ClutchCity.net Game Thread: Celtics @ Rockets 1/13/2003

It has more to do with Rice's shoulder than with Rudy's balls.

 

He was not the only one. Almost every opposing team announcers are saying that during a rocket game. I am getting tired of not seeing this team improve their motion offense. They still cannot get the darn rock to the big fella. A little backcourt presure, the guards turn the ball all over the place.

 

Some posters I think have explained very well why Yao did not get too many possessions today.

But another thing you should take into consideration is Yao's minutes. Yao averages like what, 30 minutes? Compared to the two guards averaging more than 40 minutes.

 

Well I guess there probably won't be much Francis or Mobley hating for at least the next 48 hours or so?

 

December 20 against the Hawks.

 

You missed my posts.
Not hating but frustrated that they could be even better, and we could have blowouts like really good teams like Dallas and Sacramento get in the regular season.

 

THis is my very early nomination for the quote of the year.

 

I agree absolutely. See our last losses to lottery teams when they were cold...

 

Actually, considering his improvements lately, he's close to becoming a 35% 3pt shooting. He's close to having a 45% FG%. He is shooting 31 and 43% respectively, so you're a wee bit off. These percentages are also only so low because of a few games early in the season before he left with his sprained ankle where he shot terribly. He's also had some very good shooting years in the past, and I believe that he'll only improve his percentages as the season continues (barring injury). THIS is what qualifies him as shooting well. Personally, I think Mobley is probably the best consistently good shooter we have. He can put up a lot of long range shots and hit a high percentage of them. Not just a small, select few. He'll consistently knock down the J as he returns to form.

 

Y'all Yao lovers stfu. I know who you are. Those damn announcers from all the teams we played so far. You just cant stop raving about Yao and complaining about our guards. Y'all just come here in disguise to bash our Cat and SF. Shame on you. Dont you realize most old-time homers here are CAT and SF lovers. They love our guard-oriented offense. Couldnt you just get enough of Yao during the games. So STFU.

 

Great article from Chron. Good timing as well. I wonder if they wrote this especially for the worried Yao Ming fans.

Jan. 14, 2003, 12:18AM

Yao's play eye-opening
By JOHN P. LOPEZ
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle
Yao Ming's greatest potential might be that he can be artistic, without being pretty as a picture.

We've seen the artistic side of Yao, and it has indeed been something to behold -- soft, floating jump shots, graceful moves under the basket, beautiful no-look passes.

It's all been so impressive and spectacular. Even Yao has admitted that his rise to superstardom has come quicker than expected.

It's been like watching a Larry Bird in his early days, or a young, raw Hakeem Olajuwon discovering something new almost every night he took the floor.

Unless you haven't heard half the league humming a few bars of the Yao Ming song, you know there's just something about this kid that makes you want to watch his every move.

But if you were watching Monday's entertaining 101-92 victory over the Celtics, you saw something else.

You saw the reason the Rockets drafted Yao. You saw why all the Sportscenter-worthy moments Yao has provided so far have been only a nice little bonus, like digging for iron ore and finding gold.

"(The Celtics) completely committed to Yao, sending a guy in front and a guy in back of him," coach Rudy Tomjanovich said of the Rockets' throwback performance. "We were having a hard time just getting it in because ... nobody's ever done that with him."

It was a throwback not just because both teams decided to shoot the ball -- the Rockets' hitting 50 percent of their shots, and the Celtics 42.4 percent on 33 3-point attempts. It was, because that easily could have been Olajuwon drawing so much attention and so many double-teams on the low post, and Kenny Smith and Sam Cassell knocking down clutch shot after clutch shot.

This was the iron-ore side of Yao, not the golden side, shining through. Nothing he did was dreamy or beautiful, except perhaps one nice touch pass to Juaquin Hawkins early-on.

But Yao earned every bit of his 10 points, six rebounds and five blocks, walking off the floor with scratches on the backs of both his arms, and teammates slapping his back for a job well done.

As much as the Rockets clearly have tapped into a gold mine with Yao's production, flair and personality exceeding all expectations, this is what they hoped to get out of him -- and will need from him, come playoff time.

The Celtics' inside presence might not be invisible, but it's close, with less-than-classic big men Tony Battie and Vin Baker manning the middle. They clearly did not want Yao to beat them with a double-double in the 30-20 range.

So they doubled-teamed him from the start, as most teams will do in the future, and Yao made them pay by playing big, swinging the ball to the open man on the perimeter and making plays that don't show up on the box score.

The heroes of the night were Steve Francis (26 points) and Cuttino Mobley (24), but they knew exactly why the shots were so open and the basket looked so big.

"Yao's been consistent with the way he's been playing," Francis said. "That's helped everybody. They were doubling him, tripling him. That opened up a lot of things."

Said Tomjanovich: "It was just smart basketball. We just kept saying, `Look in to Yao, get them sucked in, swing it and get 'em on the weakside."

Suffice it to say Yao's nicked knee is as healthy as his reputation for being a potentially dominating inside presence.

