ClutchFans Game Thread: Kings @ Rockets 1/28/2004

[rocketman113]

can anyone explain why at the end OF EVERY FREAKIN quarter of EVERY GAME...francis has to walk his sorry ass up the court killing 90% of the time before passing half court and then throwing up a unmakable prayer. Also regardless of who has the hot hand HE HAS TO TAKE EVERY end of quarter shot and that is also a big reason why the rockets lost this game.

[franchise403]

Somebody call me when the Rockets join the elite.

I am tired of wasting my time when I should be studying!

[moonnumack]

Good job Steve. I think we just found a replacement for Matt Stevens.

[bigballerj]

Originally posted by adeelsiddiqui
Did We Win....











:rolleyes: :mad:

Yes!.......................................But Not This Game :mad:

[Elie#17]

Despite steve's poor shooting.. I feel those two 3-point attempts back to back with 3 minutes to go.. that was the end. Who else on this board thinks that he was soooo boneheaded in this game?

Why does he have to be a champ everytime....
terrible. the offense/defense completely fell apart... I need a cigarette.

[London'sBurning]

Originally posted by BBFEVER
Not to beat a deadhorse, but its time to consider a different role for SF. This is ridiculous!

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2002/20021213l.gif

[Jonhty]

the 22 TOs killed us tonite.

[arif1127]

the exasperated look on yao's face after the horn went off was beautiful, like he knew they should have won but they blew it, frustration like a mutha.

[DavidS]

Originally posted by silentfan
Blame this loss on Yao and Steve for not showing up. We need Yao to take more than 10 friggin shots in 4 quarters and Francis needs to bench himself.

Yeah. What's up with Yao's timid play again? Someone should tell him that this is HIS team.

He doesn't WANT the ball, when he should.

[ZRB]

18 points for Francis in three games. What an All-star.

[Rasselas]

After the Heat loss, I made a post that was filled with optomism, perspective, a healthy mindset where I tried to "focus on the big picture."

Screw that. I'm mad. Mean mad.

[francis 4 prez]

Originally posted by rocketman113
where is MJ???? The ball in the hands of francis is like waiting for a bomb to explode


well mj had 4 turnovers in 12 minutes to steve's 4 in 44 minutes and i think in only two shots he actually shot worse than steve considering how bad the 3 and the floater missed. playing mark jackson swung the game back to the kings to start the fourth when we went from up 5 to down 3.

[rocketman113]

let take a vote, who do you trust the ball with more, francis or MJ? Who will make the better decision 90% of the time?

[Charvo]

Originally posted by rocketman113
can anyone explain why at the end OF EVERY FREAKIN quarter of EVERY GAME...francis has to walk his sorry ass up the court killing 90% of the time before passing half court and then throwing up a unmakable prayer. Also regardless of who has the hot hand HE HAS TO TAKE EVERY end of quarter shot and that is also a big reason why the rockets lost this game.

I don't know why JJ didn't take those shots. Those are just wasted possessions.

[nyquil82]

mark jackson made some brilliant passes, however the team is not ready for him. his turnovers came from fumbled passes and during times when the team cleared out and did not fight for position, forcing MJ to shoot something he didnt intend.

horrible game from francis, he should have kept on passing, i dont know how many times i cringed when he shot the ball, its like he's trying to pick up the slack from moochie. and his temper tantrums with tossing the ball are really getting to me. he needs to redeem himself.

[Charvo]

I think Bibby stealing the ball from Yao combined with the refs calling 2 offensive fouls due to flops got Yao tentative. He didn't want to go strong to the hole especially after the 2nd offensive foul.

[DaDakota]

If Yao gets called for an offensive foul he should STEP on that flopping players chest before heading back down court.

DD

[xicloud]

SF loses his touch. He even missed layup. His penetration game is gone. 3/16 shooting.
And Yao said he will have a breakthrough, but he even dare not shoot the ball. JJ and MoT are hot. Especially MoT is consistent. Maybe should start MoT from now on.

[Charvo]

Originally posted by DaDakota
If Yao gets called for an offensive foul he should STEP on that flopping players chest before heading back down court.

DD

Bill and Calvin interviewed that flopper Vlade and he admittedly said he flopped. I think his protege Brad Miller has got that skill down too. I didn't think those calls would be made in the Toyota Center, but they did call them.

