I still think the Rockets played better
In my blog that was printed in Tuesday morning's newspaper, I wrote that I thought the Rockets outplayed the Jazz for the first 3-1/2 quarters of Game 2. Several readers disagreed -- some quite vigorously. But I stand by my observation.
I thought the Rockets played harder on defense and were more aggressive going to the basket until the final eight minutes. I thought the Jazz were fortunate that Deron Williams, Memo Okur and Ronnie Price took turns making long three-pointers at critical times, often after Houston's defense disrupted the Jazz offense and forced Utah to play beat-the-shot-clock.
For some reason, the Jazz gave Tracy McGrady much more room than they did in Game 1 and he responded with an outstanding effort. Yes, he only scored one point in the fourth quarter. But that's when the Jazz finally became more aggressive with their coverages and made him work a lot harder for his looks at the basket.
As I also wrote in my blog, I thought the Jazz survived at winning effort by the Rockets, who must somehow play even better to have a chance in Games 3 and 4.
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I don't agree with the Rockets' claim that they were wronged by an offensive foul called on Luis Scola that wiped out a tying three-pointer by Bobby Jackson with 45.4 seconds left. It looked like a foul to me, even before Andrei Kirilenko went flying across the baseline to make sure referee Tony Brothers saw Scola reach out with his right arm and try to hold him back. It was a relatively easy call, unfortunately for Houston, and that's why Brothers made it.
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My first memory of Brothers working an NBA game came at least a decade ago -- probably longer.
The Jazz were playing a close game in Detroit. There was a stoppage in play and the Jazz were going to inbound the ball directly in front of where I was sitting -- just a few chairs down from Utah's bench.
Jerry Sloan was also standing in front of me. Brothers was on the court, about 15 feet away and zipped the ball to the Jazz player who was going to throw the inbounds pass. I don't remember who it was, but I know he wasn't looking when Brothers threw the ball, which slammed into front of the scorer's table.
Sloan had his head turned and didn't see what happened, but he sure jumped when the ball hit. Then he turned and started yelling at Brothers, "Don't throw the ball at me! Don't throw the ball at me!"
Brothers didn't know what to do. He approached Sloan and said, "Jerry, I didn't throw the ball at you. I didn't." But Sloan was not convinced until veteran referee Jess Kersey came over and told him that Brothers did not throw the ball at him.
I still remember Kersey telling Sloan, "Jerry, Jerry. He wouldn't do that. He's going to be a good referee."
-- Steve Luhm
I thought the Rockets played harder on defense and were more aggressive going to the basket until the final eight minutes. I thought the Jazz were fortunate that Deron Williams, Memo Okur and Ronnie Price took turns making long three-pointers at critical times, often after Houston's defense disrupted the Jazz offense and forced Utah to play beat-the-shot-clock.
For some reason, the Jazz gave Tracy McGrady much more room than they did in Game 1 and he responded with an outstanding effort. Yes, he only scored one point in the fourth quarter. But that's when the Jazz finally became more aggressive with their coverages and made him work a lot harder for his looks at the basket.
As I also wrote in my blog, I thought the Jazz survived at winning effort by the Rockets, who must somehow play even better to have a chance in Games 3 and 4.
---
I don't agree with the Rockets' claim that they were wronged by an offensive foul called on Luis Scola that wiped out a tying three-pointer by Bobby Jackson with 45.4 seconds left. It looked like a foul to me, even before Andrei Kirilenko went flying across the baseline to make sure referee Tony Brothers saw Scola reach out with his right arm and try to hold him back. It was a relatively easy call, unfortunately for Houston, and that's why Brothers made it.
---
My first memory of Brothers working an NBA game came at least a decade ago -- probably longer.
The Jazz were playing a close game in Detroit. There was a stoppage in play and the Jazz were going to inbound the ball directly in front of where I was sitting -- just a few chairs down from Utah's bench.
Jerry Sloan was also standing in front of me. Brothers was on the court, about 15 feet away and zipped the ball to the Jazz player who was going to throw the inbounds pass. I don't remember who it was, but I know he wasn't looking when Brothers threw the ball, which slammed into front of the scorer's table.
Sloan had his head turned and didn't see what happened, but he sure jumped when the ball hit. Then he turned and started yelling at Brothers, "Don't throw the ball at me! Don't throw the ball at me!"
Brothers didn't know what to do. He approached Sloan and said, "Jerry, I didn't throw the ball at you. I didn't." But Sloan was not convinced until veteran referee Jess Kersey came over and told him that Brothers did not throw the ball at him.
I still remember Kersey telling Sloan, "Jerry, Jerry. He wouldn't do that. He's going to be a good referee."
-- Steve Luhm
10:40 PM
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1 Comments:
I would agree with you, Steve, to the extent that the Rockets played harder, and closer to their true potential. That being said, I don't think they played better than the Jazz. Sure, the Jazz benefited from hitting threes at the right time, and sure, for two to three quarters, McGrady played quite exceptional. But the reason the Jazz played better is because of their clutch play to close each quarter. And it is that clutch play that showed one thing... no matter how well the Rockets play, the Jazz are simply better.
The Jazz did not have their best game, and as I said, the Rockets played closer to their true potential in game 2 than the Jazz did to theirs. Also, Booze, Deron, and Memo did not play at their highest level. But that's why the Jazz were better... because they showed that as a whole they are simply better than the Rockets... Ronnie Price stepped up with 8 points in however few minutes, including a steal, when Harpring swipes the ball from McGrady for an easy dunk, when Memo didn't have his best game ever, but hit two threes to close a quarter out, and when Korver hits a shot in the last minute of the game that sealed the deal for the Jazz. I didn't even mention Millsap, Brewer, or AK47, all who had good plays at one point or another. The Jazz are simply a better team, and the Rockets, no matter how hard they play or well they play to their potential, can not beat the Jazz in this series.
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