Though we win, we can't win like this too often. We got outrebounded like crazy by 20!! Other than Yao, there's no one in Rockets rebounding in double digits. Bring in Hayes JVG!! WTH is wrong, now Hayes is in the dog house???
Don't forget that 76ers had 24 TO, Rocks had 16 STL to go with that too. Not much chance of RB for Rocks.
It's much cleared now that JVG is showcasing Swift to other teams so to raise his trading value. Hayes will be fine
For that matter, Yao needs to break Wilt's 100 point single-game record before I'll be even remotely satisfied. Frickin' underachiever.
Good win and more importantly its looking like losses for Seattle, Utah ,NO and Minny. Good day for the Rox.
It sure as heck should be. That being said, ever since he's got back from his injuries, he's averaging like 11 boards a game right? Even Better. Sure his FG% has taken a drop, but that's because he's still getting back into things, you don't shoot (as) well when you're tired. Once he gets his wind back, I'm sure he'll be much better than he used to be. He's already looking quicker than he used to. Too bad McGrady hasn't really been a force in the Knicks or 76ers games. It would be nice to have McGrady and Yao working together like they did before the injury, I'm sure the on-court chemistry will build again quickly. The Rockets will be a force to reckon with then, even if Barry, Anderson, or Sura don't come back soon.
Or Hayes, like JVG said in the Chronicle last week, is making mental mistakes that forces him to sit. Tonight's example: Hayes goes into the game, doesn't even run the inbounds play he is supposed to resulting in a timeout before a 5 second call, he gets pulled after being screamed at by JVG.
Didn't see the game. Heard most all of it on the radio. Questions. 1 Rafer shot well, which is a plus. But we assisted on 27/32 FG's made. That's Nash-like. But our FG% was low. Q: Was our offense really clicking but a lot of shots just didn't fall? Rafer had 8 ast, 5 steals & 1 TO. How many times did Mike James do that? 2 Did Yao seem to tire near the end of the game? He sure played a lot of minutes, and this was game 2 of a back to back. 3 Was the defense REALLY that good? Every time the 76ers shot I came to expect it to miss. The 76ers had 24 FGs & 24 TOs! Were we in their face contesting nearly every shot? If so, does anyone out there still think JVG asks too much of our players by insisting on hard defense? 4 Why did we get clobbered by 20 on the boards? This is shameful! And don't be fooled by Dalembert tonight. He doesn't produce like this all the time. He has had a lot of very disappointing games this year, believe me. 5 Did Rafer's ball handling and dribbling take pressure off Tracy? Did Tracy have an "easy" 34 minutes on the court? 6 How did Stro get 5 fouls in 19 minutes? Was he completely overmatched against Webber? Poor AI. Played another 45 minutes in a losing cause on a hopeless team. Philly may not be openly burning but I smell some smoke. Still have a feeling they won't make the playoffs. The comatose Bulls or the schizo Wizards will pass them and snag #8 and become roadkill for Detroit in the Round 1.
Random thoughts about the game: 1) McGrady, Yao, and Head all still seem to be in somewhat of a shooting slump. For McGrady and Yao this is probably due to the special attention payed to them. For Head, I have no idea... rookie wall? 2) Still no Barry?? I expect to see him play against the Lakers. 3) JVG obviously sees some flaws with Hayes who sat the entire game against the Knicks and saw limited action tonight. Anyone notice the play in which he was put in, then when the Rockets were unable to get the ball inbounds and forced to use a 20 second timeout he was taken right back out? 4) Rafer Alston played incredibly. It's becoming evident that the ideal opponent for him is a guard of his size with his type of speedy game play. 5) Loads and loads of fouls and we still couldn't find a minute to squeeze Moochie or Baxter into the game (one may have been inactive), and Hayes and Bowen both got into the game for less than like three minutes. 6) DA to play Wednesday! WOW Stats for those who missed the game: 1) The Sixers went on a shooting drought in which they had not made a field goal in between 4 something left in the third, and 1:05 remaining in the GAME. In that drought they shot 0-19 from the floor! (but still got a small share of points in getting to the line) 2) AI shot more free throws than the Rockets! AI shooting 20-24 while the Rockets shot 17 of 23 from the line! 3) The Rockets were out rebounded 53-35! 4) The Rockets assist to turnover ratio was 27--13 (about 2-1) compared to a Sixers 11--24 (roughly 1-2). 5) The Sixers shot just 1-12 from three point range, not getting their first attempt off until the final shot of the first half. It really looks like both teams did a lot of things that will cause you to be blown out and they all cancelled each other out to make for a pretty close game.
I believe we used for from the bench today (Head, Swift, Bowen and Hayes). So that means we used 9 (nine) players not 8. Hayes got some minutes but the way the game was going he was not needed much hence his limited floor time. You don't just give minutes to people for the heck of it - the flow and character of the game determines the distrubition of minutes especially when it concerns non-starters. Deke was not needed (arguably) for this game at least from the coach's perspective. It was one of those games and we won.
Well with regards to Stro's fouls (and that of other Rockets), the refs were absolutely craptastic. I mean crap-frickin-tastic. The normally unbiased Bill Worrell even said that this game was one of the worst officiated he's ever seen. Basically, everytime AI would come down the lane, the whistle would blow. There's actually a sequence where AI comes driving in and all the rockets players step aside and he STILL gets an And 1. I mean, I think the tag from Juwan's jersey may have brushed a single hair on Iverson's arm but I don't think AI is *that* big of a pu$$y. Then again, I think the wind-tunnel effect of AI running in the midst of taller Rockets players sent AI sailing into the rafters. The refs had to carry AI back down from the club level concourse on a stretcher before play could resume.
Actually I do not think it is what you just stated. The flow of the game dictated the distribution. There is not need for wild specualtions and conspiracy theories. Again it was one of those games where certain players inputs are not needed much. It is what it is.
Yao impressed me...and I'll tell you why. His shooting wasn't great...but he kept shooting...and he competed even though he wasn't scoring...He did many things well...much quicker...looks stronger... And his stamina isn't as much of an issue as I thought it would be after missing 21 games. He will only get better...but very impressed with what he is doing out there.
LOL, I still find it funny that someone has called you a YOF. Nice win. 4th of a 10 games winning streak which I have predicted. GO ROCKETS!!!
