ClutchCity.net Game Thread: Rockets @ Lakers 2/18/2003

Yeah, but will a slow White forward who can't dance last 10 years in NBA?

 

As critical of a game as this was, and as much as we were supposed to have won in OT1, I'm actually not to dissappointed in our Rox after this one.

 

When your big man is hot, and you are not, you give it to him on most offensive sets instead of thinking... "Yeah, I gave him (Yao) the ball a few times in the last few plays, he made most of the shots, so its now my turn since I haven't made one in a long time"

Remember how Steve asked Oscar whether he should continue to pass Ming the ball even if he is shooting 1-5 or 1-6? Well, I don't see Francis stop jacking up shots after he went 1-8 at one stage and ended up with 4-19.

If the guards were on fire, obviously they should take that many shots, but when they are dead cold shooting a combined of 9-34, don't you think they should shoot less and pass around a little more?

-G'day-

 

He gives a whole new name to the words "getting jiggy."

 

All this talk about 30 touches is a little off...

Yao getting 30 touches doesn't mean that he takes 30 shots.

He's not a black hole.

He passes.

 

I agree ya. When we play the game the right way (i.e. inside outside game) instead of those one-on-one rubbish, it makes a loss more acceptable.

 

We do not have veteran leadership on this team.
SF, Mobley and Yao are all inconsistent.

I expect Rox in the offseason will pick a couple of veterans. Sign a veteran PF for the mid-level exception. I expect Cato to be traded during the off-season because he still makes too much money for his time on the court, but Rox will sign a veteran center for less money.

 

darn! he just had 9-19! Just a tad below the 50FG%. Although. that one extra shot would've made no difference. The sticking point for the Rox defeat was the overall Rox team shooting of sub-40% FG before OT. Should Franchise have shot a lousy 30%FG, and not the 20%FG in regulation, that could've been the Lax demise in regulation time. Posey was 20%FG. Griff was only 30%. Rice was only 25%. Several conditions may have insured a Rockets defeat in overtime. But in regulation, it was definitely FG%. FG% downed the Rockets today.

Rocketlitis? Somebody was relaxed on the Rox team!!

Moochie was great fun today!!! Hope is definitely not lost! Start winning streak now!!!!

 

One thing though, and I never thought I'd say this, but I actually think Moochie shoulda gotten more time from Francis this game cuz I really liked what I saw from him in the 5 minutes he played. I'm sure someone's mentioned that already though...

O, BTW, I've now seen enough Rockets games, and I have NEVER seen Mobley or Francis try to pull anything even REMOTELY And1-ish. So I'm gonna have to come to the conclusion that that's just more meaningless BBS BS from the board's b****-leaders (get it? instead of chear-leaders??? )

 

The way our guards shot tonight (12 for 43), Yao should have taken more than 19 shots. I'd give him 47 shots like Kobe and see if he can pull this one out for us.

I just don't understand why we want to limit the number of shots Yao should take. After all, he still has the highest FG% on our team.

 

And one more stats for you.

Steve Francis 4-19
Cuttino Mobley 5-15
Maurice Taylor 6-14
Yao Ming 9-19

So you want the ball in Francis's, Mobley's and Taylor's hands more than Yao's?

Not to mention that Yao got a lot of offensive rebs today. So actually he could have had even fewer than 19 shots attempts. And he's our hottest and most clutch player today.

How could you justify this kind of shot distribution?

 

I think we are in need of a veteran backup PG more than anything else. Moochie's okay today but he simply couldn't fill in for long period especially in games when Francis played wild and bad.

 

Sometimes I wish Yao would just shoot the damn ball. If SF gave 10 of his shots to Yao (that gives Yao 29 shots) and Yao made 50% of them, we would have won.

Rice 3-12
EG 2-8
JP 1-7

 

definitely props to the Rox for coming back from 9 POINTS BEHIND like about 9 TIMES!! ! !! !!!

 

Yeah, sometimes they run plays where as soon as Yao gets the ball in the post he just turns and shoots. Those work, when the defender thinks that Yao is going to pass to the cutter...know what I mean?

 

Well at least they came to play most of the game.

The Lakers aren't the Heat/Cavs....

 

It's very true. I just wish they would just go to him every time like we went to Francis every time in that last Lakers game. I think given the opportunity, Yao can do it and carry us to a victory.

 

Okay, one last positive post before turning in for the night.
The Lakers are now playing short-handed with Shaq out and Kobe banged up. Let's hope that they will return to their early season form without Shaq and having to rely on a gimpy Kobe throwing up 40 shots a game. Rockets need to go on a winning streak starting TOMORROW at Phoenix to grab that last playoff spot! Go ROX!!

 

In our last game against the Lakers, SF took 29 shots (18 for 29). So I see nothing wrong with Yao taking 29 shots given that no one else was doing diddley.

 

If the refs are going to make the calls like that, Lakers must be able to win the championship again. Remember how the refs called FOR the Lakers against the Kings last year?