ClutchFans Game Thread: Knicks @ Rockets 1/21/2004

At least two of Mobley's assists were to Yao didn't catch the entire game only bits and pices of the end.

 

Bring on Pacers!

 

But MoT only play well coming off bench. Let him be the 30-minute bench player.

 

Like I said before, it doesn't take a great passer to get this offense going. A 41 year old point guard who was passed over by every NBA except for the Rockets makes himself look like John Stockton on this roster. He might even lob a pass to Yao. Mark Jackson is going the right thing. Make sure he gets the ball to Yao when and where he wants it. Mark Jackson wants a contract after the season.

 

I don't know who said something about Steve's boneheaded shots. And should they count as turnover's. Put yourself in Steve's shoes. Althought once in a while he makes a true bonehead shot. He's the one that other Rockets players pass the ball too when the shot clock is low. So he has to create on his own. Anyways, im glad we brought in an experienced veteran. Im sure Stevie will learn more basketball fundamentals. Let's not forget he's really out of position. Like Bill Walton mentioned tonight. Steve should play at the 2.

 

This would be the shortest line-up in the league which is weak in defense and rebound.

 

How does Mark Jackson put spin on that pass? I've never seen that done before.

 

Yes. Mobley passes to Yao. Sometimes.

The problem isn't that he always ignores him. The problem is that he ignores an open Yao in the low block to, instead, dribble aimlessly, then jack up turn-around, fadeaway shots with a hand in his face.

If he never passed to Yao, nobody would defend him. Everyone on this board except for perhaps 2 people would be calling for Mobley's head.

 

Well, I still want a replacement for EG via trade or free-agent. I just don't like Cato playing 4. Never will...like him off the bench though.


But if you really want...

MJ
SF
JJ
Cato
YM....

...that's fine for now. Maybe later we can get a real PF that has some resemblance of an offensive game. I'd hate to get rid of Cato. I'd miss his defense. But still..

 

Rockets need a true PG and they do need to move Steve to the 2. That being said, Steve shouldn't be traded and I'm still a big fan of his. He's still the heart and soul of this team. I'm glad Yao had a big game but truthfully it was against the undersized weak Knicks who were single covering him almost all night, but I do think the passing game had a lot to do with the open looks he was receiving tonight, mainly from Mark Jackson. The ball just seemed to land soft in our teammates hands without it going 100 mph. Moving Steve to the 2 and getting a bigger true PG that could play a consistent 35+ minutes a game would be great.

Still yet again, we need to get Yao atleast 15 FGA a game. We're 7-1 now since Clutch last updated that stat? Actually it was after the Boston game he posted that and I believe during the T-Wolves and Wizards game he had atleast 15 FGA. So make that 9-1 with Yao getting atleast 15 FGA a game. He not only dominated on the offensive end but defensively as well, which may not show on the stat line but the moment he started clogging up the paint the Knicks went back to settling for jumpers, and when they did drive in the lane he altered so many shots it was ridiculous.

 

He doesn't get credit for the shot clock being low when he gets the ball at 20 seconds... and then dribbles it down all the way. As he did frequently, as always.

I still think Steve is a better player than he was 2 years ago. But his progress is so damned slow, it's ridiculous. And he still has yet to learn that he has to do what's most efficient, not best for his stats or flashy.

 

Next time he plays, watch the way that he holds the ball. He's got a nice touch on the ball tha allows him to get those passes over/around people. He also knows how to setup people to converge on him, before he passes.

He's also got long arms for a 6'2" guy, which helps greatly. Similar to Bobby Jackson, although Bobby Jackson has huge hands for PG.

Oh, one thing you will sense about the way that Mark Jackson controls the ball... He just makes you feel (as a fan) that the ball is under control at all times; that it's protected.

It's very hard for a defender to make him turn the ball over. Even under heavy pressure. It's more likey that the defener will receive a foul for their effort. Heh..

He's also one of best POST-UP PG I've seen. That's why he likes to back people down when he comes up the court. It's a nice way to protect the ball. He's just good at it.

 

Well, how much of Yao getting 15+ attempts is him being single covered, without much pressure? He still needs to work on getting himself open enough on a double team to recieve the ball. Actually, I'm not sure that's the best course of action, either, because he doesn't seem to pass out of the double team particularly well at this point in time.

And Yao's defense was good down the stretch, but much more important, in my opinion, was the incredible pressure we put on Marbury in the 2nd quarter. He didn't play very well under duress.

 

opponents are not going to let him open down low, so we better start practice force feeding him. Use his length and height. He caught a few passes in traffic tonight and only turned the ball over once.

 

Everytime Bill Walton came to a Rockets game, he had a Yao-gasm! And that's why he just loves to come to Houston.

 

He doesn't always need the ball down low even when he is being double teamed. Run the PnR around the high post and have him take a few 15-18 foot jumpers. Nobody can block them and it's not like anybody can block his field of view. I'm not saying they need to neglect his post up game, but being stubborn and keeping him on the low block all the time is ridiculous. Having him hit a few mid range jumpers would open up the paint because then they'd have to respect his perimeter jumper, and once they do, he can start slashing in the lane while in single coverage. It's the same idea about relying on our guards to make their perimeter buckets to open up the paint for Yao, except that Yao actually shoots a better % from the midrange jumper then any of our guards. Sad but true, and that's not a knock on any of our guards play, it's just that Steve has been shooting poor all season long, Cat's been the most consistent shooter but he does force tough fadeaway jumpers sometimes that aren't wise, and JJ is a streak shooter. He'll get hot for a few games and get cold for a few games. If Yao hitting a few midrange jumpers will give him time to go single coverage in the low post, then that's exactly what we'd want anyways. Best of all it opens up the offense for everybody and puts points on the board.

 

that's a good question. if jvg feels they are explicitly ignoring his direction and hurting the team, the bench is his best friend. if they make some bad decisions and force things maybe when they shouldn't, but don't seem to be explicitly ignoring yao, yell at them like hell on the sidelines. bench them after that. however, i rarely see them not give yao his due when he gets position like he did tonight. tonight was ideal. non pressure D on yao, easy post feeds all night, and yao got the ball all night when he was in there.


as for the assertion the offense was better with mj, that might be true when you look at the stark contrast b/t our brickfest to start the fourth and the return of ming and taylor's stroke when mj came in (though he did have a nice feed to yao for that one jumper on the pnr). but overall, we had 70 points with 2 minutes to go in the 3rd with steve having played nearly every minute of the game til that point. mj came in and put up about 14 point in 7 minutes while he was in. better than the start of the 4th, but no anything better than the overall game.

 

Unfortunately that leaves room for the anti-SF only fans such as yourself to gloat.

 

SF was a major reason we were even in the game towards the end of the first hlf, and beginning of the second half

 

Oh please, peopl were calling for Mobley's head BEFORE this theory that he ignores Yao popped up. Besides, the guy is a shooting guard, it's not his job to set up Yao Ming, it's the PG's job. And moving the ball around to get the ball to Yao. And how can Mobley pass to Yao sometimes but always ignore him!?