the Rockets rest of the series is going to come down to this... Whose gonna BALL and whose gonna FALL assuming that our goose is cooked in terms of advancing to the 2nd round - lets see whether... TMac goes into this shell, after giving it his best shot in game 2 and watching the team drop their 2nd straight at home...will Mac drop his bundle? OR will he rise again and prove himself worthy by playing well and giving his all, leaving EVERYTHING on the floor. Head can actually make anything resembling a meaningful contribution. The knives are certainly out for Luther (at least on the BBS anyways) and LH needs to prove he can cut it and give us SOMETHING, because he hasn't improved in 3 years. Scola can man up and finish like a beast instead of a hack (scrub). We've seen the best and worst from him this season, if he's truly going to be worthwhile in our plans going forward, then he'd want to show plenty of fire the rest of the series. Battier becomes a factor on both ends at the same time. He was lighting it up with his shot in Game 1, but his defensive presence has yet to be felt this series. I love Shane - but he needs to bring it on both ends more regularly. Brooks is truly a player in this league or not. Sure he's a rookie just finding his way, but think back to Sammy Cassell, I dont expect a bunch of clutch shots and plays from AB, but he needs to come to play and attack Deron off the dribble drive when he gets his chance. Bobby Jax has got nothing more to show, we dont need him next year... Landry gets a pass, hes not healthy and will be in our rotation for sure next season. Alston is injured, who knows what we'll get from him. Deke is great, he owes us NOTHING. Woods and Harris are our projects. and Novak is STILL a project. But if he gets in the game he needs to make shots cause thats all we are paying him for.
I belive Tracy in those next 2 games needs to start looking more fort his shots and points. Of course he has to creat but he needs to damn be more selfish Luther Head - disaster
Can anybody tell me why Luther Shoots like that........... Any body on the rockets having the ball maked me nervous......... But i like aaron brooks..........he just needs to go to the goal more.........and tracy We can still make this a series........ 2 crazy wins in Salt Lake city and we have home court advantage again...... So i pick Mcgrady--Ball Scola--Ball Bobby J--Fall Aaron Brooks--Ball Landry--Fall Shane Battier--Ball Rafer-- Ball Winning the next one will really keep our hopes alive........
Scola has NOTHING to prove in this series. He is a proven rookie thanks to his decades worth of play in FIBA and EuroLeagues. To question his merit in being apart of future Rockets plans is ridiculous. No other Rocket this year played with the tenacity and heart that Luis played with. Battier's defense is not a brightpoint in this series because Utah has no primary scoring wingman. Shane is the best perimeter defensive player in the league, except for maybe Bowen (dirty though). Except for Utah, almost every other Western Conference powerhouse has a legit option at the 3. DD brought this up at jazzfans and was largely criticized but it is true. Battier's offensive surge in game one was a great surprise to me, but I think it is foolish to question whether or not Battier can bring it consistently- the guy plays hard.
Luther won't fall because he either won't see any more playing time (hopefully) or because you can't fall further than he already has.
what we need: a back up who can play SG/SF and average 13pts in 20 min back up center who is 6'11+ and average 8pts 7rebs in 15 min a PG alike rafer alston's stats but atleast 6'3'' and is consistent in all areas and help on free throws keep: tmac yao battier scola landry brooks novak
That is sad since we have only played 2 games... against a team where his defensive ability cannot be fully utilized. I have no doubt in Shane's ability to be a winner. If first round had a match up between the Rockets and Lakers, you would see Shane in a different light. His intangibles are undeniable. Some of his tangibles (points, mainly) are starting to become more visible. Speaking of- does anyone know where to find a clip of the Battier put-back dunk from last night?
But it isn't true, actually. Utah gets very good offensive production from the 2 and 3, they just don't get huge production from any ONE player. Regular Season Stats Brewer: 12.0ppg .558fg Kirilenko: 11.0ppg .506fg .379 3pt Korver: 9.8ppg .474fg .388 3pt Harpring: 8.2 ppg .500fg That's 41 points on over .500 shooting from the 2 and 3. Add the quality spot minutes they get from CJ Miles and Ronnie Price at the 2 and 3, and they have a very efficient and productive set of complementary wing players.
Sorry, when did I say that they absolutely suck at the 3? I am saying they don't have the ONE legit option at the 3. Do you really expect Battier to shut down 4 players (48 minutes defending 2)? If that is your measure of success, then you might as well trade Battier or get him some HGH. The op says that he doubts Battier's abilities in the playoffs. I just don't see anything else that Battier could do in this series that he is not already doing. He is a prominent defender (which is what we expected) and is contributing on offense (which I never really expected). To me, we should be focusing more on other players and give Shane a break. He is the reason we won that Lakers game. Give him credit.
Shane is a fine player. He and Yao are the only reasons I'd ever consider becoming a die hard Rockets fan again. Just curious, are you Indonesian?
its notjust 2 games. did you see him disappear last year? oh and did you happen to follow his career at Memphis at all??
Oh, you mean the one that won the final 4? Plus, if by "last year" you mean the same match up of Houston and Utah- read the above arguments. Nope.
