2014 Playoffs - Western First Round - (4) Rockets vs. (5) Trail Blazers

[jalfa]

A lot of anti-Houston talk, and well I am rooting for the Blazers since the days of me being contrarian to local teams are long gone, but the Blazers buzzer play really has me irritated. Two games in a row they had a tie with a shot to take the lead and instead of a drive for a easy bucket or foul they launch a turd of a long range 3. In the loss Friday they had time to get a good look and didn't bother, the other night they had 3 seconds but still pretty much settled right off the bat.

Everyone in Portland thinks the officiating is one-sided to Houston. Thoughts on this? I think Portland is afraid to shoot free throws and most of my friends are annoying homers so it doesn't matter.

huh? Houston was robbed back in game one, when Dwight Howard fouled out on a play where the foul was clearly on Joel Freeland and I vaguely remember a similar instance last game. if anybody were justified in complaining about the refs, it's the Rockets.

Portland's two best players are allergic to contact so it's really difficult to say that the officiating is one-sided, especially when the generally accepted strategy to stopping Dwight Howard is to hack the living day lights out of him and Harden can drive the ball because Robin Lopez and Thomas Robinson are their best interior defenders. Lamarcus is perhaps the least physical big man this side of Channing Frye and Damien Lillard is content with parking out beyond the key with Howard and Asik in the middle. That all being said, the defense in this series has been atrocious, Keith Smart level piles of excrement.

LMA has actually been pretty good at mixing it up on the offensive end, imo. also, considering his play on the other end, I haven't been buying the complaints about his lack of physicality for some time now. there are good reasons for him to play the way he does and he's been extremely effective over the course of this season and against the Rockets thus far.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

I think its because Robin Lopez keeps fouling out and LA was fouled out on a ticky tack call? I dunno. There was nothing I saw that approached the level of crap in a true fixed game (*cough Game 6 2002 WCF*). Also all the games are shown on local TV with out homer announcers. Mike Rice has actually gotten "talking tos" by the NBA for his constant critique of officials.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Refs definitely screwed the Blazers over in the final 30 seconds, Lillard rams it down their throat. Glad to see Houston gone. Also insufferable Blazer homer announcers called their last game of the season

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

I'm not saying that I think that Mike Bennett and Mike Rice are the best in the league, but the notion that a Kings Fan would call them insufferable homers...

 

[pdxKingsFan]

It's really Mike Rice that drives me crazy. He even predicted that the refs would put Houston on the line as a "make up" to add to the ridiculous call on the rebound "to show everyone that refs are god and always get it right", then spent 5 minutes going crazy about the push on Lopez that lead to the basket that put the Rockets up.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

I caught the ESPN call on the replay, so less over the top.

 

[jalfa]

Rice is THE worst. well, the worst outside of Tommy, I suppose, but nonetheless, he's absolutely incredibly, devastatingly nauseating. Grant and Jerry are annoying and not very good, but they are among the most neutral crews in the league, imo. they don't belittle opponents and they rarely argue calls. the, extremely overboard, IT fandom makes them homers to some degree, I guess, but that's really not a label I'd apply to them.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Tommy is something of a sideshow, I always found him entertaining. He certainly was never to be taken seriously. He's another Bill Walton. Was at his best with Cousy the straight man like Bill was with Snapper. I do believe that Rice plays his part up too, but there's never the same air of humor that any of those guys, in fact in the interviews he gives he talks about how because he was a coach he knows that the officials are lazy and always out of position. He presents himself as an expert beyond reproach not a comic foil, and that is a huge difference.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

predicted the rockets would win this one. that lillard fella has heart and clutch as hell.

 

[Tetsujin]

Yet another reminder that the Maloofs were the best owners in sports

 

[jalfa]

rewatching Lillard's game winner: what the hell ass happened there? Parsons simply falls asleep and lets Lillard slip away for no reason whatsoever. no pick, no switch, nothing, Lillard just sprints to the top of the key, gets the ball wide open and nails it. to have the series decided by that must kill every single person in the organisation.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Pretty much.

 

[Dreadnought]

Lillard has been the most exciting player in the NBA since pre-injury Derrick Rose. Absolutely a great talent.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

I wasn't convinced so can't pretend to say "I told you so", but damn, what a miss. Especially since the Blazers have our bust.

 

[est.1999]

Didn't we work out Lillard multiple times and still didn't draft him? Unbelievable.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

I wasn't convinced so can't pretend to say "I told you so", but damn, what a miss. Especially since the Blazers have our bust.

Bust was not terrible. He's obviously not going to play much, behind Aldridge, but when he did, he acquitted himself.

 

[kingsnation]

Hahaha that's great. Poor Houston.

 

[kingsnation]

I wasn't convinced so can't pretend to say "I told you so", but damn, what a miss. Especially since the Blazers have our bust.

Well it hurts even more that the trade to send Trob to Houston didn't really benefit us at all, short term or long term. I mean we got rid of Cisco and technically, I guess Patterson was "an asset" to land us Gay but man that trade sucked.

 

[rainmaker]

Didn't we work out Lillard multiple times and still didn't draft him? Unbelievable.

Pretty sure that's the case.

Lopez being included in the trade last summer and PDA not be interested is quite bad too. He'd be our 2nd best big right now and pair pretty well with Boogie.

 

[Hadlowe]

Well it hurts even more that the trade to send Trob to Houston didn't really benefit us at all, short term or long term. I mean we got rid of Cisco and technically, I guess Patterson was "an asset" to land us Gay but man that trade sucked.

The trade did what it was supposed to, saved the Maloofs a little bit of money.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Bust was not terrible. He's obviously not going to play much, behind Aldridge, but when he did, he acquitted himself.

Bust might not be fair, but he was a #5 pick who netted us nothing. But hey, if he helped the Maloofs...

 

[kingsboi]

and to think...we didn't draft Lillard, even though we brought him in for a workout. sigh.