ClutchCity.net Game Thread: Rockets @ Grizzlies 12/13/2002

I want to think positively, but I can't. Houston has the talent right now to move to the next level. In order to move to the next level and become a contender, they cannot lose games like this anymore.

 

I just cant figure out why we are so harsh here just because of a lost.

Yes Yao played well though he had 6 TOs.Yes Franchise played well though he made foolish shoots in the OT.Yes the team works well though they fotget how to play teamball in the OT.
And yes we lost a game partly because of our teamwork problem and partly because that the Grizzlies plays so good.

I just dont hope that the team of ROX are harsh to each other like what we are doing here after this game.

 

Just curious, do the players fight like this in the locker room?? If so then Houstone, we have a problem

 

Yao and Steve both made mistakes in the game. I think it is a team loss not just any individual.

But on the road, defense and FT win games. FT can be fixed, but defense is difficult to fix given the personnel of the team. Why?

If anybody checks the losses by the Rox, you can find a pattern that we can not stop the other team's PF and SF/Guard from scoring in the clutch minutes. Can you think anybody on the team that can stop Marbury, Williams on the drive? Even in the Clippers game we lost, their guard scored many points. We just do not have a defensive stopper in clutch times. In the Bull's championship years, Pippen is the defensive stopper to be relied on. We do not have anybody yet. Rodman/Grant can harass other's PF, we do not have anybody yet either.

So it comes down to this:

The weakest link on the Rox's team is: PF and a defensive stopper. If we can fix them, we are a title contender.

 

I sure as heck hope not. I can't believe the bickering that goes on here.

 

Ok, that's just a little rude. I never said Ming was almighty and Steve stunk. I like Steve a lot, and I've been here a hell of a lot longer than you. My reasoning was not blind, and I think Steve played a heck of a good game. The problem, and the reason I think we did not pull it out in the end, was Steve's play. Under tight circumstances (national TV games and important matchups for him) he seems to get too much into a duel with another player. Yao was playing well down the stretch, and was ignored in the offense. Steve is the PG, and he deservedly gets praise when we win, but it has to be evenhanded and thought-provoking when we lose. Yao never got the ball, neither did any other Rox players because the TEAM WAS NOT PLAYING. Steve screwed up and tried going 1 on 5. I am sure he'll redeem himself, but I really hope he figures out that he can't do it all himself. I think Bill Walton also says games are won/lost in the 4th quarter, and Steve had two terrible traveling TO's in a row in the 4th. Then he missed two clutch free throws, which caused a flurry of trade Mooch talk after the Clippers game.
On the other hand, Yao did a great job on the rebound off of Steve's miss. Also, at least two of the TO's tonight were the result of not paying attention. How can it be the passer's fault if the ball bounces off someone's numbers (it's happened in several games). However, it was Yao's fault that he wasn't more aggressive at the start of the game.
In conclusion, Steve=great player. Yao=great player. Rox=great team in near future. Tonight, Steve=bonehead at the end. Tomorrow, I predict Steve=savior. Meanwhile, you=jerk.

 

this is so f**king ridiculous. the team loses and you start
b!tching and pointing fingers at individual players and start complaining about how one player is a fan favorite and can't do no wrong. the team wins and everybody starts calling yao an all star. it's so stupid. some people here need to get a life. if the rockets lose, it a'int the end of the world.

they were in the f**king lottery last year, do you really expect them to win the championship immediately in the year after.

 

Well, I guess I can't blame everyone for looking for negatives, we did lose after all. The thing is we are taking it to the next level. We're still up there, 4th in our division. Looks like we're going to be in the Playoffs. As in winning a championship, I'd love it. Every team will have it's lapses, that's why teams have to beat contenders every once in a while. No team goes into the Playoffs with a perfect 82-0 record, unless someone can find that perfect team. Teams lose, we just have to come back and win some more, and more importantly come out of this better than before. Like someone mentioned before in this topic, it might just help the Rockets just by losing, because they're always known to come back losing if they win too much.

 

Apologized is accepted dude! Everything should be from here. A loss like this brings out the in everyone. Lets hope they win tomorrow but if they don't, it's gonna be ugly!

 

I expect another good contribution from Yao and Steve. Steve to make up for today's loss. Yao for playing the Clippers already and being ready for them the next time!

