Game 4: Where the Rockets got hosed

by grungedave on Apr 27, 2008 12:27 AM CDT

I'm not blaming the refs per se. The Rockets knew they wouldn't get any calls. They knew that the word "charge" is no longer in the rules unless Utah is on offense. Fine, no problem. We worked around it. Until the last 14 seconds where we got absolutely completely hosed by supposed veteran officials. What-the-fuck-ever.

Let me get this straight... if Luis Scola tries to rebound, it's a foul. Even if he has position and his hand on the ball? On the flip side, Okur can push someone in the back... step on them... kick the ball out of bounds on his own... and it's a foul on the Rockets!?!? Fuck that noise.

Of course, if Tracy McGrady could make a freakin' free throw this would all have been a non-issue. Or maybe stop taking 3s. I thought we had stopped doing that. I was wrong.

If Rafer Alston could have passed the ball to anyone in a Rockets jersey, that would have been nice, too. Rafer, it's like Milton and Lumbergh's birthday cake... just pass. Just pass. Contested three pointers are not generally a good offensive option. (Granted the one you made at the end was necessary and we are not talking about that one.)

If Bobby Jackson didn't get pwn3d by Ashton Korver on offense and defense... that would have been super. Not sure BJ could have played any worse tonight.

The ending was complete bullshit.
And - in hindsight - a completely predictable and shitty end to my shitty day.

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Tmac in the 4th quarter this series:

Game 1: 0-3, 0 pts
Game 2: 0-4, 1 pt
Game 3: 2-8, 7 pts, all in the 3 minutes he actually made an effort to instead of standing on the 3 pt. line.
Game 4: 1-1, 4 pts

4th quarter combined in this series: 3-16, 12 points. Superstar? Nope. Clutch? Nope.

by Nathan on Apr 27, 2008 12:39 AM CDT reply actions

wwwwwaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!

by Anonymous on Apr 27, 2008 12:40 AM CDT reply actions

In the last 14 seconds you also got the Landry putback counted when it was clearly offensive interference.

by Anonymous on Apr 27, 2008 12:44 AM CDT reply actions

Wow, I can't believe what a blinded homer you are. Are you kidding me with the "Rockets got hosed" thing? How is this even a respected blog?

by Anonymous on Apr 27, 2008 1:01 AM CDT reply actions

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.

You are down 3-1, douchebag.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

by Anonymous on Apr 27, 2008 1:14 AM CDT reply actions

jazz fans talking about people being homers

by ricky on Apr 27, 2008 1:17 AM CDT reply actions

Jazz fan here, yeah the Scola call was suspect but i mean i dont understand how Scola feels its his place on the Rockets to argue every call with the officials that goes against the rockets. he is not a star and wont get star treatment. What i mean is i think the refs here him yapping and say "who is this guy?" and it hurts him down the stretch.

Calls went both ways though. One person already pointed out the putback.

It was a crazy game that the rockets made crazier with back to back desperation 3's much like the jazz in game 3. Without those the game was easily in the bag.

Good game. i hope this ends in game 5 because its starting to fry my nerves

by Brendan on Apr 27, 2008 1:49 AM CDT reply actions

Dude, seriously, you and T-Mac need to stop the blame game. Look at the stats. Your dudes shot 36%. That is shit. You got called for three more fouls than the Jazz did. It wasn't the refs. It was Houston's inability to capitalize on chances to take the lead. T-Mac's shot selection is shit.

I can tell you one thing - I can't decide if the Rocket's really have THAT pesky of defense, or if the Jazz are making this series harder than it should be.

Mark my words: Jazz blowout in Game Five. Houston dudes are booking flights to Aruba and Fiji right now. T-Mac's greasing his fishing pole. Scola's checking out the assortment of sassy hairnets and headbands in his International Male catalog.

by Fredo Teabaggins on Apr 27, 2008 3:02 AM CDT reply actions

Tmac is a superstar. Look at his 4th quarter stats from his previous playoff series. This season he has just not been conditioned enough to play well in the 4th; I really hope he works on that in the offseason so that he won't get gassed next year.

By the way, these confirmation codes are becoming harder and harder.

by andre on Apr 27, 2008 3:05 AM CDT reply actions

Our defense has been amazing for the past six years...

by amaar on Apr 27, 2008 3:06 AM CDT reply actions

Amazing enough to keep you from advancing to the second round. Yep. That's great D. Same with T-Mac's 4th quarter skills. Bah, I say. BAH.

by Fredo Teabaggins on Apr 27, 2008 3:09 AM CDT reply actions

And the refs certainly to keep you in it at least as much as they took it away, seeing as how it never would have been, for example, a two point game if they had only called that blatant offensive goaltend near the end.

by Anonymous on Apr 27, 2008 3:26 AM CDT reply actions

our defense HAS been amazing. that being said, our offense has not. look at defensive efficiency ratings for the last six years and you will see that we rank in the top ten every year.

by Amaar on Apr 27, 2008 3:47 AM CDT reply actions

"Of course, if Tracy McGrady could make a freakin' free throw this would all have been a non-issue. Or maybe stop taking 3s. I thought we had stopped doing that. I was wrong."

I don't know what you're talking about.