[Deckard]

Originally posted by Elie#17
Despite steve's poor shooting.. I feel those two 3-point attempts back to back with 3 minutes to go.. that was the end. Who else on this board thinks that he was soooo boneheaded in this game?

Why does he have to be a champ everytime....
terrible. the offense/defense completely fell apart... I need a cigarette.
He is in the most prolonged slump, short of when he had the inner ear problem, that I can remember. He keeps trying to shoot his way out of it and it doesn't seem to be working. And Francis keeps doing it when he should be running set plays. I don't know when he's going to relocate some consistancy. Yes, 10 assists is a nice number, but not if you put that alongside 4 for 17. (edit: 3 for 17... damn)

Van Gundy needs to figure out how to turn Francis around. We played an excellent team, but I felt better about the Miami loss, which is pretty crazy, but there it is.

[lalala902102001]

We just didn't take care of the ball and I contribute that to the Kings' defense (yes, their D).

Yao showed again that he is not ready to carry this team yet. He got outplayed by Brad Miller in the second half and really wasn't a factor down the stretch. I don't want to diss Yao, but people need to stop those Yao Ming for MVP threads. He still has a lot of improvement to do and a ton to learn before he can be mentioned as an MVP candidate.

I expect Steve to get bombed after this game (not that he hasn't been). But really I want to know if there is something wrong with him physically. He never looked as bad as he has been lately, not even in the year when he had the migraine problem. Francis is a better shooter than he is showing now.

JJ played a great game, so kudos to him.

[solid]

Incredible performance by JJ, Taylor was solid, and Francis had over ten assists. Why did we lose? Turnovers and our guards cannot shoot consistently over the zone defense. Bobby Jackson (off the bench) and Bibby look like the All Stars. If your guards can't hit over 40% from the outside, a decent zone will kill you most of the time. This team needs better outside shooting and won't win consistently without it. The King's guards put on a shooting clinic and our guards need to go to a clinic.

[Rockets34Legend]

Tradition of the Rockets:

Up for the 1st 3 quarters....choke in the 4th. Nothing new.

[spydermex]

What the hell happened to the franchise??? I used to love him and his great play against the better teams, but damn hes been sucking more than paris hilton!!! How long does it take a player to make the transition to another system???And the refs are really pissing me off!!!How can yao get beat and wrestled down in his last game and then they call these wussy offensive fouls on him??

[ayears]

Good start... awful end...

JJ play as a warrior,with fire in his eyes. Yeah, I see it, i really see it. Damn 23 deadly turnovers made JJ play like a tragic victim.

[bigballerj]

I know this may sound stupid but sometimes stupid things actually work...

Steve needs to start wearing headbands like he did early in his career. He seemed alot more confident and a better player back then.

[Charvo]

I think Bibby may dislike Steve Francis. Look at Shaq. He's using Yao Ming cardboard cutouts to dunk on. Shaq obviously feels Yao Mings is getting too much pub as a center. How is Bibby feeling not ever starting in an all-star game because Steve gets the fan votes? Bibby looks like a robot without emotions, but I bet he feels Steve isn't better than him. Bibby plays his best games against Steve. I think Bobby Jackson hates Steve too. Steve better recognize that a lot of point guards in the West hate him for going to the all-star game on the fan vote.

[Charvo]

These offensive fouls called on Yao need to be stopped. The NBA is just plain stupid for letting the refs call this garbage. How can they expect him to be aggressive if they call him for some BS fouls when he is trying to make a move to the basket? David Stern needs to make some phone calls. I think China should protest by shutting down one of the NBA sweat shops for a few days.

[rlambs26]

Concerning on 4th quater, they seemed like they don't know what to do. the Cat didn't know how to pass the ball and kept shooting the ball with lots of pressure. SF didn't know how to move ball safely and shoot accurately...

Well, I think that MJ can make team offense a lot more stable than SF in such situation. I believe that he knows how to make players steady without loosing their mind...

Rockets have played like for several years. Playing well during from the 1st to the third, but loosing everything in the 4th. This is a problem of backcourt players who have to set the steady team offense.

Give more time to MJ!!!

