Come on, you can't blame every loss on SF. What about Cat's 2-12 shooting, including a countless number of wide open 3's. I know the max player usually takes all the blame, but he didn't play that bad lastnight: 5-12 shooting, 10 assists, 5 rebounds. I don't believe in that "all the assists were alley-oops" stuff, the fact is that 20+ points were from passes from SF. Tough loss, a collapse in the 4th really hurts, but they're still the Lakers. They have more experience than any team in the league, not making excuses though, tough loss.
ask that someone be traded? i don't think yao's selfish enough to do that. who does that? jason kidd and players obsessed with their power on a team, yao's not like that.
Yea it was though but i dont feel so bad about it just the fact i know our team can hang w/ them gives me enough satisfaction. It still woulda kicked ass if we won! & i kno its not steves falt i mean he was on national tv you know he played good! But im just frustrated becuase we were so close to the win...
They did, and Yao drove to the basket and got hacked by Shaq on the way, but refs didn't call the foul. Yao protested it. it is not that simple. Other teams double team Yao and play dirty. Until refs start treating Yao fairly, he may not get consistent.
By no means am I blaming Yao for the loss, but wasn't it odd how he was involved in nearly every big play at the end? Yao was guarding Luke Walton on the big 3 he hit, guarding Kobe on the 2 that gave the Lakes the lead, missed a hook and a drive (both of which he got hacked on) late in the game, and missed the game winner at the end.
Last night was the first time that the Lakers used double team on Yao, although not on a regular basis. The truth is Yao cannot guard Shaq one on one, and Shaq also cannot guard Yao one on one either.
I was wondering the same thing. Especailly he had to put up arms to defend Kobe's shot. How did that happen? Kobe's Cat's man, why Cat wasnt around Kobe? Also, that 19 foot jumper must not be what JVG drew up.
Steve Francis's quick thinking avoids a T? Did anyone else think that what Steve did during the Lakers game was funny as hell? He jumped toward the ref like he was going to complain then he bent down to act like he was tying his shoe. I've never seen anyone do that in an NBA game or any game for that matter.
That was smart of him. However, I have also seen quite a few incidnets (in different games) where he stopped playing to argue with the ref while no whistle was blown and the game was still in play. And that non-play by him led to an uncontested easy score by the other team. Example: Last night's kickball incident.
Yeah i noticed that too. Damn, it was fun watching the Rox beat up the Lakers for 3 1/2 quarters. Then it went downhill from there. I don't think the Lakers are gonna play one on one with Yao anymore next game, at least I think they should be smart enough not to. Shaq is probably beginning the downslide of his career, and I think the Lakers are gonna double Yao up next time they play.
Believe me, Jerry Buss would jump on it if the Rox offered Yao for Shaq. He has made it clear to the public that Kobe is the future of the Lakers, not Shaq. Yao would be the best center to go with Kobe whose drive and dish to Yao would be the best ever for a center-guard combo. Yeah, I do mean including Magic and Jabbar. This is from a life long Laker fan.
Good lord, Yao isn't going anywhere, and he'll re-sign with Houston. Some Rockets will have new addresses next season, but Yao will finish his career in Houston. All this salivating by Lakers fans cracks me up. I tell you what... we'll trade you Francis and Mobes and filler for Kobe and Payton. Deal?? Isn't that a goofy thing to read? As if the Lakers would do it? Think about it.
A painful loss, but not frustrating to watch. Steve-Cato ally-oop is so awesome! Yao always contributes his best against Shaq. Hopefully he can do it aganist everyone else. Cat missed his shot last night. Otherwise, we should seal the win early. But when Malone is back, it is hard for our defense. Look forward to Apr. 1 re-match. -Littlefish
That's right, we can't blame every loss on SF. In fact, last night's collapse wasn't completely just his fault. Let's make it more of a team effort. Notable problems that I observed were consistent with everyone else's. 1). Rox should've given the ball more to Yao towards the end of the 4th. Let him foul Shaq out!!! 2). The TEAM (not just SF) became too complacent during times of big leads. The constant let the Lakers climb back into the game. Especially in the 3rd. They should've put this one away as soon as possible. 3). Mobes and SF should've both stepped up big last night. They missed a lot of open shots. I know we shouldn't blame this on SF, but the guy is still our "franchise player". He's making the big bucks, so he has got to carry this team. If you can't put the ball down the pipe, then feed it into the big man and let him finish it for you. Don't dribble around forcing toughs shots. 4). They should've let Padgett and Spoon into the game in the 3rd, when the 1st unit got complacent. Let some fresh legs in. That might bring some energy into game. My predictions for the next two game. If we play hard and bounce back from this loss, we COULD have a shot at beating Minnesota. But the chances of that is very slim. On Sunday, we might as well hand the game over to the Mavs and count that as a loss. Let's just face it, with the current roster that we have now, we're NEVER going to beat the Mavs. They'll have our number any day of the week.
