ClutchCity.net Game Thread: Rockets @ Warriors 11/27/2002

Woah! Did I misread that scoreboard??? Yao had 8 points of 10 total in the first 7.5 minutes of the first quarter? He seems to do that a lot... if only he could play like that the whole game, hehe. Maybe someday...

 

How was our defense in the game? I'm really glad that we won. Congratulations to Cato and the rest of the guys.

 

Why didnt you take some pics?

 

Our defense wasn't on 'lockdown' mode or anything but then again we were playing Golden St...the warriors played and shot horrible. They buried themselves.

 

The Rockets remain perfect with me in attendance. Francis's crossover on Dunleavy was just sick, he made him look silly. Moochie did the same thing to Arenas on the next play. I thought the offense flowed a lot better with Moochie in the game and Hawkins out. If only ONE of our point guards had some inkling of the meaning of defense. Cato showed what he is capable of, if only he could be more consistant. Maybe it is time we saw the Cato/Yao tandem out there sometimes (it isn't as though Kenny and Mo's play is demanding minutes.) Met some nice Rocket fans (who snuck in) and was sorry to see them go (the ticket holders showed up, and they were later pinched by security, and moved into seats very similar to mine.) Hope nothing too bad happend to you Maurice and friend. I love going into hostile territory and getting the win, lets you raz the locals a little, but mostly just joking around. Warriors fans are pretty used to losing so they are cool about it too. I can't wait for March to roll around so I can do it again.

 

whoa, Bill looked freaky in that one pic, reaal scary considering im bout to go to sleep.

 

Houston 91, Golden State 84
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA (TICKER) -- The Houston Rockets continue to own the Golden State Warriors at the Arena in Oakland.

Kelvin Cato contributed season highs of 22 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks and Steve Francis added 14, nine and seven assists as the Rockets defeated the Warriors for the 14th straight meeting in Oakland, 91-84.

"Cato was phenomenal," said Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich, whose team improved to 8-6, including 1-2 on their five-game road trip. "He gave us a real big lift with his energy and rebounding. He was just what the doctor ordered. He just did everything well tonight to help us get this important win. This win helps us keep our heads above water."

"I'm out there playing hard and if the opportunity presents itself like where I was getting good passes where I could finish, good plays where they were going toward the basket, I'm going to try to finish them," said Cato, who made 9-of-11 shots. "I mean, in the past, I've been missing shots like that - today I just made them. I'm listening to guys on the team, like Glen (Rice), Mo (Taylor) and Kenny (Thomas), who are telling me to look for my shot as well as keep playing hard."

Rice scored 15 points and rookie Yao Ming added 14 in 17 minutes for Houston, which has won 19 of 20 road matchups with Golden State and 33 of 39 overall.

"I think I could have played better defensively," Yao, who had just three rebounds, said through an interpreter. "I don't want to be just an offensive player. I want to be responsible for my defensive role, too. I don't think I have that much experience yet."

"He made a couple of nice moves tonight, and got a couple of easy baskets," Warriors center Erick Dampier said of Yao. "He's a talented young player, and if he works at it he'll be pretty good. He played good enough for them to win tonight."

Gilbert Arenas scored 20 points, Jason Richardson added 17, Antawn Jamison 15 and 10 rebounds and Troy Murphy 12 and 13 for Golden State, which shot just 33 percent (30-of-91) from the field.

"We just weren't hitting our shots tonight," said Richardson, who made only 7-of-21 attempts. "When we went to the basket, there were a few times when we didn't get the call. You're not always going to get the call, though, and you need to be able to play through that."

"I was fairly happy with our shot selection tonight," Warriors coach Eric Musselman said. "I just thought we came out a little passive. Shooting 33 percent is certainly indicative of that."

The Rockets led, 67-58, entering the fourth quarter before the Warriors climbed within 72-69 on a 3-pointer by Arenas with 5:31 to play.

But Moochie Norris countered with a jumper and Francis added a pair of free throws and a reverse layup after a spectacular crossover dribble that froze rookie Mike Dunleavy. The Warriors got no closer than seven points thereafter.

"We had good looks at the basket and they're just not falling for us right now," Arenas said. "We had four days to rest our bodies and we couldn't get it done tonight. Apparently we just weren't ready to play."

Houston took the lead for good, 20-18, on a turnaround jumper by Cato 1:03 into the second quarter. The Rockets led, 41-40, at halftime before extending their advantage to nine points entering the fourth quarter.

The crowd of 18,401 was the Warriors' largest all season, largely due to the presence of Yao, who made an announcement on the Jumbotron in Mandarin between the first and second quarters advertising his second game against the Warriors later in the season.

"Yao is a big-time player and a huge factor both offensively and defensively, but Cato was extremely effective," Musselman said. "We didn't play very good weak-side defense and he drove to the basket."

"It was just the great passing by my point guards and everybody on the team," Cato said. "It had nothing to do with me. I'm in the right place at the right time and it's basketball. It wasn't anything they weren't doing out there defensively. Their goal was to try to stop Steve and they did a good job of that and other people had to step up."

 

Classy comments by Cato and Ming. I guess Cato is learning diplomacy from Ming.

 

A ******* theft stole my digital cam 2 weeks ago in Vegas. Yeah, it was a pity. But I won't miss it again this coming March!

 

This was THE most perfect game of the season. It did so much for us.