[rocketman113]

Originally posted by Charvo
I think Bibby may dislike Steve Francis. Look at Shaq. He's using Yao Ming cardboard cutouts to dunk on. Shaq obviously feels Yao Mings is getting too much pub as a center. How is Bibby feeling not ever starting in an all-star game because Steve gets the fan votes? Bibby looks like a robot without emotions, but I bet he feels Steve isn't better than him. Bibby plays his best games against Steve. I think Bobby Jackson hates Steve too. Steve better recognize that a lot of point guards in the West hate him for going to the all-star game on the fan vote.

Every point guard in the league has a season best like game against francis. Scrub, all start, 10 day contract...it does not matter...they all have a field day against francis.

[Charvo]

Fault Rudy T for the garbage education the guards received, but he at least milked the hot hand. JJ should have been jacking up shots the whole night. He should have taken the end of quarter shots. He should have been the guy to shoot on the pick and rolls. He should have been the go-to guy in the 2nd half.

[Yetti]

Please dont give up on our Team just yet! In fact NEVER! This season JVG is just seeing what adjustments he might make at seasons end and to install the defencive psyche in the minds and play of his Team.This Team is only a transitional Team, while Yao Ming adapts to the NBA Game.

[Life2Def]

Originally posted by solid
Incredible performance by JJ, Taylor was solid, and Francis had over ten assists. Why did we lose? Turnovers and our guards cannot shoot consistently over the zone defense. Bobby Jackson (off the bench) and Bibby look like the All Stars. If your guards can't hit over 40% from the outside, a decent zone will kill you most of the time. This team needs better outside shooting and won't win consistently without it. The King's guards put on a shooting clinic and our guards need to go to a clinic.

Zone defense?

[jelanit]

Originally posted by Charvo
...How is Bibby feeling not ever starting in an all-star game because Steve gets the fan votes? Bibby looks like a robot without emotions, but I bet he feels Steve isn't better than him. Bibby plays his best games against Steve...

I was thinking the exact same thing. Steve has a big target on his back because he is continually voted to the all-star game. Point guards around the league probably circle their games with the Rockets so they know when to bring it. Steve needs to grow some nutz and play some damn ball. He had 13 assists tonight which is wonderful, but he missed 14 shots!:mad: That's unacceptable. Hell, if he would have made just 3 more shots for a blistering 6-17, we would have won. I'm glad he is passing the ball, but he has to take good shots.

(Steve, stay away from the Super Bowl parties and hit the gym! And take your homeboy Cat with you. And both of you, stop taking stupid shots at inopportune times. Also, Yao, stop being a bitch down low. They can't **** with you.)

[edwardlo]

Steve hit the rookie wall. He should be back next year.

[sup123]

Can someone explain to me why yao gets pulled out of the game so much after making a mistake; while francis played 44 min and played like crap the whole time and made mistakes left and right.

[London'sBurning]

Francis - 7 PTS on 3-17 SHOOTING, 13 AST, 4 TO (Not bad for 3 quarters of play. Even though his shot was off, atleast he was getting his teammates involved. He doesn't know how to dictate the flow of the game though. He took wide open shots and missed them, forced shots and made them more difficult then they had to be with some of his layup attempts. He also left Bibby and B. Jax to try and offer unnecessary support on defense when his own defensive assignments were burning him all night with clean open looks at the perimeter, as well as cherry picking fastbreak layups where they simply beat Francis down the court.)

Ming - 12 PTS on 5-10 SHOOTING 2 AST 5 TO (Was called for a couple of offensive fouls that resulted in turnovers. Got the ball stripped by B. Jax and Bibby numerous times from him and regressed back to his old tentative play even when he had wide open shots to attempt. Poor transition defense. Most of the time his lack of good transition defense didn't burn him seeing as his defensive assignments are almost as slow as he is up and down the court. Another reason why JVG likes to slow down the game to an almost lethargic pace, which is to try and not expose our bigmens slow feet on transition defense. Something Hakeem absolutely excelled at better then our guards who were smaller and should of been quicker.)

Mobley - 19 PTS on 7-18 SHOOTING. 0 AST, 4 TO (Didn't make his teammates better, took bad shots that went away from our style of play i.e eating up the shotclock and slowing down the tempo. Let himself get baited into the quick style of play that the Kings like to play. Sometimes it resulted in a 3 dropping, other times it resulted in a fresh 24 second shot clock going to waste by a 2 second 3 point jack that resulted in poor transition defense off long rebounds and open layups for the Kings.)

