the thing that was disappointing was yao tmac stro didnt play much together and howard couldnt finish anything around the basket
rafer is not getting enough praise in this thread. he controlled the flow of the offense really well. he had some really nice passes to yao and others. plus he hit a couple of wide open threes. stro swift was not as bad considering that he came off the bench. he had a nasty dunk even with brad miller trying to foul him!
I seem to remember the ball slipping out of Yao's hands alot on fast breaks in the past, i.e. last year. I've noticed Rafer tends to bounce pass Yao on the break, so the ball is coming upward to him, instead of throwing it high, and Yao seems to handle it better...
That's another thing. I don't remember Yao bobbling any passes. He usually has at least one of those a game. I'm excited for him. Yao looks really sharp out there.
Did you watch the same game, at least regarding to Yao? Yao got most of his fouls on offensive charges but was very solid on the defensive end.
god i hate sportscenter minimal rockets coverage, even less Yao highlights. they keep hyping how many 3's Lebron made.
Agreed. Swift looked lost half the time, and on that inbounds pass where Van Gundy told him "Stro, Dive Block" in order to set the screen for Skip to get open, Stro still looked clueless, not knowing where to go. His low post game and mid-range jumpshot were unimpressive as well. His work on the offensive glass was encouraging however. I'm chalking this up to it being his first game and he's still trying to fit in. I also think he'd be more effective playing along side of Yao, that should earn him at least 2 dunks a game when his defender leaves to double or help on Yao. He'll have to work hard to crack the starting lineup. As for TMac, he played gutsy tonight. I sure hope that his knees get completely healthy in the next few weeks.
He did have that post-up where he was backing up as he was trying to catch the ball instead of moving towards the pass. That allowed the defender to come around the side and tip it out of bounds. Other than that, he was pretty spotless tonight. Looks like this will be the year for Yao to get 20 and 10. And from the look of him tonight, it'll be his improved offensive rebounding that gets him into those double digits.
Very true. That charge they called on Peja where Barry leaned to his right to get the contact was terrible. I remember getting that crap called on me in high school. You make a move to get around the stationary defensive player and then he leans into you and flops. I hate it.
Better not. If TC fans get any fatter, they will stand up cheering even less. I watched several games tonight, and I noticed Rox's power dancers are most meaty ones among those I saw on TV. They need to go on diet.
Is that what that was? I thought the earpiece Van gundy gave him to guide him through all those complicated defensive sets was malfunctioning.
Kings without that pivot Webber used to provide are clueless. Peja and Bbby, oh boy, were way off. Tough season for the kings. I just dont understand how Brad Miller could get so many open Js. He pretty much missed all the contended ones. Dont leave him open. The guy made living out of kocking down open jump shots. It's a good win nevertherless. Now I only wish Yao quit taking those charges. Foul hard, big fella!
