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ClutchFans Game Thread: Pistons @ Rockets 12/12/2007

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Clutch, Dec 11, 2007.

  1. mc-fine

    mc-fine Member

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    Tracy holds the ball too much. Whats the point of coming off a screen just so you can stop and spend the next 6 seconds on the shot clock starring down your man 1 on 1? Everyone stops waiting for him cause he is not looking to pass at that point. He needs to come off the screen and cut right to the basket as he receives the ball. Defense has to help, it opens up shooters, opportunistic lane cuts and gets the offense moving.

    When Yao posts up and kicks out from the double team they need to give it right back to him as the defender rotates. The times when they have done this he gets even better position and its an automatic 2 pts.

    And for ****s sakes can we get some off the ball screens that aren't drawn up plays for Tracy? Its basic pickup basketball. Instead of standing around find the guy on the weak side and set a back pick. Get a couple of picks for the guy cutting around the baseline and when he gets the ball go to the hole.
     
  2. BrooksBall

    BrooksBall Member

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    I think the answer to your first question is that by cutting toward Yao, you are bringing the guard's defender to him.

    More often than not, once Yao has established good position and received an entry pass, the guard wants to stay on the perimeter to give Yao space. If a defender sags toward Yao, then Yao can kick it out to the open guy.

    Occasionally, Luther cuts toward Yao to try to rub off the defender and get an easy layup. I have seen other guards do this too (James and Alston to a lesser extent). I have seen McGrady do it as well.

    This move following an entry pass is an exception to the rule, especially if the guard's defender does not pay attention to him and watches Yao catch the pass. Normally, the defender isn't supposed to do that and is able to stay with the guard or take a swipe at the ball as he passes by Yao.
     
  3. Lumix

    Lumix Member

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    NBA highlights ->

     
  4. vci_guy2003

    vci_guy2003 Member

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    I was wishing we would have lost, b/c we didn't deserve this one.

    That fast break with Bonzi dunking and getting fouled was a perfect example why Bonzi sucks and doesn't give a S&*$ out there most of the time. He decides to play whenever he feels like it.

    This team has flaws, and a trade is MANDATORY.
     
  5. daddy cool

    daddy cool Member

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    We very much so deserved this game and yes we came out on top. You can nitpick all you want but if you are over critical then we must be a good team. If you think we are lottery bound or 1st round a out then you woulnd't have any need to dis your team because you already no what the outcome will be so just go ahead and mail in the stats.



    In the NBA back to backs are apart of the schedule the good teams win back to back games and they beat the flawed teams regardless of playing the last night,So we should have lost to a good team but we didn't because we are a good team ourselves if we just play to out potential and if that is beaten you defensively then that's what we do. We make our free throws we win this game by 15 points. We came out and played hard and competed we just have to be consitent with our efforts.
     
  6. rofflesaurus

    rofflesaurus Member

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    anyone else worried about mike james not playing? adelman has some real cajones to sit james for a whole game.
     
  7. Red1

    Red1 Member

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    I was kind of thinking the same thing after the way Mike showed some heart in the philly debocle in the 4th Q. Then on the other hand i was kind of glad Luther got some PT. Mike would give CB to much room to get his shot off, and Head plays that in your pocket D(granted he gets called alot for reaching) but on a off night for CB i'd rather have him crowded instead of giving him space to get that jumper going.

    Bet Mike see's at least 10-15minutes pt when we play dallas though.
     
  8. deekay209

    deekay209 Member

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    I'm surprised he hasn't said anything yet. Maybe he finally set aside his ego. Highly unlikely though. He himself should be able to see his horrible fg% and do something to fix it.
     
  9. Yetti

    Yetti Member

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    Possibly it could be fixed, at least for starters, if Coach A told him what he needs him to do. The players do not know their roles and there isn't a game plan or report of the scouting of the other teams.
    For starters James best play is going to the basket, why is he taking so many outside shots? :p
     
  10. YallMean

    YallMean Member

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    You know the Pistons are a good defensive team when they defended FT so well.
     
  11. YallMean

    YallMean Member

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    Yahoo's headline, rockets survived the nightmare. We just cant catch a break. This team is funny.
     
  12. JayLau910

    JayLau910 Member

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    I'm thinking that the reason we won is because we played the players that knew their roles ... Last season we reached our maximum potential with the guys we had, knowing what they were to do. And the farthest that got us was an almost 1st round victory. Tonight was a good win and it proved that this team is a half court team. When we slow things down, our defense is set, and ready. Sure the pistons missed some shots, but our defense had to have at least a little something to do with that.

    Everyone will probably note that we won when Rafer came back. Regardless if you love or hate him, Rafer knows what his role is, something that Francis does not. Who's the better player? Francis for sure. But unless Francis can find a role that balances his ability to put the ball in the hoop with pg duties, look for Rafer to stay the starting pg. I mean it doesn't make sense for Francis to try to play like Rafer. He is not.

    Hmm ... I'm not sure if this is right or not ... But it's like the Rockets can take the "lets win right now in the regular season" approach and end up with a decent record and similar standings to last year's playoffs, with possibly (probably) the same result ... or the "we're in this for the long run" route, which will probably look as ugly as an 11-11 record for a good amount of time, but will possibly help us more in the end by developing some of RA's actual offense. Our offense tonight was fine I suppose, but not as good as it can possibly be with Adelman's offense. I'm not sure in all this. The big thing is that it's about balance ... Balancing those 2 routes, balancing offense of RA, defense of JVG, balancing the minutes while making use of the potential we have on this roster, etc. Hmm, who knows? Maybe the type of game we played tonight (slow down, half court, same roster as last year), if played throughout the season could end differently come playoff time.