M. Jackson - 1 PT on 0-2 SHOOTING, 3 AST, 4 TO (Opted for far too many behind the back passes, and got the ball stripped from him when he tried to post the ball up down low. His normally good decision making on the court was absent today and he couldn't stop the bleeding in playing the Kings style of ball. Normally his play means slowing the game down, playing methodically and making the right pass at the right moment for open looks. As a backup PG who was meant to slow down the game tonight and play under control, M. Jackson did the exact opposite. )

M. Taylor - 18 PTS on 8-14 SHOOTING, 14 REB , 2 AST, 2 TO (Taylor played like a man tonight. He grabbed boards, shot well, but much like Mobley forced bad shot attempts in a crowded paint full of King defenders in the final minutes of the game. He often whined about the lack of calls like he normally does but did more then his part in trying to get this team a win. He's not our 1st, or 2nd scoring option unless our bench is out there, and hasn't been asked to take the team on his shoulders all season long, but has occasionally produced like he should with the numbers he put up tonight.)

Cato - 4 PTS on 2-3 SHOOTING, 0 AST, 0 STL (Cato didn't provide any defensive presence, or rebounding the whole night. Unlike his other games where it was atleast debatable whether to start him over Taylor at the PF position, it's no longer a contest. He has regressed in his past few games, and lately has no longer even provided his defensive presence. He was an offensive liability on the court tonight like most nights, unless he's getting hustling garbage points. )

Padgett - 3 PTS on 1-1 SHOOTING, 1 REB, 1 STL, 1 TO ( He's had past games where he was deserving of atleast filling the backup role at the PF position. He hustles, but most of all is smart with the ball. He knows what he's capable of and never tries to go over that. He's got great range, and makes his team better with his hustle, passing, and shooting range. He's definitely underused but like other players on this team who have had stellar performances for a few games, may just as well end being the flavor of the month like Cato was at the early part of the season. The problem is, we don't use him enough at the backup PF role enough to find out whether he's deserving of more minutes out there on the court.)

Nachbar - 2 PTS on 1-3 SHOOTING (Played 9 minutes. Not much to say about him other then he didn't play enough to merit any real criticism or praise. His missed shots looked good if that's possible because they rolled in and out, and looked dead on leaving his hands. He's got the skills, but not the experience. I'm glad JVG is bringing him along slowly.)

SUMMARY

22 Turnovers, poor transition defense off turnovers and long rebounds, lack of composure under the closing minutes of each quarter, and going away from the Rockets lethargic tempo was what caused the loss tonight. Objectively Francis is not entirely at fault, but definitely deserves more then his fair share of justified criticism.

Yao DID NOT play aggressive nor was he much of an impact at either end of the floor. One because his transition defense was poor and he wasn't able to help the guards on their missed defensive assignments that resulted in a boatload of Kings layups. However was he was in the halfcourt set, he altered shots, but definitely not enough as you can see from the score. Offensively I could tell when he started off cold at the start of the game, that he was going to play tentative thinking he shouldn't shoot anymore. He took 5 shots within the first 6 minutes of the game and only took 5 more for the remainder of the game. Most of the time he was in 1 on 1 open post up situations, but opted to hold onto the ball to wait for a double team that resulted in his numerous turnovers. When he would play agressively he would get called for offensive fouls, but since he played tentatively for the majority of the game, those few times he would play agressive he was not rewarded for it and was instead called for fouls.

If you were to tell me Peja would go 5-16 against our undersized small forwards for the night, and that we would outrebound the Kings by 19, I would of told you we won. The Rockets cracked under pressure plaiin and simple, and our star players didn't show up tonight. It's truly ashame such an almost perfect performance from JJ was a waste. The man had no turnovers, was grabbing boards, held Peja to 31.25 % shooting, and was playing his heart out tonight. I really feel for him seeing just how badly he wanted to show the Kings what a mistake it was to cut him loose.

