ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Clippers 12/17/2006

i really hope the team can keep like this, so our record for dec is 50. 50., when t-mac is back, and bonzi gets into the lineup, we will be very good

 

Well the point is Yao has been improving his game, skill and attitude, every season, every day. He is not at his peak yet. We can expect more from him in the coming future. Just think about his working ethics and his desire to be great.

 

I think the new strategy of trying to score more points than the opponent helped us win this game.

 

We can never fully adjust to play without Tmac. Face it. Yao is great. But it's too much to ask from him to carry the whole team in a full season plus playoff. This team still need Tmac. We need both Yao and Tmac. Period.

 

Give credit to Alston for his improved shooting. He redeemed himself big time. But he still sucks at entry pass to Yao. Battier is much better at that.

 

Team played great today. I can see Bonzi being a great combo with TMac or Yao. TMac feeding Bonzi in the post, or Yao finding Bonzi on the weak-side cut or swinging the ball to Bonzi on the opposite-block post-up. That could save a lot of time on the 24-second clock, not needing to wait for a play to develop allowing Yao to re-post on the other side.

I'm having a hard time imagining TMac, Yao, and Bonzi playing together at the same time though. Also, what happened to the defense? Over 100 points allowed in 5 straight games. Is TMac that critical to the defense?

 

yeah, I forgot about this one. So some did want to trade Yao for good of Rockets,

 

Not too many photos as China is still sleeping ............

Anyway have to go now for work. Not sure I can stay awake after following the game for the past 3 hours.


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Some tidbits about Van Gundy, his old Knicks, and some impressive defensive numbers:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap;_ylt=AoZAyRRMEvWhg5lcsrmr51g5nYcB?gid=2006121712

Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy was glad to be some 3,000 miles away from Saturday night's Knicks-Nuggets brawl at Madison Square Garden. When he coached New York, the Knicks engaged in a pair of postseason brawls with the Miami Heat. One of them resulted in the diminutive Van Gundy hanging onto the leg of Miami's Alonzo Mourning and getting dragged around the Garden court with 1.4 seconds left in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series in 1998, after Mourning exchanged punches with Larry Johnson. "I think the people in those two cities remember the great competition more than they remember the fights, and that's how it should be," Van Gundy said. "Unfortunately, I was involved in two of them and made a fool out of myself in one of them, so I have empathy for anybody that lost control last night. Things like that are not indicative of the state of the NBA. It's certainly unfortunate, but I don't see it as any indicator of trouble. It was an isolated incident. I don't think it has any lasting ramifications on the NBA. The NBA is about intense competition, not about going over the line." ... During Van Gundy's eight seasons as the Knicks' coach, they never gave up 100 or more points in five consecutive games. The longest such streak was four games. ... The Rockets held an opponent under 50 percent from the field for the 23rd consecutive game. The Clippers shot 48.6 percent.

 

Rockets just beat a injury depleted mediocre team. It's good, but let's not get overly excited.

They were close in the last 3, though... so I hope it give them the confidence to move forward.

 

Rafer is very good, is under the control for whole game, get a major support form me, hoping his damaged brain has been repaired.

Howard plays well, so do others, did not see anyone play badly.

Yao is the man. He may take some drugs this year, just kidding.

Very nice win for Rox.

 

Well, if you wanna argue about fairness, think about Rockets ourselves. We have TMAC and Snyder off, and Wells only 50% himself. That's 2.5 starter caliber players not playing the game. Plus we are on road.

 

Here comes Debbie Downer.

People are just happy that we got out of a funk, Yao is continuing to play like an MVP and Bonzi appears to be rounding into shape. Geez. You can't let people enjoy that for a day or two.

And frankly at this point, I'll take any win that we can get.

 

Exactly!!!

Did the Rockets just get beaten by a depleted mediocre team - the Lakers with Lamar Odom and Chris Mihm out? Injuries are part of the game. I'll take any win any day.

 

isolated?!?!?!...didnt jvg see how tracy had to restrain nate when we played them a while back?...or nate's lacky of sympathy when he poked yao in the eye?...that little man is a ticking time bomb...he has a serious attitude problem...isolated my ass...

 

I wanna credit JVG for modifying the offense to accomodate Bonzi's offensive strength on the low block. I noticed this game that they had Yao coming across the paint to set up for the post. This is a good adjustment for Yao because it gets him better position and slows down the double team a bit. Another adjustment is that the players are starting to cut more when Yao is getting doubled. Good job my JVG to make all of these adjustments.

Credit also goes out to Rafer for having one of his best games of the season. He proved to alot of his haters out there that he can run this team and that he isn't TO prone like people keep saying. He had a great night shooting the ball and made excellent decisions tonight. I think JVG made some adjustments to help Rafer get off of those 3 pt shots. I saw Skip dribble penetrate into the lane several times and he just seemed more active on offense this game.

I also think Bonzi is finally getting back into playing shape, and his post game is just what we need when yao is out of the game. He gives us a scoring option and an offensive identity when Yao is resting. Along the same line, I would also like to see Battier post up more. Battier and Bonzi working the low block would be something that the rockets need to take advantage of.

Yao has been very dominant lately. As long as he can get away from those cheap fouls, yao will be the most complete big man in the game today.

Great game by the rockets and great game plan by JVG.

 

Just got back from the game. Saw Air Bull as he was leaving with his family. His wife's hot!

 

Clippers are just mediocre, injuries or no injuries. They can't even beat a McGrady-less Rockets team. Yao has Kaman's number. It will give them the confidence to win against a crap team like the Trailblazers next, but they will surely lose against the Spurs in the game after the Trailblazers.

 

The Macster will be back agaisnt San Antonio and we will blow them out. Mark it

 

Just gone back from the game, was sitting 4 rows behind Clipper's bench. Too bad my camera's battery died on me, along with other 4 backup batteries. Yao IS huge. This is the 2nd time I see him up close, the other being the 04-05 1st playoff home game against Dallas.

The arena is kind of quiet, especially around my area. I was happy to hear someone behind me kept saying that "Yao hasn't missed!", "He is shooting 60%", "He's not just tall, but also strong, look at his leg!" "Chris (Kaveman) looks tired".