard in the back and Howard responded with a forearm to his face. Howard was assessed a Flagrant 1, and some are wondering if it might be upgraded by the league to a Flagrant 2, in which case Howard would have to miss Game 5.  I think it could go either way, but Adam Silver is pretty level-headed and surely knows that this is what Bogut does to people. I think he'll let Howard keep playing, like he did for Russell Westbrook in the last game of the season.

     

    Three other Rockets scored in double figures, led by Trevor Ariza's 17. Terrence Jones (14 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast & 2 blk) played well, but let Draymond Green bully him at times. Jason Terry missed too many open threes but ended up with 10 points, 6 boards and 4 assists.

     

    So now the series heads back to California. You all know the stat, no team has ever come back from down 0-3 to win a seven game series in NBA history. 0-116 so far.

     

    On the other hand, this series isn't 3-0 anymore. It's 3-1 now, and these Rockets know what it takes to come back from 3-1.  But any potential comeback won't be against a tired, fragile Clippers team. It will be against a 67-win 1-seed.  However, figure out how to win Game 5 in Oakland on Wednesday, and then Game 6 is back in Houston.  Get through that, and it's as they say, "Anything can happen in Game 7".

     

    But Clutch City will have to get through Game 5 first.


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    #2 majik19

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      Posted 26 May 2015 - 02:42 PM

      It's amazing that a game where we had a double digit lead most of the game was still a nail-biter. 

       

      Again, a transcendent performance from Harden was needed to win a game against Golden State. To win at the Oracle? I think Harden needs to score 50. Sure helped that we spotted ourselves 25 points in the 1st quarter. 

       

      About Josh Smith - I think he's equal parts great and terrible. He's like a big Gilbert Arenas. Some days, he makes enough drives, passes, and cuts to make up for the early in the shot clock jumpers and dumb turnovers. Other days he does not. On the balance, he usually does just a bit more than he retracts. I feel like Josh Smith plays are almost never neutral. 

       

      When I saw Howard's arm fly out at Bogut's face, I thought for sure he'd be ejected. Captain Obvious alert - We lose Game 5 if Howard is out - they feast on paint buckets every time Howard sits (and especially if Capela is out too). 


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      #3 Alituro

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        Posted 26 May 2015 - 06:35 PM

        Just to back up my keys to victory for the Rockets this series being paint dominance: In the only blowout so far (game 3) GSW posted +16 PIP advantage and +21 rebound advantage.

         

        If it weren't for Harden balling like never before last night, it would have been much closer. But you (obviously) can't count on such a performance every night. Last night we were even on PIP and only posted +1 rebound. Games 1 and 2 were similar. Dwight has been the only one holding his own inside the painted area for the Rockets and GSW, who are physically outmatched in the post, have shown they want this series more by going out of their way to keep things even in the paint or even own it as they did in game 3.

         

        I do think we can catch them slippin tomorrow night though as their playoff inexperience probably has them a little over-confident also coupled with the lack of precedent of teams coming back from 0-3. But, 0-3 was yesterday morning, today it's 1-3 and the Rockets have beat that twice (once this season already).


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