ClutchFans Game Thread: Mavericks @ Rockets 3/6/2005

r u serious? Clippers fans probably would have somethign to say about that

 

Yao did have a bad 3rd quarter in the 8 minutes he played for some reason, but he was fine in the first half, controled the boards and that's one of the reason Rockets were up by 9 at half gime.

Again, how come it's only Yao's fault when nobody could hit a shot at the beginning of the 3rd quarter and Dallas suddenly got hot from outside? He was a part of the reaon, but not the only reason.

 

This is a game we should have won by that margin anyway, but props to T-Mac for his overall brilliant game, and to the team for a great defensive effort.
I dont know why everyone is so down on Yao... I thought he played ok. He gotta watch it with the moving picks and make his move faster but overall, not bad. He was aggressive on the boards and held on to rebounds, and he was scoring well as usual except for a few jump hook attempts.
Again, the refs screwed him, but what else is new? The 3 second violation when he was in the paint for 2 seconds, the Bradley elbow from behind turned Yao turnover, the uppercut to the face after Yao's dunk without a call.
Its great that we won, but in the long run, Yao has to be way more aggressive and his teammates have to give him more touches.

 

This is what I don't understand. When Yao had a stretch of good games, fans here call those sports wirters idiots for overly criticizing Yao, but now they do the same thing here.

 

No kidding!

I actually thought Yao played decent today. He was aggresive on the boards, especially in the 1st half. He had 3-4 shots rim out on him. To me, he looked as if he was trying too hard leading to some turnovers.

It's just like the two things both the studio and play-by-play guys stated today...

1) 18/8 is very good and that is exactly what Yao is right now. Very good.

2) He has exceeded all expectations and came in with alot of hype that now everyone is looking only for things he does wrong instead of excepting the player he is and the abundance of positives he also brings to the table.

 

After today's game I'm convinced that this is T-Mac's team and Yao's role is to figure out how to complement T-Mac. Unlike last year when the team was in a state of flux about whether it was Yao's or Franic's team we have one focus now.

Considering how well the team played with Yao on the bench it looks like this team could stand not having Yao as long as Mutumbo plays with vigor and provides a strong post defensive presence. Without T-Mac though I'm not sure where we would be. And I'm saying this as one who was a bit leery of the trade.

Before people jump down my throat as a Yao hater I'm not advocating trading Yao or not giving him the max contract. Only that this is what I'm seeing as how things are shaping up.

For Yao this might be a good thing because it allows him to continue to grow without the pressure of being the focus of the team. As I said before Yao is Yao and even though this is his third season he's gone through two coaches and a major revamp of teammates. In many ways he's still learning and adjusting.

In my heart I believe he will one day be an excellent and consistent player and this might be the opportunity to do it without all of the burdens of expectations on him.

 

Maybe its because Yao's talented but superfrustrating to root for ass to do better if we want to keep the 6th spot (which could literally be the difference from a 1st round exit to advancing to the Western conference finals). I thought he showed signs of life today though.

 

To be honest, I donot think "some fans" are smarter than sportwriters.

 

Are you calling Yao an ass?

Careful lest you end up kissing one like Chuck.

 

Since The Mavs didn't have their two top players, my pre-game predication cannot be valid

Does anyone think Yao is playing worse than last season? He passed out twice near the basket when guarded by Bradley, one of those passes caused a TO. How can you be an all-star when you couldn't even score on Bradley?!

I'm still believe Yao can be a much better player, especially coming playoff time. But I'm losing more and more confidence now. It's just really frustrating to watch him making those dump mistakes over and over again.!

 

With this win today that means we are 2-2 with Dallas, 2-1 with San Antonio and 2-1 with Memphis in our division. That's pretty good!

When was the last time we beat Dallas and San Antonio at least 2 times in a season? I bet a WHILE!

It was an ugly win, but we'll take it.

We are going to need a much better effort if we are going to beat Seattle on Tuesday.

 

I'm sick of people dissing Yao even after a blow out win.

We all should give credits to everyone hustling and playing great D. I personally enjoyed this game very much. That's the way basketball is supposed to be played.

Yao played well. He is part of good rockets defense in the 1st half. Even made a really nifty passed inside after faking to shoot and hit Barry right by the 3 point line and Barry burried the 3 pointer. (Kind of like Jason Kidd's no look pass). Yao did his part not a really dominating game from him but solid contribution to the win. Not as spectacular as Deke's block or hard fought battle on the board, but solid contribution.

Even when he's not scoring a lot, the attention he got which freed up everyone else. Also he set really good picks to free up a lot of good open looks for teammates. Yao did all the little things that his numbers are not gonna show, every team would want selfless guy like Yao on the team.

 

It's like when somebody says that somebody is shooting really well therefore he shouldn't shoot anymore in order to keep his percentage high. Some folks just aren't logical.

 

choujie knows it all......asks him

 

What is a chalatant

 

People keep saying the teams plays better without Yao. Why the hell do we want to keep him? He should have a longer flu or something, so you guys can see with your own eyes how great this team could be without Yao's distraction. Yeah, he's dragging the team down. Or you can imagine with just a tiny little logic. Without Yao, we have Wesley and Barry and Deke plus JH and Tracy. In other words, last years' Orlando Magic plus Wesley, Barry and 20 mins Deke would be upgraded from bottom of eastern conference to the 6th place in the western. What's your conclusion? Orlando was such a fool, they should have just got Wesley and Barry, all of a sudden they would be contenders. Let's just give Wesley and Barry Max contract, end of the story. People who cannot be satisfied are annoying and frustrating. I don't want to deal with any of those kind of people in real life.

 

You should have figured it out long long time ago. It was never yao's team. it was Francis' team last two years, and Tmac's team this year. yao shot average 12 shots consistantly, so it was never, is not, will never be his team, if he has 12 shots a game. So quit kidding yourself, you don't need to figure it out. It's a fact.

 

GREAT WIN... TAKE THAT DALLAS The only thing I didnt like was Les letting Mark Cuban sit in our house, I CANT STAND THAT GUY!!!

 

It is not a matter of pro-Ming vs. anti-Ming. We are all for him doing well. Surely no one gets joy from dissing him, we would all get joy from him doing well. I only saw a part of the second half and he looked listless. I am glad to hear that he had a good first half.

Since the All Star break Ming has looked lethargic as JVG was quoted in the media as saying. This is obvious, not an evil plot to diss Ming.

If I can read body language, and maybe I can't, but I would say he looks very comfortable on the bench. I would not be surprised that he was offered the rest of the season off, he would be overjoyed. He just looks tired and apathetic. He looks like he wants to be somewhere else. There are only brief flashes of energy or interest.

Frankly, I don't think anything can motivate him right now. Obviously he knows what is being said about him; I would be furious and want to prove them wrong. I don't think he cares. Is it mental, physical, or what? Only he knows for sure. Could all my observations be wrong, of course! But they could be true.

Yes, I am excited about the win. I would have rather it been with Dirk and Finley in the game, but a win is a win. I am still looking for that break out game from Ming. I am still looking for him to get into the game in a big way. Because that is the real key to the Rocket's future this year.

The "you're a hater, no I am not a hater" discussion is largely meaningless, but carry on if you wish.

 

Why do you guys keep hating on Yao?

He played all right. Not impressive by any means, but he didn't suck like some of you suggest.