ClutchFans Game Thread: Hornets @ Rockets 11/5/2005

I agree. I remember the stretch last season when yao was playing extremely well down the strectch of games (4th quarter) vs many teams and had that streak of an insanely high shooting percentage/game changing plays (on both ends of the court).

Yeah, it was a bad loss, but hey look on the bright side...we don't play the Hornets again till the end of December .

 

I think our turnovers really killed us. Even though we lost and yao missed like 20 shots in a row, I'd take this. Yao needs to learn to be the man. Gotta give it to PJ Brown though, he played well. ANd Paul looks like he's going to be some player.

 

My Recap of the Hornets/Rockets Game...

This is a recap I wrote for a bball site where I cover the Rockets for them...I just wanted yall's opinions and such on my article...Thanks for the time...

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Rockets Show No Heart, Effort as Hornets Steal Victory On The Road

By ____Rockets111____________
11.5.05

They didn’t deserve to win. Even if the Houston Rockets had somehow managed to withstand the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets’ 17-2 closing run, they still would not have been deserving of victory. On Saturday night, the Hornets waltzed into Houston and claimed a 91-84 win before 15,875 at Toyota Center.

From the beginning, it never fared well for the Rockets. The Hornets sprung out to an early 15-6 lead in the first quarter, sparked by an 11-2 run. The Hornets hit seven of their first eight shots as Houston could not counter the blazing speed of Hornets guards Chris Paul, J.R. Smith, and Speedy Claxton. The Rockets missed seven of their first ten shots before closing the gap to a 23-27 deficit heading into the second quarter.

In the second quarter, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy played rookie Luther Head for the first time this season, hoping to stifle some of the electricity of the Hornets’ fast break. Head played well, scoring a baseline layup and accumulating two assists as he played point guard for most of his nine minutes on the floor. Houston went on a 10-1 scoring spree during the middle of the second to close to within 44-45 with 2:57 remaining. Houston, fortunately, forged a 52-52 tie heading into intermission, thanks to the play of Yao Ming, Rafer Alston, and Stromile Swift. Yao had an effective first half with 12 points and five rebounds in his 16 minutes, while Alston was the only life of perimeter scoring with 10 points on 4-5 shooting, including hitting both of his attempts from 23’9”. Swift was a source of energy as he entered the game to compile 7 points and four rebounds in his twelve minutes of action.

After a grotesque display of defense in the first half (allowing the Hornets to shoot 52% and score 10 points off the fast break), Houston got back to the defensive stand we’ve been used to seeing from them. The Rockets held New Orleans to only 13 points in the third stanza, as New Orleans/Oklahoma City missed their first 11 field goals and finished with 2-21 shooting overall in the third. Unfortunately, the Rockets were unable to capitalize on the Hornets’ poor offensive efforts, hitting only three of their first 11 shots in the period until a couple of back-to-back late treys from Derek Anderson. Houston was still able to come out on top in the quarter, grasping desperately to a 71-65 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter was easily the worst period of basketball of the young 2005-06 season for the Rockets. Houston was outscored 26-13 for the period as the Hornets closed the game on a 17-2 run after Houston held an eight-point advantage midway through the quarter. Again, Houston’s defense let them down, allowing Hornets forward PJ Brown to score seven consecutive points late, and then inviting the rookie Paul to clinch the game for New Orleans/Oklahoma City off back-to-back teardrop runners with under a minute left in the game. Houston’s shoddy shot selection and inability to get to the foul line (only 5 free throw attempts in the second half after shooting 23 free throws in the first half) proved to be their ultimate undoing and paved the way for a 91-84 Hornets victory.

