ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Grizzlies 1/19/2004

You must really hate Steve because even though at the time Steve's 3pt attempt was questionable but it was a good look and unlike a lot of other players Steve isn't scared to draw some contact and finish strong. Offensive rebounding and not hustling enough loss us this game. A very tough loss but a great game, We'll rebound from this loss though.

 

No, I think he should tell it to you instead. Because you clearly refuse to accept your own ignorance.

 

It's not about that. It's about automatically thinking that Kerr ment harm.

He did not.

 

No, I will tell it to you...

...just as long as you keep defending the use of the term. But I am beginning to believe you don't even know what you are talking about.

I really like how you argue your point, someone counters, then you backtrack and act exasperated, hiding behind the posts in between. Read your posts and the ones that answer your's and you have nowhere to go.

Honestly, do you believe in what you say or are you just trying to antagonize? I believe the latter... so, with that, my last post to you on this topic.

Stuart

 

What game??

Yao got bullied most of the night by Pao and the four dwarfs.....that's what game

D R

 

Breakdown of tonights game.

Cato: The Rockets had a poor start with Cato in the game tonight. Gasol went around him at will and had a number of easy shots. The moment MoT checked in, for some reason he really kept Gasol out of the game atleast in a half court pace. I think it was the fact that MoT was beating Gasol for position and getting charges called against Gasol and made him scared to go inside. MoT had a reverse role as a defensive stopper whereas Cato was a liability out there on the court tonight. The moment he stepped out, the Rockets made their run and caught up from their deficit or increased their lead as high as 8 points early in the 4th. JVG's was outcoached by being stubborn and starting Cato in the 2nd half and letting Memphis build a lead against the Rockets instead of MoT who was actually containing Gasol.

JJ & Mobley: JJ and Mobley had 3 bad quarters of missed jumpers, bad turnovers, and poor defense. Often times the Grizzlies would take advantage of their backcourts height on Mobley and post them up against him. The result was atleast 10 points in easy low post scoring. JJ totally missed his assignment on Mike Miller who was on fire tonight. He often times provided help defense on Jason Williams when Francis was defending him well. J-Will would dish to Miller for wide open looks that even Cato could make. JJ also failed to find Miller in the open court during fastbreak opportunities. The one quarter both JJ and Mobley played well was the 3rd quarter where they were raining 3s. However in the 4th they both made costly turnovers and forced bad shot attempts that eventually contributed to the teams loss.

Francis: Francis played well throughout the whole game, with the exception of the final two minutes of the 4th where he took some bad jumpers, and one acrobatic drive in the lane where he was trying to induce a foul call that was never whistled, and hasn't been called all season. He played with heart, hustle, and controlled the game though when he was out there on the court and had one of his most complete games of the season. Despite what his assists numbers say, he controlled the game well and played under control throughout most of the game, which makes it even more dissapointing that we lost.

Yao: Yao wasn't getting his touches tonight in the 2nd half, where it could be argued that it was because of Memphis defense, or our teams lack of effort to get the ball into him. He was essentially eliminated throughout the game because of the smaller quicker players Brown was playing out there. I personally find that argument ludicrous though because as much of a mismatch as it might be for the Grizzlies, it was even more of a mismatch in favor of the Rockets. The same type of fronting defense the Grizzlies played, we absolutely ripped apart in Boston against the Celts. I know the Rockets could of made a better effort in getting Yao involved to provide more balance in our offense. The fact of the matter is, the one quarter we were hot from the perimeter we got a lead, but relying on making difficult perimeter buckets alone for 4 quarter is not a smart brand of basketball. It's not our style. We're not the Supersonics or the Bucks. We need to bust teams up inside, plain and simple.

The turning points in tonights game:

The start of the 1st and 3rd quarters where Cato was on the floor. Memphis picked up a good lead that forced us to play from behind from almost the get go.

The most important turning point in tonights game was JVG subbing Francis out in the 4th when we had an 8 point lead, while Yao was out there on the bench. At the time our lineup out there was Wilks, Mobley, Padgett, JJ, and MoT. Everyone looked confused out there on offense and defense. The Grizzlies went on a 7-0 run in what felt like under a minute due to consecutive bad shots and turnovers from Mobley, and one unconfident shot attempt from Padgett where he had an open 3 but opted for a 20 footer that he just didn't look confident in taking the moment it left his hands. By the time Francis who was absolutely orchestrating the game beautifull up until that point checked in, the momentum swung immediately in the Grizzlies favor and they never looked back.

Some bad defensive switches that left Posey open and some long rebounds that just seemed to fall in the Grizzlies hands late in the 4th prevented any shot of a Rocket comeback. Couple that with the homer calls from the refs and it was stacked against the Rockets from the start.

Frustrating loss, but it'll be interesting to see how the Rockets react coming home on Wednesday against the Knicks. Knicks have been hot lately, and the Rockets are coming off an upsetting loss. Will they move on and focus on the next game with the motivation to make a statement game that the Grizzlies game was not their best brand of basketball, or will they get caught in a pissing duel and revert back to their old ways. I certainly don't hope for the latter.

 

I don't know how one can get a good position by your standard. To me, Yao got pretty good positions all night if they can lob a pass to him. He loses his position because of 3-second concern.

 

What a game! Man. Something needs to be done with this horrible offense. Yao CANNOT be the focus if he isn't strong enough to get the ball consistently. Thats why our offense sucks when Yao is denied continuously, we're basically having to run broken plays almost every attempt. Can't we find a way to have Yao shoot a few more jumpers?

 

No. Because I know better. I know that people will aways take it the wrong way (always pointing fingers).

I defend Kerr because he meant no harm.

That's the difference.

 

I just don't understand why you are so angry at people pointing out Kerr's ignorance on national TV?

 

Yao is best used against players who play with their back against the basket. This dribble drive with the big men is much harder to defend with a lumbering big man.

 

GASOL was guarded by our PF's, not Yao... and he took advantage. He only scored a couple of baskets on Yao, but that was when Yao had to rotate over.

We need to get Padgett some more pt. He has more quickness than Cato, and can stretch the defense all the way out to the 3.

Yao was aggressive tonight. He was ready to throw it down when he got the chance, although that wasn't many. The Memphis D did a good job. But what baffles me is that MJackson didn't enter the game to direct the offense when the Rox O looked confused.

 

You must not have seen the game.

 

Good point, JVG needs to watch how San Antonio or the Lakers do when Shaq or Duncan gets surrounded before they get the ball.

 

Did you watch the game? Yao played pretty good D tonight, and he was not involved in offense because they didn't try hard to get the ball to him.

 

Even if yao sealed his man for a lob, that kind of a slow pass would still require some kind of explosion which yao does not have, to reach the ball before a james posey on the weakside can come and simply rip it from his bobbling hands

 

Charvo, I agree. I don't think too many teams have a big man skilled enough to use this strategy. Yao drew a charge against Lorenzon Wright in the 4th when they tried to iso Yao.

 

deleted by Administrator

 

You are dead wrong.