If you think Yao isn't to blame for his turnovers then please tell me why no one else in the league has the problems we do with passing into the paint. Tell me why Dikembe even in his infirmity sees no reach-ins from underneath his arms the way Yao does. Yes, part of it is the special case of Yao where opposing teams realize that it's game over if he can secure the ball in the post area. It was painfully obvious that LA's defensive strategy coming out of the half was "foul Yao on every play and expect the refs not to call it". That, however, does not completely absolve Yao for allowing the sharks to circle around him once they smelled blood. Once the game stops being fair and starts becoming "whatever you can get away with without getting whistled up", the Rockets lose. Plain and simple. Why is that? Because Yao refuses to do what he knows he has to do to ward opponents out of his personal space. You pull that crap around Dikembe and you get a bloody nose and you know it's your fault because that's how the world works. Period. You can pull and scratch and beat Yao up and know you won't get any retaliation because that's how Yao works. And frankly that's not going to last very long once the playoffs arrive.
Posted this on another thread: Anyway can everyone just shut up about who's fault and what went wrong. Cause I gaurantee if they woulda won. Everyone woulda been on d!ick talkin bout how we are the team to beat now. Ya'll are a bunch a whiners! (Don't wanna repeat myself)
Since you were a college level coach, I respect your opinion very much. May I have your evaluation of the whole situation now? thanks. I think Rockets had enough talents to win it all. But now they do lack a pure pg to run the offense. I think a 'below-avergae' Rafer is a very good fit to the role. They should not trade Rafer. I understand it's a business decision. They trade Rafer for future. But I think unlike a couple of years ago, now Rockets had many shooters, they should not like the only play maker go. Basically I think the management gave in this season. It's really disappointed me. Lack a pure pg definitely will hurt Rockets this year, especially in playoff. and Yao ming can only dominate if somebody can pass him the ball. Maybe they can trade tmac for nash with fillers from both sides this summer. What do you think about the whole situation?
Not really, the post entry down the stretch has been an issue even in wins. They need to continue running plays and find Yao at the right moments instead of forcing turnovers trying to force feed him. It is too predictable.
This team isn't built for upsets. They will usually lose to the teams they are expected to lose to, and they will usually beat the teams they are expected to beat. Let's be realistic, the season will be a success if they make the second round. It's sad that our expectations are so low, but that's life in the NBA, where losing your best player pretty much kills you Championship hopes.
This post hits the nail squarely on the head. We have nobody to turn to that can hit perimeter jumpers with any kind of consistency when the game is on the line. This is why T-Mac's situation this season disappointed me SO much. If things could have worked out differently, he would have been EXACTLY what this team is missing now.
Dude, he's not perfect but he's the best we have and the Tmac 07-08 was is better than any player we have right now. There are only few players who can take over a game and that Tmac was one of them. Remove your hater glasses and stop thinking Tmac is a horrible player. You're expecting Tmac to carry the team every time. LMAO! Kobe cant even do that. He has more clutch moments but he fails a lot too.
I was at the game, and a 4 year old girl behind me said to her dad in the 4 quarter "wow dad, they try to force it to Yao every time, and the other team knows it" i think it is that simple, as a 4 year old said.
It cracks me up that people think basketball is complex, it really is a simple game, but people under pressure forget about the simplicity and cave in to human nature of familiarity. DD
yep, and its all about the fundamentals too, look at the spurs and their 4 rings. look at us in the 4th quarter last night, no fundamentals.
i hate when ron try to keep on forcing it, and they should try to get it to yao, when he is more fresher during the 3 and early 4th quarter.
Yao is getting a pass from some people. There is NO excuse for him allowing the ball to be taken from him or him letting Kobe Bryant come over and swipe at the ball over and over and over. It got to the point where everyone in the building knew Kobe was coming except for Yao. In the second half I cringed every time the ball bounced near him because I knew he would either accidentally slap it to a Laker or catch it and get it stripped by a Laker. I know Yao has had big games in the past against the Lakers but this current version of that team is too quick for him. It's time to accept that he is a liability against certain teams and cross our fingers we don't see them in the playoffs. Or at least not in the first round.
Hmmm I wonder if guys are going to start to hate Yao like they did with Luther Head. Head got bashed because of a bad match-up against the Jazz. Good season player but it was just a bad match-up for him. If Yao gets matched up against a bad team will guys hate him.
I have always hated the "bandwagon" idea. When fans are critical the "bandwagon" is not the issue, they are just disappointed because they care, because they are fans. Do you think "regular" people would come to this site to vent? Indifference is the sign of not caring. Those are the people who you never hear from. Everyone that posts at this site is on the "bandwagon" regardless of what they write. They wouldn't be here otherwise.
It's not that you can't force feed Yao as JVG did that with less telent and succeeded, it's when, where and how. Apparently since Alston and Tmac is gone, Battier plays limited minutes, there is no one on Rockets who can get ball in good position in the right time. There are many times Yao sealed Gasol last night for a short moment, but the peremeter guys are hesitate to pass him the ball, until Gasol moved to a new angle to block a clear pass. There is no force feeding Yao any more, since that hasn't happened for quite many games, not once since Alston left Rockets.