It was a disgusting, apathetic showing that the Rockets put forth tonight. Never before has such uneasiness been displayed on the defensive end. Opponents are shooting wide-open jumpers, and the Rockets are giving up a plethora of layups and easy inside scores. The rebounding is atrocious, as players refuse to go and get the ball and seem to always expect a teammate to grab it. Houston allowed the Hornets to grab nine offensive boards in the second half, which only meant more shot opportunities for Brown (who finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds, as well as 8-14 shooting) or Paul (15 points on 6-14 shooting, along with 8 assists). Right now, the Rockets’ three main points of concern should be: 1) defensive rebounding, 2) transition defense, and, 3) continuity/stability on the offensive end. The Rockets shot an abysmal 35% from the floor and were only able to put up a mere 26 points in the paint, against a Hornets squad that threw out such notable names as Jackson Vroman, Chris Anderson, and David West at the post positions. Speaking of the lack of inside play, Swift looks like a lost child out on the floor. Aside from looking confused and in complete disarray defensively, he seems to not get a grasp of the offense as well. He’s late setting screens and, apparently, is content to rely on his athleticism and dunking ability opposed to really getting a full understanding of the game. While I said he had an effective first half (and he did), he did absolutely nothing in the second half, grabbing only two rebounds and three or four silly fouls during his seven lifeless minutes on the floor.

As far as positives? Well, there were a few. Alston seemed to provide an offensive spark with his outside shooting (3-4 from downtown) and looks more comfortable game-by-game in running the offense. He’s also a scrappy rebounder for his size (6’3”) and seems to always be around the ball, causing a scrum. Anderson had an impressive all-around game, with 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, and I’m really pleased with his 3-point accuracy. In two games thus far, he’s shot a respectable 5-11 from the land of plenty. Yao was aggressive tonight and stayed out of foul trouble, which means he put up nice numbers. Yao scored 20 points, snared 14 rebounds, and blocked 7 shots. Yet his most significant number of his stat line may have been his 36 minutes played. Unfortunately, he did get exhausted late, and missed (by my count) eight consecutive shots late in the fourth quarter. He finished shooting 8-22 overall from the field. Juwan Howard was his usual veteran self, scoring 11 points and grabbing 8 rebounds. He also was in the middle of a scrum late in the third quarter between him and Hornets guard Desmond Mason. Mason toppled Yao Ming to the floor after getting his shot blocked by Yao, and Howard pushed Mason aside when Mason landed and shoved Yao aside. The altercation resulted in double technicals between Howard and Mason, but nothing more.

The Rockets have three days to straighten up their act and get things under control. They play the Orlando Magic on Tuesday at Toyota Center in the last game of a three-game homestand. However, if adjustments aren’t made, expect the Magic to play as well as the Hornets tonight considering that Orlando, too, is a team based on backcourt speed and transition play. With guard Tracy McGrady out for atleast the next three weeks due to back spasms, Houston must come together quickly to avoid an early meltdown this season.

 

paul silas on nba fastbreak just said mason threw a punch and will definitely hear from the league about it....they both said it wasnt too smart to go after a 7'6'' guy who just cleanly blocked your shot.

 

Yeah I didnt understand why Mason wasnt ejected. We should have gotten some free throws out of that whole mess also.

 

Can someone put up the clip asap please? Thanks a lot....

 

my bros from china and america, i did not even watch the game, but the score says it all, and you know what im looking at it as a good thing, let me tell you something, we know what we got with Yao and Mgrady and the Gundy man, that sonagunner, knows the right spices to add.

 

The Goods...

1) Yao looks good this year. Once again, he was agressive on defense and offense. He moved his feet well (aside for last couple minutes due to fatigue)

2) Luther Head is tough and is good under pressure.

3) Rafer is solid from 3 point land

4) Yao taking shot after shot even though they were not falling. He needs that conditioning. He needs to stop worrying about what his teammates might think about him if he takes all the shots. No one except on the team, except maybe Tmac, should question Yao's field goal attempts.

The bads....

1) Wesley was bad. In fact, I was tempted to make a whole new category "The worst" for him.

2) JVG trying to be loyal to Wesley. At some point he has to realize, he is just not getting it done. JVG, by starting old legs in the game, starts off by creating a whole. Rockets go down early and end up trying to coome back from a hole

3) Stro does not know how to get inside position and keep the guy on his back for rebounds. His fundamentals are just plain wrong in this regard. Most of the rebounds he grabs are solely due to his athletic ability.

4) JVG trying to play Yao 16 mins straight at the end of the game. He mismanaged yao's minutes this game.

