ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Lakers 10/30/2007

Yao looked terrible at the elbow. He was killing them whenever he went into the low post. Hey Rick, you have a low post monster, try not to turn him into Brad Miller.

 

Great post

 

It was a decent game. I see great things this year. They just need to work through small problems but overll we are gonna win the championship dammit!

 

Rafer is definitely not Adelman's player. When Rafer was in, the offense was a mess (when yao at the high post) or a JVG type (Yao back to the low post while everyone else standing around except TMAC shooting prayers).

If Steve Francis does not have confidence to beat out Rafer in this system, he is officially a loser. His image on TV last night was a disappointment.


Positive:

Bonzi and James are reliable and productive bench players whenever you put them in. They are perfict fit for Adelman's system. Our bench is on par with all other elite teams for the first time.

 

Things to notice

1. Our best lineup on the floor is James/Wells/T-Mac/Battier/Yao, In the 3rd quarter with these players we outscored the Lakers 27 to 19.

2. Bench production was great, we outscored them 21 to 11 with James and Bonzi contributing from the bench.

3. Rafer Alston should not handle the ball in crucial posessions. T-Mac is our best ball handler and we need to get the ball to him in late game situations.

4. Learn to beat the trap. I know our guards will get ripped by Adelman today when they go over the tape. But seriously they should know better than that. Any time a teams traps you then push the ball down the middle or to the post. Don't just stand there like a sitting duck. Throw the ball to Yao in the post or have someone cut to the basket for the easy layup. Keep moving the ball.

 

Let's see, The Rockets won, the Lakers lost, Kobe got booed, and Houston leaves LA 1-0.

 

I was thinking about is up with mike james missing all his free throw attempts.. I think that is why RA left in alston at the end.. I thought Mike james was good at free throws.. He needs to spend some time in the gym working on that..

 

He's a career 80%. He just had an off-night. Happens to everyone.

 

Did anyone notice that Tmac seems to do a better job defending Kobe one-on-one?
I think people underate his defense a lot, but what I've noticed a lot is that Tmac usually guards the opponent's best player in clutch time.

 

I dont know why you all think steve needs to eat up rafer's minutes. He has a bad shooting night but only attempts 6 shots. He gets 7 rebs and 8 assists and that's not good enough. He's never gonna be a good shooting point guard and neither is francis. At least rafer's not gonna dribble the ball out and throw a bad pass to a teammate not expecting it with 4 secs on the clock. He's the starting point guard and steve's laying on the floor for a reason. Get over the fact that he's not the player he was 4 years ago when we were a LOSING team.

Another thing that pisses me off is anyone at the rockets looking at kobe's direction and getting a foul called on them. WTF 27 FREE THROWS? And the other team only gets 31? Freaking rediculous. Im gonna hate to see our games vs the cavs and heat. The rockets didnt collapse last night, they just didnt want to be around kobe because they knew it was an automatic foul. Did anyone else see that last play before the buzzerbeater where noone wanted to stand in his way to the basket? The lakers just need to send him to the east so like DWade and LeBron, we can only see the fouling circus 2 times a year instead of 4. And it looks like the refs are at it again this year with yao. How many dunks is this guy gonna have to throw down before they realize he's not clumsy and if he drops a ball, he's being hacked like crazy.

 

Yeah its not that TMac can't play D, he'd just rather focus on offense.

 

Just watched the highlights on nba.com. On the game winner, was Shane's right foot out of bounds for a moment right before he stepped into the pass from T-Mac? That would make it a little bit sweeter, to know we got away with one.

 

wow...I just watched it too. He was def standin out of bounds. lol

 

hated james without rafer.
loved bonzi period.
The rockets looked like they were telegraphing every pick and roll, and pass in general, and many forced passes in traffic. They just weren't familiar enough with the system yet. It's going to be scary if they can start firing those split second passes to cutters like Sac. used to do.

Oh, and rafer's still the starter, and will be that way come May.

 

I think Bonzi tries to use his shoot a little bit too much. He can make it but I think he should go inside more often. But I still like his game

 

ssshh.

I thought Tmac made wrong pass on that play. Look at Yao, he was wide open in the middle, with Farma closet to him. Had Tmac passed to Yao, it would have been and 1 dunk. I hope RA pointed it out. We cant always rely on miracle shot all the time.

 

T-Mac is probably as great as Battier. He can play d. Really

 

Scola got rookie treatment, expected.

But Kobe driving into Yao, Yao hands up standing straight, and Yao was called foul. Maybe he was inside the circle, but still that was stupid. What is Yao supposed to do? NBA should change rule, that type of situation should be no call.

 

The hight post stuff is like illusion. Just to mix things up. I start to buy into that.