ClutchCity.net Game Thread: Rockets @ Sonics 11/29/2002

How good were our bigs play?
i don't see yao made a big difference.
he didn't do anything huge since the third quarter

 

Hmm so which part of my last post did you NOT get? All of it? tell you what. Why dont you go to Compaq center and boost up that league low attendance? Maybe you see something in Rudy that all those fools who cant stand pathetic Rockets play can not?

Once again, thank Hakeem for the 2 titles. Rockets are not winning any more titles as long as Rudy is at the helm.

 

No, but his game was better than his box score will be. A lot of offense flowed through the big man and when it did, good things generally happened. His shot wasn't falling, but he did nicely on the assists.

He even got a steal tonight.

 

Your words burn me!!!! Please have mercy!! Spare me from your mighty rod!!!! I will question thee no longer and fall in line with thine beliefs!!!! The Mighty Z has spoken!!!

 

LeG,

Do you need the Holy Hand Grenade?

Thou must count to three...

 

I sleep a little better now that I know we are a good team.

 

*sigh* Still nothing from your side to test the validity of my points.

Yes people, it was Rudy who won the Rockets the 2 titles. Hakeem who?? And yes, Rudy has bunch of set plays and motion plays in his bag. He just hides it. So says Legrouper. Listen to him and fill up those seats at the compaq center please!!

 

Great Game. The third quarter was the best one we had in a long time.

 

The statistics does not show. He got only 3-7, 0-2, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 3 block shots. But he is the difference of the game. In every minute he played in the second half - both third and fourth quarter, Seatle could hardly score. It is mainly Ming changed their shots, if not caused their turnover. Seatle basically had no offence inside the paint. Also, Yao Ming threw the balls nicely back to the perimeter players. That was why we had .437 FG % because the guards had so many open shots. Moochie had 3-3 and I believe all 3 were directly or indirectly assisted by Ming. That was why he padded Ming at the end.

 

yeah id say that a good game. moochie kinda stepped it up good in the 4th quarter and nice job to yao ming with 5 assists career high. yay

 

I am finally beginning to see Rocket's offensive/defensive strategy down the road. On offense, put the ball in the big man's hand EVERYTIME when he is on the floor! On defense, use zone and let the big man dominate the paint!

It is just amazing to watch Yao recover on defense from Warrior's game. He had 5 fouls in 16 minutes with Warrior. But tonight he only had 2 fouls in 29 minutes! Man when he is in the paint, Seattle really struggled to score. I saw a couple of plays where Seattle switched ball three times whenever Yao is anywhere near the shooter, which ends up Seattle settle for parimeter jump shot or turn over. Seattle was hold to just 71 points, even it scores around 90 on average this season.

 

Seattle vs Houston game from a Seattlite's point of view

First of all, let me say that as a Sonics and Rockets fan, watching the game was particularly difficult. I wasn't sure what team to root for and how to feel during some periods. But let's just say this: I don't know if there is a sonics equivalant of ClutchCity, and I don't care.

To begin, it wasn't the prettiest game. The 2nd quarter was particularly nasty for the Rockets and the Sonics just fell apart in the fourth. Even though Houston got the W, it is hard to say whether the Sonics lost the game by throwing it away or Houston won by good play. But here are some observations that I have as a Sonics and Rockets fan that may allow for certain valuable insight:


Steve Francis is the man. 'Nuff said. All the smack talk about him not playing the PG position and ballhogging are exaggeration. He scored when he had to and shared the ball and got his teammates invovled, even when they couldn't hit a jumper. Francis is the reason the Rockets won.

Rice is golden; old but man, he can hit the 3. Keep this man around. He's still good.

Cato does not suck at all. He was very very effective in the limited minutes that he played. Blocks and rebounds like crazy. I think if Rudy can figure out a way to play both Cato and Ming at the same time Houston would have a very formidable offense. I think of the two as the Ying and the Yang.

Ming, not too bad. He can't rebound worth ****. And this is coming from a fan. He still shows the glimpses of greatness but fails to deliver the big dominating game that we expect out of him. I think this has EVERYTHING to do with confidence. You can tell from the way he holds his hands and arms that he is playing conservatively. I believe that he is being too careful not to be a defensively liability to the point where it restricts his play. Ming needs to bust loose. His play in the first quarter was basically nothing. However, he came out much more aggressive in the third and fourth. He had a succession of assists in the 3rd off the double team that were the easiest points the rockets scored. One after another, it was very nice. This really began the rally where the rockets pulled away. He also massively altered the way the game was played - the sonics could not penetrate like they wanted. His blocks were very nice as well. It seemed that he was not comfortable shooting and was looking to pass - which worked very well.

Gary Payton: Lots of assists, but his FGP was ass. 3/16 shooting. A lot of it had to do with Ming in the paint to stop the layups. Another part was bad luck.


In general I think Houston is much more talented than Seattle. But Seattle plays much much better as a team. Aside from Ming, no one was really creating plays by good passing for the Rockets. The Rockets SHOULD go to the playoffs; all the key components are there. But there is just no fusion between players. You can almost feel the transition between the focus on Yao and the focus on small ball. Houston really needs to find something consistant to rely upon.

Rudy really needs to stop pulling Ming from the game as soon as he heats up. Right now it is all about confidence. Let him play as long as he's playing well. It is stupid to watch Ming get really fired up, start going after rebounds, start getting really nice plays... and then see him pulled from the game. It makes no sense.


C

 

Yao only 6 points?

 

So you judge the performance of a player by reading statistics only? I did that when I was 10.

 

Seattle was averaging 95.6 points per game before tonight's game.

 

Yes, but he had a bunch of assists and blocks that got the Rockets back from a 10 point deficit. He was the spark tonite. Are you a Yao hater? You seem to always look for something negative to say about Yao.

 

holy s***. do any of you actually read all of that? damn thats crazy. how long did it take you to make this thread?

 

excellent post, fair analysis n good insight. agreed on almost everything. glen rice however is too streaky in my opinion to be certified as a keeper.

 

I'm very glad that we won. Better ball movement and improved defense made the difference.Yao really passed the ball well and altered some shots but he makes his move towards the basket very late many times and stays near the perimeter before moving in.This will not only curtail his chances to score but can result in him losing his confidence inside the paint on the offensive end.
Nice going Moochie. Francis did a pretty good job today.He didn't force the issue too much except in the 2nd quarter.I liked the pass he made down to Cato for a dunk. More consistant ball movement and better defense could have made things less difficult in the 2nd quarter.
I do think that our morale should be high after tonight's win.

 

So true. So, so true. If we could combine Seattle's mindset with our physical talent, we'd have a championship team.