What if this series goes 7? Danger.
I'm not saying it will, and in fact, I don't think it will get past 6. I think we see the home teams win from this point on. But still...what if it goes to game 7. I don't think my blood pressure could handle that.
I know the vast majority of NBA fans hate the Jazz. I could care less. I don't really see what there is to hate, but I completely understand the hating. But I don't hate the Rockets. I might hate Houston, but I don't hate the Rockets. In fact, they are a great team to watch. No real superstars (McTeary has proven that), just a bunch of role players. They remind me a lot of the Pistons team that won a few years ago. Everyone in a Rockets jersey wants to win and works hard (minus Bobby Jackson, who just doesn't seem to fit for me). IF for some reason the Jazz blow this series, I want to see Houston go far...very far. Up to this point, their fans have been great in the blog world. That was just a quick though. Alright, enough of the Rockets love.
Here are my thoughts on why the Rockets won this game.
-The Rockets played excellent defense on the Pick-and-Roll. This is the bread and butter of the Jazz. Without it, their offense can get very stagnant and they start settling for jump shots. The Rockets have played it incredibly well.
-Alston was incredible. He provided energy that the Rockets have not seen up to this point in the series. He seemed to spread the floor well and know exactly where he wanted his teammates to be. Big help for the Rockets.
-Luis Landry (a morphisys of Luis Scola and Carl Landry as per Dream Shake). Landry loses a tooth, grabs 7 offensive rebounds, and makes the game winning block, followed by the game winning save. Scola didn't shoot particularly well from the floor, but goes 8-10 from the line. Sign up the Booze Hound to attend his summer camp so he can learn to perform like that.
Now for the Jazz side of things.
-Where is Carlos Boozer? Put out a freaking Amber Alert for our "All-Star". Don't be leaving comments saying how he went 15 and 13. That doesn't cut it. He is being guarded by Rookies for the most part. Destroy them. Take them the hole. Punish them. Boozer MUST show up for the Jazz to win this series. He dominated in this series last year. Without Yao, there is no excuse to be just as dominate this year
-Shooting. Memo 3-13. AK 2-7. Sap 0-2. Korver 2-5. Four key players all in the dumper. Now for the real glaring state. Free throws: Jazz go 20-33. That's 60.6%. Pathetic. This was the downfall.
-Jazz get out rebounded and allow Houston to grab 16 offensive rebounds. They also had only 20 assists. Notice that when the Jazz were pushing their offense and had a pace of 122 they were getting assists in the 30's. Jazz must share the ball, they are NOT a 1-on-1 team.
Those are my first instincts. I'm sure some people saw it differently.
The one thing that I really like was the maturity of Deron Williams. D-Will played 43 minutes and didn't once complain of being tired. Didn't complain that he was playing against a well rested Alston. Didn't complain that his teammates aren't shooters. Didn't complain about any flops. Didn't complain about his legs. Didn't complain that he HAD to take the last shot. The guy is a stud and T-Mac needs to take some notes on how to be a leader.
PS. I hated the white t-shirts for the fans. What happened to True Blue? Bad marketing for the Jazz I believe.
Links:
The Dream Shake
Biased Fan (sweet new look)
Frank Layden Admirers
ESpukeN
AOL Fanhouse (Matt at HP)
Hardwood Paroxysm
Ball Don't Lie