5) Drexler claiming Birdman does quiet well in Dunk contests

 

LOL. i love all you guys especially apolostic. remember we have the same team we had last year except for Swift, Anderson, and Alston, who we can dangle at the trade deadline if we want. I know it doesnt seem the polo wearing sandal thing to do, but it's a buisness and they know that.
we're far from a complete team

 

Guys,

Don't get down on Yao, because he just flat out ran out of gas at the end of the game, but I still love the fact that JVG forced him to 'play through it' and test him a bit, I think Yao will be better for it.

IMO, we lost this game from the first few minutes of the game, when the Hornets' players were diving for loose balls and scrambling for offensive boards, while the Rox players looked mushy and lethargic out there up until half time pretty much. The Hornets played with more heart, hustled more, and played hard-nosed defense (excellent defensive effort, almost Rockets-like from last season).

Face it guys, there is just not that big a gap of talent in this league anymore, and even the ''bad teams'' like the Hornets and Bobcats have tons of talented young players, and this trend will continue because of the massive infusion of talent in this league, and that's why the 'contending' teams will be the ones who hustle, defend, are well-coached, and have the best chemistry; in other words, the intangibles.

 

"It's time for the Birdman to fly."
-- Chris Andersen before missing 47 straight dunks in the 2005 Slam Dunk Contest."

 

Boy was he lucky that he didn't get a tech, you could tell that the ref almost blew the whistle, but then changed his mind and just said something to him after making the foul call at the scorers table.

If he had gotten the tech, I was already feeling really bad for what JVG was going to do to Skip. Skip had a nice game and it would have all been washed out in JVG's eyes if he gets a tech for that.

Keep that playful attitude Skip, but tread LIGHTLY around JVG!!!

 

I really like this team alot.

So far though they look like they just haven't 'gotten it together'. I'm sure they will.. no no no.. I'm POSTIVE they will, just give them time and hopefully the hole isn't to deep.

I like the make-up of this team, the chemistry is SORDA their, it is hard to notice. It seems like everyone hasn't adopted JVG's strategy yet and also it seems like each player is trying to get a 'feel' or 'rythm' of their team mate.

When T-Mac comes back it will be huge for us, but imagine this team when we have T-Mac and Sura back with the added chemistry that the team has gained from their absense.. BTW how long until Sura does come-back?? I just can't wait to see a Sura/Barry backcourt Combo for energy following with a Alston/DA~Alston/Head~Head/DA combo.. Oww(yeh lets forget Wesley until he starts using his legs whens he shoots, until then his shot will remain off)

On a closing note, I WONDER what Sura would of done if he was standing next to Mason after that cheap sh/t he pulled on Yao.. Just remember Josh Howard in the Playoffs of last year.

 

Very dissap ointing to lose a game to these hornets especially at home. Very discouraging....they better step it up without now without T-MAC.

 

Not sure if it's been mentioned in this thread, but Clyde is an idiot. Ok, I'm sure THAT has been mentioned in this thread, but the reason I say this is because he was talking about how Nachbar might have a breakout year. He basically said "Nachbar was drafted by the Rockets, bounced around on a couple of teams, but now I think he's really found a home here with the Hornets".

Ok Clyde...what teams did he "bouce around on"?

I'm waiting...

 

Why the NO Hornets to the Oklahoma/NO Hornets of course!

/End sarcasm on Clyde Drexler if he really said that LOL

 

yeah I would've never expected the rockets to lose this game...hope the others key players will step their game up for next game

 

On the replay, Juwan Howard was really backing Yao up. When the Hornets were trying to push Yao around, Juwan was shoving them and telling them to back off.

 

You pretty much nailed it, tigermission1. You guys may think Hornets is a bad team we should kick their butt easily, but in a talented league like NBA, every team has a chance to beat another good team, just depends on who wants a little more and who will play better down the stretch.

Obviously, with TMac out, our guys could not make the adjustment yet. It hurt the team a lot. However, with a few games under their belts, we should be able to overcome it with the talent we have. Then with T-Mac come back, we could be much better, IMO better than Spurs.

 

5 bad games are allowed for the rockets this season. 1 down 4 left. I thought we were going to pull it out, but last 6 minutes were disastrous. The refs were questionable not ejecting Mason. I thought for sure that was flagrant 2. Yao ran out of gas at the end, otherwise his stats were mosterous.