ClutchCity.net Game Thread: Rockets @ Timberwolves 2/4/2003

Rockets need to respect the game to win it.
They need treat this game as a playoff game, cutting down the turnovers, moving the ball offensively and playing good D as well.
I don't see T'Wolves can match us if we do that.
Rockets win!

 

This game goes to the rox...
hopefully it'll be a good game.

Rox by 8.

We NEED this win.

 

No Phoenix won although Stoudamire had a terrible game.

 

Phoenix 115, Chicago 111
(OT)
amare 9 pts 12rb(6Reb in 4Q) 2/12 fg

 

Crap! Phoenix won....Stoudemire got abused by TYSON CHANDLER! LOL. He had 9 pts on 2 of 12 shooting.

 

oh... no... by the time I went to landru Bulls was leading 6 in the
last 2 minutes, damnit they blew this away...

 

This will be the third victory of our eventual 38 game winning streak.

 

Didn't eddie slow KG down last time they played? I say we let Hudson drive all day and not get his players involved. It seems to work against us and Troy can tend to be a shoot first point guard. My prediction: Da Rox 750 Da Puppies 10.

 

Rockets by 10. 100-90 . I think the Rockets have finally realized how to play team ball. I expect a big performance from our big men, and a not so good shooting performance from our guards. Reason being is, most of the times I've seen Francis on the road and he takes those 20 foot jumpers, he usually clangs them off the rim, oppose to when he's at home and the shots seem to fall in more comfortably. I think Terrence Morris will get 12 points, some rebounds, and will flow well within the offense. I think MoT will have a good game and that Griffin will get into early foul trouble from KG. I find it funny because it seems like when MoT has a good game, Griffin steps up the next, and vice versa. MoT will come off the bench and get around 15. Francis will get his 20 and work within the offense doing it, as will Mobley. Yao will get another double double and will get another 20 point performance. Posey will make some crucial defensive stops and gets some exciting fast break points. Cato will his 6 points and 8 boards off the bench Gee it's fun making all these predictions without having to back it up. Did I mention we'll win? Well we will

 

The good thing is, Phoenx isnt concentrating on their season. They're concentrating on us. If you follow Phoenix games, it's like they're always duplicating what we do. Marbury tries to score more when Steve scores more, Stoudamire tries to score more when Ming scores more. They play harder when we win. It's just an observation, but there's a lot behind it.

I hope we win the next 2. Utah may lose the next one as well since Harpring is slowed by a rib injury. Hopefully we go into the All Star Break with a maximum of 1 game out of the 5th seed.

 

Critical Game >>>>> http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/1763631


Rockets' goal to keep rolling
By JANNY HU
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle


Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich delivered a minor dose of coach-speak Monday morning, before even he relented that, yes, the Rockets' next two games are critical.

Said Tomjanovich on the importance of carrying a winning streak into the All-Star break: "Guys, let me tell you something, I want to win them all -- that idea is in my head all the time. The only way you get it done is, you can't think about the streak. You've got to think about the little details of the next team, whoever that is.

"But, I love the drama of this stuff," Tomjanovich added later. "We need to be in situations like this where there is something on the line, and deal with the stress and deal with the extra focus on it. It's part of the process we've got to go through."

Momentum is that "something on the line" for the Rockets, who take on Minnesota tonight in the first leg of their final back-to-back before Sunday's NBA All-Star Game (they play Cleveland in the second game Wednesday). The Rockets have won their last two games -- both against playoff-caliber teams -- by an average of 18 points.

They can now head into All-Star weekend as winners of four straight, as losers of two straight, including a loss to the 9-39 Cavaliers, or perhaps split and come away with no streak.

No doubt, they'd prefer the former.

"The All-Star break is the midway point," said Rockets forward Maurice Taylor. "You never want to get to the point where you have a four- or five-day break and you have lost two or three in a row, because you have so many days to think about it. We definitely want to get it going by then.

"We feel like if we have momentum going into the All-Star break, if we're playing better now, maybe it can translate into the second half of the season, and we can get it going. And the second half is definitely the most important half of the season."

So far, momentum has been fleeting for the Rockets. After an exhilarating victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 17, which gave the Rockets' their season-high fourth win in a row, Houston lost its next four games, also a season-high. They were blown out by Dallas and Detroit by a combined 45 points before losing to lottery-bound Chicago.

The Rockets would obviously like to win their next two outings against Minnesota and Cleveland to maintain their current forward progress. Their last two games have yielded their two best offensive performances of the season, which Tomjanovich said was based on the Rockets' defense.

But to move forward, the Rockets need to scale a mountain higher than Yao Ming's purported "rookie wall." They have to conquer two season-long weaknesses: playing on the road, and playing on consecutive nights.

The Rockets very nearly went a disastrous 0-4 on their two most recent back-to-back sets, losing to San Antonio and Dallas after the Lakers win. They then suffered a road loss to the Bulls before squeaking by Memphis in a game players afterward called "ugly."

