Houston Rockets vs Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets vs Golden State Warriors : Look, I’m never going to pretend that the referees didn’t screw the Houston Rockets out of a Finals appearance (and probable championship) in 2017-18. Scott Foster and his brethren swallowed their whistles in key moments and it doomed Houston.
I hate that this series has turned into a discussion about referees and landing space. I hate that Steve Kerr gets to pretend that he’s above the fray when in reality he’s a hypocrite since he has had his run-ins with officials in the past. I hate that people are only taking the last 3-point attempt by James Harden where he fell down and extrapolating that to every other attempt that he missed. I wish this game could just be decided by the players on the court and not the three men in gray.
But here we are. So we have to address the issue.
The Rockets saw this coming. In a memo they communicated to the league, they lamented a lack of calls on Harden’s three-point attempts. So of course, the league took this information and...completely ignored it and repeated the same mistakes in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals. Even after exposing Scott Foster and his crew for screwing them out of a Finals appearance, the NBA assigned Foster to a high-profile Rockets game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
When the referees have a 50/50 call on a Harden three or a drive to the basket, they have two choices:
Give Houston free throws.
Let play continue, almost always leading to an open three or dunk for the Warriors since it’s a 5-on-4 situation.
If they actually called 50/50 calls 50/50, this wouldn’t be a problem. The issue is that they seem to always pick option number two. That hurts Houston time and time again. And that gets combined with this: the Warriors are already the best team in the NBA. They have all the talent in the world. You need a lot of things to go your way to beat them, even if you have the talent that teams like Houston and Milwaukee possess.
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Houston Rockets (53-29, fourth in the Western Conference during the regular season) vs. Golden State Warriors (57-25, first in the Western Conference during the regular season)
Oakland, California; Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. PDT
WESTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND: Golden State leads series 1-0
WARRIORS-ROCKETS: Western Conference playoff schedule
BOTTOM LINE: The Golden State Warriors host the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference second round with a 1-0 lead in the series. The Warriors won the last meeting 104-100. Kevin Durant scored 35 points to help lead Golden State to the victory and James Harden recorded 35 points in defeat for Houston.
The Warriors are 30-11 on their home court. Golden State ranks third in the Western Conference shooting 38.5 percent from downtown, led by Stephen Curry shooting 43.7 percent from 3-point range.
The Rockets are 22-19 in road games. Houston is fourth in the Western Conference giving up only 109.1 points and holding opponents to 46.6 percent shooting.
RELATED: Warriors Coach Kerr asks Curry's parents for help after their son's repeated foul trouble
I hate that this series has turned into a discussion about referees and landing space. I hate that Steve Kerr gets to pretend that he’s above the fray when in reality he’s a hypocrite since he has had his run-ins with officials in the past. I hate that people are only taking the last 3-point attempt by James Harden where he fell down and extrapolating that to every other attempt that he missed. I wish this game could just be decided by the players on the court and not the three men in gray.
But here we are. So we have to address the issue.
The Rockets saw this coming. In a memo they communicated to the league, they lamented a lack of calls on Harden’s three-point attempts. So of course, the league took this information and...completely ignored it and repeated the same mistakes in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals. Even after exposing Scott Foster and his crew for screwing them out of a Finals appearance, the NBA assigned Foster to a high-profile Rockets game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
When the referees have a 50/50 call on a Harden three or a drive to the basket, they have two choices:
Give Houston free throws.
Let play continue, almost always leading to an open three or dunk for the Warriors since it’s a 5-on-4 situation.
If they actually called 50/50 calls 50/50, this wouldn’t be a problem. The issue is that they seem to always pick option number two. That hurts Houston time and time again. And that gets combined with this: the Warriors are already the best team in the NBA. They have all the talent in the world. You need a lot of things to go your way to beat them, even if you have the talent that teams like Houston and Milwaukee possess.
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Houston Rockets (53-29, fourth in the Western Conference during the regular season) vs. Golden State Warriors (57-25, first in the Western Conference during the regular season)
Oakland, California; Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. PDT
WESTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND: Golden State leads series 1-0
WARRIORS-ROCKETS: Western Conference playoff schedule
BOTTOM LINE: The Golden State Warriors host the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference second round with a 1-0 lead in the series. The Warriors won the last meeting 104-100. Kevin Durant scored 35 points to help lead Golden State to the victory and James Harden recorded 35 points in defeat for Houston.
The Warriors are 30-11 on their home court. Golden State ranks third in the Western Conference shooting 38.5 percent from downtown, led by Stephen Curry shooting 43.7 percent from 3-point range.
The Rockets are 22-19 in road games. Houston is fourth in the Western Conference giving up only 109.1 points and holding opponents to 46.6 percent shooting.
RELATED: Warriors Coach Kerr asks Curry's parents for help after their son's repeated foul trouble
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