Rockets/Jazz Game One recap.
It’s only one game, Rockets fans. Well, at least that’s what you can tell yourselves.
by Russ Bengtson
I’ll be honest, and I’ll be short. There are things I didn’t talk about in the Jazz/Rockets preview that can’t be defined by numbers or records. The Houston Rockets are scrappy. The Houston Rockets are tough.
The Houston Rockets are toast.
The last time the Utah Jazz lost at Energy Solutions arena was on March 20th, 106-95 to the Los Angeles Lakers (this might be important in a week or two). Other than that, the Jazz haven’t lost a home game in 2008. Think home court advantage was important to the Rockets?
Yes, the Rockets handed the Jazz one of their four home losses this season. But that was way back on November 1st, when Yao Ming was wearing Reeboks, not a walking boot. He only had 11 points (and five blocks), while Tracy McGrady bore the offensive load, scoring 47 points. So basically, if the Rockets hope to have a chance in this series, they need T-Mac to go completely nuts.
Did I mention he went scoreless in the fourth quarter of Game One? And that he wasn’t even the Rockets scoring leader? That was Shane Battier, who scored 22 points on 7-7 from the floor (4-4 from three). They probably shouldn’t get used to that.
There’s also the fact that Andrei Kirilenko had what amounted to a complete emotional breakdown during the Rockets series last year and the Jazz STILL won. In Game One this year, Kirilenko was Utah’s leading scorer. (Drei, Booz and Deron all scored 20-plus.)
Of course the Jazz know this. They also know that Yao won’t be joining us for the rest of the series, and they ALSO know that they beat the Rockets in Game Seven in Houston just last year. And of course they knew they’d have to win a game in Houston in order to take the series, and were able to take care of it right away (as opposed to last year when they lost Games One and Two and still went on to win the series). They have the Rockets number, and the way it looks now that number just might be 4.
ESPN.com’s John Hollinger picked the Jazz to go to the Finals, based primarily on point differential (which made their corrected record something like 87 and –5, I think). I’m not going to go that far. But if they can win Game Two—which they’ll want to, with Rafer Alston still out—this series will be over before it even gets started.
102 Responses to “Rockets/Jazz Game One recap.”
Apr.21 at 1:55 pm
Sam Rubenstein says:
well… at least Tracy can’t blow a 2-0 lead this time. Always look on the bright side of life!
Apr.21 at 1:56 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
Grant Hill’s never won a first-round series, either.
Apr.21 at 1:59 pm
RV says:
Rafer’s playing in game two, he went thru a workout yesterday and a fitness tests, looked good so he might start and will play
Apr.21 at 2:02 pm
RV says:
and shane’s been pretty damn good when he’s aggressive offensively, his post moves are almost roboticly (is that a word?)efficient, he’s just not getting opportunities, in game one he was running around like crazy looking for a pass to shoot, but it was too late.
Apr.21 at 2:03 pm
H to the izzo says:
The picture accompanying this post pretty much says it all.
Apr.21 at 2:06 pm
RobertPBodis says:
I still wonder how Rafe shanked a parking attendent and he’s somehow free to play… huh.
Apr.21 at 2:20 pm
RV says:
Robert, well at least you got your stories straight….NOT….Rafer was accused of slashing a guys throat in NY city club, later it was found out the accuser had lied about it….here in Houston Rafer was accused of grabbing/spitting at a parking attendant, but later it was reported that had been exaggerated as well..
Apr.21 at 2:27 pm
MC Welk says:
You’re doing a Beng up job so far, Russ.
Apr.21 at 2:28 pm
Jj (the real one!) says:
rockets might win one or two, but there’s like NO WAY utah’s loosing this series
Apr.21 at 2:30 pm
Holiday says:
I think at this point the Jazz are more focused on the possibility of Bynum coming back to join the Lakers opposed to worrying about Skip making his 08 playoff debut in game 2! Go Jazz!!!!
Apr.21 at 2:33 pm
tealish says:
Look for another sub 40 fg% from Mac tonight! Pretty sure he’ll be hoisting up the shots in Game 2 though, so maybe he’ll still get his 26, 28 points.
Apr.21 at 3:10 pm
Hursty says:
were in trouble. no doubt.
Apr.21 at 3:18 pm
ciolkstar says:
This is by far the least interesting series in the west. Also, I think Utah is waaay overrated and only made it to the WCF last year on a lucky draw (G state) and will only get out of the 1st round this year for the same reason (Houston)This series goes 5 games tops.