[sup123]

Originally posted by London'sBurning

It's truly ashame such an almost perfect performance from JJ was a waste. The man had no turnovers, was grabbing boards, held Peja to 31.25 % shooting, and was playing his heart out tonight. I really feel for him seeing just how badly he wanted to show the Kings what a mistake it was to cut him loose.

JJ did want the game; I kinda feel bad for him. He also came back with a strong performace from bad shooting in maima. Whille our other players didntl.

[vcchlw]

Steve and Cat just needs to work on open shots!:mad:

[feishen]

Yao needs quickly attack the rim once got the ball. Quit waiting for a sec or two before move. The opposing team sends quick double team that way easily, he needs to realize we dont have outside shooting right now.

[saleem]

Yao was tentative tonight. His turnaround jumpers were not going down even though the Kings didn't get physical with him. He has problems with holding position and gets stripped very easily and he still stands in a corner watching a play evolve rather than moving to get in a better position.
He looked so slow at the halfway mark in the 1st quarter. I think part of it is mental because once he starts missing his confidence really goes down.
Francis hustled and blocked some shots but he left Bibby for easy shots.Since he is in a shooting slump he needs to attack the basket aggressively while at the same time keep on passing the ball.Even with a zone defense he can still get to the line quite often.
Mobley did better than before but he faded in the 4th quarter and Mo short armed his shots in crunch time after doing a very good job earlier.
JJ was very good but he didn't get the support he needed.The last quarter is always the hardest but if
JVG makes the players play with their respective strengths within the team concept we still may improve.

[real_egal]

This is my first post. As a rocket fan since Dream time, and as a Yao fan being a Chinese, I do care how rockets play. Although I didn't get the chance to watch the game, they lost just as I predicted. Rockets always have a problem with fast-paced teams, Mavs, Kings, and Memphis. Personally, I think the problem is not in talent or skills but in mindsets. With a decent big man on court, you should never play those gun-and-run games. The rockets always fall into other teams' game plans. They run, we run; they play half-court, we play inside-out. You can blame yao for not be able to run fast enough, but that's the fact you have to accept. Do you see Lakers play lots of fast up and down games? No, they set for half court game. Why? Because they have Shap in the post, where he can extend his power at most. Rockets just played their weakness in those high tempo games, they are wearing Yao out, without him being effective with those up and down long shots long rebounds. With set half court games, he can shoot, pass or rebound. Unlike the Memphis game, which I watched on TV, he was always hanging in the middle, non factor at both ends. If you want to play around certain player, you got to force yourself into a system which is best that guy. Just my two cents.

real_egal

[fredy]

too bad the rockets lost. I went to the game and felt like the rockets were going to win with a sellout crowd with all the sports celebs that I saw walking around and all the hype with the superbowl. I thought in the end the rockets needed a momentum change and they got it when Cato got the alley oop pass but then messed it up with a technical foul. From then on it just got ugly. Oh well at least we didn't loose by 20+ points like we usually loose to the sacramento queens.

[Charvo]

I watched the 1st half of the game over again trying to analyze it. Bibby and Bobby Jackson made some crazy shots. The Rockets play effectively until the final minutes of each quarter. For some reason the team just sucks in the final minutes of a quarter. I think Steve's outside shot is really limiting his game. He's having to get way too close to the basket to get a score. On the 2nd to last possession of the 1st half, he missed badly a shot that was around 3 feet from the basket. A King rebounded it and threw it down to Bobby Jackson for a layup. There was one possession in which Steve was driving to the basket and could have stopped and popped for an easy short-range jumper. He dove into a bunch of defenders looking for a foul. He didn't get it. Sometimes the refs give the call, sometimes they don't. Always depending on the call is a mistake. Yao had a fadeaway jumper towards the baseline that hit near the beginning of the game. I didn't see him use that again in the 1st half even though it is very effective since it is very hard to get help defense on.

[michecon]

Originally posted by olliez
This is crazy: we are outrebounding Queens by 45-29, yet we are still behind ?!

:confused:

A turn over margin of 14 means 28 points for Queens, ususally.

[michecon]

It could have been a sweet game for JJ.


Sigh.

[Lil]

I wasn't able to catch the Kings games. But if the box scores do not lie, then that's Stevie with 13 assists!

I was wondering whether anyone who watched the game can tell me if most of those were dishes to our 3pt shooters or passes inside to Mo, Cato, and Yao?

