ClutchCity.net Game Thread: Kings @ Rockets 12/10/2002

This is a statement game for the Rockets. The first step in becoming a good team is to win at home. 14 of our next 19 are at home, and the toughest road game is at Orlando. We have a chance to get on a roll, and we need to take it.

 

The Kings thrive on opponents turnovers. They got like 14 steals against San Antonio. If Houston can keep the turnovers down and have a good shooting night then they can take the Kings. They need to stay close to Webber as he was hitting those open 15-18 feet shots during the last game against us. I think Yao will have a big game tomorrow. So far, he usually do well when he face an opponent a second time around. Hopefully this trend continue and with a good inside outside passing attack, they should be able to score more than the last game. They also should extend their defense out further as the Kings is a good outside shooting team. I think it's about time the Rocket will win one form the Kings. Houston 97- Kings 92.

 

I just have a feeling that rockets will win, dont' know why, even though kings right now are playing better and have more tallent,, I just think Ming is going to show up BIG time .. oh well , we'll see..

Arnel

 

It is Ming Dynasty and Steve Franchise! Haha.

 

From Chron:

Yao questionable

Other than Yao Ming, who is questionable for tonight's game with flu-like symptoms, Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich will have every active player at his disposal. As Tomjanovich happily reported after Monday's practice, the Rockets are a little banged up, but nothing serious.

 

yes, i surprised at Yao's performance recently,when he came to NBA at beganning,my friends and I thought it will take at least 1 year to get used to the game.
Another thing worth to mention is that in china CBA,Yao' playing is not good than another player, Wang Whizhi.Compared to Wang,Yao is not prompt.Unfortunately,Wang's situation in NBA is going worse and worse and yao won his reputation in a very short time.
our chinese fans are happy for Yao' s growing but also regret for Wang's situation.

Judging by recent game,i think Yao'll became the core of the team very soon,just like he did in shanghai shark club.
I firmly believe that the champion will come to Rockets sooner or later.

 

Ok,i can tell u,but what's the meaning of underway?

 

With Yao likely not playing, the Rockets haven't got a chance in hell, whether or not the Kings have Webber.

 

Salty!? No way. Shanghainese drink it sweet, the way I like it!

 

I am coming from shanghai.let me tell you what kind food Shanghainese like most.Considing the long list,I recommand u go to see the webside http://www.163.com.

haha,of course,u can't understand the any words.

 

If Webber is out, we'll win. Griffin will have a BREAKOUT game against Keon Clark.

Here's a true story: When he was with Toronto, the whole team wanted to wear high socks for a game, and they did, but when Clark came out, he couldn't, because they kept slipping down. He was too thin for high socks!

Moral of the story? Clark is one of the few people in the league Griffin can bang around with.

Give Ming the rest, I don't care. What could Divac POSSIBLY do?

No Webber, No Pollard, No Funderburke. They'll have to play Gerald Wallace as the backup PF, Christie at the 2, Juimmy Jackson at the 3, Bobby Jackson at the 1.

I don't think they have 8 healthy players. Even with a full team I expected a win for us.

This is truly going to be a walk in the park. Divac will run out of gas midway through the 3rd.

I say, bring Ming off the bench IF we need him. Start Cato and Griffin.

Cato/Ming
Griffin/KT/MoT
Rice/T-Mo/KT
Mobley/Hawkins
Francis/Mooch

The crowd will be larger than usual, and we should feed off that.

The trick, is to use every advantage. Make sure the crowd gets into it, and use 9 players in the rotation to keep our team fresh for the 4th quarter.

 

Agree! If Webber is out, we SHOULD at least make it look easy to win this game. C'mon, their first three options are down and some decent 2nd tier bench are down also! Can Sac still continue their mission impossible?? I don't think so.

Rest Yao Ming, Cato can play physical against Divac. Stop Bobby Jackson and we will school them!

