ClutchCity.net Game Thread: Rockets @ Blazers 11/26/2002

You are not in _ sane.

 

Why do they go man to man at all if the guards are such defensive liabilities? With Ming, Cato and/or EG to clog up the middle, it will only take Rudy until the All-Star break or so to figure it out and start using it more. :J

 

uh yea go rockets, lets hope moochie doesnt mess up

 

<blockquote><hr> Originally posted by TheFreak
Exactly. Zone should have been played the entire game, and should be played every game by this team. They can't play man-to-man. The Clipper game could have been a cakewalk had a zone been used. <hr></blockquote>
How quickly people forget that Seattle and Dallas destroyed our zone, and so did Portland. We won the Portland game by starting Hawkins in the 3rd quarter and using a very active man-to-man.

Here's the Feigen quote of Portland:

<blockquote><hr> After a sloppy defensive first half, the Rockets ditched a zone and locked up the Blazers from the start of the second half. They extended their rotation to 10 players with the return of Maurice Taylor, saw eye-catching flashes from Yao Ming and Rice, and got another stunning defensive show from Juaquin Hawkins. They even excelled on the break. <hr></blockquote>
Our zone was lethargic early in the season, and Rudy seems to have scrapped the 3-2 in favor of a 2-3. This has been more effective recently. But to say that the zone should be played all minutes, and we can't play man is strange, given the season to date. You have to mix things up, and zones do have soft spots.

 

I think we will win on this game. Zone Defense seems to be really kicking in and itll make the big guyz change their shot inside. Portland can hit the outside shots pretty well so if they are going to beat us, it would be outside IMO.

Rockets 93
Blazers 88

 

Blazers News

Points of Interest

11/26/02

Steve Francis: Houston's starting point guard is the league's fourth-leading scorer, averaging 26.0 points. He also leads the Rockets in assists, steals and minutes played through 12 games. Francis had 31 points, 10 assists and eight steals in Sunday's 90-89 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Yao Ming: The 7-foot-6 rookie and No. 1 draft pick from China made his second start for the Rockets in Sunday's loss to the Clippers. In 28 minutes, he had four points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Said Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks: "He has some good skills for his size and an excellent touch for a shooter."

Rasheed Wallace: The Blazers' leading scorer made just two of 14 shots and finished with nine points in an 86-83 loss in Houston on Nov. 12. In his last three games, Wallace has averaged 23.0 points and shot 58.3 percent (28 of 48) from the field. He also has made eight of 17 three-pointers during that stretch.

By the Numbers

11/26/02

2-4 Houston's record in road games. The Rockets, coming off a 90-89 loss Sunday to the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center, play tonight against the Trail Blazers in the second of five consecutive road games. 89.3 Average points scored by the Blazers through 13 games. In the last four, the Blazers have averaged 98.3 points, and the fewest points they scored during that stretch was in an 89-85 victory in Seattle on Thursday. 6 Technical fouls for the Blazers, who drew two in Saturday's 95-94 loss to the Sacramento Kings at the Rose Garden. Last season, the Blazers had 14 technical fouls after 13 games.


Blazers' Patterson arrested

11/26/02

JOSEPH ROSE

Ruben Patterson, 27, an oft-troubled player who was "given a second chance" when the Trail Blazers signed him in 2001, was arrested and charged with felony domestic assault Monday after an argument with his wife at their Tualatin home.

Patterson's wife, Shannon, called police to their house in the 9800 block of Southwest Choctaw Street about 5:20 p.m., said Sgt. Doug Nafizger, a Tualatin police spokesman.

"The wife had a cut finger and some marks in other places," Nafizger said. "It was a minor assault."

Patterson would have faced only a fourth-degree misdemeanor assault, except the alleged assault happened in front of the couple's two children, ages 2 and 10, Nafizger said. Under state law, that turned it into a Class C felony, he said.

If convicted, Patterson faces a minimum of one year and up to five years in prison and a $100,000 fine, Nafizger said.

Patterson was booked into Washington County jail, where teammate Derek Anderson posted his $10,000 bail Monday night, authorities said.

After a tumultuous stint with the Seattle SuperSonics, Patterson's signing by the Trail Blazers in August 2001 was considered a controversial move.

In the previous 14 months, the then-free agent forward had been convicted of misdemeanor assault for breaking a man's jaw in Cleveland. He also was sentenced to 15 days in jail after entering a modified plea in Seattle to charges of forcing his wife's children's 24-year-old nanny to perform a sex act.

The latter infraction resulted in the NBA suspending Patterson for five games.

Monday's arrest is the second blow in as many weeks to the Trail Blazers' big-budget efforts to improve the team's image to the city's souring basketball fans. Blazers guard Damon Stoudamire and forward Rasheed Wallace were stopped and cited last week on misdemeanor charges of possessing mar1juana while returning from Seattle after a game.

Patterson is scheduled to make a Dec. 6 appearance on the domestic assault charge in Washington County Circuit Court, police said.

Joseph Rose: 503-221-8029; josephrose@news.oregonian.com

© 2002 OregonLive.com. All Rights Reserved.

