ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Mavericks 2/21/2004

Mavs socred 24 on fast break,but Rockets got only 4.

The most impressive is that Rockets really lost his own tempo.Many shot are just in a hurry and we didnt have enough time to back for defence!

 

but the thing is we could beat them if we use yao and pass for once. Which we dont. But we usually lose aganist good teams.

 

i agree. There were times that Yao had position on his man and was simply ignored. There is no reasonable explanation for that. The majority of the time however he was doubled and the rockets just looked lost out there.

 

If a team can't shoot and hit consistently over a zone, then their history. The return of the "old Francis," not what we needed. I liked the new Francis, the team player, the Laker game Francis, the almost looks like a max. contract Francis. But, the trading deadline has passed and the new Francis is gone.

 

Dallas had over 20 second chance points as well. They dominated the offensive boards and made us pay.

 

I Disagree. It's not the zone defense , it's the Rockets themselves. Yao hit 7 of 10. CM took some 20 shots.. Yao was much more confident after the Housotn-LA game. Yao had so many one-on-one , deep in the post position, just simply not getting the ball. The guards were tricked to play Dallas type of game and ignore the big man again for whatever reason. SF and CM are simply just hopeless....

 

I'm with you. I'd like him at backup point guard with Brent Barry starting. That's the kind of tandem that would destroy the Mavericks' zone defense.

 

Yep. Again, not being able to beat the zone is a byproduct of a bad passing team. Bad passing equals missed available shots, missed opportunities for assist and lots of turnovers.

The result? 38-42 minutes of continuous struggle vs the zone.

 

Forget that. The rule is here to stay. Rockets better realize that more and more teams will start using the zone defense to kill the Rockets. There needs to be roster changes to incorporate zone buster players.

 

I'd love to have steve black as a backup -- but he's NO zone buster. His J is mostly busted.

 

BLAKE

 

We could beat them.. I don't think Dallas is a better team.
Is that so difficult to pass the ball to Yao?
Passsss Yao the ball, then we win. It's simple!!!

 

Not really surprised at the loss since I already credit Dallas with 4 wins for the season and I have stated numerous times that the Rockets will never beat the Mavericks with current squards or unless the guards become better passers.

Anyway, our starting guards are 9-32 from the fields for a horrible 28% outing from the field. Yao was 7-10 from the field. Why not use him more with the exception of beginning and ending of the game?

 

Trade deadline just passed. Rox guards is back to their normal. They could at least abuse the game to the end of the season.

 

b/c steve franics is probably thinking: i got to keep my stats up..i need to be the leading scrorer

and cuttino is thinking: I was in the three point shootout, so I am the Sh@t. So i will keep shooting.

 

I was most disappointed in this game. I had allowed myself to begin to believe that this team had turned the proverbial corner. Instead, the Rockets did their usual belly-flop against the defensively challenged Mavericks. This game exposed a number of weaknesses in this team:

Their offense is simply too erratic to depend on in a playoff series.

Their guards make absolutely horrible decisions passing and handling the ball.

The shooting from the guards runs hot and cold, hot and cold. After nearly 2 years, both Francis & Mobley still have not adjusted to playing against the zone defense.

Nobody on this team INCLUDING the COACH appears to have the slightest idea on how to play against a 2-3 zone. The Mavericks play more zone than any other team because they are absolutely abysmal playing man-to-man defense.

JVG's "Knicks" style offense is probably OK during the season but is simply not suitable for playing against the top-tier teams in the Western Conference.

This game was lost when the Mavericks switched to a fronting collapsing zone about Yao and the guards decided to become bricklayers. Once again, the "Franchise" failed to step up and run the offense. Teams are beating the Rockets because they have demonstrated that they cannot play smart basketball for an entire game.

JVG's rotation decisions were a joke. The Mavericks have no answer for Yao so of course they grab, hold and hang on. JVG's response was to have Yao set more high picks while Francis and Co. continued to drive into the teeth of the Mavericks zone.

All in all, more of the same stuff we've seen for the past 4 years...

 

Yep...

What's the constant factor here? Same coach? No. Must be something else...

 

I was fearing that the blowout win against the Wizards would prevent a trade. I bet Steve could have been traded somehow for Ray Allen if the Rockets made the pot sweeter by including Maurice Taylor or something. Ray Allen and Brent Barry would have torn this Mavs' zone defense apart.

 

Our guards are just not very smart, it is very difficult to change it.