Turkey Day Recap of Game 15: Terry, Thomas key 130-99 annihilation of Rockets

by Tom Martin on Nov 26, 2009 2:17 PM CST in Game Recaps Comment 14 comments

Houston Rockets' Chuck Hayes (44) has his shot blocked from behind by Dallas Mavericks' Shawn Marion during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

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3 months ago: Houston Rockets' Chuck Hayes (44) has his shot blocked from behind by Dallas Mavericks' Shawn Marion during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

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Okay, this whole "Rocket-killer" thing is starting to get ridiculous. Is Jason Terry that impossible to guard?

Terry's stat-line versus the Rockets this season: 17-19 FG, 5-5 3pt FG for 51 points. And for kicks, he dished out ten assists last night, just to remind us how pathetic he thinks we are.

You'd think that Aaron Brooks or Kyle Lowry could keep The Jet from taking off at will. Aren't we a decent defensive team? Haven't we proven that a fast-paced team can still make routine stops at the other end of the floor. Evidently not.

We didn't contest shots. Our rotations were a step too late. Dallas moved the ball like they were toying with us, and kept doing so until there was an open shot, which there always was. Tim Thomas doesn't get 23 points on contested shots. It takes some space for him to operate, and he got plenty of it. It was just lazy, lazy defense.

It's Turkey Day, so this is going to be short. Here's a few thoughts from last night's embarrassment:

In a single half, if you play poor defense, a team might put up 50 points on you. If you play good defense, but the team manages to knock down just about everything within 30 feet, then they'll still put up 50 on you. However, if you play bad defense and a team finds a collective hot hand... that's when you look up at the scoreboard and see a 68 spot beside your paltry scoring output.
Chase Budinger might need Dr. Howard Mierzwiak to wipe his memory of his first two encounters with the Mavs. He's 1-14 from the field against them so far, and that's with plethora of missed WIDE-open shots.
Chuck Hayes went 1-8 from the field. This should never, ever happen.
Our shot selection was putrid. Mid-range jump shots in isolation aren't going to get us anywhere. We couldn't get into the lane without turning the ball over (ahem, Kyle Lowry). It was the least-aggressive I think I've ever seen us play.
Should Carl Landry start? No. Should Carl Landry be the frontrunner for 6th man of the year? Yes.
Lastly, I think a point needs to be made about how inept our half court offense has become. When the pace slows down, we begin to take uncomfortable shots and turn the ball over. Now, of all the players on our roster, who do you think plays most effectively in the half-court? Yup, Tracy McGrady.

And by the way, I don't normally leave games early, but in watching the Rockets stand around and let Dallas go to town on offense, I didn't think I'd be missing anything. First game I've ever voluntarily left early.

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I disagree on a couple of points...

1. I don’t blame our offense as much as I blame the defense for this loss. We should be able to win scoring right around 100 points. However, TO also contributed to a few key lost possessions even though in the end the mavericks only took one more shot than we did.

2. If Jason Terry keeps this up and the Mavericks win the division, then he’s hands down the frontrunner for 6th man of the year

What is it with Dallas? It feels like they’re the only team in the NBA who has the most blowout wins against us… is there anyway to check that?

by Carlos_HoustonSportsFanatic on Nov 26, 2009 3:49 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Oh I think the defense was the main concern as well

Did I not make that clear enough? My bad.

Ehh, Terry won it last year. They usually don’t repeat guys – only Kevin McHale and Detlef Schrempf have ever won back to back. I think Carl has a good chance.

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by Tom Martin on Nov 26, 2009 4:00 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I only saw the first half against the Mavs. But the offense was horrible. After every single bucket we were just sprinting up the court trying to make a fast break materialize out of nothing. It cost us a lotta turnovers and gave the Mavs a lotta fastbreak opportunities for themselves.

There was absolutely no half court offense in the first half. I think we should have slowed it down since Andersen, Landry and Scola were playing reasonably well.

by VBG on Nov 26, 2009 6:20 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The most painful thing for me (among many many painful things in that game)

was sitting with everyone around me screaming “Time OUT! TIME OUT!” while the Rockets were losing their 1st quarter lead. Maybe it would have made no difference whatsoever, but it might have broken momentum.

Every time I start thinking “Yes. Sleepy is into it now.” He goes and does something like that. We aren’t the Lakers, we don’t have talent at $30 million over the cap to work things out.

Go on, try to beat them. Try to score on them. Stay in front of those guards. Try to tap out an offensive rebound on that Lilliputian front line. They're so awful, you're so good ... go on. Beat ‘em. - Kelly Dwyer on The Rockets

by Xiane on Nov 26, 2009 4:15 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

To be fair, there was one timeout when the score was 25-23 with 2:40 remaining.
Some players were exchanged, but the execution got worse.
After 2:30 played in the 2nd qt there was another timeout.
By then, the score was already 29:46

Again.

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by DOH on Nov 26, 2009 4:24 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Thomas should NEVER ever EVER

Put up that out put…… even if we played fantastic defence and force him to take all the shots he’s still should have put up those numbers. Tuff loss to take, thats for sure

"We obviously didn’t know the scouting report that well on Andersen. We knew he’s a shooter but we didn’t see him play at that level." Phil Jackson on underestimating the aussie

by DREAM34 on Nov 26, 2009 4:51 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, it was like it was 1999 and Tim Thomas was fooling people into think he gave a crap.

Of course, he mainly loitered around the 3pt line, and shot really well.

by Xiane on Nov 26, 2009 10:48 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Thank God, that was just one game.

Dallas is just a team that puts holes in our defense in all positions.When we put together the lead and Dallas took it away AGAIN, it was deja vu for us, and the loss of confidence was contagious. How else to explain everybody playing badly. I don’t know why we found no one who could exercise leadership of the team and wake everybody up. Maybe we had but words were not enough, the execution failed miserably.

We’ve always known our team is not a first, or even second tier level team. There will be nights like this, so hopefully the team learns to execute ven through those bad stretches.

by RoxBeliever on Nov 26, 2009 7:21 PM CST reply actions 0 recs