ClutchFans Game Thread: Lakers @ Rockets 4/23/2004 (Playoffs Round 1, Game 3)

Finally!!! Steven A. Smith from ESPN finally giving the Rockets some love.

Smith: "Steve Francis, with a triple double in game 2 and 27pts 9rbs and 7 assists tonight! To win you have to BE the MAN! Steve Francis has been the man. If Steve can keep this up then guess what people......WE HAVE A SERIES!"


WHOOO NOthing like the biggest Rocket hater to give our Stevie some love!!!! And the Rocks!!!

 

Hopefully Cato's injury is not too bad. We need him. His clutch offensive RB was so sweet.

 

If we win Sunday, Yetti should ban himself.

 

Whoa I just watched the recap of Steve Francis on SportsCenter Oh Baby that incredible hook by him keep him forever.

 

ALl the Steve Hatters are going to my ignore list if we do.


Finally!!! Steven A. Smith from ESPN finally giving the Rockets some love!

Smith: "Steve Francis, with a triple double in game 2 and 27pts 9rbs and 7 assists tonight! To win you have to BE the MAN! Steve Francis has been the man. If Steve can keep this up then guess what people......WE HAVE A SERIES!"


WHOOO NOthing like the biggest Rocket hater to give our Stevie some love!!!! And the Rocks!!!

 

what time does NBA fastbreak start on ESPN?

 

Interestingly enough, Yao played 42 minutes tonight. He DID NOT look winded out there for the most part. Yao is going to have to give us big minutes out there for us to win. Yao went one on one on the defensive end much of the game as well. as for stevie, he is getting into a zone, props to the little fella making big plays. he is an athletic beast attacking the middle and absorbing incredible amounts of contact and still nailing the circus shot.

 

The Luxury of Yao

Something that may or may not have been noticed tonight by many amidst the spectacular buckets and emtional crowd: Kobe Bryant got doubled.

Now this may seem like a small thing in and of itself, but it happened quite a few times, and may have been almost as important to the game as any of the gaudier offensive plays.

Kobe is undoubtedly one of the better, more talented players in the league, but I have never put him as high as the T-Macs, Iversons and Carters for one simple reason: He's never had to carry a team for long stretches or in important games. It's one thing to be The Man for a week or two, it's another to face the night in and night out constant grind. Remember the play the other night where Kobe was laughing at Steve because he had two guys behind him waiting to collapse on him? McGrady and Carter face that on most plays almost every night. And it wears you down, and you either have to rely on lesser players, or force shots. Kobe has almost never faced that, and in fact the presence of Shaq has even left Kobe free on a few plays every night, as Big Daddy pretty much demands a double.


Except, now...against us. Other than the odd game against Sabonis, Shaq has forced teams to double him whenever he got near the bucket for years and years. No one has been able to take him one on one and survive for any extended stretches; the odd surprise play, yes, and maybe when he was cold, but never when he got off to as hot a start as he did tonight. I can't remember the last time Shaq came out on fire, a team played him one up for much of the game, and he didn't kill them.

Yao's ability to play him up as often as not, and even more his ability to make Shaq work on D and risk/acquire fouls is something new to this league...and by extension something new to Kobe Bryant. He's not facing the usual: beat your man and get in for a spectacluar play. Tonight he often beat his man to see what T-Mac sees...what Vince sees..the second, and the third guy right there ready to stop him. Result? Forced shots or pass-offs. Exceptionally talented offensive players like Bryant, Iverson, et al should be able to beat one man more often than not, and for most of his career, that's all Kobe's had to do.

Now given time Kobe will probably adjust...and we might not be able to use Yao one on one as much is the Lakers get the calls they usually get. But so long as Yao is in the game in reasonable foul trouble, Kobe will likely face a stepper climb to the basket than he's used to, and that's a luxury no other team in the league has with any regularity.

This series isn't even yet, and it's way too soon to be sqaulking, and Steve and Cat played amazing tonight...but the unseen battle we won tonight happened when the Rockets were able to double Kobe instead of Yao, and if we're gonna win the war, that's going to be as big a part of it as anything.

 

Good points. The doubles on Kobe were very successful. He jacked up a number of BAD shots tonight.