    I'm confusing myself. Night Rockets fans.
     
  13. kwng

    kwng Member

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    Great win for the rockets. I am pleased to see the team play some defense
    and with intensity.

    However, I am also dead worried about several areas.
    We only score 80pts. We will not win many games with such low score.
    The Pistons shot poorly probably due to our defense but don't expect a lot
    teams or even Piston to shoot so poorly all the time (even when our defense is good).

    We miss tons of shots and what a horrendous FTs performance. Tmac play great and carry us to this win. Yao is still bricking a lot shots that he would made or rarely miss last year (especially fade aways). I wonder anyone knows why?? I have never seen him miss these shots with such large numbers. Tired? Lack of focus? or lack of practise? Only he knows.

    Hayes play well in defense and score a few times too but I just wish he practise more on lay ups and reduce those unbelievable easy 1-2 ft throw up (right under the rim) which misses. Rafer did well also. As long as Rafer %FG is
    decent, he is a good player.
     
  14. ThaBlackKnight

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    A good, tough fought win for the Rockets tonight. It wasn't pretty, but this is how playoff games are won. With solid defense throughout the game, consistant rebounding, low turnovers, and executing on the offensive end, by getting your best players the ball where they can score (Yao in the post and Tmac off of screens). Plus Rafer came back and got our offense under control. Steve Francis can still be a good shooting guard off the bench in short spurts, but he's not a starting point guard for this team. Not sure that his tail bone injury is completely healed either, he's been moving real gingerly ever since the Golden State game.

    I think with McGrady coming off of screens and shooting so well from there, he is adding a new element to his game. His entire career, he's had to create for himself and for others. Now he can FINALLY get easier shots, which will keep him fresh late in games. For those who may not like Adelman as a coach, if yall want to be happy with anything he's done this season, it should be getting McGrady open shots off of screens. Its working great so far, and I hope they use that more and more. His game is dangerous, if he keeps hitting that shot the way he has been. A tall defender won't be able to keep up with Tmac running around, and a smaller defender cant contest his shot and he can still attack against any defender from the elbow as well if the shot isn't there.

    Yao didn't have the best of games, but he didn't play soft for sure. He lived up to his word. Along with 21 hard fought points, he had 13 rebounds, and a couple of blocks, and a dunk over Rasheed Wallace. If his words got to anybody, it got to Tmac, Rick Adelman, and Bonzi. Tmac played aggressive today, looked for his shot. Rick focused on the defensive end, and just let his 2 stars take care of the offense. Bonzi has never been known to be "soft", but he didn't try to lay up the ball in the game last night, he tried to dunk it most of the time.

    Overall, good win for the Rockets. Maybe they'll realize that they HAVE to play good defense to win, and that their offense will come, especially when you have Yao and Tmac on your team and Bonzi coming off the bench.
    Just focus on defense and the wins will come, I can guarantee that.
     
  15. morpheus133

    morpheus133 Member

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    It's pretty obvious they haven't been able to fully grasp the limited offense he has implemented, so adding more wrinkles and options would just confuse things worse. My understanding of Adelman's offense is that it is almost completely based on player decision making, rather than run here, set a pick here, roll to this spot, ect. So for example a player could pick and then roll, or pop, or fake a pick and back door, ect, not based on the play, but what the defense is doing. From there the other players have to know where to rotate to based on what their guy did, rather than having set places to be like most offenses.
     
  16. battousai

    battousai Member

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    I wouldn't give too much credits to our players yet except for Yao and Tmac. This is a great win against the Pistons, however, they were not playing well and playing a second back to back game.

    Both sides were playing ugly.

    positive notes:
    -Yao was playing tough and commanding and leading by example.
    -Tmac, less jumpers and started to attack the basket a bit more often.
    -Head, where have you been? couple of bad decisions, but overall good.
    -Hayes, a bit rust around the rims and his catching is a bit off. great hustle. I think he has given us chances to stay in the game in times.
    -Scola, need to learn to play. better defender than Hayes at time.
    -Battier, stop passing out so much, take some shots. have confidence
    -alston - pls learn how to shoot, when you have open looks.


    This whole team need to practice more and often. they need to follow Yao and come to practice hours before each game.
     
  17. poprocks

    poprocks Member

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    I'm sorry but wasn't this a JVG offenese we just witnessed? A grind it out ugly ball game that Les Alexander complained about? Wasn't this why Adleman was hired? To go uptempo and bring a more exciting brand of basketball to Houston? :rolleyes: Maybe he's going to get there but looks to me that Adleman has figured out that this is what it takes to win. JVG uglyball.
     
  18. northeastfan

    northeastfan Member

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    Unfortunately, it looks like we are more successful at uglyball.
     
  19. Angkor Wat

    Angkor Wat Member

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    Everyone should know by know, DEFENSE wins games. If we had the best offense in the world, but our Defense was ass like in those 2 loses, we would get nowhere. Teams like the Spurs and Pistons are winning championships, not high powered offensive teams like the Warriors, Mavs or Suns. Is it that surprising that since we played better defense than the Pistons, we won?
     
  20. poprocks

    poprocks Member

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    Not suprising at all...but, what's the point of bringing Adlleman in when we had the guru of defense in the house.
     

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