ClutchFans Game Thread: Lakers @ Rockets 12/12/2006

Thoughts on game:

1) Yao should not have been benched in 4Q. I understand JVG's philosophy to some extent, but it's not like Yao is slacking when he's on the court. He's a primary weapon and could get to the line which brings me to my 2nd point...

2) NBA refs really job the Rockets, especially Yao. How many plays were there last night where Yao was blatantly fouled with no call? Meanwhile Kobe gets every ticky tack or borderline call there is.

3) Head should be getting the bulk of the point guard minutes at this point. His 3pt shot really keeps defenses in check and his confidence is at an all time high.

 

If Yao were in the game you would probably not witness the huge comeback, he will slow down the ball movement, he may get a couple of baskets but that is in the cost of the game time, which is precious when we are trying to come back from a big hole. Bench players almost finished with a miracle. Head, JL3, Novak all shot well, whereas if Yao was still in the game, he would still be the primary option. You wouldn't have any chance of the 26-1 run.

 

Let's see. Yao starts the fourth quarter with a turnover, a missed jumper, and getting his shot blocked by Bynum.

At 10:22, JVG puts in the second unit + Chuck Hayes. We proceed to outscore the Lakers 32-6 until Yao reenters the game with 52 seconds left.

Nope, sorry, that doesn't make sense to me.

 

that's cus you're letting numbers cloud your judgment..
makes perfect sense to me

 

This loss was a damn shame- I predicted that our D would win the game, and it would have, and almost did. I agree, Rafer needs some bench time. This isn't one-on-one streetball. Head was awesome.

Bottom line- we should have beaten the Lakers. We're better than them even without TMac.

 

We were getting blown out by nearly 30 points. There is no reason at that point to think Yao would lead us back. At that point, you put in the second unit and call it a night. By luck, they got into a great rhythm and the Lakers let up. We played quicker, and more unpredictable -- the Lakers weren't as prepared for it. Putting Yao on the court in the middle of that run would only disrupt the unbelievable flow we were in.

 

Crap...Would have been nice to win...T-mac creates and that helps, but for most of the season, he's been inconsistent, so we can't blame him...

 

well obviously we didnt slow the game down enough...

if we are indeed a half court team... then we need to play more like one...

we should have been able to dictate... the flow of the game...

 

Fixed it for ya.

 

can anyone tell me what our productivity was when jl3 was on the court for this game? i feel like every moment that he was in, we dominated...

 

check out the game flow at popcornmachine

That will give you a good idea of how the team did when he was on the court.

 

You maybe right...
I remember Chuck Hayes made 1 of 2
Padgett missed both
Then who else missed at the end of that run?

Well anyways...it doesnt matter now...if Padgett and the "other" player (alston or head) would make 2/2 like they are supposed to we would have the lead..thats not even counting Hayes who is not a good FT shooter..but atleast he made one..

Its all a moot point now...but still...they need to shoot FT better...all of them...

 

Silly, pointless edit. Shall I go through all of your posts where you say Yao is the best center in the league and add "in my opinion" to them?

 

Yao is thinking to much out there. When he's got single coverage he's got act quickly instead of waiting for double team to come. He's got to know to know that he's got a higher percentage shot than our guys out on the perimeter. If he's doubled quickly then ya throw it out. Also the rest of team can't just stand around when the double team comes, at least one guy has to run down the middle and get the easy layup. The offense was so stagnent last night until the reserves came in and Yao was out. If there was such thing as robotic style offense, we were witnessing during 1-3 quarter of the game. Im not blaming Yao entirely, but as the leader of the offense he's got to take more control and he just didn't do enought of last night. When McGrady is out he should be taking more than 20 shots and going to the line 10+ times. If there ever a time to be selfish+aggressive it was last night. We shouldn't even have to sweat Hayes or Padgett making free throws at the end of the game to catch up.

 

something needs to be done about Rafer..he is killing us....he jacks up shots with 15 seconds left on the shot clock and can't hit...he had 1 assist last night...1 Freaking assist....2-8 from the field....why can't we bring in Lucas a little more and put head at PG a little...minutes have to be reduced for Rafer...

We need more from Battier on the offensieve end..he has had too many 1-8
2-7 games...everybody here predicted him to give us 13-16 pts a game...he is barely breaking in double digits most games....all the non statistical things he does are great but he need to do some things that do show up in the statistics.....

if they had Odom, I could accept a loss to the lakers but they were withouth Odom and we didnt have TMAC..we were at home..that should be a win for us...we made Walton look like the seccond coming of his dad...how many times does Cook have to nail a 3 pt in our face before we start guarding him..thats the only thing he can do...he did it last year and he did it again yesterday...

They need to bounce back on this road trip....

 

You and I mustve watched a different game. Rockets were getting slaughtered in the 3rd quarter and the beginning of the 4th. And JVG gave up but our bench almost played a miracle out of the Lakers bench. Yes, the final score was close, Alston needs bench time and Head was awesome. But it was no way near "our D would win the game." Our D turned to sieves and Lakers had as many layups as the total points Rockets scored in the 3rd, and that was a real shame.

 

i meant after we cut it to 4.. but i dono what that guy meant.

 

ANY NEWS ON WHEN TMAC COMES "BACK"

 

After we cut it to four, we got ourselves 3 consecutive trips to the foul line. If we just made 4 out of 6, we could have tied it. Frankly, I don't think putting Yao back in at that point would have given us a better chance than that.

 

Why? You saw Phil put his starters back in didn't you?

You saw Pop put his struggling starters back in didn't you?

I know you saw it because it happened on our floor both times.

Like the Spurs bench brought them back, Pop had enough common sense to know just as Phil did that its your starters that FINISH games for you.

Obviously assistant coach hasn't figured that out yet, although it was done to him by two coaches on his floor.