inbound to Francis -- Yao post-up in front of Ostertag -- Francis lobs ball in to Yao (with still 10 seconds left) -- Yao makes a move and takes the shot (as the forwards collapse to the basket) -- Yao gets double-teamed, so he kicks it out to Steve or Cuttino who shoot a mid-range jumper. Likelyhood of scoring is now above 50%. I was at the game and was SICK at the play calling. Once again, we dribbled the ball until there were 3 seconds left, then (lo and $%#@ behold!) the D collapsed around Steve.
Jumpshooting teams RARELY win at the end....the team that is aggressive and goes to the hole strong and gets fouled or makes the shot wins. Utah was running everything at 15 feet and in, the Rocks were at the 3 point line, who do you think had the advantage? DD
Nobody's gonna call a foul in the final second of an OT game. Yao should have taken a high-percentage shot with 6 to 8 seconds left. I was there, were you?
I agree totally, I was also at the game and got so mad that I threw my drink on the ground behind me! I thought the exact same thing, they should have thrown the ball into Yao and let him operate. If he was double teamed throw the ball out (it couldn't have been any worse than what happened), or if he had the matchup let him take the shot. Last I saw he was second or third in the league in field goal percentage. That would be the most logical play I could think of, I'm no NBA coach so I'm sure other things would have factored in, like fatigue, and what the Jazz were expecting. What I always wonder is why is it when other teams come out of time outs they always seem to run a play they set up to get an easy layup or jumpshot. I rarely see the Rockets able to execute that way, I don't know if it is crappy plays being drawn up, or the players simply can't run them, but the last play last night was definitely a prime example. Pugs
But in the latter stretches of the Game Yao Ming was no longer included in the offensive plays, we were in the mode of the Mobes and Franchise Show.
On the other hand,no telling what the play was supposed to be. Look what happened at the end of regulation when Rudy told them to foul Malone as soon as he got the ball...brain freeze! Rudy must be frustrated after all if he's resorting to all out criticism of his players publicly.
You know what keeps crossing my mind? Did Rudy actually tell them to foul? Or is he just saying that to save himself? I mean, I know everyone makes mistakes, but how can you "not foul?" When I first heard it I said yeah right, he just doesn't want to look stupid. I was just wondering if anyone else has thought about that. Pugs
did yao play in the overtime? well, he didn't have an opportunity to take a shoot. hey rudy, pass yao the ball; otherwise, the rox will lose many many games.
Pugs,consider the history..... How often does Rudy publicly blaim players vs. taking the fall or making excuses? How often does this team make boneheaded mistakes that make us go,"Duh,are you guys really that dumb?" ?
