This is a strange game from the begining.. Yao was doing just fine. But he's benched the whole time??? He's the only player who's making shots (5-9) and he's benched the whole time? We'll see how JVG explains his action after the game, coz reporters WILL ask him the question we want to know... i hope it's something better than "im gonna let the players I reckon deserve to play on court", coz thats just bull****, not happy rite now, coz watever tactic he came up with, the Rox lost just as badly, didnt even get into single digits I'm a JVG fan, but he should be blamed tonight. Defense was awful. Yao just had a monster game and you benched him for ..what ?? Can someone explained to me? What did Yao do that's worst than anyone else on the court?
Yet they had an off-day yesterday. Had we had a similiar set-up, fatigue should not have been a factor. Its the combination that the 2nd game of the back-to-back is the THIRD game in four nights. Had Miami played last night, it would have been even... except for the fact that they were playing at home, where its always easier to get that extra burst of energy.
I think that JVG just gave up on the game and decided to rest Yao for the last 6 minutes of the game. He took Yao out right after he made the dunk off an offensive rebound.
Tonight I really find JVG is quite abnormal. He seems to give up the game so quickly. I don't think he is the guy like this.
This is why I trade Steve for Kobe in a second. Kobe brings it even in the games that aren't televised on national TV. He's also one of the fiercest perimeter defenders in the league. That is the Achilles heel of the Rockets.
Snap back to reality now. We got a problem allright. The problem is what to do when people are determine to keep Yao from getting the ball. I don't think we figure out that one yet. It's no accident that when Yao is only scoring in the teens, Rox have a tough time winning. It's no brainer way to beat the rockets, take Yao out of the game and you got a good shot at beating the Rockets. I don't buy that back to back excuse, good team still would win those games even against the elite team, let along the heats.
Our shooters stink. So if Yao and MoT can't score, we will lose. Even they can score, if we meet good shooting teams, we still lose. No play-off this year.
I'm not any happier about this game than you are. But let's keep things in perspective. We're still 8 games over .500. We're 7-3 in our last 10. We're still on pace to make the playoffs. Yes, theoretically, "every game counts." But saying that this is a "game we couldn't afford to lose" flat-out isn't true. Four hours ago, all the chest-thumping was premature. And now all the doomsaying is also premature. By the way, one of the "good" teams you mention that don't lose these kinds of games, Memphis---they also lost to the Heat. The '03-'04 Rockets are still a work in progress. No, we're not consistent. No, we're not going to rip off a 10 game winning streaks. Yet while this loss stings, it's not the kind of crippling blow that demands a change in direction, managment, or talent. Good teams lose bad games. It happens to everyone. When I take the last 10 games as a whole, I'm pretty damned pleased. (all that said, though, i don't buy the "tired" excuse, and my money says that JVG doesn't, either).
A shamefaced loss! Why did our guard try to bid 3-point competition against Heat? Why did Yao only take 9 shot attempt? Did we lost just because it's a back-to-back and we treated them lightly, so we pay out ...
Just another Good old slap in the face by the heat! But have to give the heat some credit, they have some talented players in Odom, Wade(who's injured) and Butler. Rockets do look very tired. Watch out when these three are all healty. Seriously, Jones + Wade are Top 5 backcourt if they keep it together.
Find me the bookie who has a betting line where the Kings are underdogs. I'll not only bet, I'll also sell him the Brooklyn Bridge and these ten magic beans that let him turn invisible and see through walls.
With zone defense, it is easy to keep the ball out of Yao's hands if he is double teamed basically before the pass is even made. I think most teams are going to play the Rockets from now on by forcing the Rockets to just beat them via open jumpers. Steve is a bricker. Cuttino is good. JJ is a good. However, I'd take my chances with these guys shooting jumpers over Yao taking a shot.
AKA "Skip to my Lou"... check out the AND1 shoes named after him... he played a bit for Golden State I recall...
If Boki played instead of Weatherspoon, we would of won. But that packed zone Miami played was just relentless against Yao, Grant Fronts, Odom on the weakside, and Rafer on top. I just wished Stevie could hit a few jumpers tonight.
just a few minutes going into 2nd half, you knew where it was going. The whole team was exhausted. the rotation of D was terrible, and they took fake shots baits too often and let opponents to either go to FT line or cut under to attack the basket. Besides, Heats had an abnormal shooting night (even that 3/4 court shot went in, although not counted). Maybe JVG decided to resort to 3-pointers to catch up a bit too early in the 4th. But given the lack of D and how heats was shooting the ball, 2-pointers might not be enough at that point. They were playing with no legs, so the best thing to do is to forget about this game. The momentum change really hurt our chance against the Kings though. We need a big game from Yao to win the Kings. He does well against traditional centers, such as Divac and Miller.
