ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Blazers 11/21/2003

Not scoring too much doesn't mean he was "nonexistent". As far as i remember, he blocked one shot, then missed one shot immediately and then draw an offensive foul immediately, not counting those changed shots.

It's just that the guards were choked in the last quarter. Nothing new.

 

apparently you had your head up your ass and didn't watch the game. everyone else on this game thread knows about all the offensive rebounds the blazers were getting. it's sad when posters resort to analyzing someone else's grammar instead of sticking to the topic.

 

Trailblazers Did An Excellent Job with the Quick Double Teams

We failed to make them pay. Instead, many of the late game double-teaming by the Blazers DID result in turnovers or poor FGAs. I wasn't at the game, but perhaps it was a problem of communication on the Rox, or vision by Yao, or spacing. In any event, we should be HAPPY the double-teams are coming, b/c that means some Rock is OPEN! The problem tonite is we couldn't pass the ball out of the double team and swing it to the open man.

One thing I do notice is that Yao should try spinning away from the double as he sees them. If he posts deep, and the double comes, there's no reason why he can't spin baseline and go to his sweet turnaround. Drawing the double team also means we have an extra to come get the offensive rebound if need be. I think with Yao becoming more of the focal point to the Rox offense, both Yao AND his cutters have gotten a little lazy on the pass fakes. Early in the season, we saw more cutters going to the hoop, even if they were decoys, and Yao making more pass fakes. Staying aggressive on offense keeps the defense in check. Tonite, I can't even recall a cutter going to the hoop.

Can you?



theSAGE

 

I knew people would post this kind of crap when I was watching the game, but you cannot guard anyone consistently 1on1 in this league. While Steve is not a great defender, he was beaten at times, but he was caught in PICK several times with no help, it's not entirely his fault. We need better communication, and the help defense needs to jump out at the ball handler in those situation.

Again, you looked at game, didn't watch it. Yao was out of position to help most of those times when other Rockets got beaten. If you watch the game closely, you'd see that Yao didn't have other choice, but tip the ball in those situations. He was out of position, how can he get the ball without tipping? It'd be OVER-THE-BACK foul if he use both hands to grab the ball. Plus, more than a few times, he let Francis, Cato get the board which belonged to him.

I thought Cat played a very good all-around game, except the rebound he tried to take away from Yao. But that was in the heat of the moment, you couldn't control that.

You gain rebounding, lose offense scoring.

I thought JJ did a very good job defensively on Sheed & Zach. Zach was 6/19(?). But he gave up too much size, so you cannot blame him for giving up offensive rebound.

We lost this game because our offense went from guards dribbling ISO to dump-it-toYao-let's-stand-watch. Yao was able to carry the load in the first half, but ran out of gas in the 2nd half. Steve tried very hard to fit JVG style, clearly effected by the post-game comment from JVG two days ago. If he had be able to play his normal self, the Rockets'd have won the game.

I'm dissapointed that we lost the game, Steve didnt' play well. But I was encouraged by the sign that he was trying to fit the coaches' system. I don't know if it's going to work out for him, but I'm glad he was trying out there.


--daoshi

 

Who else is sick of this Franics and Mobley Bashing and all the Yao "cannot do do wrong" Ming. This board is getting to a point where ya cannot even read a single thread anymore. All ya hear is about how Francis is no good, mobley needs to be traded and yao is god. Someone do somthing about it..

 

Taylor is not a rebound machine...that's why JVG used Cato instead. That's why we got killed on the board cuz Taylor are not good at rebounding either. See there a double edge sword advantage here..if he used Cato..to help Ming rebound, then team are just going to leave him and double Yao. IF he uses Taylor, then team are going to kill Houston on the board for 2nd chance shots.

Houston needs someone that can do both. Play offensive (can shoot from 15 feet) and defense (rebounding) as well at the PF position.

 

U r right!
But tell me why could not Kick mobley's ass who sucks in crunch time,and cost us the game!

 

Dude, at least on two occasion, he didn't have teammateon the strong side ready to pass to when he was doubled.

