ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Bobcats 12/18/2004

Sun12, i followed your link and I noticed that the lowest average number of PFs/season that Shaq had was when he was in LA under Phil Jackson. Coincidence? I think not. Having a coach that will stick up for your guys when they're getting mugged or cheated goes a long way. Even though the refs might pretend like it doesn't affect them, you can be darned sure that the thought of a coach ripping them specifically to the media after biased officiating is in the back of their heads when they see someone drive on Shaq.

Like I said, JVG will most likely never do that for his guys. He says that his players need to work harder and that the key to everything is for them to 'work harder.' Well how about working for your players AS WELL JVG? Take a fine or whatever the penalty is. Be a man and stick up for your guys. Otherwise, don't ask of them what you won't do yourself.

 

Rocket River, I noticed those too, especially in that spurs game a little while ago. Against such a good defensive team like the spurs, the number of shots in good position that Yao got thanks to Barret really stood out. A ton of dunks that game.

 

Good observations. Good points. Good post. Except for the last part which I don't agree with. I feel very confident they do have a trade pending that cannot be done unitl a certain date due to a certain amount of time that must pass between a players signing date and the day he can be legally traded.

 

I sure hope you are right. Even if we dont trade for a PF, we still could use a SF/PG that can shoot the 3.

 

Well, didn't see the game, but looking at the box-score......is van gundy gonna let T-mac shoot 30 times and Yao take less than 10 shots!!! even Jackson has more shots! this is not orlando? or is it? Why doesn't van gundy tell Yao to shoot more!!!!

Let's face it...Tmac is like Kobe and he doesn't understand that if Yao, Sura, or anyone else takes some shots, the season is over!

 

I think Yao doesn't get as many touches as he should due to being offensive foul prone. It's not his fault, the ref's have anti-fair call glasses on.

 

yao 26 minutes.

tmac still plays pretty unselfish.

 

Good post. We just don't have any consistency at all, I just don't think things can get much better without change. Whether its a coaching change or player change, something has to give.

There is just no excuse
Loss vs. Hawks, blew an 11-point lead in the 4th
Loss vs. Knicks, blew an 11-point lead in the 4th
Loss vs. Bobcats, blew an 11-point lead in the 4th.

 

http://www.khou.com/sports/stories/khou041218_jt_rockets.237529b3.html

Bobcats nip Rockets in OT, 101-100

01:34 AM CST on Sunday, December 19, 2004


CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Charlotte Bobcats never wavered in their desire to build their franchise around Emeka Okafor. The rookie is proving they made the right choice.

Okafor had 23 points and 17 rebounds, his 12th consecutive double-double, to lead the expansion Bobcats to their first winning streak with a 101-100 overtime victory against the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.

Okafor sent the game into overtime with a dunk over Dikembe Mutombo with 3 seconds left in regulation, then helped Charlotte win its second straight game by battling for a loose ball late in the extra period that sent him to the sideline with a bloody nose.

"Emeka Okafor is a definite star in the making in this league," Houston's Tracy McGrady said.

Clinging to a 98-97 lead, Okafor missed twice on a pair of putback attempts that Charlotte was certain he was fouled on. The Bobcats argued as the Rockets pushed the ball up the court, but Okafor stayed with the play.

Jim Jackson missed a 3 for the Rockets, Mutombo got the rebound and missed on a jumper and Okafor scrambled for the ball. He took an elbow to the nose as the ball bounced out of bounds, but teammate Gerald Wallace was fouled by Bob Sura to go to the line.

Wallace made one free throw for a 99-97 lead with 19 seconds to play and Okafor out getting his nose plugged. He returned as McGrady missed for Houston.

Jamal Sampson was fouled and made both free throws to put Charlotte up 101-97 with 3 seconds to play, a large enough margin to make McGrady's 3-pointer at the buzzer meaningless.

Okafor, the NBA Rookie of the Month for November, has scored in double figures in points and rebounds 16 times this season.

But afterward, he was mostly in awe of Houston's Yao Ming, who had 16 points and 19 rebounds against Okafor before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

"He is so tall," Okafor said. "You see him on TV, and you have no idea. Then I got up against him and I was like `Dang!' I have no idea how to stop him."

But once Yao went out, Okafor only had Mutombo to deal with and did just fine.

He tied it at 92 with a turnaround jumper over Mutombo with 28 seconds left in regulation, and after McGrady hit a 20-foot jumper that put Houston up 94-92 with 7 seconds to play, Okafor didn't back down. Brevin Knight fired the ball inside, and Okafor jammed it in over Mutombo to tie it with 3 seconds left.

