you got to ask Ewing, what was the plan? Why not change it midway through the game? But i am not concerned with Yao's jumpers. He knocks those down pretty consistently. One bad night should stop him from taking those shots.
I thought that one is very funny. Watch out for the next juugie thread!!! Should appear any minute now!
Yao: errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrngh..... *fart* Spoon: Oh.. man.. that's naaaasty.. Jackson: Whooaa.. *cough*.. what did you eat, Yao? Mobes: Yao, we've been over this before..
Yao was just pathetic last night. I wouldn't blame the guards when you have a supposedly franchise center playing like crap. I stopped watching midway through the 4th quarter. It's okay that he missed those short jumpers. But WTF is going on for his 2nd foul?!?! Besides, there're many occasions where he could have gone after the baskets right after he got the ball AND HE DRIBBLED! By the time he took those shots Shaq and Co. were already crowding in front of him. An utterly disgusting performance by Yao. period.
Cat, SF3 and JJ did a decent job on offense and defense. It seemed to me that Yao was sleepwalking. I don't blame the guy -heck, I had to slap myself a few times to stay awake too. I except a better showing tonight, the game starts at 8 At any rate it was a good game to watch regardless of who won it.
No need to panick, Yao didn't play well, missed shots he usually makes but it happens and we only lost by 8. I don't think the Rox are scared of the Lakers or T-wolves so I wouldn't mind playing either in the first round. Peace.
I have to admit I didn't read through all 11 or so pages of this thread as I am at work so excuse me if I repeat something has been stated. Did anyone else notice last night: 1. Steve slipped 3 or 4 times in just to the right of the free throw arc below the three point line. He made like nice moves and just slipped and fell in that area. I don't know if it was the court or just lost his footing. 2. Jim Jackson just couldn't seem to hold on to the ball, he had 4 or 5 costly TO's where he just lost the ball on the dribble. 3. The facial expression Phillip made when Yao had an easy dunk on a fast break play at the end of the 2nd quarter. They showed his face as Yao dunked it and it was PRICELESS!!! He had a puzzled pissed off look. One of the funniest things I have seen.
Last night looked like it was Yao's first game ever in the NBA. It really seemed like he didn't learn a single thing from all the games he's played. He went through the whole game playing like a 6 year old nun. It was almost on par with Webber's 2 for 22 night except that Webber took a lot of good shots that didn't fall. Other than two of the shots Yao made, I only remember one other one that he missed that was a good shot. The rest were forced fadeaways. One time, he got the ball within 3 feet of the basket and managed to shoot a fadeaway that ended up short. Horrible loss especially considering everyone else pretty much played like we expect them to.
Here are my thoughts on the game... Why the heck is Stevie falling all the time??? He needs to change his shoes or something. Whenever Yao shoots, Shaq pushes him a little down low so the refs won't notice it. It throws Yao off balance causing him to miss. That should be a foul, but not obvious enough for the refs to call it. Malone was his usual self, barreling into a crowd, flailing his arms, and gets the calls. 42-16 free throw advantage for the Lakers. Ridiculous. Rockets are playing against 8 instead of 5. Lakers get all the touch fouls and Rockets get no-call if there's no blood. I hope the refs go on strike again, replacement refs did a better job back then. Amazing how we were still in the game and had a chance to win despite all this.
A big part of the FT difference is the Lakers are more aggressive going towards the basket. Kobe and Payton continuously attacked the goal while the Rockets shied away from it. Although Mobley did have a few nice finishes, the Rockets as a team do not attack the basket enough. They'd have a step on their defenders and would pull out when they see shaq in there. They need to take it right at Shaq.
How can you be aggressive going to the basket when you are fouled all the time and nothing is called?
The disparity in fouls was unbelievable. Just unbelievable. That's not so unusual when you play the Lakers, though. This was a game we could have won. I'm sure this has been covered to the max in the thread already, but I was blown away at how tentative Yao played all night. And he couldn't make a shot to save his life. Just a bad game by the big guy. It happens. I bet he didn't sleep well last night.
Why did we get far less calls? Our major shooters, especially Yao, take too many jumpers. Why did Yao miss so many shots? He just had a bad night? no, should not be so bad. Shaq "fauled" him a little bit every time? no, other players in other teams did more than Shaq did. Too many jumpers? No, usually he made them consistently. He feared Shaq's strength last night and did not draw Body contact enough? YES! Unless he begin to see Shaq as nobody sh*t, he would never beat this old fat man while he should have.
I hate to use excuses, but we don't get the calls...ever... It could be the Fakers or Warriors, we just don't get justice... The turnovers were hard to watch, but Yao's bad game was even harder... We need to win against Sac, but they need a win in a bad way as well...
Well you never have anything worthwhile to say... but I got a hand it to you for at least one thing: you're consistent. Yao got 15 shots on a night when he was ice cold. The offense went to the people who could make shots, as it should. That's why the game was as close as it was. We lost because we couldn't board, not because we weren't making shots... Which brings up another point - where was Yao on the glass? Where has Yao been on the glass all season? Hey, I got nothing against Yao. We need him... I just have a little something against your logic.
