ClutchCity.net Game Thread: Lakers @ Rockets 3/26/2003

Oh, I forgot to mention. As much as the refs blow massive chunks of poopoo, and as off as the Rockets' offense was at times this game, this loss was no one's fault but my own once again.

Rockets are now 0-6 bagillion when I watch their games on TV, and I simply do NOT have the will-power to make myself stop watching them. It's really a problem, because after 8 years (yes, literally EIGHT FREAKING YEARS), I'm truly starting to believe that there is some kind of actual curse on me. I mean, come on, I have NEVER seen the Rockets win a game on TV before! Dating back to 1995! It's NOT FAIR!!! GOD HATES ME! I don't know feeling any of you get, when you see the Rockets win at the end of a game. I'm dead serious, they've never won a game with me watching on TV, and I've seen plenty.

I must apologize to my fellow Rockets fans for once again not having the balls and the brains to realize when I'm cursed... I'll never learn...

But on a happy note, the Rockets offense has really been takin it to their opponents with a healthily balanced attack, making their offense more and more unpredictable.

 

dont watch tommorw than

 

Please shoot your television. Thank you.

 

I just got a few things to say. First off, i was at the game, and it was pretty fun game to be at but they just lost.

One complaint, I was in the nosebleed seats Sec. 239 and with a min to go, down by 1 I stood up and cheered the team on while people 2-3 rows behind me told me to sit down? WTF?? Damn, our fans suck, PERIOD. There are 30,000 people on the BBS here that would love to do the same thing I am doing. Hell, there was a LAKER fan sitting right behind me and was NOT complainning AT ALL, he was just looking between me and the guy next to me. I hate the fans that come to the game, at least in the nose bleeds.

 

Here are some observations from a forum moderator (Arnie)
over at the Lakers BBS on Yao/Shaq II. Sounds more of the same as what everone else thinks. Just wait until next year when we make some changes!


"Man, it just shows you how petty the lakers problems are compared other teams.

In the beginning of the game, they were a joy to watch. Players were moving the ball around, passing the ball to the open man for easy buckets. What the hell was Houston doing offense down the stretch? The 4th quarter played an offense that consisted of dumping the ball to Maurice Taylor and having the other guys stand still and watch. You can’t pull crap like this against a great defensive team like the Lakers!! Man.


Second, how hard is it to punch the ball to Yao Ming? He’s arguably the second best center in the league yet he hardly touched the ball. Even Kobe knows that you give the ball up to your bigman in the middle for high percentage shots.


Third, I thought the Rockets were in a race to make the play offs? Where were the quick double teams on Shaq when he got the ball? Who on the Rockets team can slow down Kobe?


The Rockets have some major issues they need to resolve if they ever want to contend with the better teams in the NBA. Maybe the Lakers forced them to perform like they did.


As I said in the beginning, if I were a Rockets fan, I would be worried about my team."

 

hahahahaha... great quote!

"The way they called the game tonight, nobody but a somo wrestler could stop Shaq! Fans in the game should count "1, 2, 3" loudly every time Shaq steps in the paint!"

 

Yao did not have a good game tonight. He has a lot of work to do. The most important thing that he needs to improve is his attitude. Yao needs to play mean and nasty. He needs to have a Cato in him. There is no place for Yao to be a nice guy on the court. The last thing Yao wants is, for his teammates to view him as a giant piece of soft pretzel.

With that being said... I still have faith in the rookie.

If Shaq takes advantage of his super strong upper body to bull his way to the basket then Yao should do the same with his superior lower body to butt his way to the basket like Charles Barkley did.

There was a play early in the game that Yao actually use his lower body on Shaq and Shaq had to straight out his legs and used his entire 350lbs of weight to counter that. I have never seen Shaq has to defend on someone like that before.

With that little play that Yao did. I think Yao is going to give Shaq a lot of problem later on. Once Yao get stronger and understand how to use his body more effectively, Yao will give Shaq back everything that Shaq gave to him now. I know it's hard to see Shaq abuses Yao now but be patient and have faith in the rookie.

 

Earl Cureton,

There was no creativity on the offense tonight. The Laker fan makes some good points. There is to much standing around when we are on offense. We need to learn how to move without the ball.

Shaq bullied Yao around tonight and Yao needs to learn how to respond by matching Shaq's aggressiveness when he plays him. The refs blow their whistles differently when Shaq is on the floor. It’s no longer basketball...but more of a combination basketball/football.

This was a must win game for us tonight. Now we have little room for error.