 

It's not Grammar bro.
It's said you don't even make it clear if it's 1-2 or several possetsions or throughout the game when you want to criticize a player. It's sad you have to resort to foul language when yourself, well what can I say, you called that on yourself.

Oh, and FYI, several defensive rebounds Yao was not even in position when helping out the defense. He should rebound better, but you?...

 

OMG I literally have to spell everything out for some of these posters.

OK. On-several-possesions-the-rockets-gave-up-one-or-two-offensive-rebounds-to-the-blazers. Which-means-the-blazers-were-shooting-the-ball-three-to-four-times-every-time-down-the-court. If-you-watched-the-game-you-would-understand-without-me-having-to-spell-it-out-for-you. Everyone-else-understands-the-whole-offensive-rebound-issue-but-not-you-that's-how-I-know-you-didn't-watch-the-game. My-advice-is-pay-the-damn-money-and-get-ESPN-so-I-don't-gotta-do-this-every-time-for-you.

 

michecon,

it's not worth getting so worked up over folks like silentfan. I'm sure it's just a simple misunderstanding where even silentfan is just venting frustration b/c we're all angry and disappointed over the loss. as senior members, we need to set a good precedent for all the other posters on this board.



theSAGE

 

I'm glad someone actually sees something as I do.

 

Yeh, ESPN. I want to actually smash my TV after watching the last several minutes of the game.

 

I am dissappointed in this loss but you have to rebound from this, look ahead and learn from the mistakes...

One positive note. Mo Taylor is getting his rhythm back after returning from suspension and slowly bringing in very needed points off the bench. Hope his progress continues.

On Monday, Pike is scheduled to be activated. He is not a superstar but I do believe that he will make a difference. Today I saw several times where the ball went from inside to Boki (or the ball was rotated off of him) and he took three 3 point shots as a result of those passes and only made 1. With Pike taking his place he actually becomes a threat on the court (unlike Boki who is inconsistent) and he will either make those shots giving the rockets some needed points or create some openings on the inside...both positive factors...Hopefully Pikes return will increase Rockets scoring by about 10 points...I really hope.

Adrian Griffin. I have no idea when he is set to return. Dont expect much scoring out of him but he is a good defender and should help the Rockets out on the defensive end. I dont know who he will come in for though...

Some other comments...About Braggs. He seems like he works hard and trying his best but I ve noticed several times when he goes for wide open layups or dunks he seems to forget to keep the ball in his hands...costing us easy points..needs to work on that if he wants to play..

 

... one other reason we lost:

We have always struggled against a full curt press.

did ya notice that the moment they pressed us, we started choking?

The press forces us to turnovers
kills our clock
takes us out of rhythm
wears us down

We must learn to deal with a full court press. This has been a weekness of ours for years.

-- droxford

 

I agree wholeheartedly droxford, and the answer is that our guards need to ATTACK the press. When then hesitate, they will get trapped. When they attack the press, they can punch a hole through. The other 4 people on the court also need to be cognizant of the press coming and come back to give some help. In the second instance of the press, you saw Yao coming back to receive a pass near midcourt... which is also dangerous b/c of a possible backcourt violation. So, yes, we need to work on this b/c the press really cost us dearly today.




theSAGE

 

I have always been under the impression that the best way to handle a press is to attack, and more: that the team should recognize a press, and, since there are two or three defenders up court, our centers should get in motion. The guards should pass to the centers down court for a quick slam. After getting burned a few times, the defense should stop pressing. Isn't that how it's supposed to work (or something like that)?

(BTW - more evidence: they stopped pressing us in last half of the 4th quarter, and that's when our game picked up again and we cut their lead to 1!)

-- droxford

 

SageHare6,

You are sage. Thanks for posting here tonight otherwise we'd just have 253 unintelligent, bashing posts from people who don't comprehend much about the world of basketball...

Hopefully the rest of the road trip won't end up the same way...if it does i'll join the gang of idiots...

 

Couldn't have said it better myself!

