No, you lose your focus when you are up by 20 in a deserted arena in an almost meaningless game against a team that has almost given up on the season. Both Tmac and Yao played 37 minutes, Rafer was the only player to have more then 40. You are going to tell me that 37 minutes of baskeball over a 2 hour period are going to exhaust some of the best atheltes in the world? Yeah, right. In case you havnt noticed, we only play good defense when the team is focused and outworking the opponents, its pretty easy to understand why this wouldnt be happening in the scenario I described above.
its becoming something to be very concerned about. whats even more concerning is that its been emphasised over and over, yet continues to happen.
I haven't read through this post but my feedback is that we are constant in that respect. We can't buckle down and defend a more aggressive D in the 4th. I'm not sure what it is because we know what to do but we don't do anything to stop it. Sadly that is how the playoffs are going to be like in the 4th quarter.... Cluchcity??? more like ChokeCity this year... I mean I hardly believe Dallas or Phx get scared when were up 20pts in the 4th Qrt with 5 min remaining because in their minds that is plenty of time to comeback. But us if were down 20 with 5 min remaining it's like game over.... Will the Rockets change there mentality in the playoffs? We all hope they will because the playoffs is where all the teams put out all the stops... ( Lets hope we become that type of team ) Go Rockets!!!!
This is what's gonna seperate the Rockets from the other elite teams in the west...NO BENCH! I don't blame JVG at all for not resting his starters. There is no offense coming off the bench if Luther is not on. Juwan doesn't seem to play well off the bench, and Mutumbo never could score. Compare the Rocket bench to the Mavs bench, the Suns bench, and the Spurs bench. Mavs - Stackhouse alone is better than the entire Houston bench...then you throw in guys like Deavean George, Greg Buckner, Eric Dampier/Dasagna Diop. Even an Austin Croshere would do wonders for the Rockets. Suns - Once again, Barbosa is more than the entire Houston bench. Plus they have guys like Marcus Banks, Jalen Rose, and Kurt Thomas. Spurs - The Spurs are bringing Manu off the bench these days. We have...Luther Head as our sixth man. Don't get me wrong, Luther is a solid player, but he's no Manu, Stackhouse or Barbosa. The Spurs bench resembles the Rockets in that they are for the most part too old or too young. Even so, with guys like Finley, Brent Barry, and Robert Horry taking solid minutes, you also have to give the bench edge to the Spurs. What I'm trying to say is, what we thought was a deep team to start the season ended up being very shallow. I love what Juwan and Deke did in the absence of Yao, but they have not continued that play and as is, Yao and Tmac better have monster games every time out.
What they really want to do in the 4th quater is going to the hole and get more points instead of jacking up from outside.
Are you blind or what. Even if yao's jumpers in the 4th are not as good as the other quarters , they are still better than the rest of the team, including Tmac's (go check the Rox' average 4th quarter statistics yourself).
Restrain your hatre man! Yao had a 27-point, 12-rebound night, you still can't wait to cast your bitterness on him? What a sick man!!!
In the case of Yao Ming he can get tired quite easily. Even though he was only playing 37 mins he started to miss easy shots and that to me is the signal that he is tired. This has been true throughout his Rocket's career. I never write BS because I write from the heart and only express what I see as the truth or a possibly an explaination, worthy of consideration.
It must be strange to you that if Yao shoots like 10/24, 12/33, Rockets will lose every game, but if TMAC shoots 10/24, it will be a good win for Rockets most of time. You know why Big Z sucks who is even shooting better jumpers than Yao? (damn, even Big Z dunks 8% in clutch time. Yao only 3%) If you are not blind, take a look at Okur's jump shooting stats.
This is insane! Blame TMac's injury on Yao? Are you out of your mind? There have been some nights when TMac didn't step up and Yao had to fight all the way to the end and became so exhausted. If he got injured because TMac didn't step up, would you want to blame TMac for that? I won't. It has been agreed that Yao should dominate for 3 quaters(no the 4th, due to stamia, a problem all the big guys have to face) and TMac should be the go-to guy in the 4th. Why do you have to single out Yao and not TMac? for the Rox' 4th quarter collapse in the recent games, have you ever said "TMac, please learn how to seal a game"? Based on your past posts, I really thought you were a reasonable guy.
only 37 min? For a center that have to carry such a load on offense, I think 37 min is more then enought. I think jvg should really try and balance out yao's playing time so that he doesn't run out of gas for the 4th. Like some guy mention above, he should have a few min rest at the end of the 3rd, and the beginning of the 4th. But the problem was that we couldn't hold onto lead for the last couple of games once yao goes to the bench. (and he end up being force to come out)
First, the game was hardly meaningless, home court was in the balance. Second, NBA game minutes are more than exercise. The contact takes alot out of you. Third, if you want a long and rewarding experience on this board, lose the attitude. There is no sense in being combative for no reason ie. "you are going to tell me," "Yeah, right," "In case you haven't noticed," etc.
Big Z gets his dunks by being fed by Lebron right under the basket when the defense triple teams Lebron. Yao shoots 51% from the field, and McGrady 43%. Yao shoots significantly better from the field, so when he has a slight off day, it looks worse. What about the days when McGrady goes 9/26? Yao shoots 50% close shots, as opposed to KG and Timmy D, who shoot LESS THAN 50% CLOSE SHOTS. What a worthless YOH.
Bottom line is everybody playing in the rotation has got to step up. If the Rockets rely to much on Yao and Tracy, Utah will beat the Rockets.
Must be in the water... (or the organization) Rudy used to say it's just human nature to get "happy feet" when you get a big lead. The Rockets blew 20+ point leads in both home games against Phoenix and Barkley in the '94 playoffs. I remember hearing opposing announcers over the years on NBALP saying, "the Rockets will let you back in the game". And they weren't talking about this team. Come to think of it, the Rockets have lacked a stable of good spot up shooters at any one time in the last 20 years, too... Just imagine if we had Mitchell Wiggins and "Sweet" Lou Loyd playing with Yao and T-mac. What a daydream that is! h-m-m-m-m-m? Need to have that water checked.