Apr.21 at 3:44 pm
Prophecy_Projectz says:
I genuinely feel bad for Tracy McGrady
Apr.21 at 3:50 pm
KA says:
mutombo needs to give tmac a good pep talk.
Apr.21 at 5:27 pm
John E. Sanford says:
I didn’t realize G. Hill had never won a 1st round series. That’s amazing.
Apr.21 at 6:08 pm
Hursty says:
yeh but hes been injured for so many playoff campaigns and that he hasnt been able to compete. If he was healthy during the reg. season then he may have been able to help his team reach a better seed and an easier first round. Imagine if he and tmac BOTH played against Detroit when they went up 3-1….
Apr.21 at 7:29 pm
RV says:
imagine if TMAC had played after they went up 3-1…..sorry hursty, i had to say it
Apr.21 at 7:37 pm
RV says:
“the media were ready to interview the players but they were all taken by surprise by a very big and tall player walking out from the players’ corridor. It was Yao Ming who just finished a 3-hour work-out in the gym……..still sweating. The reporters asked: Are you preparing for Game 2? Yao Ming quipped: “That’s top secret.”
Apr.21 at 7:39 pm
RV says:
i dont think it would hurt to have him out there just letting jumpers fly, damn those Olympics
Apr.21 at 7:46 pm
RV says:
nevermind, Alston has been scratched for game 2
Apr.21 at 9:49 pm
Hursty says:
haha, about to say that Alston was scratched. I have NO coverage for any of the games NONE! until thursday (your wednesday). Its total BS. we had 4 games a week and for the PLAYOFFS we have 2. 2! so i have to listen to audio league pass. FU(K! rap. nat. doesnt work.
Apr.21 at 9:59 pm
RV says:
cant u get them online?
Apr.21 at 10:08 pm
Hursty says:
technically yes, but the computer broadband thing is messed up. means the stream player doesnt work and everything costs more (so videos make it even worse) u gonna be here for the game?
Apr.21 at 10:20 pm
Hursty says:
WHAT!
Apr.21 at 10:21 pm
Hursty says:
that dunk was sick by tmac, landry was nice and then the blocks, NICE.
Apr.21 at 10:24 pm
RV says:
yeah i am, i’m not blaming the officials for the rockets’ poor play in game 1 and early in this game, but they’re making some one sided inconsistent calls. if they’re gonna call a travel on a pivot foot that barely came off the ground (which shouldn’t be called to begin with in the playoffs) then they need to call deron for palming even if he’s barely doing it.
Apr.21 at 10:26 pm
RV says:
too bad tmac needs to be shown up for him to have motivation. This is what i was talking about in the Links about kobe and tmac and i mentioned at least Kobe challenges himself and tmac doesn’t. If tmac had the same attitude he’d be just a notch under Kobe
Apr.21 at 10:28 pm
RV says:
another blown call with Landry, these refs need to call what they actually SEE
Apr.21 at 10:30 pm
RV says:
another blown call, this time on brooks, they’re anticipating fouls, the rockets may not win this series, but the refs killed about 3 of their comebacks this qrtr, at this rate though, they’re not even gonna let them win 1 game
Apr.21 at 10:43 pm
Hursty says:
DUNK the ball Chuck! TMAC rebound! putback GOOOOD!
Apr.21 at 10:46 pm
Hursty says:
down 1…pick it up. Sounds like McGrady is playing with some heart. keep it up. crowd is not very loud from the radio broadcast. hosts are very angry at the calls. ‘is that a Brothers call?’ ‘damn it, it is.’ ‘I knew he would give us some bad calls tonight’ haha.
Apr.21 at 10:48 pm
Hursty says:
why cant scola shoot freebies??? early in the season he was doin good. funny quote ‘Korver is a shooter. Period. One dimensional. He cant play defence. He couldnt guard a brick wall’ haha.
Apr.21 at 10:50 pm
Hursty says:
IF chuck hayes cant make layups why cant he dunk it!!! D-league for you son!!! argh! seems like were gettin a lot of off. rebounds but not much scores. Your thoughts?
Apr.21 at 10:52 pm
RV says:
i think scola’s off hand is getting in the way on his FTs so that the spin on it is different, he’s missing a lot that go in and out. When he shoots jumpshots they’re usually one handed on the follow through and he swishes most of them.
