Rockets 2008 Playoff game #2

THIS IS A MUST WIN FOR THE ROCKETS!!! Probably. The Jazz have been very good at home (only 4 losses) and they now have home court advantage with the win in Houston on Saturday. The Jazz' record is poor on the road for the year, but they've been good on the road since acquiring Kyle Korver. Yes, you read that right, Kyle Korver. Boozer, Williams, AK-47, Okur ... and Kyle Korver made the difference.

8:40 Kady Milloy singing the National Anthem! So you don't know who that is. If you watch American Idol you would. She's from the Houston area, she's pretty decent looking, she does a good Britney Spears impression, however, she can't sing very well. And apparently brave is a two syllable word. And the home ... of the ... ba-rave!

8:43 They're announcing the starting lineups. Scola, Battier, all of them do this flying shoulder bump thing with the bench players. Except McGrady. He went with the index finger touch. Hopefully I can find a picture of it, you've got to see it to believe it. That shoulder must be a bigger problem than people are making it out to be.

8:50 I'm watching this game on local tv. The game is also being broadcast on TNT. Not really sure why it's on local, too, but I wasn't too impressed with the announcers on Saturday night.

8:56 Somebody should try guarding Darren Williams. The Rockets miss Rafer Alston. Yes, you read that right, as well. They've been trying to give his job away for 3 years and he's still the best PG on the team.

9:01 I've already mentioned Kyle Korver - Iowa tie #1, I should also mention Matt Bullard a.k.a. Bull. You may know him from the University of Iowa teams in the late '80s. He's from WDM Valley and played for the Rockets on their championship teams. Iowa tie #2.

9:08 Mario Williams sighting!!! I wonder if he drove to the game in his orange Lamborgini?

9:22 Rockets still down 30-25, but McGrady seems to be trying, so that's a plus.

9:26 T-Mac averages 28.5 ppg in the playoffs. Good for fourth best all time. Behind Jordan and Jerry West (and somebody else). Maybe it isn't all his fault that his teams haven't made it out of the first round.

9:39 Okur (7') gets a rebound over Chuck Hayes (6'6"). Bullard says, "You can't teach 7 foot." To which Clyde Drexler adds, "You can't teach height" Uh, I think that's what he just said. I suppose if you've got a half-dozen quips stocked up, you use them when you can.

9:48 The Utah Jazz are so long! You would have thought Jay Bilas was calling the game!

9:49 Chuck Hayes has missed 3 point blank shots. And Battier just had a sweet put back dunk. Drexler dubs him "Air Battier." Original. I'm guessing he didn't come up with Clyde The Glide.

10:14 Second half and its tied on a TMac jumper, but he can't make the free throw and the Rockets can't take the lead. McGrady should be a better free throw shooter (68% !!! Not to mention his three-point shooting 29%. Ouch!)

10:18 McGrady is getting eaten up on defense by Kirilenko. McGrady has never been a great defender, but usually the Rockets hide him. Who is Battier guarding?

10:22 Rockets lead! Rockets lead! And of all people to make the go-ahead, it's Diekembe Mutumbo. That dude is oooooooold.

10:30 McGrady takes a three ... and misses! Not surprising, for those of you who have been following along.

10:35 Ronnie Price just hit a buzzer beater three at the end of the third quarter. Austin dubbed them the Utah Buzzer Beaters. Better than Drexler could have come up with, I guess. Ronnie Price is Houston-tie #1. He's from Friendswood.

10:39 4th quarter, 71-69, bad guys. Mehmet Okra just made an easy layup. Rockets should try playing some defense. Just heard that Darin Williams is not hurt, he's just chillaxin in the locker room.

10:45 Bennett Salvatore is bad at his job. One of the few things I agree with Bill Simmons about. Seriously, that guy's a turd. Well, both him and Salvatore.

10:49 McGrady goes 1 for 2 from the stripe. He's missed 4 ... of 9. 55%, that's about right. If someone like Amare Stoudemare can make 22 of 22 in a game, McGrady (a SHOOTING guard) should be able to go better than 70% from the line.

10:57 McGrady is rubbing off on the other players, and not in a good way. Bobby Jackson just missed two free throws - he's who they send up for technical free throws (81%). They needed that, too. Down by three, you can't miss two free throws.

10:59 Down by five, the Rockets get a five on four break, and McGrady is lucky to draw rim on a three point attempt (0 for 2 tonight). He just can't put together a complete game. This is the time when he needs to take the game over. He didn't score in the 4th quarter last night and only has one point in the fourth tonight. Maybe that's why he doesn't make it out of the first round.

11:06 Drexler and Bullard have been dogging on the refs all game long. I'd agree that there have been some pretty terrible calls. The last one was especially poor. Bullard doesn't think these refs belong in the playoffs.

11:09 Kyle Korver hits a shot and then ices the game from the free throw line. The Iowa kid killing us, that's what hurts. Kyle Korver makes the difference in yet another road game. We didn't get to the next two Iowa ties, maybe next time.