I agree they can be better. One stat I think is really important so far in the playoffs... the Rockets are 4-0 when leading at the last break(given 2 were blowouts). I honestly thought our inability to close games out like in the regular season would be the main difference to whether we were successful or not in the playoffs. Keep it up!
thank you man. i've seen this for a long time as well. spurs and lakers for some reason are a little more containable.
In defense of Barry - he hit a great long 3 from the top of the key that was a good momentum builder and good for his confidence if he's going to play any more this series. It's good to have another long-range weapon off the bench, and his stroke from long range looks effortless. For some reason, he didn't play in the 2nd half. But I liked that Rick played 10 guys and adjusted to the different situations.
the turning point in the game was when chuck hayes came in for yao and defended bynum like noone's business. he always had about 3 offensive rebounds on one posession. it helped pushed the lead to 10.
We didn't play our best, but the defense and energy were there consistenly for us. The fakers will come out stronger next game, we need to respond and steal another. Luis has to take the open shot, Shane needs to as well and hopefully Aaron has his confidence. Bench definitely needs to step their game up. LA may have a better team on paper, but we're good enough to win if we just work harder. I didn't think I'd say this, but Yao may be finally coming into his own the way we all hoped he would. If he continues to play with this determination it will be hard for us to lose. Next game is going to be a challenge, but if there's a team out there that responds to challenges better than us, I haven't seen them.
Bingo! Are you in my brain? This was so obvious it wasn't even funny. At halftime they were asking if the Rockets could continue this "perfect pace." I was like, what??!! Like I said in the other thread, I'm not sure they can play better defense but they can play MUCH better on offense. There's really not much else to add to your post, you were spot on. People need to look at the box score, it was very close and the Rockets can play much better. But can the Lakers overcome good defense? That's tough to do.
you're right. aaron threw one up at the end of the shot clock, and another at the end of the quarter. ron also threw one up at the end of a quarter. we were more like 5-15. i don't remember the lakers throwing up any threes late in the clock.
Barry's job is to shoot the ball, not pass. Everytime he pass, it's a turnover. One time he was open and should have shot it but try to pass inside to Landry result in turnover. Although it's Landry's fault for not able to handle the ball. He and Landry and Von didn't play great at all. Need to step it up.
In the first half Yao missed several shots really bad. The shooting forms and rhythm were kinda ugly in these shots. At one time it looked like Bynum was giving Yao lots of fits. Yao's defense and rebounding have some room for improvements too. On the other hand I couldn't find much fault with Artest's performance. His 3-point play with 8 minutes to go in the 4th quarter was monumental, arguable the most important points of the game. There was still plenty of time left, but the game could have a different outcome if that jumper didn't fall and his free throw didn't come through, as the moment was just about to shift to the Lakers' side. The bleeding was literally stopped with the play by Artest, and Houston never looked back.
The biggest team areas of improvement that we need are to cut down on turnovers, and to box out and rebound better. Odom got several offensive rebounds that ended up in buckets for either him or his team. That ish has got to stop.
I'll be honest, I don't expect Yao to play like he did in game 1...That is too much, Everybody else will be expected to play better with the possible exception of Battier, Artest and Brooks...
Its simple: 1. Make freethrows 2. Don't turn the ball over 3. Take open shots, do not hesitate 4. Do not let their defensive pressure/mental antics affect the game
There's always room for improvement. The biggest thing that the Rockets could improve on is taking care of the ball. You're lucky if you can win a game while losing the turnover battle and the Rockets can't count on luck.
now the pressure is on the fakers... BUT still rox need to play almost perfect to win the series... GO ROX!!!