Apr.21 at 10:55 pm
RV says:
the problem is they’re going too undersized, either hayes, landry, or harris ia fine, but not two or three of them on the court at the same time. They’re getting offensive rebounds or nice passes close to the hoop, but they’re not tall enough to hook it over the defenders. Adelman should consider putting in Loren woods just for a minute or two to see how it goes, all he’d have to do is dunk it.
Apr.21 at 10:57 pm
Hursty says:
interesting… i was able to watch a lot of games on raptors nation inc. the NCAA tourney but after that i screwed up the broadband oops. Working just until the playoffs start… my bad.
Apr.21 at 10:58 pm
Hursty says:
Who? Loren Woods? is he a mid season pick up?
Apr.21 at 10:58 pm
RV says:
Landry is also still nervous like in game 1, he’s trying to go for the dunk every time to excite the crowd, if he doesn’t have a clear jump at the rim, which he doesn’t most of the time, he pump fakes and waits instead of going up and looking for contact, so eventually he just passes it back out to avoid a 3 second call.
Apr.21 at 11:00 pm
RV says:
yeah, well late season, he was picked after yao went down, they released, i think bobby jones from a 10 day, then picked up Woods for the rest of the yr, i think they inked him for next yr too
Apr.21 at 11:01 pm
Hursty says:
yeh, i think he got called for a 3second call didnt he? or was that scola? messes with your confidence. Your right on that. LeBron was good tonight. Got all the calls though.
Apr.21 at 11:03 pm
Hursty says:
young guy? a f/c i gather. never heard of him. It seems im out of touch
Apr.21 at 11:05 pm
Hursty says:
1994 WCF rockets, jazz clock issue just blared out. funniest thing EVER. they were screaming, carrying on hehe.
Apr.21 at 11:12 pm
Hursty says:
7-2 center. shoots 100% floor in playoffs, got some weight at 260. Rockets seem to like their ‘oversized’ centres huh? Deke is 7-3. Yao 7-6.
Apr.21 at 11:13 pm
Hursty says:
BJAX= HOT!!
Apr.21 at 11:19 pm
Hursty says:
tmac could go for a triple double. Ref bailed Okur out on that. no time left and a foul. Bad call.
Apr.21 at 11:41 pm
RV says:
Houston needs to start drafting some of these houston-area athletes because they keep killing them once they turn pro (rashard lewis, ronnie price, vince young)
Apr.21 at 11:43 pm
RV says:
Landry was the one called for a defensive 3 seconds, but according to bill worrell Landry wasnt away from the defender, he had his hand on him
Apr.21 at 11:44 pm
RV says:
hursty, thats the clip i was telling you about last time, the one i posted the link too, its the one where they’re screaming that the clock didn’t start, right?
Apr.21 at 11:46 pm
RV says:
another bad call on the Hayes foul, the more agressive team always gets the calls
Apr.21 at 11:48 pm
RV says:
Loren is only oversized vertically, he’s thin as hell, haven’t seen him play too much though
Apr.21 at 11:51 pm
Hursty says:
hold on. MAKE FREEBIES. down 4…. must win. right now.
Apr.21 at 11:55 pm
RV says:
i hate to say it, but Scola may need to get benched, his competitiveness is good, but its killing the rockets also, for every good thing he does, he does something foolish to cancel it out. He tried to strip Deron on the break, which allows Booz a clear path to the hoop and a layup…the whole time i’m talking to the TV asking him to get back before her gets beat..then too late
Apr.21 at 11:56 pm
Hursty says:
yeh! they were screaming and stuff. ‘the clock’ etc. with passsion and hysteria. but i didnt watch the link. the commentators are really good though. esp. play by play.
Apr.21 at 11:57 pm
RV says:
and he also only has 3 boards in 40 minutes because he gambles so much, needs to stay put and box out
Apr.21 at 11:59 pm
Hursty says:
1 point game. tmac needs 1 assist for a trible double.
Apr.21 at 11:59 pm
RV says:
that bobby 3 just ended the game, tmac went back to his old self
Apr.22 at 12:00 am
RV says:
LOL, you must be on like a 3 or 4 min delay because we posted at the same time and its a 5pt game
Apr.22 at 12:00 am
Hursty says:
fadweays 3’s withg 15 on the clock?! tmac 3 airball!? wtf!
