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

As far as I'm concerned, this another case of Rudy's words saying one thing and his actions saying another. If "Yao Touches Ball" is supposed to be the team's mantra, then WTF has Rudy done tonight to adjust so that his team could accomplish this absolute necessity!!!!!

You guys can blame the players all you want, but it's the coaches failure to MAKE his players play the way he expects them to play!!!

So, to Rudy: Until you start ACTING LIKE AN NBA COACH, you can go get drunk for all I care!!

Rudy proves over and over again how little offensive B-ball knowlege he really has by virtue of his ineptness when the Rox are losing, and / or on the road, which obviously coincides far too often!!

If the Clips were entertaining a Cat/Griff for Brand/Piatkowski trade, then we just shot ourselves (literally) out of the running for E.B.

This game was a template for every single weakness the Rockets and mainly Cat/Griff have!!!

 

I thought we had good ball movement, we just couldn't hit any shots.

 

Jeff, funny comment on Hakeem, so true, but Ming is a totally different temperment. He we will have to acquire aggressiveness, decide to dominate; for Hakeem, it was his nature. As to the game; dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, walk up the court, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble around in circles, dribble, dribble.... If I were Rudy I would trip any guard that walked the ball up the court, especially when you are in the 4th and you are down 8-10 points. That is truly r****ded!

 

Another soul searching to do.

Yao 7 attempts.
Francis 21 attempts.
Mobley 16 attempts.
Griffin 14 attempts - made only 3

Whatever defensive adjustment Wolves takes, Rudy needs to come up with an answer on how to utilize Yao Ming under a tight defensive plan on Yao. I think it's time for Yao Ming to learn how to draw foul from the opponent. That way although he is double teamed and guarded tightly, he will make the opponent in foul trouble.

 

TWolves moved the ball way better than Rox. Look at those scrubs like Gill an d Peeler, how many points they scored.
Our defense can not stop the penetration and the PnR killed
us all game.
On offensive end, we don't know how to feed to the post,
if we did, all the Wolves inside players would have got fouled out.

Time for Brian to get another harsh article out on Rudy and his Rox. Terrible game plan or good plan with terrible execution.

EG played really poor game from the begining, and ironically
he finished the game. You just had to wonder wasn't TMo just got a career game in the previous one.

 

At least the Minnesota Moochie fans had a good time.

 

DRose,
Ball movement was alright the first half, but we became a one-man show the second. Seven is my threshold for Stevie. Fifteen or sixteen assists for the entire team will never cut it. That is not ball movement. You can say we weren't hitting shots, but ball movement gives you easy shots.

 

Actually the key to beat Rockets is very easy... disrupt the offensive flow from Yao for a while. When it's difficult to get the ball to Yao for a certain period, guards will give up and go on ISO mode. Yao will cool off too.

In this game, Yao stepped up his offense in the fourth quarter drawed several fouls, and made baskets at the free throw line. But it's too late. Had he done it earlier, Rockets might have a chance.

 

I believe even Hakeem was very disappointed with our guards' play when he was playing for the Rox . He said something like in the paper " " You got a big guy who can still play, but he could get the ball, it was frustrating ".

Our guards are really strong willed and mentally strong, nothing could rattle them.

 

That was Yao's worst performance this season (That I've seen). Nesterovic was killing Yao. I guess Yao was tired tonight, but he looked awful out there. Hopefully, tomorrow night the Rockets can put away the Cavaliers early so that Yao can get some rest going into the all-star break. And what's the deal with Eddie Griffin and his three point shot ? I dont know why Rudy lets him take so many damn threes. Mobley was selfish as usual, and Jason Collier is the worst center in the league. Not many positives from this game. On a side note, I thought Steve Francis did a decent job trying to get the ball into Yao, but sometimes rushed his shot on offense.

 

I didn't think the Rockets executed the offense very well tonight, though it was nowhere near as bad as it had been. There were bigger problems this game, namely poor shooting and poor defense.

I though their perimeter ball movement was okay, which gave them a lot of open shots that Griffin and Mobley just botched.

A couple of things about Yao: Nesterovic just simply outplayed him tonight. And second, does anyone else think Yao has trouble catching the ball in traffic? In my opinion, that's one of his biggest weaknesses.

 

That was your worst obsevation of the game. Wolves kept the ball move and penetrating inside, poor Yao had to rotate more than often once and twice, then Nesterovic had many open jumpers and couple of hook shots. In many occassions Yao was not even close to him.

This game is the most tiring one for Yao. He had to run so much on defense, and could not get touches on offensive ends.

 

In the first Quarter, one on one, Nesterovic was just abusing Yao Ming. I'm as big of a Yao Ming fan as anyone, but frankly, he had a pretty subpar game tonight. There were some plays were Nesterovic got open because Yao Ming had to help, but he was getting killed one on one as well. He also didn't catch three or four passes to him. Overall, not a great night for the big fella.

 

why not drbble, dribble?
Dribble, dribble, still have ball on hands, and have chance to work on my stats.

Why pass?
Pass, give ball to other guys, and they get stats, but me.

I do not care about team win, I just care about myself being superstar. Quite simple. I do not worry about being traded. With good stats, any team will pay me high.
Title? Forget about it. Won't take the title this season, why sacrifice my own stats for playoff? I already figured it out from the beginning. Do not try to change my mind, I am not a fool.

 

rrox guards just dont get it...., Griffin is a stubborn player, shoots so damd bad, he just doesnt miss a lot, shots are just way off!!!!

The LAKERS ARE 23-23, TWO MORE lOSSES and ITHINk were out of the race......., looks like a long summer f(break) for the rox

 

cmellon,

Great observation. The fact that YAO DID NOT GET A SHOT IN THE FIRST 10 MINUTES OF THE GAME set the tone and told me that Rudy and the guards DON'T QUITE GET IT YET!

Dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble,
dribble............shoot= LOSE.

Should be another painful lesson for RT and Stevie. Guard oriented show won't take us too far.

I guess we,re SLOW LUHNERS

D R

_* and let's limit EG to short and medium range turnarounds and jumpers...he damn near broke the backboard a few times

 

Yao made Nestorovic look like an all star tonight… And where was the 22 point offensive Eddie… I’m starting to believe Eddie is the key to the Rockets success… I expect Yao and Steve to be there and teams will do everything to stop them deciding to leave Eddie open… When Eddie hits his open shots we are tough to beat because it makes it almost possible to double Steve and Yao without paying for it… but like tonight when Eddie misses as badly as he did we are just an average team…

 

Better question: What have his teammates done?

Steve shines by making himself shine. Not to the team benefit.
A few flashy plays, stand out on highlights, displaying his athletic ability...but those moments of flash are surrounded by blunder after blunder.

 

When your big guy has to cover for his team mates, then, it is always to easy to the big guy one on one. To defend one on one dribbling, you need to focus on which your opponent goes; but if you have to worry about other team mates, then you become very vulnerable. It is because you have to defend ground balls, a potential shot and potential pass to another wide open opponent close to you.

 

Very disappointing. We were not able to counter their game at all and couldn't put anything down. Not enough shots for Yao was a major problem as well.