ClutchFans Game Thread: Cavaliers @ Rockets 12/2/2006

buahahahaha

 

Doesn't a team with a more balanced attack mean that they're better and thus more difficult to win against? Just a thought.

 

You should also factor in that there was very little time to prepare for the Phoenix game, since it came on a back-to-back (on the road). We've beaten the Suns, convincingly, in the past when we had McGrady and Yao. We're capable of doing it, but because they're so unique we need some extra prep time. If we met them in a playoff series, I think we'd hold our own.

 

Tmac was beginning to get his touch- hope he gets back without any lingering headaches etc.

Yao was good through 3 quarters- not sure if was the score- he cooled down after that.

ALSTON was great- he really surprised me- stayed within his skill set and did hit some high percentage 3's.

Battier, Hayes did great- Juwan picked up the rebounds!
Luther is our trusted 3 point scorer- glad to see him maturing- man if only Hayes and Luther were 3 inches taller- that would makes us so good! High Heels ????

 

Did any of you guys hear Matt B saying that he "COACHED" Tmac on shooting during practice? He said that he was expecting Tmac to put up some good numbers last night. He must have been pissed to see him knocked down by Deke and not getting any credit from a possible positive change of tmac's offensive game.

 

Wow if he really did that, and T-Mac was shooting well last night.

Maybe if he continues and T-Mac works with him we will have the old T-Mac back!

I want to see how this develops next game.

 

Well, we can get him out of the broadcast booth, now to give clyde a job....

 

bullard had pointed out in an earlier game that mac was jumping and releasing in two seperate motions, resulting in hime releasing on the way down. he had said that he has or will work with him on that. don't remember which now.

 

the last shot on the highlights from nba.co for the cavs game was rafer shooting a 3 pointer. i went to yahoo sports for the play by play imediately after that shot was taken. it said that luther head made the shot and it was added to his stat line. oh well, it helps his percentage.

 

Just watched the highlights and he clearly did make three... I think they gave one to Luther.

But with that said, Luther and Rafer impressed me most last night. Luther had a couple great bounce passes to Chuck Hayes, and his drives were really strong. Rafer was exactly what I'd like to see him as, at around 7-10 shots max per game, making the clutch threes, and running the game exactly how he is supposed to. I don't think I ever really appreciated the speed of those two until watching that game last night... Luther had those two fastbreaks which he literally made himself -- missed the layups, but my god did he get down the floor fast. Rafer blew by LBJ a bunch of times too... I hope those two start penetrating more.

 

or we almost went 3-0 because we were up significantly on all three teams.

 

yup, just saw it in R2K's highlights. it was the 3 in the 4th qtr at the 9:23 mark.

 

I liked Head alot in this game.

When he had that first break away lay up, that he missed because of LBJ, he didn't lose his confidence. Instead, on the next break away, he went right for the lay up and got fouled.

Another play, Head went up for a lay up and got stuffed by ziggy. Later on in the game, instead of going up for the lay up with ziggy towering over him, head dished the ball to Yao for the easy jam.

I don't know if this is only me, but I think Head is starting to emulate some of the things that McGrady does.

As for Battier, he did well defending LBJ, but he needs to shoot more from 3 land. The extra pass was causing alot of 3 second violations. I know that his 3p % is down from the top of the key but maybe that is something he needs to work on in practice, so that we don't have to pass up wide open 3s.

Another thing that I've noticed though out the season is that Alston feeds off the success of the rest of his team mates. If they're not doing well his shooting is abysmal, but if there is nothing to worry about he hits his 3s easily.

 

just an observation here. it appears to me that mac has been a lot more succeful this year using the backboard. he isn't blowing as many layups as he did the last two seasons. i also read of a coach saying that the new ball reacted better off the backboard. and my name is not david stern.

 

Man, Juan cannot get 10+ rebounds every night even you give him $ 100 mimmion check. That's not him. He had big check before, he never averaged 10+ rebounds before.

 

That's not surprising. Alston is a natural point guard, not a scorer...he thrives when his teammates are putting the ball in the hoop and he's racking up assists. That's when you see him at his best, and that's when you see him with a big smile on his face, skipping around the court breaking out the And1 moves. His confidence level goes up big when his teammates are playing well...and when that happens, you'll rarely see him miss an open jumpshot.

Probably lends more credence to the argument that Rafer's jumpshot volume needs to be reduced significantly. It seems he cannot be at his best when he becomes a focal point of the offense or a primary scoring option.

 

The NBA Players Association files suit against Xomox for his part in the Synthball Conspiracy.

 

Usually, yes. Since Van Gundy got here 2-10 against the Spurs, 3-9 against the Mavs, 1-5 against the Pistons. When Sacramento was strong, we were 4-8 against them. These were all pretty balanced teams.

But they were just plain good, so we should have lost, right? Well, over the same period, we went 2-4 against Toronto and 1-3 against Charlotte. These teams sucked, but they were also balanced.

On the other hand, we completely owned the Cavaliers (6-1) and the Clippers (9-2), and we were at least competitive (3-4) against the Timberwolves when that team was strong. These teams have this in common: one overwhelming scoring option and not much perimeter shooting.

 

Since Nash joined the Suns, we have been 3-9 against them. We blew them out once 127-107 when Amare kept trying to dunk on Yao and Yao kept rejecting him. And we won a squeaker 98-97 when Deke of all people contributed 12 points. Other than these two weirdies, our record against the Suns has been completely dismal. JVG's defence is just not particularly strong against a balanced attack, especially when the other team is hitting 3s.

 

is that the game which steven hunter missed the dunk and Amare laughed at him?
man i wished i still have the highlights of that game