I understand why he’s unhappy with his wife, but did her really need to collar out like that?

Fair point, although I think the CP3 injury was predictable because he’s an aging point guard with a well documented history of playoff injuries. It also feels like something breaks in Golden State’s favor every single year (Love and Kyrie out in 2015, Kawhi out in 2017, CP3 this year to name a few).

This is the worst finals of my lifetime. It’s been said a million times before, but the KD removed any drama from the sport for the foreseeable future, and it sucks. The Rockets were the one hope of breaking up the monotony. I hope all of you people who rooted against them are happy.

I think we’re 100% in agreement that the last 2 games have been ugly. I’m kind of enjoying this sloppy, defense-first basketball though. It’s intense.

I don’t have a smart or insightful comment. Your writing is a cynical, cowardly affront to everything that writing should be. Your continued employment is bad for sports fans everywhere. There is a good and virtuous brand of basketball writing being done on other websites, but yours is the WRONG way.

If the Rockets chased offensive rebounds, the Warriors would kill them in transition. Maybe it’s boring, but it’s smart as hell.

Thanks! This is a really great response. I noticed some of the stuff you mentioned (Rockets jumping passing lanes, fewer lobs for Capela) but wasn’t sure of the defensive adjustments that caused those outcomes.

I’m curious what smarter basketball people than me think: were both offenses terrible because of outstanding defense, fatigue, bad offensive strategy, or some combination of the three?

This is my big problem with Deadspin’s take on the Rockets. “I don’t enjoy watching them play” = “Cynical and cowardly.” It’s such arrogant bullshit.

What are your thoughts on this 95-92 Rockets win?

I’d love to see you spend some time analyzing Rockets wins. What happened tonight? Did the Warriors get cute?

I’ll take cold unfeeling math over a team that nicknamed itself the Hamptons 5 any day. That shit is unforgivable.

You’re ignoring the multiple games in which Harden played poorly in the playoffs and the Rockets still won. The system is good, but it’s not good enough to overcome the talent disparity between the two teams. Do you think a team like the Jazz could have beaten the Rockets 4 times out of 7 by running the Warriors’…

The Warriors are better than the Rockets because they have 4 all-stars. If the teams switched offensive philosophies, Golden State would stool win because they have better players. I don’t understand why you’re acting like the Rockets are stupid for trying this offense. They won 65 games, got the top seed, and would…

Fair point. My interpretation was they hate how much the Warriors win but love the way they play, while they hate how much the Rockets win and DESPISE the way they play. So a Rockets championship would inflict maximum sports pain.

God, I hope the Rockets win it all just so you turds will be miserable for a bit.

Agreed. Can’t stand them.

Fair point, but aside from Harden, the Rockets shot 3-25 from 3. Chris Paul had 4 assists and 6 turnovers, Eric Gordon had 7 points on 3-10 shooting, Trevor Ariza shot 1-6 from the field, 1-4 from the free throw line, and missed all 4 of his 3s. Presumably, the rest of the Rockets will play closer to their season…

No it isn’t:

I, too, hope basketball players I don’t like will get hurt during games. It’s a totally reasonable and not at all psychotic take.