Apr.22 at 12:02 am
Hursty says:
is now. timeout.
Apr.22 at 12:02 am
RV says:
1pt for tmac in the 4th…
Apr.22 at 12:03 am
Hursty says:
playing better though….
Apr.22 at 12:06 am
RV says:
oh wow…nice flop….the refs need to just let them play…
Apr.22 at 12:06 am
Hursty says:
BULLSH!T. bobby 3 no good!!! FU(K!
Apr.22 at 12:06 am
Hursty says:
game over.
Apr.22 at 12:07 am
Hursty says:
that korver shot sounds like BS. shovel shot? wtf?
Apr.22 at 12:07 am
RV says:
it was good, they waived it off because of a flop, that ref, brothers, has made some terrible calls
Apr.22 at 12:08 am
Hursty says:
his only field goal of the game. FU(K YOU KIRILENKO DIRTY RUSSIAN!
Apr.22 at 12:09 am
RV says:
korver threw up a one handed shot from like his hip
Apr.22 at 12:10 am
Hursty says:
at least 3 by the audio call.
Apr.22 at 12:12 am
Hursty says:
U OK dude? im pretty shattered. were all but finished for the year.
Apr.22 at 12:13 am
RV says:
i hope that ref doesnt ref anymore in the playoffs, he’s guessing and anticipating fouls, they don’t need a ref like that in the playoffs, he called that one foul early on where he blew the whistle, then asked the other ref who it was on?? Now he calls the offensive foul on scola on the AK flop, but the replay shows Brothers was looking right at tmac and only turned after AK lifted his arms, he never actually saw Scola
Apr.22 at 12:15 am
Hursty says:
im p!ssed off. from now on im going for boston and washington. clutch city replay? i dont think so.
Apr.22 at 12:16 am
RV says:
at the end of the game, tmac tried to intentionally foul AK and whacked AK, Brothers didnt call it….Battier comes up right after that and fouls AK, but not as obvious, and he calls THAT…..he’s calling the game like its a regular season game, is this his first time in the playoffs?
Apr.22 at 12:18 am
Hursty says:
i dont know. WHY!? curses! kirlenko is a b!tch. i will firmly stand by that.
Apr.22 at 12:19 am
Russ Bengtson says:
Kirilenko flopped for sure (I’m really hating ALL the flopping these days), but that B Jax shot may not have gone down so easy if the whistle hadn’t been blown. P.S. Someone tell Tracy McGrady that NBA games are actually FOUR quarters long. K, thanks.
Apr.22 at 12:20 am
RV says:
i’m more pissed at the ref as basketball fan than i am of the rockets loss as a rockets fan…sure they don’t have much of a chance at winning the series, but it could have been competitive for a while, now its nearly over….tmac pisses me off somewhat too, he was laughing at the call and talking to the ref smiling, i know that’s his personality, but i would have chewed him out, being the leader of the team you have to show more fire than that..
Apr.22 at 12:22 am
Hursty says:
true Russ.
Apr.22 at 12:22 am
RV says:
Maybe russ, but i don’t think the rockets or utah stopped playing, the way the whistle blew everyone though it was a foul on utah, i think bobby was already on his way up though, not sure
Apr.22 at 12:24 am
Hursty says:
are you allowed to swear at the refs if your name is not Sheed?
Apr.22 at 12:26 am
RV says:
I can’t blame AK for that, if the refs simply didn’t fall for it then eventually the flopping would stop, its the refs who keep reinforcing it…some stuff ain’t so bad like when you take an actual charge and fall to make it more obvious, but the AK flop was obvious, if only he had actually been looking at it, one hell of a flop though, right on cue, perfect timing, you have to wonder if Sloan actually teaches it, because some teams do it perfectly and others look like they were punched by the invisible man
Apr.22 at 12:28 am
RV says:
the fans that were baseling were giving the ref hell right after the call, take notes Tmac
Apr.22 at 12:30 am
RV says:
uh oh, Adelman just criticized the refs as nicely as he possibly could, but i’m predicting a fine from Stern anyway
Apr.22 at 12:32 am
Hursty says:
seriously, are players allowed to swear at the refs?
Apr.22 at 12:39 am
Hursty says:
did Utah, get any bad calls? the team didnt seem to say anything. I turned off the broadcast. Didn’t want to hear it. Too p!ssed off.
