ClutchFans Game Thread: Clippers @ Rockets 3/9/2004

man, i still remeber 24 pts was part of his average!!! Man what has steve francis gone too.

 

Both are valuable players that will be important in the playoffs. If the Rockets had more depth I could see Mobley coming off the bench again as a second instant energy scorer in the backcourt the way MoT is the instant energy offense for the frontcourt but that's not the case. It seems Mobley was who everyone was praising early in the season but as SF has improved recently he's gone back towards being the whipping boy for others. I b**** about them both but they're still core elements towards the success of this team. Francis played flawlessly tonight.

 

wha?? So you say they single team the rockets backcourt?? What the hell you watching?

 

But Steve will be perfect if he plays as he did today. He has two very good games out of the last three. He doesn't need to score 25 points a game, and I don't expect him to shoot 10 out of 15 most of the games, but as long as he hussles, continues to be aggressive, and shows his all-around talent, we'll be fine.

 

we won the game dumbo..our guards did great today especially SF3... man people like you bitter over what?

 

huh, are replying to me, or replying to the guy i replied to

 

I already posted in this thread, I guess you missed it.

Steve had a good game, but beating up on Keyon Dooling hardly proves anything.

 

well now...

that was a little more interesting than it needed to be.

In the Rockets defense the Clippers were making shots that were pretty amazing.

Turnovers... that's still what is throwing a kink in my desire to quit smoking...

Fun game to watch. More fun than I wanted it to be to be quite honest.

It's progress though. baby steps, but progress. Every time I watch a game I come away with one overwhelming thought... "thank god yao is on my team..."

Cheers,
Brock

 

Chron: Sluggish start teaches Yao a lesson by MEGAN MAN"FULL"

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2442048

Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy implied after Tuesday night's game that Yao Ming was one of the starters who overlooked the Los Angeles Clippers. Yao didn't argue.

After stringing together the best three-game stretch of his career, Yao looked sluggish and out of sync for three quarters during the Rockets' 90-85 victory over the Clippers at Toyota Center. He finished with 19 points, 11 on free throws.

Yao said afterward that the Rockets didn't have the intensity to start the game that they had in their previous games against the Lakers, Timberwolves and Mavericks.

"I don't think we put enough importance into this game," said Yao, who was 4-of-12 from the field and had 10 rebounds. "I think we didn't prepare that well, so coming out we weren't playing very well, and it was frustrating."

Van Gundy wasn't critical of his team's intensity overall, but he did make some pointed comments toward a few of the starters, including Yao. In the previous three games, Yao averaged 29.7 points and eight rebounds and shot 62.5 percent from the floor.

"(The Clippers) doubled (Yao), but again, the hallmark of greatness is consistency, and Yao obviously has strung together three really special games," Van Gundy said. "And Tuesday night against the Clippers, to some, it's a big game, like to me.

"We did not respond the way I would have hoped from the start, but I thought Steve (Francis) and Jimmy (Jackson) in our starting group gave us good energy to start. And then I thought Yao found a way to come alive in the second half."

In 16 first-half minutes, Yao had two rebounds and attempted only three field goals, making one. He also missed his first free throw in five games, ending his streak of consecutive free throws made at 32.

Yao had played well against the Clippers in their previous meetings, hitting 75 percent (15 of 20) of his field-goal attempts. But Elton Brand and rookie Chris Kaman spent much of Tuesday's game double-teaming him, and Yao never got into a rhythm.

"The first couple of games, I did not do a good job defending him," Kaman said. "I was trying to come out more aggressive, and I thought I did a better job this game. You just don't want him to get the ball inside. He is a great free-throw shooter. If you beat him up and foul him, he gets to the free-throw line, and then he makes them. The free throws were the killer."

Despite Yao's first-half struggles, the Rockets came out in the second half determined to keep trying to get the ball inside to him. Yao was more prepared after the break. He made only three field goals but was able to get to the free-throw line, where he hit all eight of his attempts.

Yao led the Rockets in the fourth quarter with eight points, helping them take over the lead and hold off the Clippers.

"I just think I returned to normal in the second half," Yao said.

He added that he learned a lesson about overlooking opponents. Francis hopes Yao is right.

"That just shows you that he's a young player, because we're not in a position to overlook anybody," Francis said. "So hopefully he will continue to learn that these are the games you really have to be up for, just like if you're playing against the Lakers or Minnesota. These are the games you really have to step up and try to put them out early."

 

Press row view
The ridiculous notion was floated that if Yao Ming could average roughly 30 against the Lakers, Timberwolves and Mavericks, he could go for record numbers against the Clippers and their generally woeful defense. It does not work that way. There are things the Rockets can do to get Yao the ball against any defense. But with rules to allow zones and with the Clippers' willingness to double-team him with a power forward, the Rockets had all kinds of chances to burn them in other ways. With even marginal passing and shooting, the Rockets would have whipped the Clippers out of their defense. But the only way to predict what a center will score is to know first what kind of defense he will face.

Inside the numbers

The Rockets moved to 11 games above .500 for the first time since 1998-99. ... The Rockets' Maurice Taylor and the entire Clippers bench each scored 15 points. ... Yao Ming's 11 made free throws tied his second most in any game in his career. His free throw streak, however, ended at 32. ... The Rockets have five players scoring in double figures, but only Steve Francis and Mark Jackson made half their shots. The Clippers has six of their nine players make at least half of the shots. ... The Clippers had just six offensive rebounds.

Did you know?

The Rockets moved to 11-1 when Steve Francis makes at least half his shots. Francis made 10 of 15 attempts for 24 points.

 

Don't you think that the win was mainly depend on yaoming!Francis is a powerful point.But yaoming influnced the match in other aspects very much.He did it well.

 

the guy u were replying to to... i would agree with u that francis deserve the most credit for the W

 

Steve had another good game, which makes it 2 out of last 3. Tonight he was playing like "the Franchise" that has become a rather distant memory this year. If Steve can consistently shoot over 45% and with Yao inside, the Rockets can compete with anyone in the league, especially in a playoff setting.

Yao had a rather sloppy first half, but picked up the pace in the second and made key contributions down the stretch. I liked his monster dunks over Kaman. Those two dunks were Shaq-ish and absolutely unstoppable. Still, Yao needs to learn to bring consistent effort not only every game, but every quarter in each game.

This is a game that we must win. If we lost, that huge win against the Mavs would mean nothing. We came out flat and I was really worried. I'm just glad that the players came through at the end and pull out the win. Although it wasn't a pretty game, I'd take it.

 

Can we have a picture of Ms Man"full"?

 

Don't let Haven see that stat!

 

I think it's more apt to say, too bad Steve's FG% is so terrible. I don't see how, given his position and his style of play, how he could get that up much.

But it's great to see the start of a real symbiosis between Yao and Steve. I really believe they could be the next Shaq and Kobe. The reason it was so difficult for us, though, is that our Kobe came before our Shaq. Imagine the circus if Shaq entered the league now and Kobe was the anchor of that team. That would be interesting.

 

I was afraid it would be that kind of game. The good news we've been playing very sloppy basketball and still winning. All the turnovers and lousy defense when the opponent runs still isn't enough to hold us back... until the playoffs. They need to get this 'good enough' ball out of their system before the game intensity goes up a notch in the post season.

 

i would

 

It's people like you who ruin the fun I used to have when posting on this bbs.....