Even though we lost, this season could potentially get a lot better for the Rockets if some of that Mark Jackson magic has rubbed off on Stevie. Francis with passing ability... the league better watch out!

[fitchjs]

I have felt all along that Steve would become a much better all around player under Van Gundy. He is already a better defender and is player under more control. Bringing in Mark Jackson will only help him to grow as a player. Mark's example is all that is needed to help Steve.

I hope the league gets rid of the zone defense next year; then, I believe we will see how much Steve has improved.

[ckahlich001]

steve is having a meltdown.

him and cat need to shoot shoot SHOOT! basketball 24-7. they need to seriously put in some extra practice to get their shot up to par (especially steve) if they are truly committed to this team.

luckily the grizzlies and the mavs lost last night also

[Rasselas]

Terrific recap, London's Burning. Reading your spot-on analysis was actually the only bright spot of this game.

[edwardlo]

Originally posted by feishen
Yao needs quickly attack the rim once got the ball. Quit waiting for a sec or two before move. The opposing team sends quick double team that way easily, he needs to realize we dont have outside shooting right now.
I cannot agree more. JVG should really find a way to teach him how to make a move quickly. If he can move a little faster, he could score more easily given the shooting touch and the advantage he has. I think JVG has been trying to make Yao to play physical, back down, back down until he get good position before he start to move. May be JVG should also let him do catch and shoot as well.

[edwardlo]

Originally posted by sup123
Can someone explain to me why yao gets pulled out of the game so much after making a mistake; while francis played 44 min and played like crap the whole time and made mistakes left and right.
Because SF is a Max player. Under the Houston Contract agreement, he must play Max minute in order to earn his value. He must also shoot the last shot of every quarter to qualify for Bonus.

[edwardlo]

Originally posted by rocketman113
can anyone explain why at the end OF EVERY FREAKIN quarter of EVERY GAME...francis has to walk his sorry ass up the court killing 90% of the time before passing half court and then throwing up a unmakable prayer. Also regardless of who has the hot hand HE HAS TO TAKE EVERY end of quarter shot and that is also a big reason why the rockets lost this game.
Because he can dribble the ball till its dead.

[edwardlo]

Originally posted by BBFEVER
Not to beat a deadhorse, but its time to consider a different role for SF. This is ridiculous!
What about a mascot!

[defire]

Originally posted by edwardlo
Because SF is a Max player. Under the Houston Contract agreement, he must play Max minute in order to earn his value. He must also shoot the last shot of every quarter to qualify for Bonus.

are you kidding us? if this is true, it's might be the biggest joke ever heard of.

[defire]

Originally posted by edwardlo
I cannot agree more. JVG should really find a way to teach him how to make a move quickly. If he can move a little faster, he could score more easily given the shooting touch and the advantage he has. I think JVG has been trying to make Yao to play physical, back down, back down until he get good position before he start to move. May be JVG should also let him do catch and shoot as well.

agree, Yao needs to move to shoot, he doesn't need to have a 100% low post position to shoot. in the Twolf, and Pacer games, he has quick moves and still shoot well.
Its a pain to see Yao struggled in the low post and quickly got doubled by those crappy 6 footers and result in a TO.
Yao, move your ass faster!!!!!:mad:

[rrj_gamz]

Sloppy play at the end of every quarter is becoming a real bad habit that must be broken...

First of all, that wasn't a flagrant at the end of the game and Steve needs to find his shot...

I really believe we have the talent, but we're still being un-disciplined to our own detriment...

One of the few sellouts at the TC and national TV and we suck...

Here's a thought, when some is hot (i.e. Jim Jackson), give him the damn ball...:mad:

[montevideo]

Many negative takes after this loss. But it's not time to throw in the towel just yet.

Rox played Kings better than last outing - and - call them what you want - but the Kings have a pretty damn good team - probably the most entertaining in the league - they hustle - and they have the best record in the league - all without C Web.

Call them Queens, but if Kings are Queens what does that make Rockets? Rockettes?

I am disappointed that the Rox where unable to control the tempo throughout the game and that Yao could not or would not establish himself on the offensive end. But - again - I'm not going to throw in the towel on Yao or SF for that matter.

