ClutchFans Game Thread: Magic @ Rockets 11/08/2003

I admit we have awsome guards! They play great together , they are one of the best combos in the NBA. This is there 5th. Season together, if we dont make the playoffs it might be their last.

 

You can't blame the guards for the pass. I recalled there were only a couple bad passes. One was made good by Yao while he was falling. He didn't shoot well as I said because of his hesitation. He was debating whether passing it out. He was debating what move or shot he should made. As another friend said here, he is slow to make move because of his hesitation. I really think he was in the process of changing his game. He fumbled the ball (due to poor anticipation and thinking) a couple of times.

Without doubt, he made a lot of good pass. The three assists were not for nothing. Mobley made a wide-open trey from a pass out by Yao when Yao was surrounded by four Magic in the paint.

He made a couple of blind drop pass to Boki, who didn't make the roll in go.

Mind you, there were also many good passes from Francis (and some from JJ / Boki as well). The whole team played well in general.

 

Good point but first of all, some fans are really just Yao fans. Some fans pull for Yao because of, and only because of his race or nationality.

There are some that just start watching basketball b/c of Yao so their lack of knowledge of the game result in "you know what".

And lastly, some Yao-only fans while very supportive of Yao understand that basketball is a team sport and put the team before Yao. These are the good "Yao-only" fans.

 

Yes, I agree with you completely with one exception. I felt we did win with our inside-out game. Our lead came in the first half when we dumped the ball inside almost every play whether it was Yao, Cato or Braggs there. Most of the time, the ball was passed several time back out to a wide open perimeter shot.

In the second half, yes there was much less inside-out game and more penetration. But in the second half, the win had been sealed.

 

i don't wanna be rude or anything, but i recall some people saying that mobley and francis don't go together.. after this game, have they proved your guys wrong?
i think they're a good combo, along with yao and jackson

 

Edit to add-- I'm assuming a couple of FTs are tossed in for good measure. My math isn't that bad.

 

Hi Yetti, I understand your frustration. I did not watch the game, but 18 attemps were not bad. I guess Yao was just being agressive. The problem might be he was not used to that and sometimes got confused. A WIN is a win is a win. I would take it anyday.

Yao might need the guards performance and wins to gradually being the man. Just be patient and have some faith in JVG. By the playoffs everybody should be on the right track and hopefully make big noise then.

A contender this year? why not!

 

Juwan Howard and Steven Hunter had both hands firmly planted in Yao's back all game long. The refs didnt even give them a single token foul like they do for people guarding Shaq. Despite this fact, Yao still should have made the majority of his shots. He didnt really take ones that he hasnt made hundreds of times in the past. He missed several one foot hook shots, and missed layups when he should have dunked. The missed dunk was ridiculous. I think Yao was trying to slam it through extra hard because of his frustration.

On one play, Braggs hit Yao with a perfect pass, but it hit him in the chest and fumbled it away. However, I'm glad Yao stayed with it. He concentrated on offensive rebounding and scored a couple baskets late in the game. The T was great and i applauded it. He was just tired of missing his shots and getting fouled by much smaller players without any calls. The shot he made while falling down was classic!

 

About Yao, he got no love from the refs tonight. He was run into once when he got an offensive rebound, and put the shot up and in as he went to the floor. No foul.
3 defenders swarmed Yao when he was attempting an offensive putback at the rim, TMac bopped him in the chops from his blind side, and the his arms where getting banged from the other defenders. He bobbled the ball, a foul was called, he regained control of the ball, and out of frustration, swung an elbow (not serious, but it got some attention) and was called for the T.
He was getting bumped often, and should have gotten some foul calls. He didn't, so he got frustrated.
He had a bad shooting night, true, and didn't seem to have his game today. It happens. Maybe he was trying too hard, since our power forward stock is low at the moment. He did have a good number of shots.
Steve and Cat picked up the slack, a great game overall, and a good team effort!

 

Yes, Yao was pushed hard the whole game without getting a foul call. On the other hand, that normally did not stop his shots. It was interesting in the fourth quarter, he backed out from the paint (push) and waiting for the guard's shot or penetration with a rush in to get the rebound and put back.

