Splendid win! I believe we can beat any of the top three teams from the Eastern Conference if we could pass the Faker into the Finals. I's interesting to watch the Spurs vs Blazers game tomorrow. Definitely there will be a loser in the onfrontment.
Anyone notice how Rafer got teary-eyed in every single interview for the local media? He even hugged Yao, then massaged his shoulder a bit like a father, no question he really wanted to be here..
The best Yao move on Howard tonight, the dribble, pull up midrange jumper in the 4th qtr. Didn't know Yao had that move in him. Pure awsomeness
We've beaten Portland twice. And I think we've beaten the Spurs twice too. Portland would be number 5...and the next two spots up will be determined by how the team did against its conference. If there is a tiebreaker there, then we go to divisional standings.
I have to admit, I had a lot more "Rafer, what the f#$@?!!!" moments than, "Rafer, great shot!!!" moments when he was here, but the guy has a special place in my heart. I'm sure the guys on the team really miss him. But hey, he's on a team that might win 60 games. It could be a lot worse on his end.
This is exactly what i am not comfortable with this win. 4 games before playoff and this team still do not have a single clue of solving the fronting. It won't get easier there. To say 13 shot attempts is way misleading as Yao was making a living on the offensive rebound. Can we count on him for that? ---- I'd say no. Can we count on his outside shots?----I'd say no again. Can we afford to lose our best player regularly in the second half of playoff games. Uuuuuuh... all things considered, I am glad it is a win, but not thrilled about the process.
It's obvious Rafer told Dwight to front Yao instead of playing behind him- and it worked. On offense, the players should ask themselves, "What's the best way for us to score now?" So when Yao is fronted and we have a huge advantage in offensive rebounding, we need to take the outside shots. Normally, Yao in the post is preferable to a outside jumper. But when you add in the probability of us getting a put-back layup if the jumper misses, then THAT becomes our best way to score. Our players need to recognize this and learn how to beat fronting defenses instead of FORCING the pass into Yao.
At least the Fronting is happening now. The Rockets have a little over a week to figure this out. What I like about it though is that Yao was getting the offensive rebounds because he would have great position on the basket.
One benefit to Yao being fronted is that he is in better position to rebound with the defender at his back when he turns around. This has lead to some easier put back buckets and also more defensive rebounds, which we have seen the past few games.
How many times does Yao need to be fronted to figure this out? For Christ's sake, we've had entire threads composed by clutchfans that actually propose drawn-up plays to beat it. I mean, c'mooooon!!!
Oh, we will finish the regular season 54-28. Nice game tonight, go Rockets.. Landry is also efficient
