man. if only i could look at a box score of one game and figure out that wafer is better than artest, I could be a GM.
Yao did it all. But he doesn't have that next palyer on his level to play with.Yao needs a elite point guard PERIOD POINT BLANK.
Brooks and Lowry tonight a combined 1-11......ouch, I wish they would stop channeling their inner Rafer. DD
Few bright spots to calm the negativity. Scola's jumpshot is gold Artest did not go crazy. We continue to hang around the 1st qtr till the 3rd quarter despite our careless plays, head-scratcher turnovers, and horrible shooting. People say Phil Jackson is a master of calling timeouts when the momentum is going against them and master of shifting the momentum after the time-out. I like how Adelman responded the same way and it really worked for the Rox in the first half. The negatives. Battier baffles me sometimes. I remember in the 2nd or 3rd qtr, he missed 3 or 4 straight 3 pointers. WOW But what's funny though that in the end, he was 4-8 in 3 point attempts. Talk about huh? Also, what's with Barry. He's always sub-par but everytime he plays, he would always cause atleast one stupid turnover. One game it be carrying the ball, tonight would be stepping out of bounds. To think this is the guy we signed for his veteran experience. And Artest. Yes our so called warrior. I like how in the Hornets game, when his shots are not falling, he wouldn't quit. But that kind of attitude is a double-edged sword. Can this kill us in the playoffs? I do not know... And what about Yao? I'll talk about him later. The main lesson of the game is we cannot keep up with LA. PERIOD. No ifs and no buts. Season sweep guys. The Lakers, despite having a lower field goal percentage in the game, manage to beat us by 12. You know Kobe did not take us seriously when he only took 11 shots in the game. Simply put, we are not on the Laker's level. I think many posters agree on that. I believe we tried our hardest but effort can only take you so much. We do not have the necessary discipline, experience and yes I'm going to say it 'talent' to compete with the big boys. Sure we are playing the Lakers but our weaknesses are being exposed big time. How the Lakers play us is pretty much how our first-round opponent is going to play us. Just think of it this way. How the Jazz play us the past two years in the p/o's is how our first-round opponent will most likely play us. One thing Morey has to do in the offseason is figure out how to get a wing superstar. Tmac was that person but unfortunately, he's DOA this year. THis is where the Yao issue comes up. Yao Ming is too slow and inconsistent. He's a great player but the only thing bringing him down is how easy it is for teams to neutralize him. Teams don't necessarily shut him down but he cannot show the consistency of superstar status. He did it for 2-3 games this season but on many games that do matter, he is plays just a bit above average. I notice this season that when things get tough, Yao is nowhere to be seen. People here on CF say well he's being double-teamed, triple-teamed, fronted, officiated unfairly but you know what, superstars rise to the occasion no matter what. Yes what happens to Yao sucks and is definitely unfair and I hate it but what's a fan going to do? Lets face it. He is a center. and the NBA game suits to the wing player and not as much to the centers. I feel the same will happen to Dwight Howard as well. Don't get me wrong, this team is fun to watch and I love their chemistry together. I really do not want to sound very negative and hopeless 'cause I love this Rockets. But if they last six games in the first round and lose, I am satisfied. If they reach the second round, I am amazed even further. You just simply cannot ask for more of this team.
battier didn't play a terrible game tonight, kobe shot a high percentage but those threes that kobe was draining are difficult to stop. he did what he could, and give kobe credit, he mostly deferred to his teammates on double teams.
We have the best and most efficient low post players combo: Yao and Scola. We have the worst guards combo: Artest and Brooks. We are a good team, but not good enough to pass the 1st round in playoffs, we are still a regular season team. You can't expect too much on a team without a real PG and swing man.
Artest is no McGrady of last year, if he was there would be hope. Brooks needs 10 more yrs to develop. And a coach with balls would help
I notice'd that,and I was just like WTF is his problem putting Yao in the game with no break?And Yao looked fatigued the entire 2nd half,so fouls came his way easier than the 1st half.
YEP, look at the game back in Houston a few weeks ago... Kobe did nothing the first 2.5 quarters,.... then BAMMMMM. maybe the lakers do have more depth than us... but still.
The Lakers were just toying around with us all game. Kobe had only 8 field goal attempts until the 4th, yet we were still down by 5 I think. I just don't understand why the Rockets players will go a possession without even looking for Yao in the post. That is simply unacceptable! Artest continues to take horrible shots and make bad decisions with the ball. It wasn't as bad as the last game in Houston vs. LA, but he was still pretty bad as far as decision making goes. Aaron Brooks is not a starting point guard in this league. You can see that he has a scorers mentality and has no clue of how to run a team or an offense. Kyle Lowery is a nice point guard, but he's not a starting point guard in the NBA either. I understand why they traded Alston (age and lowering trade value), but we really need to find an NBA starting point guards. We can't wait to develop a player into one, we just simply need to find one. Battier had a nice game tonight. Felt bad for him playing pretty good defense on Kobe, but still getting j'd. Not much anybody could do aobut that. Scola and Yao played well also, but we really miss Carl Landry now. Wafer and Barry made some mistakes, but they don't play too much, so it doesn't hurt much either throughout a game. Overall, we seriously under utilize Yao! Its getting pretty ridiculous, considering he shoots 55% from the field, 87 % from the free throw line, and will draw a double team, which will lead to WIDE OPEN jumpers! just really shocks me how stupid some players on our team really are...
Rick was just named coach of the month. We need an elite point guard not a wing man but a point guard that can stop guys from triple teaming yao which is why we can't make post entry pasess. This player can hit the open shot consistently He can take the ball to the basket He can penetrate draw the D and find other guys
