Two Scenarios: One: Up by six with three and change to play you have Yao on the bench. He is clearly an inferior defensive player to Deke who is currently in the game and controlling the paint. Then comes the TV timeout. You need stops and somebody who will control the boards, clog the lane, and not commit soft fouls in the paint that result in three point plays. Deke also seems to do much better in flashing up on the picks at the 3 point line, negating the quick pull up three behind the screen. Not saying this played a role in the outcome...but what do you do? Two: Avery has been playing JVG's hand the whole series, forcing small ball since midway through game 1. The Rockets frontcourt players (Deke/Yao) have and will continue to outperform Dallas' pathetic frontcourt (Dampier/Henderson/Bradley). Force Avery, the newbie coach, to make a move. Throw Deke and Yao out their at the same time if either Henderson or Dampier is on the floor. Understandably, one of those players will be forced to play Howard or Daniels on the perimeter which could be disaster, but if you play off them...you may be alright until they can prove they can hit the 18 footer (which neither Josh or Marquis has done consistently, or in the case of Marquis, at all). Eventually, Avery will be forced to play another of their "bigs" or they'll risk getting destroyed on the boards. Once he puts out one of their bigs, it makes their team significantly weaker by forcing Stackhouse, Howard (their best defender), or Finley out of the lineup and keeping the scarecrow (i.e. Bradley) or another scrub on the floor who won't hurt you on either end of the floor. Sure, it can backfire, but put Avery on the defensive...force him to make a move...comments?
Last three minutes of that game I could not agree more. Deke and Yao on the court at the same time... How about Deke setting those Monster picks on the floor with Yao on the weak side... how about a double pick from Yao and Deke??? Who wouldn't be wide open after that... and then, shoot just throw the damn ball up there and let them go get it and slam it through!!! And obviously Sura was hurting cause that was money time and he wasn't in... Sura would have found a way to get the ball to the hole or created just enough space to find someone for an open shot... If he's really hurt, then we're in deep touble!! Everybody pray with me for Sura's return in game 5. We need a Sura game 1 performance in game 5!!
in last few minutes, dallas had not score any point in paint. They just made all the outside shot. What are you talking about?
JVG made some big mistakes in this game. 1. Every player needs a blow. 1 minute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes. JVG forced way too much on McGrady. McGrady was forced to bring the ball up, guard Nowitzki, score from the outside, penetrate and go the foul line and create opportunities for others. He was totally ineffective in the 4th quarter. As a side note, this is also the reason Michael Jordan was able to get the Bulls to fire Doug Collins as Collins made Michael Jordan do everything. It's just too physically and mentally exhausting. 2. Us up by 6 and after a Dallas miss, JVG shouldve brought in Yao. We had not scored for a couple of possessions and we need to get the lead back up to 8. Instead of calling a timeout, Van Gundy waits until we run down the clock and with 3 seconds left, Mike James forces a terrible shot from the corner. 3. Dallas up by 1 with Satckhouse on the line. Van Gundy shouldve brought in Mutombo to rebound. Instead he has McGrady. Why?
My issue with the last two games has been the extended playing time David Wesley has been getting. He is having a horrible series shooting wise. Except for that Three ball late in the game he has been really cold, but continues to get a ton of minutes. I kinda like Jon Barry getting more minutes, he has been more productive. I understand Wesley is in primarily to defend Finley, but if you noticed Ryan Bowen is not being used as much because he is an offensive liability, I wonder why Wesley is getting so much confidence. There was a poll a while back asking if we were to choose which guard not to return next season, I can't recall who got the most votes but I don't think it was Wesley, I wonder if we were asked the same question now, how would people react? Sorry, I like Wesley and think he can be and is a real assest on this team, but I don't think he's getting the job done in this series. Go Rockets !!!
