ClutchCity.net Game Thread: Clippers @ Rockets 12/14/2002

We did well on our last back-to-back. This is a must win game, imo. Should have won last night, but give Memphis credit.

 

After last night tough loss to the grizzles..
I predict a blowout win for the rockets.
rockets 105
clippers 85

nachbar will play over 10 min
and wang zhizhi will make a three.

 

With apologies to Bruce and 2 Live Crew...


We were, BANNED in the PRC!! We were, BANNED in the PRC!!

 

(with scratching in the background)
BAN, BAN, BAN, BAN, AN, AN, AN...

The Rocks are a young and a bit of an unknown team so tonight will be a good test of their character. Will they be motivated for this game or down from last night? Will Stevie and Cat get back to team basketball or view tonight's game as another "pad our stats" game?

Stopping Brand is a given but nearly impossible task for our PFs...he's gonna get his but Kandi and Miller are the key. Kandi was okay against the Spurs last night but Yao shut him down in the first game. Miller, though, was completely murdered by Parker and he may have some extra motivation for tonight. So, Stevie's gotta play D tonight. Miller's not as quick as JWilliams so Stevie should have no excuse.

I think our team comes out with some fire, especially if they catch the tape of the Moochie-led collapse the last time they played the Clippers.

Rocks 91
Clips 88

 

It is nice to see the Rockets offense clicking. Despite costly offensive mistakes last night, the Rockets lost because they played the worst defense of the season. If the Rockets remember why they are a plus-500 team, and take defense seriously, they will win handily.

 

Luck or not, we consistently tend to be the beneficiary of some inconsistent teams or players' explosion.
Now LA "Inconsistent" Stepsons (or at least treated as stepsons in LA) are coming. Hope we can jump out of our consistency this time.

 

I'm just hoping this game isn't like the first LAC game, where they fought to get back in and take the lead only to lose in the end. I believe the Clutch recap said something about unbelievable collapse. Lets hope for better fortunes this time around.

Rox- 95
LAC-90

 

ive got 2 words for everybody : SWEET REVENGE

we wont lose tonight, not after last nights loss. YAO will play big

26points 14 rebounds 3 blocks

steve- 22 points 8 assists 5 rebounds

 

Everyone seems way more upset and concerned over the Memphis lose then I am.

We lost for three reasons: 1-They were shooting out of their minds. 2-We played the worse defense of the season, if we played any at all. 3-For stretchs of time we went back to the one on one play and totally forgot we had teammates on the floor.

This is a young team and a work in progress, they will backslide from time to time but are getting better all the time. I do not see how anyone could be picked out for last nights lose as there was enough blame for everyone.

Tonight we see the results of the play last night, the Clippers will wish we had won last night when the game is over. The players have thought about it and they know as well as us fans what went wrong and they will correct it. Lets face it old habits are hard to break and a person has a tendency to go back to them when things get tight. Lets give them a little time, they are working on it.

 

Good point EJ,the rox are a bad road team that will get better with experience. When they are on the road in pressure situations they revert back to what they're comfortable with...one on one. We need to inculcate ball movement and Yao involvement in our offensive mindset.

Sure there was enough blame to go around, but Steve does some of the ...uh, well... 'strangest' things at the end of games sometimes. Its like he turns into someone else and forgets how to drive,shoot, and pass, which then made JWill look like a great defensive stopper. Those last 2 TO's looked like the most awkward attempts for 2 points you'll ever see out of him...but he'll learn. Its just taking longer than I hoped it would.

 

Remember Q Richardson said during Ming's work out in Chicago that he's gonna try to dunk on him? Look for Q to try to dunk on Yao Ming tonite.

 

Hello Rockets fans!

I'm looking forward to the game tonight. I can't say I'm overly optimistic for the Clippers, since they've been blown out in their last two, but they do seem to play the Rockets well. Both teams are coming off games yesterday so the fatigue should even out.

To keep you updated on the Clipper situation: Eric Piatkowski and Corey Maggette are both out, and Andre Miller is hobbled (but he'll probably play). So the Clippers have no perimeter game and I expect to see them zoned out, if Houston does that. Michael Olowoturnover is back in the lineup and already blaming others for the loss yesterday, so that's more points for you guys. On the plus side, Brand has been playing great ball all week long and should dominate whatever PF you stick on him, unless he's too worn out from the ass-kicking yesterday.

May the best team win! And if you guys win, I guess that's ok too.

 

captain tweedle dumb pisses me off so much I even covet Alvin Gentry at this point.

 

Tempo Tempo Tempo

Much like the Grizz game, I don't think it behooves the Rox to play to the "faster" tempo that these young sub-500 teams prefer. These high FGA games mean for high scoring games. Neither of which is really great for the Rox. The strength of this team is defense. I really would like to see the Rox keep their opponents under 90 points. And to do so, I really prefer them going zone over man-to-man.

SF has a bigger job than scoring points. He is the chief orchestrator for setting the "tempo" of the game. I hope he realizes that with a big man running up and down the floor, it behooves them to slow it down a bit and go through consistent half-court sets.

It'll also be interesting to see how Yao fares today against Kandi. Having seen Kandi once before, I bet Yao will be mentally prepared for the challenge. Yao seems to show a marked improvement with his "2nd" meeting against a given team.

Let's play with passion, everybody!!!



theSAGE

 

good to hear from you clippy! I'm REALLY glad Eric P. is out, he's the one that kills us most of the time...he and Brand. Brand will pound the hell out of us as usual, but Yao will probably be better in this game than in the first one you saw vs. the Rox. Also, we are a MUCH better home team, you'll see.

 

Predictions anyone??

Olowokandi vs. Yao

I think they will play each other pretty tough. At this stage, I'm not sure one can clearly outplay the other (one on one). Hope Yao proves me wrong by controlling and dominating the paint.

 

If the game is banned in China, I have the feeling this BBS mightl be impossible to log into tonight.

 

While their stats may be similar after the game, I predict that Yao will have a much bigger impact. From what I've seen, Yao has a huge effect on the defense, because even when he doesn't block shots guys have to alter their form to get around him. Kandi used to have that effect back when he focused his energy on the defensive end, but in the last four or five months of play he's decided to become a scorer (big points == big dollars .. cha ching!) and his defense has suffered.

As a Clipper fan, I can only hope that the Clippers can get Yao in foul trouble by attacking him early and often. Without any reliable perimter guys, they'll have to get a lot of points in the paint, and that's going to be tough with a 7-6 wall standing there.

 

LOL.. You mean.. Look for Q getting his dunk SWATTED off his feet? Ming will block Q's dunk so hard itll leave scars on the ball. Sounds like an exciting game tonight

 

We will win the game!!!!! This is the third time i make a prediction.