ClutchFans Game Thread: Celtics @ Rockets 3/18/2008

great run...i'm glad it's over. i think it became too emotionally draining. no matter what the guys said, you knew they wanted to keep the streak going. now that' it's over, hopefully they can focus on playing great team basketball again.

some observations from tonight:

1) lack of energy. i felt the team came out flat in the third quarter. i felt the offense stagnated in the third, and rafer grew frustrated. should have brought jackson back into the game...he provided a great spurt in the first half.

2) lack of movement. give credit to boston with their aggressive D, but the rockets didn't help their own cause by standing around too much. i would've like to see more of rick's corner sets.

3) lack of size. the team was being punished down low. scola did a good job, but he had difficulty finishing around the rim w/ garnett and perkins down there. what was the rebounding difference? landry coming back should help with this nd #1.

let's get back to winning tomorrow against new orleans.

 

chuck hayes needs to finish around the rim, one the landry ALWAYS DOES!! That was the first thing I noticed about landry! He rarely ever misses shots in the paint, hayes on the other hand smokes layups left and right.Landry is a beast around the basket and it showed we needed him tonight

 

I cant wait for 2morros game, I got the Rockets back

 

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it's over, I have to say this. No answer to Garnet is ok but our O is back to old JVG style again. Rafer bring ball up---give it to Tmac ---everyone stand and wait---Tmac drive (very hard ) and try to pass out.... 100% JVG O style.

I really feel our best O is Rafer handle the ball most time, Tmac run and catch the ball then jumper imediatly or pass the ball. Think about the team struggle time, just like right now, when Tmac hit lower percentage, whole team struggling.

I don't blame Tmac, in this way we play, he is work very hard, maybe too hard but not get good results.

Come on, review the tape we start to run this streak and our strugglle streak.
see the difference.
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Above is my post in the game thread.
I feel our team all need to review the tape and think how to play smart. RA really need give Tmac some time to rest and don't let him handle the ball too much. I think Tmac can do catch and shot very well and is a better way to play and also is better for his health and for our team.

I'm ok now, We made the history and I belive our record will last for a long time. Proud our Rockets, Great streak. till now, we have a great season.

Go Rockets

 

What's up with KG in the game and dunking against our reserves with less than two minutes to go. The NBA, where classless happens! What's up with that Doc?

A classic Rocket's "clunker," but haven't seen one of those in awhile. A great run, really enjoyed it. Thanks for the memories. Now let's get back to the playoff chase.

Boston played the most dominating defense I have seen all season. Seemed liked they had more players out there. They even doubled the PG when he had the ball. They rotated so quickly, it was like they were everywhere. They looked like the league's best team to me. At least tonight.

Scola got player of the game. The way he played, you know we lost. I was impressed with Mike Harris. He has to be a keeper for next season. TMac was smothered, but he played passively, and that was disappointing. One thing is for sure, we could have used Yao tonight.

 

ehhh, i semi agree..........lets not pretend he wasn't double teamed, but he did pass up shots......but it looked like everyone else did.

 

huh? Yao who? They will actually say its tainted because they didn't win by 40 point margin as they would have with Allen. Kenny Smith was already making excuses for them at half time how without Ray Allen they were hurting badly. BS Rockets haters.

 

Of course! Last time, with Yao, we lost in the last second! In fact, with Yao, even sometimes lost, we always fight to the last second!

 

Last game these fans must have shouted "MVP" , I guess.

 

If you check the +/- of the game, when TMac was on the court, Rockets was -27 tonight. I don't worry about his shooting. I am worrying aobut his defense. His effortless caused some Celtics second chances points.

Our second unit did very well at the start of second quarter, when BJax and Luther were out, we were in 8 points lead...

 

Stupid reply to the the thread!

 

T-Mac needs to be LeBron James. His offense is so out of sync right now it bothers me. He is freaking streaky, however, maybe playing on the road will make things better.

He did not drive the ball once tonight, I mean, come on?

Why arent you demanding the ball? Why arent you shooting the ball but instead passing it to Rafer or Mike Harris with the shot clock running down?

 

It was a great TEAM streak, there's not one player responsible for it, the whole team has to be appreciated. Though let's be honest, on paper this team won't get far, I guess you've got to take it for what it was.....a streak. That's the truth though most of us won't admit to it......

Also in regards to T-Mac, I'm sorry to say but his prime is long gone, he was missing in L.A and also today, he's a great talent, still makes his teammates better and attract a lot of attention, but unfortunately he can’t carry a team anymore….. he’ll have spurts of greatness, though unfortunately is unable to sustain the level of play, that’s usually what happens when players have injury issues are or on a decline. Though to his credit he still battles and tries hard….we are obviously better with him than without...though I think there are better options than him.

 

Zone defences effectively seals off our penetration which was so good for us during the streak. Double teams triple teams on Mcgrady means our other players had to facilitate the movement which didn't happen. At the end of the day a zone d has to be busted open by either crisp movement and jumpshots being hot or a low post presence. We had neither today

 

i agree with everything you're saying.. but let's make it hell for anyone that's going to face us in the playoffs.. like another poster said, we can make some noise in the post season... i KNOW we can get out of the first round, even without yao... that would be so sweet... but that voyage starts tomorrow against the hornets... let's forget about the game today and focus on the game tomorrow... no one gave us a chance to even make the playoffs after yao went out for the season... and right now our playoff chance is still up in the air... our team's going to need all the support they can muster so let's root for our team... let's go ROX!!

 

Yes Penetrate....

Penetrate to the FT line and pull up.

Penetrate into the lane and hit a floater.

But standing and going side to side at the 3pt line is NOT going to get it done.

Hell work a PF to the FT line and penetrate with a pass into that position.

Yes, they played a zone, but there are HOLES in the zone, but you have to force the zoning guys to pick up the penetrator.

For examples, watch How Boston penetrated into our zone and dumped it to a baseline cutter.....all fricken game long.

How do you think Powe scored so many midrange buckets....yep...off penetration.

DD

 

just come back next year when Yao is back, you hear?

 

I can not agree with you. With this lineup the Rox had won 22 in a row, why can't they win one or two postseason rounds? The Rox had beaten the Hornet twice which was the No.1 in the west. The Rox lead the Lakers 2:1 for the season. I wish the Rox could at least screw up someone's season in the playoffs. Who can imagine this lineup without Yao could have won ten in a row? Sometimes the desire, the will decides win or loss.
The deeper this Rox goes in the postseason, the higher chance they will win a championship in near future. Why should they just write this season off?

 

I think T-Mac is really tired, so he doesn't trust his shoot...but if we make our layups in the 2nd quarter, maybe they will not always double him and today he can give something like 15 assist.
With team play we have won 22 in a row, win team play we have to continue to perform starting tomorrow!

 

Two reasons for the loss:

1) we need another big man, and they are already working on that

and 2) they are fatigued, especially t-Mac, but really the whole team looked fatigued, and i think that is understandable