KH

 

Not to be negative or anything, because I am a huge rockets fan, but on the subject of team ball...On the Kings' worst day, their team ball is still probably better than our team ball on our best day. All those cuts to the basket....I mean, Bobby Jackson probably gets at least 4-5 layups a game off of passes from Divac/Webber alone. And that's just Bobby Jackson. I mean, if they play their team ball and execute their offense like they always do, they could probably beat us with even 6 or 7 guys. Their team ball is extremely beautiful (maybe we should lure Pete Carrill away from them to teach us that same offense) and it's extremely fun to watch. Pete Carrill is a genius. I used to love to Princeton backdoor cuts. The Kings' 6-7 guys playing together like a team that knows what its doing can be a lot better than 12 guys who aren't on the same page. Plus, Rick Adelman only uses an 8 man lineup anyways.

With that said...I hope Yao is healthy enough to play tomorrow (flu???) and I hope he has a huge game against the kings. I say the only way we win is if Yao scores 20+ and intimidates Divac and/or get Divac into foul trouble. I don't know about Webber's status, but I'm sure he'll be playing.

I say let Webber get his 25pt/12rb/5asst....as long as the Jacksons (bobby/jim) don't score more than 15 each we will have a great game. I hope Cuttino doesn't underestimate Christie's defense too much...the man is a defensive machine.

we win IF
--------------
Yao/Steve 20+ pts
Cat 15+ pts
Stop kings' backdoor cuts for easy layups
Limit Jacksons to less than 15pts each
Kings get less than 90 pts

We Lose IF
---------------
Yao doesn't play or is a non factor
Cat gets ego hurt by Christie and goes off on 1-on-1 isos
Kings execute their offense like they're at home
Kings get 90+ pts

 

We must beat the KINGS before we become SOMETING OF BIG!

 

<B>result1:</B>
Yao:
15 pts
13 rbs
3 ast
6 fouls

Rockets:Kings
82:103

<B>result2:</B>
Yao:
25 pts
15 rbs
3 ast

Rockets:Kings
89:82

I think kings has more scope to win(result1:70%), but Yao always surprise us(result2:30%).

 

If Webber doesn't play what is the "under" on the EG/Clark box score--because I'll take it.

No reason the Rockets should not take this game other than either lack of intensity or lack of a basic execution of their game plan. If Webber plays and Yoa is very ill different story though.

 

dn1282,

I agree with everything you said except this:

"I mean, if they play their team ball and execute their offense like they always do, they could probably beat us with even 6 or 7 guys. "


No way. They ARE 7 players tomorrow. Jimmy Jackson (33+)and Vlade Divac (36?) are 2 of those players. It's even worse for Jimmy Jackson because he's only recently joined the Kings and it's very difficult to learn their offense.

Webber can't go off for anything tomorrow, because I don't think he's playing. Even if the X-rays come back negative, I'd bet on them resting him. From interviews, it's quite obvious he's hurting big time.

Here's their healthy roster:

Vlade Divac
Keon Clark
Gerald Wallace
Doug Christie
Bobby Jackson
Jimmy Jackson
Damon Jones

That's it. Damon Jones, Jimmy Jackson, and Keon Clark just joined the team this year, so don't expect to see their usual picture perfect offense. Especially against our defense, at home.


As long as no one goes 10/11 from the field again, we'll win.

I hope Yao's healthy too, but I believe this game is ours whether he plays or not. Try thinking back to last year's games. Cato does a good job of denying Divac position at his "sweet spots". Aside from that, Divac has his limits. Let's assume he goes off for 21 points, 11 boards, 6 assists, and 2 blocks. That's his MAXIMUM. Cato can undoubtedly limit that.

IMO, they key head-to-head matchup is Clark vs. Griffin.

Griffin needs to win this matchup and have a blowout game as badly as the Rockets want to win this one.

 

Kings 152
Rockets 79

Ming - 10-11 shooting for 23 points

Everyone else - 22-70 for 56 points
Francis - 10 turnovers, 2 assists
Taylor and Griffin both foul out
Rudy T ejected in the middle of the third after our 20th turnover
Nachbar makes all five of his shots in fourth quarter garbage time only to see five minutes of playing time in the next 25 games...

 

I've been reading that Yao has the flu. Any word on if he's going to play tonight? We need Yao to win this game! Flu or no flu!

 

I don't think a Chinese would ever skip a game because of a 'flu', unless it's very serious. If Yao does skip the game, that's got to be coaching decision.

I predict a Kings win, because they're on a roll right now, hard to stop.