ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Timberwolves 12/6/2006

Yao was FRICKEN HORRIBLE !!! HORRIBLE !!!!!

He played like the old Yao....soft.....he could have gone up and dunked so many of those balls or at least drawn a foul, but he played TERRIBLE tonight......

The Rockets are still maturing, they are not ready to be considered up there with San Antonio and Dallas.......this was a game against a VASTLY inferior opponent, and the Rockets collapsed.

And the worst thing was that they panicked, they stopped playing their game and let the T-Pups control the game.

Rafer played ok, but he still shoots too much. Luther played well, Tmac was even softer than Yao tonight if that is even possible.

Ugh, it was painful to watch.....

And please don't get me started on Juwan, he was the most pathetic excuse for a basketball player I have EVER seen tonight....just disgraceful....it was so bad that I was PRAYING for a Padget sighting.....

I wish JVG would go deeper on his bench when others aren't doing so well.

DD

 

I love the fact that Bill Worrell used the "S" word (Soft) to describe our team.

I fully agree with him and have called our team 'soft' ever since the start of the season. When you have two soft superstars surrounded by choir boys and no 'pitbulls' like Sura/MJ or others, you have the Rockets.

It's not even about the loss, it's about having two soft superstars whom the organization have neglected to surround with the right type of personalities.

 

Reason for the lose: Yao and TMac takes a combined 40 shots. FG 10-40.

That is why I have been telling that no one should take more than 20 shots.

Battier shots 5-8, Head shots 6-10, Hayes shots 3-6, why not share the ball?

 

This is not just a back to back. It is a road game also. We are not much a road team this year. TMac was a great road player before but not any more.

 

1) Positive way to look at this game is that, even our two stars suck so much the entire game, we have stayed close till the last second.
2) We can see that Tmac and Yao are really developping some chemistry together, they play well together, they suck together
3) The real way to address the problem---- forget about the fatigue, stamina issue of Yao though I admit it is obviously that he is tonight----is that Yao needs to tough up, he needs to learn to throw some elbows and commit some hard fouls, even sometimes they are deliberate hard fouls. That is the only way to be really dominate. If you see how Yao fades away and lives with the jumpers when the defense is really physical, you know what I am talking about.

 

Yao is trying to play like Shaq, that won't work. He needs his jump shots and hook shots to become dominant. Whenever he mixes and hits those shots, he is unstoppable. And his TOs goes down. His turnaround jumpers are like Tmac's 3 pointers these days, way too unpredictable.

 

i wasted 2.5 hours... how about yall

 

Very dissapointing.

We need more out of Yao in the fourth quarter, as usual. And Van Gundy still seems to have a much shorter leash with Chuck Hayes than with Juwan Howard. That pissed me off.

 

Actually I think JVG sucks.

JVG should yell at, bench, beat or kill Yao for taking those stupid, soft, sissy, ****y jumpers.

 

pathetic......last time tmac or yao dint lead us in scoring only happend 1 other time against the hornets which was a 2nd half of a back to back..which we lost.....o well i hope we bounce back and win out before the west coast trip

 

Minny are a good home team. They sucked badly last season but managed to put together something like 10 games home wins in a row?

Anyway, disappointed Rocks still haven't put away an in form playoff contender. To me, making this step would be an indication they're championship bound instead of just playoff bound.

 

yeah, bill muttered it with bullard replying "uh....really?" you could tell he he had that "wtf" look.

it was a tough match and yeah, they came from a b2b. you win some, lose some. so it's all gravy.

i know its a stretch, but maybe just maybe a novak appearance during the slump of the last 8 minutes woulda lifted some pressure off yao. does anyone else agree?

looks like the mike james v. alston matchup is what...3-1 in favor of james now? bleh, its ok. i still pick rafer over james any day, regardless of the alston haters.

 

Shaq did not take 18 jumpers. That's not shaq.
Yao does not have a jumper shooting skill

 

1-3 on the 2nd night of back to backs.......the sign of a mentally weak team.

DD

 

This loss really puts yesterday's game in perspective. It was more the Warriors being bad (on defense) than us being good. So much for blowouts helping us in back to backs.

On the bright side, we only lost by 6 when Yao and Tracy were 10/40. Tracy must go into attack mode when his outside shot isn't falling. No more experimenting with his jump shot when games are on the line in the 4th quarter.

 

oh- and novakaine coulda bombed up the twin cities.... if had played

LACK OF BENCH IS KILLING US
LACK OF BONZI IS KILLING US
LACK OF TRUST IN LUTHER IS KILLING US
LACK OF KIRK KILLING US


i guess it was justified tonight for ESPN to drop Rockets on their power ratings put out on Monday...

 

I believe it's mostly mental. Guys were not well prepared. However, despite the poor shootings from their two stars, the Rockets were able to hang on until about 8 minutes left in the game. Yao played heavy minutes: a game high 41+ min for pete's sake. Backup center again is an issue. For whatever he brings on the defensive end, Deke is an offensive liability.

I noted in the game thread. There was very little, if any, "chemistry" between Yao and TMac on the court. The spacing and passing were horrible. A stark contrast to what was there last night.

Credit to Minny's physical plays on Yao inside the paint. The big fella and his teammates need to review the tape and make adjustment for their next game. It's going to be a long night.

 

EXACTLY!!!

MJ was a HUGE loss not just because of his shooting but because he did well under pressure and played with an attitude.

We have 2 soft superstars and we complicate the matter even more by surrounding them with 2 sponge cakes, Juwan and Rafer Alston.

What's even more surprising is that JVG likes tough minded pitbulls yet after all these years he still plays the ultimate garbage cotton ball in the league -Juwan Howard.

In playoffs, Rafer and juwan will be eaten alive. Absolutely devoured.

 

when Snyder comes back, hopefully he can get some of Battier's and T-Mac's minutes and Battier get the rest of Juwan's minutes and T-Mac some more of Rafer's.