 

Okay I understand isolating Mo Taylor (or sometimes the guards) in the 4th quarter kinda worked today. But what's the thing about standing around on the other side of the court watching him do the thing? It's simply not the way of playing winning basketball. If that's our game plan for winning close ball games, we better give it up now or we won't have a championship contending future.

 

Classic! *lol* That Lakers fan WANTED us to keep dumping it to Yao b/c he just didn't have it. Yao was NOT our best option last night -- hell, he wasn't even our second best option in the game. He was three for freakin' 13. If we went to him exclusively we (the Rockets) would've gotten blow out in the game. Also, it's kinda hard to dump it to him when he's on the bench a lot and when he did get the ball he wasn't even looking for his shot. For the first time I actually saw a demoralized Yao. As soon as he touched the ball he was looking to pass. And he got abused on the defensive end. Period. The kid was clearly tired. Yao will be fine, though, and this should (I hope) be a great learning experience for him.

I totally agree with the stand-still offense thing Just crap. And I hate it when we go to Mo Taylor down the stretch so much. He's not our best clutch player....he seems to always pick up costly offensive fouls when we need the bucket (like tonight). Also, we need to actually start RUNNING plays for Francis in the late in the games instead of having all this iso, see-what-you-can-create offense. But he played big, as he's regularly done lately, in scoring 19 with 10 boards and eight assist (w/four steals).

 

I think I'm going to have myself physically restrained by a friend during anymore nationally televised games. I have to stop doing this!!!

 

I agree Newgirl. The thing I hate is when Mo-T gets the ball and just holds it and holds and holds (and holds it) then finally decides to shoot or pass when the shot-clock is running down (hence, so many 24-sec violations in the game).


But you can't blame the players, it's the offensive scheme (or lack of scheme) imployed by the coaches. Wasn't it beautiful in the Kigs game (even though we loss) when Yao and Stevie were finding each other for easy shots? That one when Steve cut to the hoop as Yao was being doubled then recieved the pass for a jam was just nice! They could do this more often, but the coaches seem the think isolating the guards center, and PF is what works. But it just stalls the offense and as Stu Lantz (Lakers color-man) said "It allows the defense to set up and make sure all of their guys are covered."


Hope we see SOME form of move-without-the-ball offense in tomorrow's game against the Spurs.

 

Rockets need to develope an offensive system like the kings the jazz and the mavs if they want to take full advantage of Yao Ming.

 

I agree b/c Yao is SUCH a great passer out of the post.

 

It's a valiant effort by the Roz to come so close.
Pluses (for the Roz)
1) Francis, Posey, Rice, Taylor made enough shots.
2) Roz out-rebounded Lakers by 13.
3) Everyone played hard and left everything on the floor.
Minuses:
1) Shaq was dominant, he got all the moves and his teammates helped a lot by feeding him the ball at all the right places.
2) Yao was weak, he got outplayed completely. His teammates did not help much. Not on defense, not on offense. Yao rarely got good position. His teammates never fed him the ball at the right place when he did. A few times he ran down court before Shaq, the Rockets completely ignored him. On defense, when Yao or Cato was left alone with Shaq, Shaq simply bowled them over. Other times when they doubled, Shaq always got the ball to the right man for the shots.
3) The Lakers knew how to defend every of the Rocket's play. One example is how Horry never allowed Mo to turn to the right for the jump hook. Not until late did Mo, for once, knew to spin back the other way for a layup.
4) Kobe.
5) Mobley was decent on defense (if u can call holding Kobe to 31 pts on 10-22 FG decent) but he was terrible on offense. I wish Posey had the chance to play the last 6 minutes instead.
6) The Refs. They allowed Shaq to camp in the lane for 4, 5 secs, to walk all over the place and to bowl people over. How in earth can anyone stop him?

 

Oh wel..........some mistakes......sad....oh well.
BEAT SAN ANTONIO!

 

That is actually a good idea. cc.net fans should do that every time Shaq plays in Houston. That'll make him so pissed and distracted he'll lose his rhythm.

 

But MoTaylor is a great passer.

Actually, MoTaylor played pretty well this game. Nothing else was working after the first quarter. The Lakers played incredible defense.

 

Reason #579b that the Rockets won't make the playoffs....HORRIBLE execution in close games! I'd be willing to bet that the Rockets have the worst record in games decided by three points or less among the playoff teams.

 

LOL. So Mo Taylor is a "great passer" but Yao Ming is a "bad passer" (your opinion on the other thread)?

As for Mo Taylor's performance, I would admit that he made some shots down the stretch. But isolating him in the 4th quarter was good basketball? A tactic for winning close games? A tactic for the long-term growth of the team?

Mo Taylor ISO vs Shaq Triangle Offense in the 4th quarter? Any surprise we lost?