Can anyone dig up the record when trailing entering the 4th quarter for the Mavericks, Suns, Spurs, and Jazz? Would like to compare with the Rockets.
Watching the Lakers tonight makes me realize that we simply need more guys that can drive and handle the rock. Normally we have, what, two guys on the floor that can dribble and drive competently and effectively (maybe 1 1/2 because of Rafer)? The Lakers are throwing a lineup of Odom, Walton, Kobe, and Parker (+Cook/Turiaf/Kwame) out there and the versatility it's giving them is so much more effective than the offense we had to run tonight in the 4th. They can get the ball to Kobe in a multitude of positions and don't have to depend on everything in their offensive sets working perfectly in order to get points. It kind makes me wish we could find more time for Snyder...or Luther could learn to dribble.
Since that mason incident last year, the rockets are not mentally tougher than the hornets.There could be a lot of excuses like age,injury, and lack of poise mixed in the equation. Man, i was so psyche for this game, and i thought it was going to be a statement by the rockets.
but the lakeres suck defensively. if u want to risk offense, ur gonna give some up defensively. we just need to make open shots. and REBOUND.
I really don't think its the offensive sets. They got some good looks tonight. It's not like the hornets were playing stifling D. 1-20 while trailing coming into the 4th quarter is a direct reflection on mental toughness or the lack thereof. Basically one come from behind victory the whole season shows that despite the talent level, despite great defense and on occasion brilliant offense they do not have what it takes to go deep into the playoffs. JVG is right to rail on them after a game like the one against the Pistons. They need to find some mental toughness before playoff time or beating the Mavs/Suns/Spurs is nothing but a dream. I'm a big believer in this years Rockets, and I think this team has the potential to be great. But they aren't there yet, somethings gotta change the attitude of these guys and soon, or else we'll be one and done. As a side note, Paul is really good...but someone's gotta stop those penetrating PG's.
well 8 man rotation has gotten us 44-26 record...even when Yao went out I see nothing on the bench where it could have made a difference...it's just a team that has our number...and a bunch of Rox fans pulling straws after a loss
it's funny that guys talks about the free throw that t-mac missed late in the 4th when i just saw kobe missed 2 out of 4.he must be mentally weak
no man i don't think he has even 1 assist and the key guys to the lakers win were odom and turiaf.kobe is a monster but man he is really a ball hog doesn't even think of setting his teamates.when the ball get in his hand you can just forget about it.but one thing that is amazing about kobe is his stamina,this guy has a motor inside him. oh and for those people whining about t-mac not being able to carry the team,you should listen to the greatest player to ever play the game. michael jordan cited t-mac and kobe as guys who are key components in this league,guys to whom you go in the 4th.if t-mac is good enough for jordan himself then i don't care what other people say.
I'm not going to rail on JVG about our offense, but when Reefer is getting smoked on EVERY SINGLE OFFENSIVE possession by the NOKI, then GD, it's time to sit his ass on the bench, to at least get his freakin attention!!! I'm sick to death of watching the rest of the team have to bail Rafer out because of his candyass defense. You can talk all you want about his steals, but I guarantee you they don't come while guarding ON THE BALL!!! I've seen exactly one steal that Rafer had against the opposing PG, and granted it was in a big game againt Toronto (I think). But Rafer has other PG's licking their chops. No, the rebounding and overall defense, starting with the OLAY "D" from Rafer, giving CP an escort to the basket to dish or shoot in the lane at will, that's what killed us. I'd be willing to bet that the Byron took CP in at half time and said "what the hell are you wating for? This guy is your's for the taking, any play and every play...." And guess what? He did!! Nuff said!
its pretty obvious our guards (rafer and head) arent quick enough defensively to stop penetraters. if a team has fast guards (like utah) we'll get owned.
Yes, we have 44-26 record. But that doesn't mean 8 man rotation brings us 44-26. If we had 10 man rotation,we could have had 48-22...or something better. Well, Even though you see nothing on the bench, starters can't bring us win in the 4th quarter either. They are simply out of energy, especially yao and tmac, as the stats indicated. Even though bench can't score that much, if they can help defense for some minutes, that's definitely important to save the starters' stamina. Our defense always collapses in the 4th quarter, we always have good ofense and defense in the 1 st quater, and tracy's shots are always short in the end of game...all of that says we needs bench rotations to keep starters fresh and to be able to give their best.
We are the worst in the league at coming back when down after 3 quarters? The only good thing about that stat is we have had only 21 of those situations. For comparison, Dallas (best in the league at coming back, not surprisingly) has had 18, spurs have had 20, Phoenix only 13. So we're in elite company in terms of AMOUNT of times behind, which is good I guess because we're not down that often after 3. Actually, that accounts for 20 of our 26 losses, so only lost 6 times when leading going into the 4th, that's good. but... ... 1-20!?!? That's beyond dismal. That has to be a mix of everything. Rotations, coaching, killer instinct, mentality, poise, EVERYTHING comes into play if you're 1-20, it's not just one thing, i'm sure of it.
BTW, JVG's defense strategy demands a much higher stamina requirement than suns'. Yao always performs best in the 1st and 3rd, seldomly in the 4th. It has to be blamed on yao's lack of stamina.
OR...Or...Or...maybe...just maybe...we can use a 12 man rotation and just be kicking @ss and challenging the Mavs for the best record...hell, use a 15 man rotation and we will RULE THE WORLD...with the genuises that we have on the board we can surely get around the 3 inactive players rule... They had 2 days off...if they are tired then that's they're problem. JVG shouldn't reinvent the wheel just because the core rotation are sucking, they know the expections and minutes of JVG, if they can't meet it then they simply aren't good enough.
We tend to lose most 4th quarters because Yao/Mutombo tend to get tired and sometimes Tmac as well. Yao and Tmac need to build up their stamina. Mutombo is just old.
yao was missing tonight, and we lost. he's seldom 7-22 from the field, so i'm not too worried. look for the rockets to rebound tomorrow. today's loss was from lack of mental strength, in my opinion. they gotta buckle down and win some of these games...
