ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Bulls 12/22/2007

absolutely, don't hate!

 

How did you get interested in the Bulls?

 

tinman you missed the detroit thread

 

1 I'm from the region & 2 MJ. You're a recent member so you haven't seen the debates here about how the Rockets "owned" MJ & the Bulls during their championship years. I'm the one who says MJ's Bulls would have beaten the 94 Rockets easily. Believe it or not, there have actually been debates here about whether Hakeem was better than MJ.

At the moment, my only physical connection to Chicago is my brother lives there. I'm also a Bears and Cubs fan, though not as much as the Bulls. In fact, I almost stopped rooting for the Cubs after they hired Dusty Baker.

 

This was a great win for the Rockets. Tmac is still not close to 100%, but I do give him credit for playing tonight. He did what he could by shooting well and getting 7 assists and trying to attack the rim. I'm not gonna completely back down from my stance on trading Tmac and surrounding Yao with better role players for a more balanced attack, but if we can run Adelman's offense the way we did tonight and get about 25-30 points off the bench on most nights, then I think the team will be fine. Tonight showed how good and dangerous the Rockets can be with Yao AND Tmac. The Rockets have to work on letting Tmac finishing plays instead of starting them off, thats when our offense becomes stagnant.

I need to see the offense flowing like this for a few more games for me to completely change my mind. Remember, it was just a couple of weeks ago that we blew out Denver and thought we had it figured out. WRONG. Hopefully the Rockets have finally figured this out and can build on this.


Aaron Brooks is a great weapon off the bench. He is a much better playmaker than I thought he was. I thought of him as more of a scorer and attacking the rim to score, but he can pass good and can run a fast break good as well. Plus he has picked up Luther Head's game, which is good news for the Rockets.

Yao is just a great competitor. He gets hammered all night long without getting many calls, still scores 18 and gets 8 rebounds and 2 blocks in less than 30 minutes. Then he sprains his thumb on his shooting hand and still comes back in the game with the Rockets up by 16 in the 4th. That is truly amazing. I dont mind the turnovers or lack of lateral quickness on defense when a guy gives that kind of effort.

I think thats where the "Trade Tmac" idea came from. If you play on Yao's team, your lack of heart can show easily playing and practicing with Yao. Anybody could clearly see the difference in passion and heart between Tracy and Yao. If Tmac was a teamate of Shaq's, this wouldn't be an issue at all. Shaq didn't work hard during the season, but he was dominant so nobody really cared. Tmac is good, but he aint the 23 or 24 year Tmac that led the league in scoring for 2 years. Therefore his lack of effort does show at times, ESPECIALLY more next to Yao. However tonight, Tmac gave a gutsy effort, which I do commend him for. Only the great one's in NBA history can match Yao's work ethic, IMHO, and Tmac may fall into the Shaq category as far as work ethic and effort because the game can be somewhat easy and boring at times for them. I just think the people of Houston just want to see the Playoff Tmac more throughout the season, which isn't too much to ask of someboday making 20 million a year.

 

How quick is Brooks? That boy can fly and has crazy handles. Love the potential on him. If only he were 3-4 inches taller. Scola was an animal tonight, and I love it. Just need to learn to stay on the floor and not foul every time down the floor.

Now what does Yao have to do to get a whistle? He gets hit and fouled more than anybody else in the league and rarely ever gets a call especially on the road. It's blasphemy.

 

I think you need to predict more W's for us....thats if you're a Rockets fan.

 

Bench wasn't looking for Yao and TMac, instead looked for their own shots. GO GO GO!

 

This game is certainly the best game of year, even better than last game against Denver, in which they showed their whole hearts and passion. If Rockets can keep this firing power while playing good D, the sky is the limit. I am not optimistic just after one game, which however does show what this team can do.

 

I had the good fortune of being at the game last night. Good to see Yao play since he hasn't played the last couple of years in Chicago due to injury. Unfortunately, I wasn't close enough to get any real game insight. Of course, there was the usual increased number of Asians at in the crowd, but this year I noticed a strong anti-Yao sentiment - not among the Asians, but among the Bulls fans. On one particular foul called on Yao there was a huge cheer.

Some game insights (probably nothing new):
- Scola played like a wild animal; his offensive rebounds were deflating to the opposition; those two out-of-bounds saves were awesome
- Bonzi was a load for anyone who tried guarding him, particularly bigger players that he could drive past
- Brooks wasn't spectacular but he made things work and his defense was not a liability
- Surprised that TMac guarded Hinrich the whole game and stayed in front of him for the most part; very efficient game for TMac; I was surprised at how many shots he missed from the box score because he seemed very accurate from just watching action
- Rafer guarded Ben Gordon, which to me seemed like a bad match-up because Gordon is so strong; but Rafer held is own
- Yao missed too many gimmes instead; tonight he was just solid, not great
- Rox had a lot of open shots tonight, but they weren't hesitant to shoot and they made them
- Good win against a decent home team

 

If Brooks was 3-4 inches taller he wouldn't have dropped to the 26th pick.

 

How could they own MJ if he wasn't even playing during the Rockets' championship years, other than a handful of games in 95?

Either way, I have to agree that the Bulls with MJ would've beaten both of the Rockets championship teams. It might not have been easy, but the Bulls were the better team if MJ was playing plus they had more experience having already won 3 championships.

 

Why do you feel the need to post this in nearly every single thread?

 

I am a Rockets fan. Unfortunately, I've been tainted by watching the Toronto and Philly games.

In a prediction, one makes ones best guess. Nevertheless, I HOPE that the Rockets win every game they play. Isn't that why we all watch?

 

I agree that the Bulls/w MJ were the better team. However there was only one player that could frustrate MJ and we had him(Mad Max). The Rockets could tone down MJ and then the Bulls had no answer for Dream. Therefore "Rockets Win!! Rockets Win!!"

 

True, but Jordan is the regular season is way different that Jordan in the Playoffs. Nobody was going to stop him from getting his. The only way we would beat them is if we stopped their role players. The Bulls had the perfect role players to compliment him. It wasn't just all Jordan that won 6 titles.

 

That dude is Mr. Negative. I think every single post I've read of his was negative. It was either his losing "predictions" or something a long the lines of, "Oh here's another Rockets lost. I wonder how bad we lose this one." blah blah blah. I think someone else told him that it's just a basketball game and he'll end up living life as a sad man. I say that is 100% correct. Lighten up pal, it's the freaking holidays!

 

Offense was great in 2 consecutive games, this time against a good defensive team like the Bulls. The shots are always there, we just gotta convert and keep turnovers to a minimum. I haven't seen anything different other than the fact that we made WIDE OPEN SHOTS!!!

 

Luther was taking more shots, and he's been a much better shooter than James or Francis. Alston still couldn't buy a 3-pointer, but he was hitting those layups/floaters. That's probably not something we can count on every game. Bonzi's been in a pretty good rhythm on catch and shoot jumpers from about 20 feet for a few games now. If he catches and steps into the shot all in one motion, it's a pretty shot for him.

 

Brooks is, very simply, an ignitor. He single handedly set the pace for the 2nd unit. His stats weren't terrific but you can see that if you put him on the floor with guys that will run, he will be very successful. Can you imagine if Phoenix had gotten him? They'd be murder to deal with with him backing up Nash.

And we're just starting to tap the surface of his potential. Just wait until he gets a little more confidence and starts breaking guys down all the way to the rim and finishing. It's there. He's got it in his game. It will happen.