Rockets have played much better the first half of this year than they did to close out last season - and they are positioned to get better in the 2nd half of the season.

Playing 9 games at home in February and only making 4 team road trips, (2 of those intrastate to Dallas and San Antonio) will help to settle things down. And Yao, SF and Mobley will get away from JVG for a weekend during the all-star break.

BTW - Did anyone else notice SF bumbing Stojakovic and Bibby b4 they stepped to the line towards the end of Q4? Was that a pathetic attempt at intimidation? Or is there some other explanation?

[room4rentsf]

My Opinions of this game.

I thought SF played with alot of heart for the 1st 3 quarters and tried to get his teammates involved. Even though his shot wasnt falling he was controlling the pace of the game. In the 4th Q you could see SF was starting to get razzled and started to panic. I dont know why SF went away from getting JJ the ball when he was so hot when you make you a shot you should get change..

Overall our turnovers killed us.. not the poor shooting.

We outrebounded them like crazy and did a pretty decent job scoring but our TO's kept them in the game. If we could have controlled the TO's we would have blown them out. I will admit the Kings made some great defensive plays wow.. their guards have such quick hands. How many times did their guards poke the ball away from our guys?

I really think SF's poor shooting is hurting our teams chances to win games and I cant figure why he is shooting so poorly. He does heave last second shots which lower is FG% but still cant understand it. He should look to get his own shot too.. not ISO but within the flow of the game stop and pop the short jumpers..

Kings played tough today but we hurt ourselves with the TO's and getting frazzled in the 4th Q.

Did anyone else notice SF losing his temper and throwing the ball into the pole? (2 times) whats up with that?

J

[montevideo]

Originally posted by sup123
Can someone explain to me why yao gets pulled out of the game so much after making a mistake; while francis played 44 min and played like crap the whole time and made mistakes left and right.

Originally posted by edwardlo
Because SF is a Max player. Under the Houston Contract agreement, he must play Max minute in order to earn his value. He must also shoot the last shot of every quarter to qualify for Bonus.

Ask Byron Scott how he would answer that question!

[Rasselas]

After watching last nights' game, it occured to me that what we need is some kind of supernatural "Frankenstein" player. A super-beast that is made from the attributes of the whole team. This player would have:

the aggressiveness of Yao Ming
the decision-making of Steve Francis
the outside shooting of Kelvin Cato
the athleticism of Padgett
the unselfishness of Mo Taylor
the quickness of Mark Jackson

Such a player would be a force. Too bad we already traded him to the Knicks.

[Rasselas]

Originally posted by edwardlo
What about a mascot!

Maybe at the end of each quarter, he can be the one to honk the horn of the Toyota Truck.

[Texas Stoke]

All I got to say about that game is - Kapaya!

Lets get back to playing winning baskteball - Kapaya!

[London'sBurning]

Originally posted by Rasselas
Terrific recap, London's Burning. Reading your spot-on analysis was actually the only bright spot of this game.

Gee thanks :D It's nice to know my posting tirades aren't in vain. :D

[Tonaaayyyy]

Originally posted by montevideo
BTW - Did anyone else notice SF bumbing Stojakovic and Bibby b4 they stepped to the line towards the end of Q4? Was that a pathetic attempt at intimidation? Or is there some other explanation? [/B]

I saw that.. Peja went to the foul line and Francis for some reason.. rubbed his forehead for a bit.. then came back and then leaned his shoulders to him for about a good 2-3 seconds.. which i thought was stupid..

Then when i believe it was Bobby Jackson or Bibby.. going to the free throw line.. and Francis sorta wrapped his arms around his head but Bibby/Bobby pulled back.. another pointless move.. Francis needs to get his act together..

If his shot isn't going in he does stupid stuff that just takes him out of the game mentally. Even though this isn't a big deal, he needs to quit thinking about how the other team is going to finish and start thinking of how he is going to finish. To make himself better, instead of whinning to the refs after a foul and not getting the call, or when his shot isn't falling and gets frustrated and fouls the opponent, he should be focusing on getting back on defense and don't let it get to him mentally!

JJ did great ... hoped they could have pulled a win for him with his shooting last night. I rather have him shoot most of the shots in the 4th quarter slump for the way he was hitting all his shots.