 

Exactly. I forgot to mention that one point as well-Yao's defenders were pushing with both hands.
I agree with what Bill Worrel said about the officiating. He said "I'm not overly fond of this crew to begin with...." or something very close to that effect.

 

Yao just needs to get used to 20 shots a game, then his shooting percent will go up.

 

I just knew that Yao was going to get pissed toward the end of the game.

 

I liked Calvin's statement after the Technical...
Something to this effect..." that's allright Yao, get you a couple of T's. Make the league behave, I got your back!......Way back...."

 

I'm not sure if the TV cameras caught it, but did anyone else see juwan howard shaking his finger at Yao? The only problem with the taunt was that he did it AFTER Yao had turned his back to him. Juwan, such a tough guy.

 

The game was awesome....crowd very energetic..could you hear on TV? lol...we really wanted those BIG MACS>...everyone was booing when Steve just dribbled out near halfcourt. And the crowd erupted...cheered for Yao when he glared at Howard haha...nice nice I loved it. And then technical...T-Mac wasn't that great. Yao wasn't that great either but we still love him! Great game Rockets! Francis and Mobley were awesome...amazing...made all open shots.

Our dynamic white guys are great! They are smart...they can shoot..and they can pass. Wonderful role players! Nachbar and Padgett and Piatkowsk baby!

Moochie still sucked.

 

Steve and Cat played great. Braggs played like he really wants a long term contract. As for Yao, seriously, somebody's gotta find him a herbal suplement or something. We're not used to seeing him shooting this bad. Good game though.

 

Anyone else notice that Yao was getting absolutly ABUSED when he got the ball?

Hunter had 2 hands in his back pushing him every time.....THAT IS A FOUL !!

I don't understand why JVG was not pointing it out each and every time.

No way Yao shoots 6-18 if the fouls were called...he should have been on the Free Throw line all night.

DD

 

Yetti's sarcasm to try to deflect and pre-empt criticism of Yao's performance in this game is a natural reaction from someone who has been so critical of the guards and demanding more shots for Yao: Yetti doesn't want to answer the obvious observation of "Well, Yao finally DID get a lot of shots tonight but look what a lousy job he did with them." My advice to Yetti is: don't be so defensive. You end up looking petty, because in trying to deflect criticism from Yao and Yao-fans, you turn around and implicitly criticize Francis' and Mobley's terrific contributions to a solid Rockets win. You diminish whether you're really a Rockets fan, and you diminish Yao, because he certainly shouldn't feel defensive or apologetic in the least about his game tonight. It's OK for Yao to "fail" occasionally; this is in fact great for him. Yao needs to WANT the ball, and to want the RESPONSIBILITY that comes with it, and to NOT BE AFRAID TO FAIL. Similar to the way Stevie shook off an 0-fer first-half in NJ to come back and lead us to victory down the stretch on Tuesday, tonight although Yao didn't exactly "lead us to victory," neither did he simply disappear when his shots weren't going down. He continued asking for the ball, continued shooting, continued working the glass, and did his part in a big win. Just as important as Yao continuing to ask for the ball when he was shooting poorly is the fact that his teammates also continued to GIVE him the ball despite his poor shooting: they didn't freeze him out for having a bad shooting night. Of course on many possessions certain other players looked for their own shots (as well they should if those players have hot hands), but I thought the Rockets did a very good job of sticking to inside-out play even though the big man was struggling with his shot. All in all, tonight was a good solid win over a team we should beat, in which we basically had total control from tip-off to the final horn, and I believe (and hope) that we will keep seeing JVG's system taking firm hold in our players' attitudes, and we will also continue to witness Yao's evolution into someone willing to shoulder the burden of being the team's option #1 (or 1A). Let's face it, if Yao averages 18 shots a game this season, he'll average hitting 9 or 10 of them and thus easily score over 20 ppg, so the fact that he hit only 6 tonight is no cause for concern. What we should all hope for is that he'll come right back the next game and shoot 18 times again, and the game after that, ad infinitum. If that happens, then easy victories like tonight will be commonplace for this team, and we can look forward to really making some noise in the playoffs. GO ROX!

 

What? No Yao Ming vs. Shawn Kemp finger nail of doom rematch?


Yao should have bit off Kemp's ear