Early on Monday, Yao hadn't even touched the ball in nine minutes of action, but made a difference drawing in the defense, rolling off screens and bringing defenders with him and setting up his teammates for wide-open looks. The Rockets bolted to an 18-10 lead as a result.

Through the middle stages when the Rockets led by as much as 15 points, Yao scored most of his points, tossed a pair of assists to Juaquin Hawkins and Francis and earned four of his five blocked shots.

Late, after the Celtics pulled to within two points, Yao again was the center of attention, and Mobley and Francis took advantage, combining to score 13 consecutive points from the perimeter and putting away the game.

"That's something I should do," Yao said. "In this kind of situation, my best use is to suck in the defense and get open shots for my teammates.

"Not only that, but I can get a lot more rebounds. The only thing tonight is, Steve and Cuttino shot so well, I didn't get as many rebounds."

Naturally, the Rockets will take the spectacular from this spectacular talent. But that's not what they envisioned when they drafted this 7-5 center with wonderful post moves, keen court vision and great passing abilities.

They envisioned this: 10 points, five blocks, six rebounds, two assists and as much a reason for the win as the All-Star caliber guards.

 

Maybe a tight 9-man rotation is a good thing for this team. It means more court-time for the players, and those players know each others games very well. Hence (I love that word!), Francis gets more assits, less turnovers, and we win!

 

I am honored.

 

The Rockets won this game because of good shooting, not because of smart basketball.

However, they did some good things, which I always like to see:

Outshot their opponent from the free throw line, shooting 20-22 at the FT line (91%).

Outrebounded Boston 45-33.

Recorded 25 assists and 8 blocked shots.

Keeping in mind that the Rockets are only the second youngest team in the league, the fact that they play good fundamental basketball is not something to be taken lightly. If you play solid defense, rebound, and hit your foul shots, the rest of the game becomes much, much easier. Not many teams are able to do all of these things, because after all, there are very few good rebounders out there who can also hit a free throw. This is just one of many reasons why Yao is so special. He can do a number of things that no center has ever been able to do effectively, except maybe Hakeem. He has no 'Achilles Heel', so to speak.

Yao will probably end up being a 80% free throw shooter for his career which will eventually make him just as dominant as Shaq is. When defending Shaq, you can at least foul as a way of stopping a sure 2 points, but with Yao, you must let him shoot, because of his superior free throw shooting ability.

The only real problem with the Rockets right now is team chemistry, which is understandable. They have new players who haven't played much together, such as Yao Ming, Posey, Taylor, Rice, Hawkins, etc.

Mobley is a headcase, but I can live with him as long as he plays good D and makes those clutch shots. He and Francis will eventually learn that Yao will give them easier looks as the basket, so that they won't have to work as hard themselves.

Yao did a good job this game of taking what the defense gave him; which means going to the basket and looking for his shot when the defense played him straight up, and finding the open man effectively for jumpers when there were double teams.

Joaquin Hawkins did an EXCELLENT job tonight. He knocked down his shots, made a few nice passes, and played SMART basketball.

If Francis and Mobley could obtain the basketball IQ of Hawkins and Posey, this team would do some amazing things. Hopefully Hawk gets some more playing time now, he's a great role player.

 

I was screaming at the TV when Mobely did those one on one play, passing up wide open Yao. Rox got win, I am happy. But see today they were shoting above 50%, and how many times did that happen this season. I hope Rox realize this is not the way to win the game, no no no. Man we got lots of shots falling tonite, posey cant miss , even TMo hitting back to back 18 footers, this was not supposed to happen. Hope they dont get too giddy about this win, and get reinforced by playing like that.
This quote from Francis worries me
"We're good when we get the ball up the court before we have to set up,"

 

Should people start bashing Yao so that Yao-only fans stop bashing Steve and Mobley?

Even Yao himself is not concerned, and he is happy with the game flow tonight. Good Lord..... people complain whether it's a W or L.

 

See the problem is CAN HE DELIVER NIGHT IN AND NIGHT OUT? Probably not. And yet he wont quit hoging the ball, because once a while a night like this, he can pull it off and got reenforced. Calvin Murphy's word " i dont care how many Yao Ming misses, I will go to him first." It's the same to Cat, we dont care how many he makes, he shouldnt hog the ball and not pass it out when there is no shot for him, and try to create one.

 

Red Chocolate.....Excellent post, I wish you would post more often...

 

Couldn't believe that the Sports guy for the local news on Fox here (Austin) is now claiming that Francis has lost his nickname to Ming, the new Franchise player for the Rockets... It's sad really. There is no Franchise on this Franchise anymore! All our best players are integral, but no one is carrying the whole load. There is no one player on this team that the Rockets can't win games without anymore. It's been proven. It's horrible how blatantly obvious it is that the Rockets are being sold just with Ming.

 

I think people are not complaining about Yao's stats or Steve's or Mobley's stats. But they just saw an easier way for us to win games but somehow our players chose a more difficult way. That's what got some fans frustrated. We won today fine but that doesn't mean that the fundamental problems in our game has solved.

Red Chocolate and Feishen well said.