Didn't get to watch the game, but I saw how Yao had an awesome game, and I am wondering if it was because we found a way to get him loose, or was Phoenix just single covering?
They had no answer for T-mac being able to pick apart their interior collapse defense on Yao, whether it be rising up for jump shots, or kicking it around to a wide open 3 point shooter. If we hit our outside shots, they have to stop collapsing on Yao... that's what we did, that's what they did, and Yao started getting more looks.
The Suns had a weird hybrid defense on Yao, which at times consisted of Marion going after him, Kurt Thomas playing him one-on-one or Nash and Barbosa jumping at Yao. Needless to say, 34 points.
The difference today was that McGrady dominated, so they couldn't double off the ball as much, and the other shooters were on (minus Rafer). Also JVG also got the Yao-McGrady P&R going, and then Yao would come off the screen and quickly post up, and the pass would go to him right away, preventing the double+front from getting there and getting Yao the 1v1 with Thomas/Amare. The pace was also good, the game never really got that fast and it was mostly a halfcourt game, which obviously favors Yao.
There were some adjustments, but I think the biggest adjustment was that the Rockets hit their 3 pt shots giving Yao much more room on the low block. Honestly though, the team won by POUNDING the smaller Sun's team on the glass. I was very happy to see that JVG did not go small to match Phoenix, but rather went big and played the Rocket's game..... Big vs Small....... They win the quickness, we win the rebounding....let the better team win. DD
maybe, But I would give most of the credit to T-mac stepping up big time. (battier too ) battier was 5-6 for 3 pointer , now if only juwan can find his shot again & rafer stop jacking up shot when there still 20 sec on the clock.
I think it was more of Tmac finally having a a good game vs the Suns and hitting his shots. They had no answer for him.
Mainly because of the improved energy from each player in the team. T-Mac palyed like a superman, Yao played aggressively, Batman took accurate 3-points. The offensive rebounds gave a lot of 2nd chance points. Great win.
Exactly... This is the 1st and I mean the 1st time I have seen T-mac attacking the basket like crazy against the suns.. I mean that is what we all wanted and look at the outcome... T-mac attacking basket (60%+ of shots) = Winning games even against elite..
They fronted Yao earlier, but when Tmac started playing like a god, theres nothing Suns could do. Also, battier and others were hitting their 3s, forcing Suns to come out to defend instead of collapsing on Yao.
LOL, surprised you guys didn't catch it. The largest reason why Yao played so well is because his stamina has improved since the last time we played the Suns.
JVG put his foot in Shane's butt and told him to shoot more. He then told Yao that when he gets the ball anywhere near the paint, to not ever pass it back out, since it's difficult to get it there to begin with. Lastly, he told the team that if they didn't win the game, they'd all be up all night watching game tape with him, drinking Diet Coke, and not leaving until the bags under their eyes rivaled his own. Seemed to work.
the good guys won 'cause Tmac was great. not surprising if yah know the win/loss % when Tracy plays/or not. ole man grumpy may well be a defensive genius, but the offensive output has little to do with JVG. it's all about McGrady/Yao. if you're an extreme Gundy fan, i guess you could credit some of Yao Ming's offensive to the coach. getting the ball inside to a good big man aint exactly reinventing the wheel ... but some credit is JVG's due.
he said in the post game interview he has started to take over the offense..i think we will see this or even a better tmac in the playoffs!!!!!! he knows regular season standings can get you only so much. i mean does anyone remember who the 4 or 5th seed was last year..i sure don't.
Bingo! Yao isn't the same player he used to be. Last game his mobility and stamina were not good. His game against the Magic had everyone here fooled into thinking Yao was all the way back after 4 games. The results of that Suns game had most here thinking the worst about our chances against the Suns. When Tracy destroys the Suns defense and we hit a few outside shots, they cannot stop us. Tracy is the key to beating the Suns, not Yao, and I don't say this just because of his 39/9/11. When Tracy dominates them, he forces the Suns to free up Yao. That is the bottom line. I don't give JVG any particular credit for changing our offense vs. the last Suns game. Instead, I will criticize him for not adjusting our offense more when we played them that time. He should have junked the feed feed feed Yao game plan early that time because the big fella clearly wasn't up to it yet, especially on the 2nd game of a back to back. The 3 point shooting (except for Rafer), was the cherry on top. The last minute collapse was worrisome to me though. It was a strong negative to this great win.
The game tonight once again exposed the shortcomings of playing small ball. When teams with good post players make a concerted effort to pound the ball inside and crash the offensive boards, small ball teams are hopeless.
