Crash and Burn

Yesterday, I sat on my living room couch eagerly expecting a no-holds barred, battle to the death between the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets. After six games, it all came down to one last game. Here, the NBA’s slogan for the playoffs—win or go home—would literally apply. I was expecting amazing performances. I was expecting a game that would go down the wire. In short, I expected a classic.

Instead, Houston lost by forty points, the biggest margin of victory EVER for a seventh game. Losing, by itself, wouldn’t have been so bad. What made my stomach turn (and the stomachs of Houston fans as well) was how the Rockets lost. They were outplayed, outhustled, and outcoached. Despite being the team with more veterans, the Rockets lost their composure. It wasn’t enough that they played poorly. Compounding matters was their inability to remain focused in the wake of questionable calls during the game.

In the end, the Rockets were pathetic. By the fourth quarter, Van Gundy threw in the towel, opting to keep Tracy McGrady on the bench instead of making one last push. This prompted former Chicago Bulls coach and TV analyst Doug Collins to draw comparisons between T-Mac and Michael Jordan, who, Collins pointed out, would’ve stayed in the game and done everything in his power to come back and win. For him (Jordan), Collins commented, no lead was insurmountable.

Maybe that’s something McGrady can ponder on while he watches the rest of the playoffs from his home.