Apparently we aren't the only ones who thinks we will win tomorrow. Houston favored by 7 right now.

CFTXAG10 said:

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Shocking that these blown calls occurred in San Antonio.

rausr said:

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CFTXAG10 said:

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Shocking that these blown calls occurred in San Antonio.

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Also at 1:19 harden was hacked by the Marcus causing a turnover that led to that possession in the first place.

Wonder who this was?

CFTXAG10 said:

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Wonder who this was?

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A Kentucky player???

Dan Scott said:

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Hate coming into work and people that don't follow the Rockets all year want to talk to you about how much James Hardens sucks

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Kinda like some randoms on this thread?

I laughed

shano0603 said:

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Dan Scott said:

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Hate coming into work and people that don't follow the Rockets all year want to talk to you about how much James Hardens sucks

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Kinda like some randoms on this thread?

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Harden doesn't suck as a player and no person that has watched more than a single pro basketball game (or a basketball game at any level) would argue that he is anything other than an elite player. However, unless we are burying our heads in thick beach sand, Harden has some late 4th quarter and playoff demons to exorcise. This is nothing new. This is something that has been discussed during previous playoffs. Is it the fact he plays too many minutes in general? Maybe. Is it the fact that he has some turnover tendencies that only get magnified in memorable possessions late in games? Maybe. But when the game slows down and the clock winds down, there are some reasonable concerns about outcomes. If James is just below average in overtime, the Rockets probably win. He was awful. As in 3 turnovers and zero points awful. Now, there are reasonable explanations for that. But it doesn't mean he is above criticism. I've followed the Rockets since Moses Malone and there are plenty of fans who are loyal Rockets fans who see flaws in Harden's game despite his greatness. It isn't unpatriotic or disloyal to criticize a guy who is the team's leader and gets paid accordingly.

The series isn't over. It should go 7 games. I expect it will go 7 games. If Leonard is not 100%, I believe the Rockets are a better team. For me, I hope we have an 8 point lead late in the game just in case... or that Pat Beverly can take some pressure off James from time to time late in games when James has also put forth great effort playing playoff defense (as he has recently).

If harden is tired at the end MDA needs to identify it and let someone else run the offense a few possessions. Gordon does it all the time. It's easy to stop when you know what will happen everytime late. Just run the offense you've run for 90+% of the game at the end.

I don't understand why everyone is acting like that Ginobli block was a big deal at all.

1. There's a 99% chance James would've missed the shot anyways
2. It was the easiest block in the world. James was basically asking someone to block his shot.
3. James gets blocked from behind ALL THE TIME. For years, he's been completely oblivious to the fact that people have the ability to come from behind him to block his shot, whether on jumpshots or layups (because he won't dunk the damn ball).

Agree that it wasn't that hard of a block. I will say that I was amazed at how clean he got it. I was looking for contact on replays and there was none.

Agree with this. With the position of James' hands on the ball and the angle Manu was coming from I was thinking it'd be real easy to foul.

And Manu's hops are pretty much all gone. He's worthless in 90% of the games he plays.

It was a nice block and it was risky, because if he had gotten any of Harden's arm there, he probably would have gone to the line. Just let people be excited about it and let's win game 6.

Quote:

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Of the 36 calls or no calls that the NBA ruled on, only five were ruled to have been incorrect. But three came in quick succession leading to Danny Green's go-ahead 3-pointer with 56.5 seconds left in overtime.

The NBA ruled that Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge fouled James Harden, leading to a turnover. Moments later, Aldridge should have been called for three seconds and Spurs guard Patty Mills got away with a travel before Manu Ginobili passed to Green for his 3-pointer.

Two missed calls favored the Rockets, but neither changed the outcome of the plays. Trevor Ariza should have been called for an offensive foul with 1:59 left, but the Rockets did not score on the possession, anyway, turning the ball over six seconds later. On the final possession, Harden should have been called for an offensive foul, but his shot at the buzzer was blocked 8.3 seconds later.

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HossAg said:

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It was a nice block and it was risky, because if he had gotten any of Harden's arm there, he probably would have gone to the line. Just let people be excited about it and let's win game 6.

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It was a somewhat high leverage position for Manu, especially since refs tend to swallow their whistles on late shots. Lets say it was a 50/50 chance that Manu caused contact AND it was whistled... The risk of that + chances of Harden making all 3 free throws is less than Harden's 3-point percentage.

Well they weren't supposed to call a cheap pushoff on Harden with 11 seconds left, but here we are.

HossAg said:

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Well they weren't supposed to call a cheap pushoff on Harden with 11 seconds left, but here we are.

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NBA said that was the correct call.

free_mhayden said:

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HossAg said:

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It was a nice block and it was risky, because if he had gotten any of Harden's arm there, he probably would have gone to the line. Just let people be excited about it and let's win game 6.

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It was a somewhat high leverage position for Manu, especially since refs tend to swallow their whistles on late shots. Lets say it was a 50/50 chance that Manu caused contact AND it was whistled... The risk of that + chances of Harden making all 3 free throws is less than Harden's 3-point percentage.

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Right on point. Plus Harden couldn't take the risk of the clock running out like Mills did in regulation. It was good clock awareness by Ginobili. He knew James didn't have any other choice so he took a risk and went for the block.

I'm just saying it is a slippery slope. How much pushing off to create space does a player get? At what point should refs not call something that is a foul? 1 min left? 2 min left? 5 min left? What if a scrub like Simmons pushed off a star like LeBron to create space? If you don't call them, how much of an advantage are you willing to give the offensive player? What is to keep them from completely abusing that and just throwing guys around because they know the refs won't call what is a true foul simply because it is late in the game and they are a star?

I'd rather everything be called consistently the entire game and on every player. Why give Kawhi Leonard an advantage on switching pivot feet that Capela doesn't get? I'd also like to win the powerball.

Here is the clip slowed down on repeat:

If you look at his right foot it looks like he tripped. Harden does use his off arm to create space but Simmons over-exaggerates the contact and gets the official to give him the call. I understand why the NBA says its the correct call because they can prove Harden used his off arm but Simmons sold the call and tripped in the process.

Honestly, to that same point though I thought the refs had done a good job not letting Mills bait them into offensive foul calls. He was exaggerating a ton down the stretch. They know Harden is going to create separation so they look for the right moment to take advantage.

Yeah, no question that Simmons greatly exaggerated the contact to get the call.

I understand what you're saying, and it is tough. I thought the contact was pretty minimal for how dramatically he fell, but it's over now. I think we can all agree that it was a pretty poorly reffed game down the stretch.

WES2006AG said:

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Hickory High said:

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I don't understand why everyone is acting like that Ginobli block was a big deal at all.

1. There's a 99% chance James would've missed the shot anyways
2. It was the easiest block in the world. James was basically asking someone to block his shot.
3. James gets blocked from behind ALL THE TIME. For years, he's been completely oblivious to the fact that people have the ability to come from behind him to block his shot, whether on jumpshots or layups (because he won't dunk the damn ball).

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Did James **** your girlfriend?

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Am I wrong?

Completely agree. Even if for a possession here or there.

Kawhi is a game time decision. Won't be surprised if he doesn't play so he will be healthy for a potential game 7.