It's April... time for the Rockets to revert to bad habits. Oh, no.

by grungedave on Apr 1, 2009 11:39 PM CDT in Random Commentary Comment 12 comments

I knew we were in trouble when Brent Barry missed the layup that would have pushed the lead to 9. Next thing you know, the Suns are on a 15-0 run and are up by 8 before Sleepy does anything about it. Good coaching there.

I guess the guys did not get my memo about putting teams away and not letting it be a close game. The Suns were *thisclose* to just giving up early in the 4th. Alas, that would have made it too easy. We can't have that.

The scary part?

This is the trademark of recent Rockets' history. In this millennium, once the calendar turns to April, the Rockets have played uninspiring basketball. Blowing leads, missing free throws, playing lackadaisical defense (and resorting to a stagnant offense)... the very formula for losing in the first round.

With tonight's sleepwalking effort, the Rockets may fall a couple spots in the Western Conference playoff race. So much for taking advantage of San Antonio losing to the Durants. Son of a bitch!!!

Tonight's game was the worst April Fool's Joke ever.

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WTF

why is it that we always seem to do this down the stretch? last year we went on our streak. then proceeded to just fall out even though we were right there for a 1-3 seed. seriously. we are playing for something and our players can’t get motivated. if you ask me, that signifies poor coaching. when the team just shows up this flat, a lot of the responsibility is on the coach. rick wake the hell up and get our team to actually look like they want to be playing.

All these boundaries - Africa, Asia, Malaysia, America - are set by men. But you don't have to look at boundaries when you are looking at a man - at the character of a man. The question is: What do you stand for? Are you a follower, or are you a leader? -Hakeem Olajuwon

by SlatonShuffle on Apr 1, 2009 11:49 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

You beat me to it

I also knew as soon as Brent Barry missed the point-blank layup that we were in trouble..just one of those gut instinct things. I waited and WAITED for Sleepy to call a timeout but of course, like you said, it got out of hand far before he woke up. This is probably the most frustrating game I’ve watched all season. We truly pissed away this game. Next up are the Lakers. Look for the Rockets to be 6th in the West after Friday. Sad, but probably true.

by UHoustonFan on Apr 1, 2009 11:49 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

not embarassing

not an embarassing loss, but a terrible one indeed…

by EveryHoustonTeamRox! on Apr 1, 2009 11:49 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

barry

should not have been in…has been struggling

by EveryHoustonTeamRox! on Apr 1, 2009 11:50 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

One bad game

Wasn’t even a bad game, we just got outplayed by a team that wanted it more.

Let’s wait a few days before we throw in the towels on the season shall we?

by chrisjay84 on Apr 1, 2009 11:51 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

it's not the loss that bothers me...

it’s the effort. Or lack thereof.

by grungedave on Apr 2, 2009 8:33 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, now we have to beat LA to get the numbers right again.

We can do that. LA is sleeping. They won tonight, but it was MIL.

I have to say, I’ve been a fairly big Sleep Defender, but the decision making on the Suns late run really baffled me. Rick evidently needs a co-pilot “Ok Coach, let me land the plane tonight ok? You relax.”

by Xiane on Apr 1, 2009 11:53 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Lowry only 17min tonite?

I’m tired of opposing PGs scorching our guys. brooks cant play D. I’ve never understood brooks starting. he’s a shoot first PG in a lineup w/ guys that also need shots. Why cant he come in w/ tha 2nd unit where he’ll have more shots while Lowry can start and actually pass tha ball? I know Brooks has hit a few clutch shots but there have also been multiple times where he’s really fucked up in tha clutch.

You're not foolin me Kerry Collins.

by TitanFan2K on Apr 1, 2009 11:58 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

CALM THE F DOWN

It’s a loss, deal with it. Houston was not winning every game from here on out. Let’s not freak out over ONE loss.

by chrisjay84 on Apr 2, 2009 12:01 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

True, but..

It was a game we should have won. The Suns should not have been allowed to rattle off 15 unanswered without a timeout called by Adelman. Ah well, I predicted we’d lose to either Phoenix or Dallas on the road (hopefully not both.) Maybe we can find a way to beat the Lakers..

by UHoustonFan on Apr 2, 2009 12:04 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

One Bad Game...True...

But saying this is just one bad game is ignoring the larger issue. You’re right this is just one bad game, but it seems to confirm our fears about the Rockets’ motivation at this critical juncture, and our coach’s failure to address that lack of motivation. I understand that just because we lost to the Suns the season isn’t over, and we can still climb back up in the standings, but if we can’t get motivated when we really need wins, when are we going to? If the Rockets get too comfortable they are going to lose. To win in the playoffs, to beat the big boys (we can really get an idea of how we look on Friday), we have to come out and play hard. This team has shown flashes of greatness. Against Cleveland, we were focused, we hustled for every ball, and our defense showed up like no other. Today, we played just about the polar opposite game, and got beat by a much lesser opponent as a result.

by SlatonShuffle on Apr 2, 2009 12:04 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs