A Sonnet On Dallas Defeating Houston 112-108

A Sonnet On Dallas Defeating Houston 112-108

Old Dallas reft of arrogance and pride

Must watch as Rockets rise in southward sky

Men young and strong with fleet impatience stride

Past glories gone that now must fade and die

Beneath the hightop's squeaking tread they fall

To drives and layups, furious fast breaks

Hot raining fire from blazing three point ball

Yet young are they and sometimes defense shakes

Command and cracks their grasp, so wins slip past

Youth's ardor claims beyond what skill may hold

Weak hero ball brings defeat at the last

Sweet teamwork turns sour, and bright warmth goes cold

Rockets sought triumph as Sundays refrain

Old Dallas rose up, turned hope to pain

I told Gallicae that I would write a sonnet for the next Rockets loss, so here it is. I think it rhymes and scans - it's in Elizabethan style more or less.

I really did not enjoy tonights game.

By Popular Demand - when I started writing this thing I didn't expect the game to be so horrific.

• Rick Carlisle is a very good coach. He did his usual trick of sticking Shawn Marion on Dalla' biggest problem and it largely worked. He also worked hard at slowing the game, and setting up easy mid range shots against Houston's very basic help defense. Dallas did everything it could to not run with Houston, including HackAsik. You want a blueprint to beat the Rockets? This is it, though you need Shawn Marion and Vince Carter to have splendid games and to shoot 55% overall.
• I think that's about as well as this Dallas team can play against this version of the Rockets. It won't matter, as we're done with them, and Dallas will be staying home after 13 years in the playoffs.
• I think the Rockets expected to cruise to another blowout tonight. Respect for the Mavericks, this is a team that beat Miami in the Finals, handily. They may not be what they were then, but they have their pride and some fantastic players. That said, Dirk needs to get over being a cheap shot ass when he gets outplayed by a Rocket. He's earned two ejections in 4 nights and didn't get them.
• I don't know why Jeremy Lin wasn't in the game in the 4th. Patrick Beverley played very well, but when the Rockets needed points, well, Lin has a history of making big shots when it counts.
• I do know why Asik wasn't in the game - Dallas left him more or less open, then hacked him freely when he shot. It worked, he missed 6 of 7 FTs in the third. That said, I would have put in him on D in the end game at least. You're calling a TO, or the Mavericks are, or the refs are, almost every possession at the end - why not use Asik on defense, and get rebounds?
• Thomas Robinson showed some flashes of his lofty #5 draft status - his defense and work on the boards, and blocks, were excellent. Donatas Motiejunas was having a bad night, and Robinson took the minutes and ran with them, literally - he appears tough to stop on the break.
• Why is Carlos Delfino playing so many important minutes? Is McHale making a point about small ball to Daryl Morey? Was he ordered to go small? There's a lot that's funny about this game.
• Refs were just bizarre in this one. They took 5pts off the board, and that was the margin. But really, give Dallas credit for their smart play, they out thought and out played the Rockets.
• The Rockets aren't doomed, and the world isn't ending. This is a work in progress, and we really saw something from some unexpected places tonight.
• This loss was wretched, and avoidable. I hope everyone involved with the Rockets learns something from it. I'm not sure what, though.

I'll bet Mavs Moneyball didn't offer you a sonnet.