The entire game, I just felt like we were on the defensive. Even after inbounds passes, the Rox just weren't pushing the ball. Yao gets a double, and nobody cuts or helps out! Interestingly, off the AP release, one stat that becomes all the more significant in these low scoring games is our net turnovers. If we aren't going to shoot a high percentage AND we aren't going to get a lot of FGAs in the game, how can we afford to give the other team 12 extra FGAs? Many of which were off turnovers???

Some people may hate me for saying this, but I DO think that bringing MoT back in, despite his having a good game, might have been disruptive to our offense. MoT will get upwards of 6 FGAs per game, and here, shot selection and shot attempts becomes an allocation issue.



theSAGE

 

Didn't see this posted and didn't realize it was this much of deal...

Pothead Brawl

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=231121022

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Even with a hard fought victory, the Portland Trail Blazers can't shake controversy.

In a game that ended in a scuffle with Portland forward Rasheed Wallace holding back Cuttino Mobley, the Trail Blazers rallied in the second half to beat the Rockets 85-78.

Zach Randolph had 21 points and eight rebounds for the Blazers, who upped their record to 7-1 at home. Damon Stoudamire had 23 points and seven assists.

The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Rockets, who were led by Yao Ming's 21 points and nine rebounds.

After the game Mobley was angrily shouting at Portland bench, but Wallace held him back at midcourt. Other players were also seen yelling at each other.

When asked what the disagreement was about, Houston guard Steve Francis said: "Ask the kid who plays over there for Portland."

Francis would not elaborate, but his comments appeared to be directed at second-year forward Qyntel Woods.

"There were some words at the free throw lines between Francis and Qyntel, but it was just trash-talking," Blazers guard Jeff McInnis said "That's basketball, you know?"

Said Mobley: "At the end of the game, I didn't see anything and I have nothing with Qyntel Woods." He wouldn't talk further.

The Blazers, who trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half, led by as many as 10 points in the fourth quarter.

The Rockets narrowed it to 73-72 on Maurice Taylor's jumper. Stoudamire responded with a 3-pointer. The Rockets kept it close until Stoudamire's jumper with 2:33 left made it 78-74, and McInnis added an unanswered 3-pointer to put it out of Houston's reach.

The Blazers shot just 34.1 percent from the floor.

"We played a great first quarter and a very poor last three. You held a team on the road to 34 percent, you should win the game," Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "But we had eight or nine more turnovers, gave up 17 second shots, and fouled recklessly so they shoot 11 more free throws.

"You're going to lose. That is a recipe for a road loss."

Blazers guard Bonzi Wells was serving the second game of a two-game team suspension after he cursed at coach Maurice Cheeks during Portland's 105-98 loss to Dallas on Monday.

Wells was fined by the team earlier in the season for making an obscene gesture toward a fan.

The suspension forced Cheeks to be creative with his on-court matchups, especially with guard Derek Anderson -- who started last year -- still on the injured list with back spasms.

Portland didn't initially have an answer for Yao, who had 10 points in the first quarter alone. The Rockets used a 10-3 run to take a 27-16 lead, capped by Maurice Taylor's dunk.

Houston led by as many as 13 points, but the Blazers closed in midway through the second quarter on Stoudamire's personal 7-0 run. His 18-foot jumper made it 30-25, and a 3-pointer further narrowed the gap before a running jumper with 6:13 left in the half tied it at 30.

The Blazers outscored the Rockets 26-12 in the second quarter and went into the break with a 42-39 advantage.

The Blazers built their lead to 53-47 on McInnis' jumper midway through the third quarter.



Now I saw Francis, but didn't see Mobley. Looked like Francis pushed McInnis; fine or suspension???


And some more...

Game Notes: The Trail Blazers waived forward Tracy Murray, who averaged 1.1 points per game ... Anna Kournikova, in town for a Superset Tennis exhibition Saturday, attended the game. Kournikova will play a set against Amanda Coetzer at the Rose Garden as an added attraction to the eight-man, one-set sudden-death exhibition event. ... Portland was 3-1 in the series against Houston last season. ... Yao has seven double-doubles this season.