ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Clippers 11/26/2007

why are people worry that we rely on tmac and yao TOO much?

it's a BAD thing if we rely on tmac to do the scoring AND playmaking where he has to constantly fight the traps and double teams.

but the last 2 games his job has just to score, which is a GREAT thing. the same way MJ was used to just score, kobe to just score... u let the great scorers score => they're not going to get fatigued that easily b/c they only have a single responsibility on the court.

hopefully yao can get more touches and his job will just be to score primarily offensively. that will further alleviate tmac's scoring load and thus makes both guys' job easier.

we WANT them to score. we just dont want them to score AND create plays for others.

 

All the players do need to learn the system,but Yao needs to get free when he is being fronted or double/triple teamed.I wonder why Rick doesn't use Scola in the high post as a passer.He can shoot the ball from midrange when he gets open looks.I feel Yao's passing ability is average at best,kind of mechanical and telegraphed. Yao could benefit from passes from Bonzi and maybe Battier on the low block and of course from T-Mac's penetration and dishing off abilities. Steve might be able to help him out too.
Yao needs to score in order to get more confident.

 

Unfortunately T-Mac is the best playmaker on the team which really exhausts him.

 

because they either run out of gas come playoffs or the two of them are not enough for the playoffs

 

Dear ralphabetsoup, Sorry to burst your fantasy bubble! Steve Francis was extremely poor at passing into Yao Ming and many times even refused to pass the ball to him when he was calling for it. All this is of course in the past and we all hope that the more mature Steve Franchise will make up for his first stint with the Houston Rockets.

 

Steve has done a great job so far in passing the ball to Yao and making good decisions in general. Much better than in the past. Granted he has very limited play time so only time will tell if that is something he can maintain. He needs to get some extra shooting in though, so far he is 0-6 from 3 and shooting a worse % than Rafer from the field.

 

I cant stand some of the ppl on this forum.

Rafer had a great game last except his last couple shots. We've gotta give him some credit instead of keeping bashing him.

And what do you expect Yao to do when double team is coming, dribble off the double team? Those guy were much smaller and quicker than Yao. I am sure you dont wanna see a turnover from Yao, so why not give the ball to other teamates. Basketball is a team game plus Rafer was shooting really well at that time.

A win is a win. Stop being so strict on everything. Mavs, suns, jazz and spurs all lost tonight, so what more are you expecting.

ps i like clippers' announcers. They made the game more enjoyable.

 

yeah rafer played a good game last night we kept yelling at him during his post game interview.

man yao missed a lot of ones he normally makes

lol my friend sent me this you can see me right next to deke's head!

 

Ugly game! Sadly, Yao is losing confidence.

 

Yao isn't losing confidence and Yao had touches last night he just missed too many point blank shots and he wasn't agressive, he had great low post position all night he just didn't finish and he wasn't looking to score. He should have been stronger with the double teams but he wasn't looking to score he was quick to pass the ball out or he would just pass it out when the double team didn't come.He looked like a player who was being unselfish to a fault

 

I don't think that is 'unselfish'. He is losing confidence. Let's face it! As a leader, he should shoot the ball when his teammates keep missing. I think Yao needs help. Someone needs to talk to him.

 

It's unforetunate, but it looks like RA has a love affair with Rafer "I wanna shoot my teardrop" Alston just like JVG did.

Is Rafer the best option we have out of SF, MJ and Brooks? I don't think so. IMO Alston will not get us out of the second round.

 

Exactly how did you come to the conclusion that Yao "is losing confidence" with his shots?

 

Yao just had an off night. I thought he'd play pretty well, because he looked really pumped, early. Just never really got it going. Kaman deserves some credit, but Yao should kill this guy. Maybe he was just pressing. The big guy was missing shots that are usually money.

Hey! Is anyone still wondering if Luis Scola can rebound?

 

The sad thing is, the acquisition of Mike James and Luis Scola (in addition to the resurrection of Bonzi James) was supposed to alleviate this issue. Instead , after our first 7 games it has reverted back to the old ways of Yao and Tmac doing everything.

On a different, unrelated (well almost) note, did anyone else remember during the Miami game the announcer brought up the fact that during the Jazz playoff series, Tmac accounted for all the Rockets' possession points but 7? Just wanted to bring that fact up......even though its kinda late now........

 

Kaman had the hot hand in the first half but he reverted back to his usual self in the second half. I posted in the game thread that if Kaman was going to take one third of Clips' shots, I would let him. He is not going to beat us by himself.

Yes, I think Scola is going to be a major force for us in the very near future. The guy is relentless and loves to get physical.

 

They showed you a couple times on the FSN broadcast.

 

Kaman has for sure improved from years past. His moves are smooth now and not stiff as it was before. There is a reason why he's averaging 18 pts and 13 rebounds per game. He did a good job scoring 1 on 1-- particularly when his jumpers were falling early and Yao had to give him room due to his quickness. Kaman struggled, however, when Adelman started to send help defense (or stunt him with fake help defense).. The help defenders really caused him to struggle.


Yao, on the other hand, had a bad shooting night. His overall effort wasn't bad, though. He rebounded some and played solid team defense. Also should be noted is the aggressive double team he faced all night-- even in the 4th qtr when he was going through a very cold spell. Dunleavy just determined that Yao wasn't going to be the one to beat the Clips. Fortunately, TMac and Rafer had good shooting nights and the Rockets defense locked down the Clips in the 4th (boy, that was bad for the Clips... even their local TV crew called it terrible).

 

I live in L.A. I think the Clipper annoucers, Ralph Lawler and Mike Smith were among the best in the league. They are really funny, especailly Lawler, "me-on-my". Well, they have to be entertainning announcing the Clipper game, right?

 

That was then... I agree, SF and Cat used to pretend they didn't see Yao, or 'He's covered' when they still could have throw it in to him; it was their team then, though.

Now Steve knows that it's one of his main jobs is to get it to Yao, and he has plenty of experience doing so, if only in practices past...