[ragingFire]

Originally posted by London'sBurning
Gee thanks :D It's nice to know my posting tirades aren't in vain. :D
Your post game's analysis is usually right on (or at least it agrees with mine :)).

I used to put in my 2 c but I found I would just duplicate what u said!

[edwardlo]

What do you think? Sometime how a player act could give you some hints. Do you think Francis is unhappy with the role he has now and that his NO 1 and the Franchise image is fading away. He may be making a statement by playing peculiar or simply wants to be traded. Granted, I like that guy, I really wish he can take the Rocket to the top together with Yao. But if there are other teams that he can be better off, I wish him all the best.

[adeelsiddiqui]

Originally posted by London'sBurning
Gee thanks :D It's nice to know my posting tirades aren't in vain. :D

They're pretty darn good, 2nd only to clutch;)

Hows that for sucking up :p

[sup123]

i was watching the king and spurs game. and they just made a comment about how bibby shut down francis. this is sad.

[Chaser]

Even after the last 2 losses, the Rockets are still having a pretty good month with a record of 9-5 with the NJ game still to go.

The schedule in February doesn't look so tough either. The toughest games in Feb will be against SA, LAL, @Dal and @SA. Most of the games will be against Eastern Conf teams. The Rockets will ONLY play 4 road games in Feb. Should be a good month for the good guys.

[montevideo]

Originally posted by sup123
i was watching the king and spurs game. and they just made a comment about how bibby shut down francis. this is sad.

I didn't see the whole game, only the last quarter and I didn't see Bibby shutting down SF.

In fact I recall in the 4th Q a sequence where the Kings backed off SF giving him the wide open 17 footer which he proceeded to clank - there was a break in the action moments later and SF - bewildered - plopped down in one of the rockets seats shaking his head.

The announcers actually pointed out during that sequence that the Kings were backing off him and challenging him to make the J.

Not all sports anouncers know WTF they're talking out. Talking heads are not limited to just news they're all over the sports airwaves too.

[ragingFire]

Some people said that Yao played weak, that the Kings played him 1-1 but he disappeared in the 2nd half. I went back to the tape and saw this:

3rd quarter, Rocket’s offense play by play.

1) Yao soft trippled team, made J.
2) Steve missed.
3) Cato TO.
4) Yao lo-post, doubled team from baseline, passed to Steve, to JJ, made shot.
5) Cat TO.
6) Steve TO.
7) Cat made J.
8) Yao doubled, passed to Steve, to Cat, missed J.
9) Steve fouled, shooting.
10) Cat fast break layup.
11) Yao doubled , fouled by Christie, shooting, 2 FTs.
12) Cat TO.
13) Yao received ball, lo post, fouled, non shooting.
14) Yao doubled before he got ball, Cato missed 17 ft J.
15) Yao missed 5 ft shot.
16) Steve air ball, Cato rebound, Team TO, 24 sec violation
17) 5:45 min, Yao out.

18) 1:35 min, Yao in.
19) Yao doubled before ball by Peja. JJ 3 pt wide open.
20) MJ iso, TO.
21) Steve iso, TO. End of quarter.

[ragingFire]

4th quarter, Rocket’s offense play by play.

1) M. Jackson's shot blocked, TO.
2) Yao, soft doubled by Bibby from top, leaned in on Miller to shoot, offensive foul.
3) Cat missed 8ft J.
4) MoT missed J. Yao off. reb, ball stripped, TO.
5) Yao doubled team, passed out, MJ missed. MoT reb. MJ missed.
6) 8:32 min. Yao, MJ checked out. Cato, Steve in. SAC lead by 1, 77-76.

7) 5:44, Yao in. SAC lead by 3, 86-83.
8) MoT missed 15 ft J.
9) Yao trippled team, passed out. Steve missed. MoT rebound, MoT missed.
10) Yao doubled team, passed out, off Steve’s finger tip, TO to Yao.
11) MoT iso fouled, shooting.
12) Steve missed J, Steve reb, Steve missed J.
13) SAC lead 92-84. Steve fouled Bibby shooting.
14) 2:46, Yao checked out of game.

[Tonaaayyyy]

Bibby didn't shut down Francis.... Francis shut himself down.. he either passes.. or shoots.. that was his passing day :D