The Rockets, 19-7 at home, are a miserable 7-13 on the road, and have the biggest home-road disparity in the league next to Chicago.

So how do they avoid a letdown similar to what happened after the Lakers win?

"You got to go up there and be physically ready," said Rockets guard Cuttino Mobley. "We have to strive every game we play, no matter who it is, No. 1 or No. (10). We're going to have disappointing games, but you don't want to have too many.

"Jim Harrick always told me when he coached me (at Rhode Island) that if you want to get to that next level, you can only have maybe two bad games, so if you're doing what you're supposed to do -- like we should be doing what we're supposed to do -- then you should only have a couple of bad games. That Detroit game and the Dallas game, it kind of hit us."

With Mobley and Harrick's quota more than satisfied, the Rockets say they are not looking past the Timberwolves and Cavaliers to their four-day break, even though both opponents are at less than full-strength. Minnesota suited up just 10 players Friday, while the city of Cleveland seems more engrossed in the LeBron James saga than the plight of the hapless Cavaliers.

It's about edging forward, after all, not looking forward.

"We know Minnesota is going to come at us because of what happened last time in our building," said Taylor, referring to the Rockets' 121-101 victory at Compaq Center on Friday. "You know the loss is still fresh in their minds. We talk about being a playoff team, and they're a playoff team too. They're going to try and redeem themselves, especially at home."

 

Rockets summary



Grudge rematch

UPDATE
• Tonight: Rockets at Minnesota T-Wolves
• When/where: 7 p.m.; Target Center.

• TV/radio: Ch. 51; KILT (610 AM) and in Spanish on KYST (920 AM).

• Records: Rockets 26-20; Timberwolves 28-20.



Although Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich acknowledged that playing Minnesota for the second time in five days is beneficial from a preparation standpoint, from a psychological perspective, it is anything but.

That's because Friday's meeting ended with a 20-point Timberwolves thrashing and with T-Wolves forward Kevin Garnett telling the Rockets to just wait until next week.

The Rockets understand. If the tables had been turned and it was the Rockets who had suffered the huge loss, players said they would have redemption -- as well as a little revenge -- in mind during the next matchup.

"(I'd want) to blow them out, to try as hard as we can to blow them out," said Maurice Taylor. "It's the same thing as with Sacramento. When we got going, we really tried to maintain and keep it going. That's what they do to us. Last time we were there, they put their foot on the (gas pedal) and kept it there."

Guarding Garnett

The Rockets know Minnesota likes to run its offense through Kevin Garnett, but that doesn't make guarding him any easier. Their game plan of denying Garnett direct passes worked well Friday, yet Garnett still scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

The numbers were well below his season averages of 22 points and 13 rebounds per game and a large part of why the Rockets were able to keep Minnesota's offense in check.

Still knicked up

Rockets center Kelvin Cato remains questionable for tonight's game after missing most of Monday's light practice. Cato strained his right hip flexor against Minnesota on Friday and was limited to riding on a stationary bike Monday.

Forward Glen Rice missed his second straight practice and did not accompany the Rockets on their final road trip before the All-Star break. Rice developed inflammation in his right knee last week while trying to return from a cartilage tear in his left shoulder.

-- JANNY HU



http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bk/bkn/rox/1763499



Kevin Garnett has a little bit of hostility in him for this game!!!!! GOING TO BE AN EYE-POPPING GAME!!!!

I say the Rockets win of course

Rockets: 103
Timberwolves: 98

 

If the Rockets goal is to make the playoffs, and I think it is, this is an insanely huge game for them. A 3-1 tiebreaker edge over Minnesota could really help the Rockets at the end of the season.

8 of the next 12 games are on the road, how they do in this stretch will determine their playoff fate.

 

I hope a Rockets win, but this is a ROAD game against a .500+ team, which means an automatic loss based on this teams history.

Wolves 92
Rockets 87

 

moomoo, you forgot to add the 15 game winning streak for the playoff.

 

If Cato can play, I think we can win, but without Cato our 5 is horrible after Yao. We NEED Cato.

 

Road game !

Close but no cigar.

Timberpups 88
Rocks 83

DD

 

If the Rox come out overconfident, we lose.. but I think after the 4 game losing streak, they were bothered by all the negative media and fan attention. I think they realize that this is a statement game, and also important for home court advantage. We have played well against the Timbies! I predict a W- Rockets 101 Timbies 94

 

We can't let guys like Hudson,Gill,Jackson,Peeler, Nesterovic or Trent get really hot. Good defense,rebounding and ball movement to get high percentage chances to score will be key.
We need to be the aggressor from the start of the game or else we will fall behind and end up trying to catchup. Griffin and Mo-T need to score on Garnett which can make things easier for Yao.
It's a huge mental test for the Rockets. It will be a close game but I expect the Wolves to win on their homecourt.

 

Mark this, guys: Rox 102-98