From what I could see, T-Crack didn't do ANYTHING in the fourth.

by Anonymous on Apr 27, 2008 5:36 AM CDT reply actions

I love the lack of reading comprehension skills by Jazz fans. Warms my heart.

I clearly pointed out that while the refs did not exactly help, the Rockets wasted opportunties on their own.

The Rockets lost last night because they executed very, VERY poorly on offense. By the time they figured out to actually move the ball around and take open shots, whatever the refs did or failed to do at the end didn't make *that* much of a difference.

Yes, that was offensive goaltending. Agreed.

Yes, Tracy sucked again in the 4th.

Yes, Rafer and BJ were awful again until 90 seconds remained.

Yes, Scola needs to learn to control his fouls, especially on offensive rebounds in front of a ref.

Yes, I still hate Utah.

I do find it funny that if the Rockets had won, Jazz fans would have written the exact same "We Got Hosed!" stories and blogs and would have been offended if a Rockets fan told them to stick it. That's why I love basketball.

by grungedave on Apr 27, 2008 9:46 AM CDT reply actions

when we see the rockets throw the ball to tmac and the rest stand there and watch we know we will lose.that was a sad game, they deserved it.

by dodo on Apr 27, 2008 10:24 AM CDT reply actions

@grungedave: Nah, if the Jazz had lost, I wouldn't have been writing "we got hosed" -- I would have been writing "how the hell can we not make a single 3-pointer in a game?"

by Shums on Apr 27, 2008 11:44 AM CDT reply actions

Shums... why no three-pointers?

Because the Rockets really, really good at defense. They just happen to be equally *bad* at offense.

by grungedave on Apr 27, 2008 12:24 PM CDT reply actions

I'm going to...um...have to disagree with you there...um...Dave. Yeeeeeeah. I'm just not sure about that right now. Yeeeeeah.

We missed threes because we missed. Defense had nothing to do with it. Mark my words. Game five blowout.

And when you start a post with "I'm not blaming the refs per se..." you immedietly draw focus to what your focal point is: the refs.

Refs don't win/lose games. Sorry. Players and coaches do. And from McGrady's blame game on Saturday night, looks like he's starting to pack Aldeman's bags for him.

Hey, maybe they'll trade T-Mac to Denver and you guys can have Carmelo.

by Fredo Teabaggins on Apr 27, 2008 1:29 PM CDT reply actions

TEABAG: Don't ever say anything so blasphemous again. Carmelo is a bitch. I would, however, gladly trade Tmac to atlanta for Joe Johnson and Josh Smith. I believe that was a rumor going around earlier in the year.

by andre on Apr 27, 2008 3:45 PM CDT reply actions

Every three the Jazz took was contested and that is what our defense is about. We do not lead the league in steals or blocks and we do not have great individual defenders besides Shane, as evidenced by De-Ron schooling reefer two times in a row. However we have a great TEAM of defenders and we always contest shots.

by amaar on Apr 27, 2008 3:47 PM CDT reply actions

The refs were terrible on both ends, but the Landry offensive goaltending still didn't amke up for that rediculous foul call on Battier when he trapped Korver against the sideline. Battier was positioned perfect on that play and had Korver stuck. Then, he grabbed the ball without hacking Korver at all. Should've been a jump ball there instead of two free throws. BAD CALL.

Also, how 'bout the replys ESPN showed 5 or 6 times of Landry getting an open look from underneath and Boozer coming from behind and hacking both of Landry's wrists. No call. Even the color guy for ESPN was pointing out what a hustle play that was by Boozer. Jesus, that one play pretty much is a microcosm of the the officiating for the entire series.

Oh yeah, the Okur shove on the rebound was great too.

Think about this, Jazz fan, two of your wins have come down the stretch from VERY bad calls. Sure, the Rockets benefitted from
Landry's offensive goaltending, but it still did not change the outcome of the game.

Kirelenko's best Meryl Streep impression in game 2 and the phantom foul on Battier and Okur's shove in game 4 have DEFINITELY resulted in a change in the outcome of both games.

Sure, the Jazz have been screwed often as well, but not in the last minute of the game like the Rockets have.

by nonsequitter on Apr 28, 2008 1:49 PM CDT reply actions

same old tired arguments, refs didn't call this, refs called this. refs don't miss free throws or put the ball in the hoop. anyone who even HINTS that an official lost the game is looking for excuses. So far only game 1 has not been close, in close games every call counts and either way someone is gonna be pissed. games 2-4 could have gone either way based on 3 or less possessions. It has been a great series, nobody has given up.

dave is right that the reason the rockets lost is because of poor shooting. but insinuating that the officials had a part in the loss is lame. same goes for jazz fans.

by Scrumtrulescent on Apr 28, 2008 2:32 PM CDT reply actions

I never said it cost the Rockets the game, but it didn't help them.

I agree with you that there are a lot of things you can point to as to why the Rockets are down 3-1 and officiating is one of them.

Free throw shooting, field goals, tunrovers, etc. are also a bunch of other things we can point to.

I'm just saying the Rockets have been on the bad end of the deal late in games. There is nothing Jazz fan can point to in game 3 about the officiating down the stretch that cost them the game. Sure, Delaney was terrible the whole game and I know the Jazz were getting screwed, but homeboy did manage to swallow his whistle down the stretch. Just sayin'.

by nonsequitter on Apr 28, 2008 2:58 PM CDT reply actions