Apr.22 at 12:43 am
Russ Bengtson says:
International players must learn to flop at the same time they learn to dribble and shoot. Sloan looked pissed at the press conference, but he ALWAYS looks pissed. He’s the Bobby Knight of NBA coaches.
Apr.22 at 12:47 am
Hursty says:
haha Russ. Ive pretty much given up hope for us. Not Adelmans fault. Yao- damn big fella, that sucks but how can you be uninjured for the first 3 seasons and miss so much time the next 3?
Apr.22 at 1:06 am
RV says:
thats the worst part Hursty, this season is gonna be big for our young players, a lot of good playing time and experience, but that was the thought the last time yao/tmac went out, now we got new guys, it seems like the cycle won’t end…
Apr.22 at 1:07 am
Russ Bengtson says:
Yao being out killed them, but Rafer being out hurt just as much. All of a sudden guys have to play minutes they’re not used to playing, bench guys are playing with the first unit, and SO MUCH got piled onto Tracy’s shoulders. He was counted on to be the primary scorer AND playmaker—and the Jazz are really, really good. He’ll catch a lot of crap for not scoring in the fourth quarters, but I think he deserves a whole mess of credit for having them in both games all the way to the end.
Apr.22 at 1:10 am
Hursty says:
yeh. dude was only 1 assist shy off the triple double. you know what? if scola hadnt ‘fouled’ kirilenko, Tmac woulda had it. It was his pass led to the shot.
Apr.22 at 1:13 am
Hursty says:
funny that everyone was still like ‘Skip is the point? Ha!’ now they can see how valuble he is to them and the improvements hes made this year. If he was there, im pretty sure the first game woulda been different. He probly woulda fed battier more (perfect 7/7 floor) and looked less for his shot so tmac could get going in the 4th. too many ‘if’s’ though.
Apr.22 at 1:13 am
RV says:
now i’m pissed at tmac’s trainer, i always though it was his fault tmac wasn’t in top condition, his press conference was pretty much about him being tired and not having the legs, so i guess someone should check Kobe and Garnett’s DNA because apparently its not possible for a human to come out of high school, play 10 yrs, most of them at a high level, and then have enough left to play 48 mins of tough playoff ball, i’m glad there wasn’t an OT or he would have requested medical attn..
Apr.22 at 1:18 am
RV says:
i agree Tmac had a lot on his shoulder’s, but so does Lebron and Kobe did at one point. Tmac, of course is not as good as them, but has the ability to get what he wants every time downcourt, the difference was he wanted a jumpshot and not FTs, and then he missed FT when he got them, he was doing it perfectly in the 2nd, then went away from it, he’s making it easier on the jazz by shooting, they save more fouls and don’t have to scramble to cover guys and therefore leaving someone open…like that first 3ptr tmac took to start the game, not good..
Apr.22 at 1:21 am
Hursty says:
IF tmac woulda shot the ball, its better than letting Hayes or whoever shoot bricks though, that probly didnt help. Someone HAS to tell Battier to be more aggressive and actually Hit someone, hes selling himself short of his abilities by being only a 3pt threat in attack. D is great but they (right now) need his offensive output like in game 1. But more shots.
Apr.22 at 1:33 am
RV says:
i dont have a problem with tmac taking shots, i just prefer him going to the rim more than taking jumpers with someone in his face…the only good thing about this series is i wont have to hear during the offseason, ” Are the rockets better without Yao? Should they Trade him?
Apr.22 at 1:35 am
Hursty says:
true. but everyone is better going to the rack. opens up opportunites etc, to pass, fouls, shoot.
Apr.22 at 1:39 am
RV says:
if you look at Lang’s description of how Lebron played in the playoffs day 3 post, thats what tmac needs to do, u get doubled, u pass to the open man, single coverage, drive by him, tmac did it in the 2nd, but then sometimes he sees the double team coming, goes behind a pick and lets it fly, or in single coverage he’ll shoot a J or look to pass
Apr.22 at 1:41 am
Hursty says:
I wish i could see more nba games, then i could be more informed and offer a better opinion. lame being here. wish i could get nbatv.
Apr.22 at 1:42 am
Hursty says:
99
Apr.22 at 1:46 am
Hursty says:
100
Apr.22 at 2:14 am
RV says:
and 80 of them were us two….nothing like getting one homework problem done during the first weekend of the playoffs
Apr.22 at 2:49 am
Hursty says:
actually 87 were