"He hustled," Mutombo said of Okafor. "That's been part of his game since college, trying to go after any loose ball. He did a great job ... I give him all the credit for their win."

Keith Bogans finished with 19 points for Charlotte, Wallace had 15, and Sampson had 11 rebounds for the Bobcats, who won their fifth consecutive game at the Charlotte Coliseum.

McGrady scored 29 for the Rockets, who blew an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter. Houston had 23 turnovers -- 18 were Charlotte steals -- and was outrebounded 53-43.

"We lost the game on turnovers and bad fouls in the fourth quarter," Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "I'm very disappointed in the way we played."

 

I wish

 

I hope that you are right. I'm losing a little patience after hearing all the trade talk but none of them materializes. To me this season will decide whether CD needs to go along with JVG. We are bleeding, and there's no bandaid.

 

After the VC deal any trede with the Rox is not going to happen, Toronto has a very strong hand to deal, with players and draft picks from the VC deal along with the possibility of trading Jalen or Donyell, they can put together a number of attractive packages to get some quality players now or build for the future. CD and the Rox on the other hand are between a rock and a hard place with bad contracts and not a lot of assets to trade.

 

I am very disappointed in the way you communicate with the referees. You failed badly in a basic duty as a head coach.

 

I can't understand what the f**k you are talking about. Do you talk like you write, with a lisp. Try to put as much effort into your writing as you do with your zealous one sided biased anti Rox/Yao posts.

 

Wow! All of this anger, animosity, back-biting and name calling is starting to remind me of...last year. It's a good thing that we have the next Kobe-Shaq duo onboard else things could start getting really ugly around here...

 

I think this was the turning point in the game. Its easy to try to blame this game on the refs, they were fouling us left and right, and calling some fouls on us that should have not been called, but a good team should play thru that.

Mo came out with some intensity then ended up handing them all the free throws they could shoot in the 4th quarter.

Yao got the ball quite a bit, he wasnt able to shoot it alot which is why its not reflected in his stats. Look at his TO's that should have been 6 more shot attempts. Ill agree with some of you, if he were not fouled like he was he would have not has as many turn overs and would have had more shooting opportunities, but thats not what happened. I would still like to see him with the ball more, even with him turning the ball over more, his % is higher than others and the shots will fall or he will get to the line (sooner or later). I think his main problem right now is that he has no respect from anyone in the league except the rockets players. The refs dont respect him, the other player dont respect him, thats why he gets treated the way he does. I say take Yao to the 5th ward for about 6 hours and let him play some ball down there, toughen him up, teach him to throw a couple elbows, and see how much respect he starts getting in the games.

The bobcats did a good job of playing the game, they applied pressure to Yao, got him in trouble, kept him in trouble, never laid off. At that point all they had to worry about was T-Mac, and they did a pretty good job of holding him back. Everyone saying he took too many shots, i agree, but who else would you want taking them? Lou? Mo? Howard? maybe JJ, but thats about it, Sura wasnt have a big offensive night, no one stepped up. 9-30 shooting sucks, but i think the main problem was his poor shot selection, and the fact that the bobcats could double team him without worrying about anyone else.

JVG should have been all over the refs, i dont think he knows what do to, hes not used to having a losing record, and cant really motivate his team. I like that hes realizing that he needs to speed up the game, and i hope he doesnt let this one loss change his mind and start playing the half court game.

No one can say it enough, we need a PG and a PF. Anyone that can shoot the ball consistantly, or get others involved.

Lets not let this one loss get us down, play thru it, and get ready for the Cats again next week.

 

That's if he can get out alive.

 

Many of you say Yao is soft, but I think TMac is even softer. Don't you forget how Yao played against Shaq? Don't you forget how TMac was abused by Kobe last year?

 

Those fouls on Mo at the beginning of the 4th quarter had the same bias towards them as the fouls on Yao. Lue started it off by getting a couple of fouls, then Mo, and then the refs really laid into Yao as if he was the ref's #1 enemy.

ZONE DEFENSE ON THE ROAD

Why is JVG using the exact same defense on the road against crappy jumpshooting teams as the teams can shoot the jumper well?

Yao needs to practice his jumper to prevent letting defenders from hammering him without any penalty.

Home and road games are officiated so differently in the NBA. If the NFL went to this policy, it would reduce that league down to comedy act too.

 

Rox has one of the softest core in the league, and Yao is not
the only reason. See how many fouls Kobe draws? Tmac feels
in love with his so-so jumper, and let us live and die with that.
The problem is that he only gets hot every five games.