McGrady played 47 minutes in the 113-111 win. Is it only a "mistake" when the Rockets lose? As I recall one 4Q sequence, Mike James wanted to bring the ball up and McGrady waved him off. It seems to me McGrady has some say so since most players rest on the offensive end. Guarding Nowitski is not that physically demanding. Other than transition, Dirk moves very little in Dallas' offense unless he has the ball and goes 1on1. For the record, Yao picked up his 5th foul @ the 9:03 mark in Q4 with the Rockets up 83-78. With Dampier in the game, Deke was the logical substitution. The bad shot you are referring to was taken by James at the 3:36 mark. During the 5 1/2 minutes Yao was on the bench, the Rox increased their lead by 1. What is the point of bringing in Yao and risking his 6th foul with over 5 minutes left when you are treading water and shutting DAL down defensively? What evidence would you provide that Yao would have been any more effective in the time from 9:03 to 3:36 than he was in the final 3:36? Unless you have a crystal ball and can predict McGrady not protecting the ball, why do you need Mutombo? Dallas is an excellent FT shooting team and you need 3 pt shooters on the floor more than FT lane rebounders.
This's been mentioned by a number of posters after the game. It seems none of you noticed or forgot to mention what'd happened right before that. Mick James jacked up a 20 footer with a guy in his face, while totally ignoring T mac who was actually asking for the ball right next to him. The fact is Mike James is a ballhog. A ballhog is a scorer whose sole purpose is to score without getting others involved. With that definition, guys like T Mac is a scorer, not a ballhog. See the difference?
Thread derailed somewhat, but was hoping to get some play on what would be a highly unconventional, but likely effective lineup change the rockets could implement for small windows of time.
Dude, you're crazy. Mutombo's had consecutive bad games on the defensive end. Yao was blocking shots. Yao's a better defensive player than Mutombo. Sorry, your assumptions screw your questions.
That was game 2. In that game, Bowen guarded Nowitzki most of the time. Have you noticed McGrady was less effective in games 3 and 4 of the 4th quarter? Players don't wear down right away. The last 5 minutes, McGrady was completely ineffective 1-5 from the floor. He wasn't even looking to shoot in about 1/2 the possessions. In game 3, the final 8 minutes of the 4th quarter, McGrady only made 1 FG and had a couple of FT's. In game 4, McGrady did not score at all in the final 5 minutes of the game. He was clearly exhausted. In fact somone in another thread who was at the game made that point as did the Dallas announcers. But of course you know for a fact he wasn't tired. When a player who averages over 30 ppg does not score in the late stages of the game and only takes a few weak outside jumpshots, there's a reason. When the Rockets were up 88-82 with just over 5 minutes, the Rockets did not score for 2 minutes. We were treading water but the offensewas completely ineffective. McGrady missed a long jumper, Mike James forced a 28 foot hail mary with no time on the shot clock, Dallas missed again, and we once again ran down the clock to 3 seconds before Yao went back into the game. We were clearly hanging on by a thread at that point. Dallas had missed 3 straight shots and had a turnover. It was only a matter of time before they scored. We had no good possessions. When you're up by 6 and stop the opposition 4 straight possessions, you need to score to put them away, especially with a worn out McGrady. After the 4th stop, Van Gundy shouldve called a timeout and setup a play for Yao. If he was worried about Yao fouling out, why bother putting him in with only 3 seconds left on the shot clock. It's not a high percentage opportunity and Yao would be right back on defense where Mutombo was clearly more effective as a rebounder and had more fouls to give. Van Gundy obviously felt we needed to score on that possession. Putting him in with 3 seconds left was worthless. 2 issues. If we assume Stackhouse was going to make the FT, we wouldve called a timout and put McGrady back in the game. This wouldve given him a quick 30 second blow as his outside shots were completely off due to his exhaustion. Also, unlike game 2, if we wouldve chosen to bring the ball up court, the Mavs wouldve fouled if they were leading by 3. A quick inbound play off the screen takes way less time to execute than taking it the full length of the court. Second, if we assumed there was chance Stackhouse wouldve missed, securing the rebound is priority number 1. That's why you ahve 2 centers. They couldve called a timout, McGrady wouldve gotten the blow, and we couldve setup the last play.
One thing that i would have liked to see but didn't happen which amazed me...in the 3rd quarter with 6:50 left to go in the game we were in the penalty and we didnt attack the basket to draw fouls and get shots at the free throw line. Instead we settled for jumpers and missed a crap load of them. We had an opportunity to attack and get fouls or they would have to let us go to stay out of foul trouble and we did none of that.
