Was anyone else reminded of that home loss way back in January against the Hornets? The Rockets had just won 5 games in a row. Everyone was thinking that the team didn't really need T-Mac. Then we play a good Hornets team at home. And when the 4th quarter comes a long, we completely choke. Can't score a bucket down the stretch. That's what went through my mind at the end of this game. No direction whatsoever. T-Mac, even a lame duck T-Mac from this past road trip, would have prevented this from happening. I'm sure of it. I wonder what's going through McGrady's mind right now? Guilt (for not being there for his team) or relief (realizing his team still needs him)?
It should be guilt, the Rockets aren't paying him 20 mill to "shut it down", wth is that bullcrap? Also, it comes to mind that Yao is too easily shut down. This is why I'm hesitant to say he's the best center in the league...there's too many defensive tactics that can literally take him out of the game. =
lost pretty much the same way, trying to force feed yao, turnovers, then others start to drop bricks, then collapse,... how many games we lost this way? hornet game...sixer game...spurs, now this....boy i am tired of this crap, don't they learn lessons from the past?
Relief. T-Mac has a fragile persona. He needs his team to show him some love now and then by choking monumentally without him. Man I hate rooting for people that shy away from pressure. Winners RELISH the opportunity to prove themselves in the big moments. Give me a game-ending line-up of Rafer Artest Landry Scola Hayes; I don't care if we lose, at least I know the team will gone down like bulldogs and not backed down one bit like Yao or T-Mac seem to do routinely. Tonight it was Yao and his sorry excuse for finishing 2-ft shots by dips and dinks, letting the ball roll off the rim rather than throw it down. Artest lost it in the last four minutes because his head was in the wrong place--he was trying to prove something against his former team--but Yao lost the game for all the other minutes he was out there, by missing point-blank shots and being tentative in the paint. He's got no confidence at all out there.
Im telling you, theres no point in Artest taking 20 shots this game (especially with McGrady out.) We need to give more shots to Mcgrady and Yao (15-20) in order to win or blow out.
Did they need tmac? Yes. Could he have prevented this? Yes. Was he the only possible solution? No. The Rockets do need Tracy to be contenders, win playoff games, etc., but in this game they didn't need him to win. They were more than capable of taking this game and simply made bad decision, offensively and defensively. Bad coaching as well.
wizards, orlando, and miami. those wins were fool's gold. those teams are championship material? i think the rockets just needed to hit their threes. imo those early threes from t-mac in the magic game opened up the game for yao. last game was a freebie if yao wasn't able to establish himself in the low post all game against a 6-7 center the rockets have deeper issues to worry about.
its not Yao who's easy to shut down, its the supporting cast around him. Yao can't make entry passes to himself. There isn't proper support around him. Yao may not be able to dominate whenver he wants to, but its not easy to shut him down when he's used correctly.
correction... the only big on this team who can make a decent entry pass.. and this was only a problem when we tried strictly going to Artest down in the post.. Yao on the other hand.. couldn't find his way around Murphy..
Yao missed 9 field goals and had 4 turnovers in 31 minutes. How many of those were his teammate's fault?
this wasn't the case here.. no one can feed Yao.. if he can't stop letting people like Murphy front him out of the game..
If he gets the ball in an awkward spot, then he's likely to turn it over, sometimes its on him, but if the entry guy gives him the ball while a opposing guard is salivating right behind Yao's arm, then you might as well just give the opponent the ball. As for the missed shots, if he's getting the ball out too far and the clock is winding down and there's not other options, well then that's a low percentage shot. I'm not saying every turnover and missed shot was someone else's fault, but those are examples of how sometimes they can be.
you can't exactly stop someone from fronting you. You have to find another way to enter the pass. What's Yao suppose to do, get in front of him? Then Murphy will just get in front of him, if they keep doing that, soon enough Yao will be too far out of position to do anything. Yao can't hold him and keep him from getting in front of him because it would be a foul. The only time you can use your size and strength to keep someone in a certain position is when they're gaurding you from behind, or when you get the entry pass to one side and you shield them away, if the entry pass isn't good then you can't do much .
I got it, I got why the hell we looked so unvalid tonight. A huge change is around the corner. TMac is sidelined this game, due to his knee as offcially said. but the fact is that he's gonna be traded. Everyone on our team felt shocked when they were informed this knowledge, and they have been shocked since then. Earier today, the houston rockets accepted a trade offer sent from Miami Heat. Rockets send tmac/Hayes/dorsey as a package to Miami for Marion/jones/dorell right. Morey phoned me right after the game ended,telling me about the trade, say it's just several minutes ago. I had been feeling tantalized about the anouncement that "tmac will not show in the game againest the pacers" because I had got no reason why tmac miss a game just due to a chronic injury, until morey told me about the story that tmac had been traded. Hayes didn't show in the game, right? And marion didn't show tonight either(heat is just playing a game againest blazers). in fact, none of the 6 guys showed tonight. Welcome Marion to Houston