For anyone who missed the game, or wants to watch it again, or even record it now that we know it is a win. IT will be playing on ESPN at 2am CT.

 

Man, the Fakers fans really have their panties in a wad. (apologies, ladies!) They're in real panic mode.
Lakersground.something or other is cryin' and wettin' themselves in fear... bwahhahahahaha!

 

It was a great win for the Rockets!!!!
JVG must like the Mobes and Franchise show, I am surprised.now possibly he is planning to trade Yao Ming?

 

I noticed that as well MacB and when Kobe was double two things occured:
1) Kobe dribbles, crosses over, makes a move to the basket then forces up a fadeaway...usually a miss)
2) Kobe throws a skip pass to either the PG or Malone. The Rockets then would rotate. (and btw, the Rockets rotated extremely well tonight, which was another thing that was lost in the pandamonium. I was very impressed by the lack of open threes the Lakers got)

What I noticed was that on pick and roles and when Kobe was double teamed he almost never passed to Shaq. Shaq would usually stand wide open at the free throw line while Kobe dribbled around and eventually threw a skip pass to the other corner of the court. Why not throw to Shaq at the free throw line and let the big man take it down the lane?

 

I agree. Playoff is big man's game. A perimeter player, no matter how good he is, can be stopped by double-teaming. Malone got lots of open shots when Shaq is doubled. But when Kobe is doubled, his teammates didn't get much more open shots, and they couldn't hit many when they did.

 

Keys to the victory tonight, in descending order of importance:
1) Yao's ability to stay with Shaq one on one most of the time which results in a) doubling of Kobe b) better defense of Parameter (Cato's first quater might also tire Shaq out thus helped Yao)
2) Picks are used better (smarter guards' play)
3) Our Shots are falling due to the above
4) Mostly a controlled game for all - 90% of a team game in the first half, about 50% of a team game in the second (in a way we lucked out in the second)
5) Boki's 2 minutes heroics which earned the momentum we mainted most of the game
.....

The first 5 minutes of second half is hard to watch, but overall a great game. Not only the win, but it's more like a team game.

If we play like this 80% of the time next season. Even with the current roster - we are easily a 50+ win team, But it is a big IF

There are many missed opportunity, but I hope JVG focuses more ont eh positives...Let eh gues enjoy while preparing for the next game.

 

"I hear it every day, all the time, about how Jeff is killing my game," Francis says. "Even players around the league ask, 'Yo, what's up?' But we've only gotten better. If it trashes my reputation as a scorer, so be it. I'm happy that I'm at this point, that I'm on a team still playing for something. 'Playoffs.' It's nice just to say it."

I like this quote.

 

Great game, we won.....my only criticism goes to the fans at the game!!!!! I sat in Section 407, and 80% of the people on that section could care less about the game. They did not get up and they didnt even cheer when we were scoring baskets. It just upsets me that this kind of people go to the game. I yelled my ass of....beat the crap out of the "thunder sticks".....what is wrong with this idiots that cant cheer......if they dont care, then they should just not buy the tickets and let a real fan buy them instead. OHHH, and whats up with the lower level seats!!! There were plenty of emplty seats downstairs......and for the love of something, leave your house early and get to game on time!!!! I also saw people leaving the arena when it was 90-86 and we went to the time-out...how pathetic!! What, trying to beat traffic on a Friday night?? I will be there for game 4, hopefully we will get a better crowd, specially in my section. If you were at the game, please feel free to chime in on your opinions.

 

Sorry about the double post....
The Rockets have, in a sense, won 2 of the 3 games in this series. I think the Rockets know that and I think the Lakers know that. The Rockets have been in control of every single quarter this season, with the exception of 3.
The 4th quarter of game 1 and the second half of game 2.
This team is competing with the Lakers and they are winning, which is a scary combination for the Lakers. I would not be surprised at all if the Rockets take this to game 7...where anything can happen.

 

Yao finally grew a d!ck! and i hope he can continue the intencity in the next two crucial games!

 

I agree with the doubling Kobe comments. Seemed to me that Cato was the primary doubler. Unfortunately that left Malone open, and he hit several open looks.

All is well that ends well.

 

Congratulations, Rockets fans; great win by your team. Hopefully, they'll get at least three more.

Go Rockets (at least three more times)