Yao shot 9 for 10 with 10 rebounds and only 1 turnover in 30 minutes of play. He has really stepped it up. DD
I know this a winning thread. No negativity in the party. But How the hell Howard shoot 13 times in 25 minutes, while Yao only shoots 10 times in 30 minutes.
Nice to see us close out an opponent at the end. Instead of having a repeat of the too close lakers game. go rockets!!
What an amazing game tonight, on both ends, in so many different ways. I liked this game as much as that Dallas shootout in early January, though obviously this was against the Bulls. Speaking of the Bulls, I really think they are something; they've got some serious grit and determination, and never, I mean never, stopped fighting. It was a blowout from the 3rd onward, but it could have been much, much worse (we also got a few lucky shots). They weren't the only ones with grit, though. I think the 4th quarter collapse really hit home with this team, and we played with true emotion in the 4th - Yao was still mad at himself for the dropped rebound with a minute to go up 14 (though he should be). What a beautiful effort - don't know how else to say it, but I love this team!
'4th quarter collapse' referring to the Lakers game, of course. That was the improvement I wanted to see: what kind of 4th quarter would we have?
These Rockets are good, people! How about 23 rebounds from the center position? How about Ming's shooting percentage? An all around TEAM game. When everyone is playing their role like tonight, the Rockets are tough to handle. Sura is mean, and I love it. This is the best I have seen the Rockets play since the championship years. They won't win them all, but they are taking it to every team they play. I am loving this.
I think we shot like 83% in the 4th. Good game. Deke still amazes me to this day by the things he can do.
Francis-lite? In what sense? That Sura is an extension of the coach? That he's averaging 5.1 assist but *ONLY* 2.5 TO per game? That he runs the half-court offense w/out complaint? That he can actually start and finish a fast-break? That he plays defense on the perimeter better than any G we've had in a long time? I'd say he does a lot of leadership things that don't show up on the stat sheet... Sura "leads" as much as he's an extension of the coach. Nothing more, nothing less. We know that literally and figuratively the *real* leaders are Tmac and Yao. But as far as a G playing a PG role. I'd say that Sura is doing as much *leading* as you could ask for. Yes, even over Francis-Regular. Technical Fouls leaders... 1) Danny Fortson - 17 2) Rasheed Wallace - 15 3) Steve Francis - 14 (averaging 7.0 APG, but 4.1 TO per game) ... 27) Bobby Sura - 5 (Tied with Mike Bibby)
.we have the longest winning streak in NBA now: 5 Let keep the winning record all the way to the all star break
In mid-January, Yao had one of his worst games ... going 2-9 against the Nets. Followed that up with a not-so-strong showing at home against the Spurs, and then another dismal outing in Memphis. Fouled out in 24+ minutes that game. Since then though, he is playing more minutes, staying out of so much foul trouble and playing more aggressively. We've played 12 games since the Memphis clunker, and Yao is averaging 19.5 points on 60% shooting, 75% from the line, 9.4 rebounds (3 offensive) and 1.92 blocks. Not only have those numbers improved, but his minutes have gone up (averaging 30.9 through the season up to the Memphis game, and 34.4 in the last 12 games), his shot attempts are up (12.2 then, 13.3 in last 12) and his turnovers have gone down (2.9 then, 2.2 in last 12). Yao needs stamina work and consistency. Nothing new there... but he's playing pretty well right now. Not dominating, but pretty dang good numbers.
Great win for the Rockets. Our center position is very effective tonight. Deke 13 rebounds and Yao shots 9 for 10. 7 players with double figure score. This is great team basketball. Only 4 games behind the 4th place Kings.
I did not get to see the game but did notice in the ESPN overview of the game there was a note about Taylor. Think they know something? ESPN Recap Look at the notes at the bottom about Taylor not being in his usual spot on the bench.
