ClutchFans Game Thread: Cavaliers @ Rockets 12/2/2006

I thought so too. I wish Tmac took sometime off so Bonzi got the chance to be back. Looks like T-mac will be back next game since the concussion is mild.

 

Classic Chuck Hayes.

Chuck Hayes is one of the best in the league at swiping the ball out of opponent's hand.

 

Good idea, Clutch.

I'll start off by saying I am very happy to see TMac was back in his attacking mode. The way he was playing before he was knocked down was a breath of fresh air to Rockets fan, and nightmare for any Rockets opponents. Hope the concussion he suffered is not serious.

Give Juwan Howard credit for his play. I've long stated Juwan is very under-rated for his rebounding ability. Tonight is a demonstration why Juwan can still make exceptional contribution on boards despite his poor (it's been deteriorating for a while) mid-range jumpers.

Yao is a force to be reckoened with in the NBA. The double teaming on him slowed his offensive game considerably late in the game but it created opportunties for his teammates. Not too happy with his rebounding (I tell ya I was utterly pissed off when I saw him did that volleyball in the 4th quarter) and turnovers, but he clearly rebutted the naysayers on this board about his passing capability.

Battier is outstanding with his defensive stops on James. I was about to say why he couldn't hit any 3s from spots other than the corner, and he silenced me with a trey from the top of the arch (notice he passed out open shots a couple of times).

 

M.I.F.: No, it's not that. It's Most Important Fact:

The Rockets improved to 7-1 at home. Last season, they didn't get their seventh home win until Feb. 12

 

Luther Head had 13 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and only 1 turnover. Very impressive.

 

great win. Some of turnovers are the results of slow ball movement. I was annoyed by all those 3 second calls at a time.

Great team defense. At this pace, Rockets is on to something big.

Give JVG credit. A team needs to have soul, sometimes even if that means having to sacrifice Bonzi.

 

Get this boy in playoffs and he will drain clutch 3s every game.

To me, he is the most important component in Rocket's offense after Yao and Tmac when it comes to closing out games.

 

i believe battier had a lot to do with that. i've noticed a lot of the rockets (not just hayes) has effectively added the swipe to their defense this year and battier has been doing it for some time now.

 

Can someone caption that pic with T-Mac on the ground with the famous Cosell "Down goes Frazier" with "Down goes T-Mac". Man, I didn't know it was that bad of a hit. I am glad it was nothing serious, thank GOD.

 

just got back from the game, dear god that was fun. I managed myself to get in the Rowdy section and met up with andymoon, krosfyah, r-fan-since-81, and met CLFranchise for the first time (who shouted "HEY ITS THE RPD STALKER!!!" ). Good times.

Best phrases we said during the game

"YOUR NOT JORDAN" (which got some looks from Bron)
"SIDESHOW BOB" to Vallerjo

The trip to SA on the 22nd is going to be a freaking blast...

btw, i was a bit nervous with Tmac went down, the place held their breathes, and we all witness when he had to be lifted up during a timeout, then eventually had to be helped to get back to the locker room. Good win for us tonight, liked how Alston and Head stepped it up after Tmac was out, and I am a bit impressed with Daniel Gibson, who is taking Wesley's time. He was criticized for leaving UT early, but looked solid in this game.

 

True, Battier is good at it too. However, Hayes had a knack of making these kind of plays even last year, in limited minutes he got.

 

The D was good all game, obviously.

The plays I noticed the most on offense were:

1. Battier scoring a couple of hook shots posting up.

2. Luther Head driving and feeding Yao for a dunk.

Reason: It shows that the Rockets could score in ways other than feeding Yao or relying on TMac to "do his thing." They need to do more of those when opponents are doubling Yao and TMac hard.


Another thing I noticed: Battier actually draws double teams when he posted Lebron up later in the game. Very interesting. If he can work his post game more, it's a nice weapon to create some open opportunities.

 

Sorry to nitpick, but the definition of "concussion" is losing consciousness.

 

I was at the game and it was pretty ugly on both sides, the Cavs couldn't buy a basket, and the Rox weren't much better. LeBron and Yao both struggled with their shot, but Yao still got good shots, but the offense is just not the same without McGrady out there, and it was scary when he was laying there, but it least its not his back. Luther played very well, as did Rafer, and Battier was suffocating LeBron on defense, and T-Mac also played soem great defense on LBJ when he was in there. This was a very impressive defense showing tonite, against a team that can score.

The crowd was pretty decent, not like the Dallas game, but still good, and we continue to dominate on our home floor, now 7-1 and should be 8-0. I think this could be one of those like 37-4 type home records that the best teams rack up like SA, Dallas and the Pistons.

 

Well, did you watch the game ??

The reason why he got that few rebounds was that he did alot of dirty blue-collar work for boxing out his opponents, and let Juwan Howard (13 rebounds) and Chuck Hayes (12 rebounds) to snatch/grab those rebounds.

 

I am really glad that even Yao was not shooting well, others were still looking to pass the ball to him on offense. That's the sign of a disciplined team. This way, the outside shooting would be more effective.

 

I'll give him credit for tonight...but IMO it's the exception that proves the rule. He has been incredibly bad at it since 2002.

 

Are you saying the Master, Battier, has been teaching the kids how to use their hands effectively?

 

So, technically since he did not lose consciousness, he could not be diagnosed with a Grade 1 concussion?

DD

 

Battier should get a 5 coz he pretty much neutralized LJ and hit a couple of big shots