ClutchFans Game Thread: Lakers @ Rockets 2/11/2004

steve and cat played under control today...yao played outstanding. This really bosted his confidence, him speaking english on the interview really showed his confidence, i think it was the first time he did it w/o collin.

 

from yahoo recap:

``He made the shots, but he got the whistle, too,'' O'Neal said. ``He's a big guy and has a soft touch. I don't think he'll ever be able to play me one-on-one, ever, ever, ever. We let this one slip away. They played with a lot of effort. We just made mistakes.''

 

by the way... 19 freethrow attempts by shaq and 11 by yao.

 

Hmmm, No trade? That's Francies we have been dreamed for. If he playe like this every ame, His max salary should be doubled.
Mobley belong to all star if he played like this every game. Like clutch said, it may be the smartest game both gurads ever played in their NBA life.

As Yao, For last two game, the team defend him one on one, Duncan or Oneal, Top guys, Could not stop him. Next thing to study is how to attack double team and front defender. I do not thin it's big issue, as long as his teamate hit open shot, let other team do it.

No trade. no trade, please francies, do it again and again, You will win the rings with Yao not very longer

 

Yao got the whistle? Shaq should have been fouled out when he bumped into a Mo who was in a perfect position. Like Walton said, "If that was not an offensive foul, I don't what is an offensive foul."

 

Cat's awesome, Steve's great and Yao's not far behind.

If Steve can play like this...he does not need to be voted in the AS game.

He is probably top 15 guards. top 5 if he plays like this.

How do we let Steve know playing like this elevates his all-star status?

 

Yao's crazy!

Also kudos for Cat! His 3 points,his D, his assists...

Wow My fave Cat...

 

Typical Shaq. Full of himself.

 

What I noticed in the 4th quarter was that the Rockets would run the same play over and over and over...Francis at the top Jackson starts at the low block and cuts out to the wing, Francis passes to Jackson Yao flashes to the low block, Jackson give Yao the ball. Yao pulls of amazing move on Shaq = basket or foul...EVERY TIME. incredible and even more incredible was that Francis and Mobley were willing to defer to Yao.
Big turning point for Houston.

 

hehe
all of nba fans's forum is takling about :

how yao is killing shaq,shaq retire.etc....
enjoy it

Ilove yao steve and cat,
Ilove rockets,

 

" one onn one?" It's not tennis, it's not box,no one on one. It's team game, five to five. Except musle, you also need IQ. Sorry, shark. All shark's 6 fouls were so obvious, office no way not wistle . He still said somethin like this, garbage, NO class. No wonder fans selected Yao over him, even his basket statistics much better than Yao.

 

" one onn one?" It's not tennis, it's not boxer,no one on one. It's team game, five to five. Except musle, you also need IQ. Sorry, shark. All shark's 6 fouls were so obvious, office no way not wistled them . He still said somethin like this, garbage, NO class. No wonder fans selected Yao over him, even his basket statistics much better than Yao. Fan is smarter.

 

Totally agree.
When yao shoot>20
Steve asist>6,and pass well
Cat shoot well
Rockets wins.

 

f**k Shaq and f**k the lakers!!!
on national TV shaq had the chance to prove he still owned the lane, and what happened??
Yao is the future and Shaq will soon be the past.
Deep down inside I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that Shack is worried to face the Rockets in the playoffs. And he better be, Yao will know how to handle Shaq fool come April and May.
to bad your acting or rapping career didn't work out Shucks, Yao will be the true beacon of light for the world ala Hakeem Abdul.
You'll be a footnote in the history of the world game.
This is not a Yao only post. I'm proud to be a die-hard ROCKETS fan. and I feel lucky as hell to have the Rockets beat the 3 time champs so thoroughly.
Take PRIDE in your team.
in the words of ROCKET man Number One "never under estimate the heart of a champion".

GOOOOOO RRRRROCKETSSS!!!!!!!!!

 

gotta love the Yahoo report on the game....

Cat isn't even mentioned

 

The Rockets do well in playing the 'get the ball to Yao' game when Yao isn't double and tripple teamed before the entry pass. The Lakers felt Shaq could guard Yao, alright and didn't swamp him prior to the pass. Thus nobody had trouble getting Yao the ball, Yao didn't have trouble getting his shot off, and the team looked great.

When teams don't have a dominant center they work hard to deny Yao the ball, and a large part of the offensive system is gone. Thus the team doesn't look anywhere near as smoothe. The more confidence the opposing team has in covering Yao with their center 1 on 1 the better it will be for Yao and the Rockets.

That's also a reason why we need Steve Francis or a viable other 'star'. When teams do deny Yao the ball we need somebody else who can really carry the load. It doesn't have to be Francis, but it does have to be somebody who is a legitimate threat to other teams.

I think Francis is willing to try and get Yao the ball, and adapt his game, but he eventually his shot will have to come back also. Tonight was a great start towards that. I hope his shooting is here to stay. If that's the case, I would love for all the trade Francis talk to cease.

 

Franchise...

Partly right...what we need is a PG who is capable of beating that fronting defense with correctly timed passes.

The reason we match up well with the Lakers is they don't double or front Yao making it easy to get him the ball.

Teams that double or front him, expose our weakness....passing.

DD

 

Best Rox game I have seen this season or even last season!

Its nice to finally have a night with Yao, Cat and even SF3 all playing well together.. can anyone remember the last time? usually Yao struggles and SF plays well or vice versa!

Im really happy with this win and I think if we can cut down on turnovers we can be legit title contenders. *this starts with Yao inside but good passing and protecting the ball play as big a role.

Wow! im still in shock! if the Rox can maintain this level of play we will be champions!

J

 

Actually, I think that the post entry denial is going to become less successful.

1. Yao is already better at getting position. I think he'll improve further.

2. We'll get better post entry passers. There are already some players on the team who can get the ball to Yao while being fronted, etc, a good bit of the time. But some don't even try, because it'd be an automatic turnover.

It's funny: I never appreciated Robert Horry until recently, as I've learned how difficult it is to get the ball to the post in a zone defense. Odd speciality skill...

 

Another problem with the fronting defense, is the ZONE that teams play along with it.

Its not just the simple solution of having a guy who can "lob it in there perfectly." We're having trouble because the other team's PF is camping out in the lane to "back up" the fronter, and thus a lob pass becomes quite tough.

If there was no zone, the fronting defense would easily be broken (thus, you NEVER saw Hakeem get fronted... and when you did, he easily made guys pay).

I think, the key is having the right SPACING, and making sure you have either Jim or Cat (whoever is "feeling" it more) on that opposite baseline, ready for a wide-open three. This will happen when you have Mo-T as your PF (the defender will have to respect, and won't cheat over), and they'll be leaving the three point shooter to help the fronter.

Its complicated, but it can be done... of course, Yao could just use his awesome strength, and large lower body, and properly seal guys off, and make them PAY!