 

I see somebody here say he like Yao Ming as a rocket but he hate the yao only fans , i really think there is nothing wrong as yao-only fans just as there is stevie-only fan so what if u are a yao-only fan???!!! i love iverson but i hate the sixers team is there something wrong???!!! Some people are just jealous becuz ppl only talk about yao=rocket , yes maybe its annoying sometimes but there is nth wrong about it. If u really hate yao-only fan then there is alot of people u are hating(1 billion properly) and maybe half of the new register member here are yao-only fans too!!!
I dunno before yao ming was here maybe the talk was all about francis after everygame but i think this season the talk will mostly all about yao ming so some ppl(people who pretend to like yao ming but hate him in heart) may find it very annoying.

 

Hey, it happened in NFL, why not NBA

 

I don't want to be overly negative, but I did say as the game was winding down that the type of game they played tonight reminded me an awful lot of last year. Guess I wasn't the only one...

From the Chron, first paragraph:

<i>In case the Rockets had forgotten what last season felt like, and apparently they did, now they have their vivid, painful reminder.</i>

It was just the mistakes down the stretch that looked so familiar. I just hope this was the anomoly rather than the last two games and, quite honestly, based on what I've seen over the first part of the season, I really do see this game as just a big fat mistake to be left behind.

This season, the Rockets have really looked much more like the team I thought they COULD be last year. With the exception of a couple of stinkers early, they have been remarkably consistent, particularly on the defensive end and they seem to be learning from their mistakes - not making them two games in a row.

I'd prefer to just leave this game on the crap pile and move on to the Clippers hoping the Rockets have enough gas in the tank to give the Clips a beating as payback for that loss in LA.

 

Nah.

You mean to say that Yao isn't the second coming of Jesus Christ....

 

I don't think there is anything really wrong with it per se, but if a Yao only fans claims that the reason that the Rockets win is only b/c of Yao or that the Rockets lose is b/c of everyone but Yao, that get's annoying.

 

Couldn't agree more.

But you know, if you're one of those people who's just horribly pissed and depressed about this ONE game... I'll tell you how to get out of it. Just remind yourself: At least we're not Lakers fans...

goophers:

That second post was much more sensible than the previous, so I'm just gonna go ahead and assume that you calmed down a little bit after that initial post that just sent me into a frenzy. Had I seen that, I might not have exploded...

 

Steve Francis: "I don't care what anyone says, I take this loss. I made wrong decisions ... I made some bad shots in overtime,''

Yao Ming: "I don't think our defense was good, we had a ton of turnovers. I had six myself, and that's way too many.''

Seems they both knew better than many on this board...

 

RocketGuy3,
I can't edit my last post, and my last comment was out of line. I was just offended that you said that, apparently just because I criticized Steve. I still think he deserves the criticism for this one. I am just having doubts about Steve's clutchness. Maybe it's just this game, but the only time I can think of right now where he's been really clutch was that Jazz game where he hit the buzzer-beater. However, I have this gut feeling that Yao might be clutch, and tonight seemed to reinforce that for me. He's played better in the few big games and in crunchtime this year. Anyways, calm down, I love this team (every last one of them, even the ugly stepchild troll Tito ) and I think everything will be ok.

 

It will not be annoying untill so-called Yao only fans sit down and agree that tockets' lost is Not because of some specific players or playes. Only Yao fans at least are sincere when they point out the problems within rox. They want rox win even becasue they only want Yao to succed. It is a constructive thing to hear some voices from those fans even they are so hursh on some players or plays.

 

some people here which shall go un-named need to stop obsessing over the yao-only fans. there's nothing wrong with having a favorite player on a team. there maybe a few unknowledgable fans who as long as yao gets 30 points and 16 rebounds, don't give a damn if the rockets win or not since they don't know that this a team sport. but they also need to keep in mind that most fans of yao still want to see the team win and eventually contend for a championship.

plus most of the attention that yao is receiving is not only because he's chinese. he was the number one pick in the recent nba draft and fans tend to focus a lot of attention on the number one pick and obviously have high expectations on that player. players who do well in their rookie year usually become fan favorites. and as fatfatcow mentioned, before yao came, most of the talk surrounding the rockets was about steve francis.