ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Hornets 11/5/2006

i would put vspan in the diligent category at the moment

 

not really concerned about this game though you couldn't tell if you saw me watching it. yao is fine and will be fine. he was a little tentative but he's still getting in shape. after the performance last night, i think jvg's strategy was to rest yao in the second quarter as long as we kept it close so that'd he be fresh for the second half. even with the extended rest you could still see that he didn't fully have his legs. this won't be an issue in another week or two.

i'm gonna wait a little longer before i conclude anything about t-mac. he was extremely not good tonight though.

it's very hard to win against a team in their home opener(my perception at least) and particularly on a back-to-back. new orleans looked ok tonight but i think this is a game we win when everyone gets on the same page. i don't like being 1-2 but i've seen enough good things to think that we're still poised for a GREAT season.

 

That guy who posted the Rockets on the front page of the NBA section of ESPN.com must feel kinda dumb rightnow...

He should've waited till about midseason. Then he can have pics of V-Span in the front cus he's gonna break out for us. ^_^

 

im sure they came out with extra energy and passion. i dunno ... pretty deflating lost but its still early. like any game, you cant attribute the result to any one thing. tmac had a terrible shooting night but yao being in foul trouble early was a big difference.

 

Looks like the referees are purposely picking on Yao again with those B.S. foul calls.

 

McGrady will be fine once he finds his jumper. He's just off to a shaky shooting start. Throughout a season guys are bound to go through shooting slumps, and I think it's a good thing that it's happening now as opposed to later in the year. Tracy isn't the scoring machine he was in Orlando, but he doesnt have to be. If he plays good defense and distributes the ball well, 20 ppg is fine by me.

When we get further a long into the season, all of this talk will seem comical. The Rockets have a good team. Getting Wells healthy is big, chemistry is big, and JVG finding the right combinations is big. It's not suprising to me that we're off to a bit of a sluggish start.

 

I am not a coach so I don't know If all that I say is right or wrong, but my opinion is that Spanoulis and Novak would have help a lot in this game.

 

BOX SCORES

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Wells ?? Smart player ?? I'm not too sure about it.

I've watched this game from TV and therefore missed my train back to work in China.

IMHO, a couple of reasons costed Rockets the win, e.g. the energy level of a few key Rockets (e.g. Rafer Alston) as this was a back-to-back; the early foul trouble of Yao Ming due to some very dubious referees' calls......but one of the crucial turning point were those Bonzi Wells' turnovers, defense and fouls in 4Q.

The Hornets was leading by 1 point, IIRC. Bonzi Wells had a pass from Alston after an interception/steal by the tireless Alston. He was on this fast break with only 1 Hornet player in front of him. If he is 100% top fit, on such one-on-one situation, the whole basketball rim could be at his mercy.....but instead, he fumbled and turned it over.

On his next defense against Butler, he left too much space in between for Butler to shoot a 3-pointer. Then he sort of fouled another Hornet and gave up 2 points from the charity strip.

How many turnaround points were there in the above 3 plays?

I surely hope he is just not yet back into top 100% game fit....or else he could end up be an useless Panzi (i.e. a fat and chubby fellow), instead of Banzi or Bonzi !!

 

T-mac become Grant Hill Part 2.
This is very sad news for the Rockets.

 

Jeff should play "SuperNova", his 3-point shooting % can help Rox as he has proved in the preseason games, Jeff has to be more daring n creative ...

T-Mac will bounce back, just relax n give him more times

Yao is good but his early foul problem will really kill the Rox, Jeff has to come out with solution

 

we need Bonzi on court more
and Yao will have less fouls
Wells can rebound and play D
and if we have Yao more in games&and w his FG%-we will win more games
in todays game-have we Yao on court without his fouls-thats was our game,even w Tracy struggles

p.s. Shane play good game-but sometimes his 3 killin me
from same corner 1 time he make 3,another time-he miss

 

I dont usually lose the plot very often, but some of you fairweather tracy riders are a joke. once tracy gets his groove going, you'll all be riding his back.

 

LOL @ the bandwagoners.........when tmac turns it around within the next couple wks, i dont wanna see any of the haters calling him the best player in the league......and a couple more things, jvg is blowing it by not giving novak more minutes.......and CHUCK HAYES IS NOT A STARTING POWER FORWARD..........thats all

 

hey pryuen, can you please post some other pics besides Yao...it gets really annoying after a while

thanks

 

Yeah especially when I relive all the fouls on Yao that didn't get called. How about that one where Battier got pasted good on a FG attempt and no call? Bill & Matt were talking about it for a while.

Homer refs with Stern in the building - imagine!

I personally was thinking Gundy should have put Billy in for some in your face D on Chris Paul and disrupt the little ****'s game. Esp. on a back to back Rafer just can't keep up and create any pressure.

Also on the one pic above with Prego fronting Yao on the double team I just can't help thinking "cold **** him with your elbow Yao! Then the little **** will stay away! Whip that body around!" A little Mutombo would go a long ways. I don't think Yao has even accidentally elbowed anyone - maybe once if I remember a couple of seasons ago.

 

"Right now, I'm not feeling it, I'm not feeling like myself," McGrady said. "I find hesitation in my shots. I'm not just reacting and pulling the trigger right away. I don't know when I'm going to come around, but it's really frustrating."

Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said time would solve McGrady's issues.

"I just believe in his greatness," Van Gundy said.

And i believe in JVG .
Anyway we lost but by what i see the rockets will be over.500 during midseason and will never look back.

 

we need steve novak to watch videos of kyler korver, and learn. come off the bench then quickfire a string of 3s then go sit down and let the starters hold or build the lead until end of game. Novak isnt being utilized to full efficiency, well mainly because he offers nothing besides shooting, and when yao and tmac are demanding the ball theres not much left for poor old steve, i would like him taking more 3s, and coverting them, well at least tmac starts hitting his shots.

Bonzi is fat, unfit, he should be given extra training so he can get back to where he was in his playoff form against SA. cant afford tmac and bonzi being rusty, i hope this rust wears off sooner then later, maybe within the next 3 games tmac will be back to superstar status and bonzi will be back to his old form. Yao has already proven his back at superstar level from mavs game, his performance against hornets was most likely due to fatigue, especially coming off such a monster performance. Rafer im not too worried about, i have complete faith in him , snyder and head are doing what their sposed to, battier isnt doing horrible either.

basically our role players EXCEPT BONZI are doing okay IMO. Sure any one of them could of stood up and shone and won us the game, that would be nice, but as long as their fullfilling their roles their doing okay then im happy with them. My expectations of tmac are expectations of a superstar, hence he should have won that game for us, but didnt, so big finger of blame points to tmac. Yao had early foul trouble and carried us the night before, so with only 5 mins in the first half cant really expect him to have as much impact on the game. When our at least 1 of our 2 superstars start getting into their groove, the team will benefit, with momentum the team gains confidence and there is no reason for us to lose then, because the depth of the talent on this team is one of the best.

 

This game does not concern me at all. It was obviously fixed like the Saints/Falcons game. I don't expect New Orleans to lose a home opener.

 

You believe in JVG? God help us....