Just saw the replay of the game. Man, that was an awesome performance by T-Mac and Yao, 20/20 is about as good as it gets in the NBA. This was a watershed game for the Rox: They have now beat three of the top tier western conf teams in a row and they did it on the road. I sense Yao is finally getting some respect from the refs, started in the Seattle game and he got more tonight. Yao has looked better in the last 20 games or so minus a stretch of games after the AS game but if I was him my hat size would be about 2 sizes larger after this game. He showed he can dominate and that has got to be good for his mental game. Overall team confidence has to be skyhigh. T-Mac said it, holding the Suns to 17 points in the 4th and Seattle to 6 in the 3rd, is an indication of how good this Rox D can be. D will take you a long way in the playoffs. Man this team is a force to reckoned with NOW, not next year or the year after that, NOW.
I think JVG's decision to play Yao, regardless of his foul situation, really paid off last night. Yao played with courage, not fear that he was going to do the wrong thing and get benched for it.
Funny how the Yao haters seem to disappear after the last couple of games. You can say a lot about the man, and he will still have games of 8 points, 4 rebounds, but no one can ever say he doesn't have it in him. After what he has shown, he at least has that capability. Also, if you post in the future that Yao does not have the ability to dominate the boards or a game, you've lost all credibility, as far as I'm concerned.
yea...I slept from around 5am to about 10am....thats all I had time for today. busy busy busy.. gucci, try azureus or bitcomet
R2K, you are the man/woman. Normally i'm downloading this from work using usendit, but i've got my BT client up and will keep it up the next few days. Thanks again R2k Stuart
From my blog, Reality.Hole: here are my jubilant comments on this Sun-scorching performance by the Rockets. I was at a friend's house for a party last night, jamming with his band in their garage/studio. We had the game playing on a small TV in the corner, and I was watching it as we played (it's really tough to play guitar while simultaneously smoking, drinking, singing and watching basketball). So the Rockets went into the 4th down by 4, and about that time I started playing the throbbing intro to Nugent's "Stranglehold". The whole band soon joined in and, as we tore that tune up, the Rockets proceeded to tear up the Suns. By the climax of the song, we had three guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, a keyboard player, and two backup singers (one on tambourine) jamming together, sweating like pigs and cheering for the Rox and ourselves. It totally rocked; it almost felt like the Rockets were feeding off of our boozy, bluesy energy. And yes, we do take credit for the win. PS: props to R2K for the highlight reel!
More on Amare's frustration by Yao. I love it! http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=37864 Sports Update As good as he is, loss proves Stoudemire has much to learn By Craig Morgan, Tribune For three seasons, Amaré Stoudemire has benefitted from the wow factor. As our hearts jumped with a savage dunk, and as our jaws dropped over his freakish athleticism, we failed to note the deficiencies in his game. They still exist. Early in Friday’s 127-107 loss to Houston, it looked as if Stoudemire had learned to rebound in a convent, grabbing just two first-quarter boards on a team that desperately needs him to own the glass. In stretches throughout the game he failed to defend. And late in the game, he looked like a kid who wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Again and again he challenged Rockets center Yao Ming, expecting some help from the officials that came only once. "He felt he was getting fouled and he just kept going," Suns coach Mike D’Antoni said. "He was going to show them he got fouled and we just kind of fell in the trap a little bit." By the time Stoudemire had finished missing seven of eight shots — by the time he realized the Rockets were well-equipped to withstand that type of onslaught with the 7-foot-6 Yao and 7-foot-2 Dikembe Mutombo — the Suns had squandered an 82-74 lead and Houston had chipped away at the facade of Phoenix’s gaudy 47-15 record. "We didn’t do a good job of kicking the ball back out for open shooters," point guard Steve Nash said. "It’s a lesson to be learned for all of us." The question is, who will tell Stoudemire? "I’m gonna attack. That’s what I do," he said afterward. "That’s my game. Regardless of Yao or Dikembe Mutombo, I’m going at them." Stoudemire’s stubbornness was evident late as he spent time yapping at the officials instead of getting back on defense. The Suns are loath to criticize any part of Stoudemire’s game because they know they must re-sign him either this summer or next when his contract expires. "Amaré is obviously a young and up-and-coming star in this league and continues to grow basketball-wise," Suns president Bryan Colangelo said. "There are going to be nights where he either doesn’t get a call or a series of calls and that’s what happened tonight. He just got a little frustrated." Let’s be clear here. Stoudemire was fouled several times without the benefit of calls. He is still a remarkable and improving talent that produces on a nightly basis. On Friday, he still dumped in 31 points and had 10 rebounds. He puts a lot of backsides in the seats and he’s only 22 years old. There is time for improvement. But the expectations are higher because of his immense talent. Too often Friday, Stoudemire seemed preoccupied with his own offensive production — and preoccupied by the lack of respect he was being shown. "It was some questionable calls that I felt should have been made," he said. "When I asked the officials none of them was looking." The measure of a superstar is not in the numbers as much as in the ability to elevate his team. As the playoffs approach, the Suns are hoping the greatest draft pick in franchise history will eventually grasp that lesson.
Amare reminds me alot of steve francis, not very smart, pretty low bb iq. He's athletic as heck though.