It told Eddie Griffin that he's not a star anymore, and he's weak. Work harder, try harder, get better. I'm sure he got the point, and the good part is, he'll be VERY well rested for our upcoming games where he'll try to prove himself.

It told us that Kelvin Cato is NOT Wally Pip. That he'll be here all season helping the Rockets first, and Ming second. Both the Rockets and Ming are truly blessed to have him. It makes things so much easier on everyone. INCREDIBLE EFFORT from him, and I am ashamed that I said Dampier is "everything we want Cato to be".

It showed us that Yao Ming makes a difference on the road. He has support wherever he goes. He's the first big time Asian player, and he will draw crowds in most other arenas. We knew about his talent, but he's becoming a tiny bit more consistent every time he plays. Come playoff time, we'll have the 3rd best C rotation in the league behing Shaq/whoever, Robinson/Duncan. Cato/Ming can really really hurt a team like Dallas in the playoffs, and it can be what gets us past being dominated by the Kings.

It showed us that Steve Francis is one of the top 5 Most Valuable Player candidates. He's up there with Shaq, McGrady, Jason Kidd, and Tim Duncan for most valuable to their own team.

It showed us that we need to trade KT. This is one of 4 games all season where I expected him to carry us a bit, and he didn't. He's good for nothing but eating minutes on this team. Trade him, make Mo and Griffin's minutes mroe consistent.

It showed us that Moochie Norris is useful, but only in extended minutes that we cannot gove him when the team is healthy. Good player, not enough minutes, not the right attitude. Trade him for a very season vet PG, who has experience playing with big men, and is happy with 10 minutes a game. Someone like Avery Johnson, but someone we can have.

It showed us that Glen Rice is the X-factor on this team. When he can hit his open shots, this team is unstoppable in all areas.

It showed us that we're on our way to the playoffs, because, AT WORST, we'll be .500 after this difficult road trip.


Listen to me when I say, NO OTHER TEAM IN THE LEAGUE HAS AS MUCH ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT AS WE DO. This team will improve over the season more than any other team. Ming, Rice, MoT, Mobley, and Griffin have yet to scratch their ability (forget potential).

My prediction for the season: 49 wins, 7th seed, just half a game from 6th seed. We face the Mavs, and terrify them before going out in the final seconds of the final game of the series.

 

Yao doesn't disappoint record crowd, international television audience

Yao lived up to the expectations of a San Francisco Bay Area crowd that awaited his arrival for quite some time, and to observers in eight different countries that televised the game. Heavily promoting Yao's first game as a pro to the Asian-American community, the Golden State Warriors had their largest attendance of the season at 18,401, but saw the home team lose 84-91. It didn't help the Warriors that they shot 33% from the field.

It's interesting that Warrior coach Eric Musselman had his staff prepare tapes of every shot Yao had taken in the NBA -- 69 going into Wednesday's game -- for Adonal Foyle and Erick Dampier to study. It didn't work. Yao started the game quickly by scoring 9 points in the first quarter (half the Rockets points), but got in foul trouble and played only 16 minutes for the game. He finished with 14 points on 6 of 8 shooting, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks. The shots he did sink were spectacular and amazed the crowd (see Detailed Yao Analysis below). The crowd was so pro-Yao and vocal, the Man himself said after the game, "I felt like I was the only person on the court at times." Thanks for showin' him love, Oaktown.

Someone else stepped up

After the Rockets' 18-point first quarter, it looked like it was going to be a repeat of the previous night's game against the Blazers where they shot 35.5% from the field and no one rose to the occasion. But after Yao sat down with foul trouble, they got a surprise performance from backup center Kelvin Cato, who scored on plays he never would have finished last year. Cato scored 15 points by halftime, which they needed because Steve Francis had only scored 2 points by that time. Go figure. Cato eventually finished with 22 points on 9 for 11 shooting with 6 blocks. It looks like the Rockets' patience with Cato over the past few years is starting to pay off. With Cuttino Mobley on the injured reserve list, the center position may be the Rockets' strongest position--at least for another week until Cat gets back.

 

No matter how pathetic we are, we can allways know that we are better then California.

 

I'd have to say the same goes for Mo Taylor..heck most everyone is slumping.

 

Steve put him in a bad shooting position when he passed him the ball with no shot clock left.

 

I am glad that we win. But no way we can escape from seattle if our team perform the same.

1) Without Cat, SF was so heavily guarded that it was very hard for him to score.

2) there is no reliable scoring option except our centers. I really glad that Cato step up or else we might actually loss this game.

3) Thanks Warriors for buried themselves.

KH

 

Quote of the day--
"Yao Ming, who played just 16 minutes in the game but scored 14 points on 6-8 shooting in just 17 minutes of play...."
-- Clutch, 11/28/2002

 

It's good to see that Cato gave props to the point guards; for getting him the ball where he needed it.. Yao need to learn how to play much much better defense. It seems that he's alot further alone in offense than defense. Cato should be able to help him tremendously in this department. Oh well a win is a win, and I'll take it anyway we can get it.

 

Yao's turnaround and dunk was awesome!! He couldn't be stopped by Dampier.

 

Actually, the crowd started BOOING Steve when he didn't dunk the ball on that last play.

 

I wanted to see Francis's high-flying dunk that last play sooooo BAD!!!! But he did the right thing, this shows that Francis is maturing.