wow... that was ugggly. do we have a pg?? is it just me, or does rafer play like a sg?? tmac - 5 of 22, and rafer - 4 of 16... yuck. if we dont make it past the 1st round, either yao or tmac has to go. this is getting lame.
I thought Leon Woods was gonna play more besides garbage time.They need to go ahead and stick him in there so that there's some kind of low post presence.He looked pretty good except for those long black socks.
As a bottom seed we definitely won't. We'ld have to be a top two seed to have semi-favorable matchups. Otherwise, we'll have our butts handed to us. I know it's getting tired, but you can't make decisions about the future of this team as long as you keep having one or more of your franchise players out with injuries, or trying to come back from a major injury but never being quite the same (Yao against Jazz last year, basically). It's the cards we've been dealt, but there is no doubt in my mind that we will at LEAST ride out McGrady's contract, which gives Yao-McGrady two more seasons to make this thing work or else...
I just got finished watching it on my laptop on a slingbox type of replay. YUCK !!!!!! No movement, no energy, and no defense..... equals disaster.... The only people who looked good were Scola....and Landry.....the rest......not so hotra..... I think sitting Battier was a mistake too...... Dang.....that was a waste of 2 hours....but at least I am not losing money at the Craps tables while watching the game.... So that makes 3 things good about that game ..... DD
Finally i can watch a game and the lose damn. Anyway the spurs were ready and parker and finley were hot. Battier well this was his first bad game of the season? T-mac well 3 nice dunks, but shot wasn't falling. Well A+ for Scola. Lets take atleast 3 out of the 4 next games.
This was very similar to Suns game as the Spurs were just red hot. No team really can do anything when the spurs or suns do this. I thought we played a decent game but never felt like we matched there intensity.
We will never be an elite team without Yao and t-mac together. Still don't know how they pulled-out the streak.
get real. elite teams occasionally lose but they don't get blown out against good teams like the rockets have a habit of doing. rockets total suck against the good teams.
you must be from another team or the media, because your statement is dumb. Go look at the Lakers schedule during february, as "easy" as ours and they lost to Portland and Atlanta. You dont win a streak just from playing "average to mediocre" teams. Because if you did we would see a lot more 20+ streaks.
the lakers are a championship team with proven champion-level players that have consistently won championships in last few years. the CURRENT lakers team have proven themselves time and time again. you can't compare them to the rockets, because when was the last time the rockets have won a championship (with any of the CURRENT players)? oh that's right. Never. you simply cannot compare these two teams. one is proven, the other is not.
... you're probably right... the Rockets aren't a championship caliber team. Of course, it's hard to find out when your two best players can't play a complete season together. ... and most of us here also seemed to have forgotten all those championships since Shaq was traded.
Paul’s 26 points, 17 assists, lead Hornets past Spurs, 100-75 NEW ORLEANS (AP)—David West’s sprained left ankle kept him from running in practice and forced him to miss three games, but didn’t stop him from trying to maintain his shooting touch. In his return against San Antonio on Wednesday night, West had 29 points and 10 rebounds to help the New Orleans Hornets take a convincing 100-75 victory over the Southwest Division leading Spurs. “I stayed in the gym,” West said of his absence from the lineup. “I wasn’t able to run, but I was able to shoot. It was just coming out ready to compete, feeling like I was ready to go tonight. It was big. I was ready to get back out there.” Chris Paul had 26 points and 17 assists as New Orleans pulled within a half-game of the division lead behind the Spurs and Houston Rockets. Many of his assists came on baskets by West, who made everything from mid-range jumpers to tough fades on the baseline, jump hooks from the post or driving floaters off the glass. He even hit a 3-pointer, which gave New Orleans a 91-71 lead with 5 minutes to go—a dagger that led both coaches to replace all of their starters. It was a masterful display against the defending champions, who resorted to a physically punishing defensive style to little avail. “Obviously they’re a team with a lot more veteran guys than we have. They’ve been to championships,” West said. “They’re going to try anything, especially against us, where they feel we’re a little bit inexperienced. I like the way the guys responded. We kept our composure and really were able to get what we wanted.” The Hornets shot a stunning 59 percent against the Spurs, who had held 26 of their previous 30 opponents under 100 points. “They were making every kind of shot,” Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. “It’s really hard to win like that. I don’t think we played horrible. We’ve played worse before. They just executed great.” San Antonio shot 43 percent, going only 2-of-18 from 3-point range and a dreadful 7-of-17 on free throws. Tony Parker had a particularly rough night at the foul line, going 2-for-8. Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Parker finished with 26 points, hitting the Spurs’ only two 3-pointers. Ginobili added 11 points for San Antonio. Paul had his double-double when he set up West’s jumper with 10:44 left in the third quarter, at which point Paul had played only 20 minutes. The Spurs body-to-body defensive play resulted in a lot of foul calls and numerous players crashing hard to the court, but Paul worked through it and ended up surpassing 20 points and 15 assists in a game for the eighth time this season. “They did a good job coming out and trying to be more physical with us,” Paul said. “They tried to switch Bruce Bowen on to me, who I know likes to hold and grab and things like that, but we tried not to let it affect us.” The Hornets began to pull away in the third quarter when Paul made consecutive jumpers and scored inside on a feed from Tyson Chandler. West then hit a pair of jump hooks and a driving floater off the glass. Peja Stojakovic followed with a tough fadeaway and rookie Julian Wright hit a pull-up after spinning into the lane, capping a 16-6 run that put New Orleans up 68-54. Duncan’s free throws pulled the Spurs to 76-67 at the end of three quarters, but New Orleans scored the first three baskets of the fourth quarter and pulled away from there. Duncan and Parker combined for all of San Antonio’s first 18 points, with Parker scoring 10, during the opening 10 minutes. That was enough to keep it close early. Parker had 13 points in the first quarter, after which the Hornets led only 25-23. Parker and Paul each scored 18 in the first half, when Paul also had eight of his assists. Paul and West scored two baskets apiece during an 8-2 run to close out the second quarter, giving New Orleans a 48-41 halftime lead. “David West and Chris Paul played awesome,” Duncan said. “Chris was just unbelievable. It felt like every shot he put up there went in or he made the right decision.” Notes Bruce Bowen’s start was his 500th in a row, the longest streak in the NBA. His run began on Feb. 28, 2002. … Paul had two steals in the first quarter, giving him at least one in all 61 games in which he has played this season, a franchise record and the longest streak in the NBA. … Hornets reserve Bonzi Wells returned from a four-game absence (bruised Achilles’) and scored eight points in 16 minutes. … Chandler had 10 rebounds. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap;_ylt=AvbTi8Wk1C6JIjrBH9rLX.iLvLYF?gid=2008031203&prov=ap&print=1