 

It is unfair to say SF is Mike Tyson kind guy to eager to win the game . But to be a floor general, high IQ&EQ or using a plain word :brain is a key factor. The player with 8 turnoveer ,33%SPG,taking a half shoot but the team still lost the game means something. Even Yao and Moochie made mistake.
Comparing with Mike J, Kidd, Nash, Payton,even Kenny Smith (former Rox),you may find the clue. SF lack the potential as a greatness of PG because his average brain-eye-hand coordiation.
SF and Maxwell (former Rox PG) have their similarity.

Want to champ again, get a guy at least at leavel as Sam C, KS.

 

Posting messages with a brain might help you.

 

I saw only the Dallas game, but when we were rotating "defenders" onto Nowitzki, invariably the defender would be Cuttino or Moochie. I'd see Cat or Mooch guarding Nowitzki on a switch and saying, "Noooooooooooooo.......!" (Imagine slow-mo movie scene, actor lunging too late toward secondary character about to get capped.) Nowitzki made every shot over those guys.

You may be right about the zone---I've seen only two games so far---but is it a matter of learning to play an effective zone? The Mavericks are basically the Rockets, adding two years of experience or so, and they're playing the zone very well right now.

Is it better for the Rockets to play man-to-man now (not that they're much better at it) or throw them into the deep end of the pool....sink or swim, learn to play a solid zone or lose?

 

So are Wallace and Stoudamire playing? Patterson? This should be an easy win if the Blazers don't have Sheed.

 

Offensively, I'd like to see the Rockets start the game by dumping the ball to Yao on high post (FT line) when Sabonis is in the game, get the ball to Yao on the lower post (Elbow area) when Davis/Wallace play the center. That way, Yao can cause serious foul problem for the Blazers.

Defensively, there is no need to play zone with Sabonis in the game. At his age, he is not quick enough, strong enough to get by Yao. Yao & Cato will neutralize him at least. If the Blazers play the small ball with either Daves or Wallace at the center, then the Rockets need to change their scheme to zone to utilize Yao's intimidation.

If the Rockets go to Yao early and plenty, and hence he can generate foul problem to the Blazers, I'll give the Rockets a 65% chance!

BTW, the Blazers have three players in legal trouble, so the basketball court may be the best place for them at this moment. So be careful

 

I guess you could say that this is true, but we are currently in a five game road trip and have already lost the first game. Really we need two of the next four. I would like more but this is reality on the road until the team learns how to win in the last seconds of games.

 

I don't forsee us winning tonight. I really want to, but I seriously doubt it. I just hope I can eat my words.

 

A team with shooters like Dallas has a chance to be effective against a zone. But I still think a zone is the Rockets' best chance to stop a team right now. Seattle may have been the very first time a zone was even tried...you can't expect a new scheme like that to work right away.

Portland's highest-scoring quarter was the first, where a man-to-man defense was used at least initially (can't recall if they played it the whole quarter). The Rockets were outscored by 11 in that quarter. They won the 2nd quarter.

And you left out the Wizards game, and Rudy's quotes about how a zone was going to help them stay fresh on the road trip. Where was it then? The Clippers killed the Rockets' man-to-man in the first quarter, just killed it.

Feigen should have changed that to 'sloppy defensive first quarter', not half. The Rockets won the 2nd quarter 20-19. You are right that there are times when a man-to-man is useful. In the Portland case, they were playing their 4th game in 5 nights on the road. A pressing defense may be a good idea in that case to capitalize on fatigue. You may also need to put more pressure on when you're in a decent-sized hole, like the Rockets were in the second half (down double-digits), to try to force turnovers. On the whole, though, I think this team should play mostly zone.

The Rockets should have zoned the Clippers, at least in the first quarter. This is where the game was lost, IMO. Rice would've been able to stay on the floor as well. How can you not force the Clippers to beat you from the outside? Do you have any ideas on why they didn't zone the Clippers? I'm surprised Ming didn't get in foul trouble. He ended up being matched up with Brand defensively multiple times.

Also, on the need to mix things up -- I'm not so sure. I would bet that the best defensive teams stick with a basic scheme. No mixing needed.

 

Agree!!!!

 

Ming will have a BIG game tonight; you heard it here first. I have discerned a pattern; I am beginning to think that Yao has a Hakeem mind-set to come up big in games that he considers a challenge or otherwise important. In the playoffs, Hakeem would take it to a superhuman level. (I so hope I am right). I am coming back to brag if I am, and I will disappear like the rest of you who make predictions if I am wrong.

 

When do you think Rudy T will give MoT his starting spot back? I think Yao on the lost post and MoT at the high post make a good combo. Then bring in EG against the teams 2nd team C?

 

Lost post? I didn't know Yao was that lost that they would create a post for him to play at.

 

TheFreak,

pretty much every minute Yao has played, we've been in zone. We started with a 3-2, and Yao looked like that was too much thinking for him.

Portland picked apart our zone in the 1st quarter. Yao gave up a 10-4 run in the final 3:40 of that 1st quarter, so the whole point that his zone didn't hurt us is just wrong, and Feigen confirms it, as well as many in the game thread.

I'm not really disagreeing with your overall point that the Clippers zone (our 2-3) has looked better, and I'd play it more and more. But I don't agree that we should always play it, and I don't particularly think we play necessarily better than certain man lineups.

 

you got me on that Easy....guess I need to do a spot check before i submitt