ROCKETMAN03 : I AM A DIE HARD ROCKETS FANS BUT YAO JUST SUCKS AGAINST THE JAZZ B/C THEY READ WHAT YAO IS GOING TO TO........I THINK YAO SHOULD CATCH THE BALL DEEP IN THE POST I MEAN DEEP.....CAUSE HE CANT DRIBBLE WORTH ****.....DONT GET ME WRONG YAO IS GOOD BUT HE HAS TO CHANGE UP HIS GAME PLAN VS JAZZ!
McGrady answered with a 3-pointer and did teammate Dikembe Mutombo's finger wag while backpedaling on defense. The "no, no, no" gesture seemed appropriate because the Jazz could not stop McGrady when they needed to all night. AWESOME!
lakers would take it. unselfish superstar who now is the best scorer + great facilitator if tmac plays like this, lakers will still sell out.
The Rockets looked great tonight against the Jazz. But they have a VERY tough schedule coming up this month. Let's talk about championship contending at the end of November. We've started slow the first 2 games. This is not a good sign. The Spurs, Mavs, Suns will not allow you to come back if you fall back early. Rafer looked decent, but sloppy passes from someone who's strength is ballhandling and running the offense is unacceptable. He also took a VERY bad shot when no one but Jazz players were under the goal...his teammates weren't even passed the half court line. He did make it though.
You are probably right about perimeter help D. Perhaps the answer is to just defend as they do now and simply try to score more than Utah does on the other end. Sloan made an interesting comment after the game, said he thought the Jazz tried to play too much 1 on 1. Even with Boozer having an advantage in quickness, it seems Sloan still thinks of excessive 1 on 1 play is a problem. One issue it caused appears to be turnovers. In any case, this team is a work in progress still, we'll see what happens after a longer period.
i remember that shot! i was like what are you doing!!!! and then it went in, it was a big sigh of relief, since the rockets i think were up only 5 or 6 points and the jazz were making their comeback...
Yeah, but this time (and the previous game against the Lakers), the Rockets faced adversity and prevailed. Let's hope the Rockets ditch slow starts and keep the habbit of finishing in the clutch
Yao was so soft, so weak, and so slow tonight. I don't know what happend but as long as we win I don't care about it.
yea he had almost half our turnovers alone. he will pick it up though, i kinda expected him to struggle against Utah. They defend him pretty well. Thank God for Tmac !!!
I'm guessing what Pops is referring to from the Suns is that the complaining star and aging contract that will hurt the Rockets pockets for a long time is one and the same person, Marion. I'm thinking the complaining star from the Rockets has to be Francis. Maybe Francis + Deke (if he can be traded) + Battier + Rafer + fodder for Marion?
Has anyone else noticed that without Yao chasing gaurds around the perimeter on defense, he has blocked a few shots? Amazing concept of keeping the 7'6" player near the basket. Could he lead the league in blocks?
now do u know why we always fall behind to utah last yr? our starters started slow and our bench was even worse. tmac had to carry us back in the games we won outside of game 1 last yr. this yr, the bench is incredible. even if tmac scored 47 pts, i don't think we'd win if the bench didn't step up like they did. one man can't beat a great team like utah. i just hope francis can eventually get in the rotation to either replace head or alston (james/battier is good enough shooters). but it's always good to get another penetrator and playmaker in there w/ the 2nd unit. james plays REALLY well w/ tmac and yao.
yao's help D is tremendous. yes, not chasing out on the pick and rolls allow him to stay back and survey what the guards are going to do. plus it saves his energy.
yaos t/os have been especially bad. Hopefully its just him getting his rythme and timing back. Maybe he got a little too comfortable in that high post. Or maybe he was trying to do too much against okur. whatever it is, im sick of seeing okur actually play yao well.
