ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Timberwolves 3/7/2006

Thank God we won. Here is hoping that T-Mac will be back tomorrow. Go rockets!

 

Have to give props to our guards, who shot really well outside the arc.

 

for real, dont lose all your respect in one thread...stop trolling

great win

 

C'mon those misses were early in the game. You are almost 2 hours late.

 

If 15 points and 21 rebounds and 5 assist and 4 steals is not imposing your will,than I dont know what is. He had a tough shooting night, big deal, With numbers like that your teammates should be able to put forth some type of helpful effort.

Great layers find other ways to contribute when they are not shooting well.

 

THIS is the Yao that we have all been waiting for......welcome to a budding superstar !!

If we had this Yao at the beginning of the year, I think we would be right in the thick of things.

I hope Tmac gets back and Yao and he lead us to the promised land.

Go ahead big guy...CLAP all you want !!

DD

 

I disagree with you there. KG doesn't have the heart this season. You can tell by his face he doesn't want his career to end like this. He's one of the greatest talents, stuck on one of the sh*ttiest teams in the NBA. He took a pay cut to stay with this team, and this is the best they can give him? If anything, I think he's giving up on the Timberwolves little by little.

I do not think he's overrated. He's an extremely good player with extremely good stats, very effective.

I feel that he can be a good clutch player, that he is NOT giving it his all this season, and is NOT overrated. Well, I guess he is overrated if you consider he has not had any team success.

Anyways go Rockets. Yao's a beast. I agree with your earlier post that Swift should play alongside Yao, not Howard. Oh yeah, did I mention, Yao's a beast?

 

Yao is good as usual. But Stro's double double is huge tonight. And for once, Rafer hits some 3 balls.

 

I think the league should fine those teams which drag on games for no good reason.

 

I like KG, and feels for him. I always scratch my head wondering why despite his great numbers, he's just not a winner. His teammates weren't great, but still, the guy is a candidate for MVP almost every year. I think it has to do with his game. His game is no different than any role players, just he gets a lot more points and rebounds, but he shoots mainly jump shots, not necessary draws double team. Unlike other super stars, they play totally a different game than their teammates, like TD, Kobe, Shaq etc. They are reliable and can bail teammates out. KG just couldn't. When those role players get hot in jump shots, they will continue to do so, and ignore KG. Even if they cool down, they will still keep shooting, because KG is just another jump shooter. On the end, Minny is living and dying with their role players, not with KG. KG is just collecting those points and rebounds along side his teammates, and I don't see him leading them to anything. The year they got Sam was a totally different year, and they were winning. Bad management to let Sam go.

 

Bill Worrell said it himself. The defense in the 4th quarter was amazing. There was no way KG could dominate when he was either going to be stripped, have his shot completely altered, or just get stuffed by yao. The Rockets were putting up a clinic defensively in the 4th.

This wasn't because of KG's lack of "heart." It was because no one on Minesotta could make a shot with that defense.

 

So? At least he's GETTING the shots now. I suppose we should have went a different direction....

..Good win Rox, I mean, Yao 'n Swift...

 

Great win tonight!!! Thats 3 in a row. Our next 5 games are going to be tough: Indiana, San Antonio, New Jersey, Dallas, and San Antonio!

 

Tomorrow is a huge day - LA v. NOK, MIN v. UTA, SAC v. MIL, and of course, HOU v. IND... I can't even process the implications of tomorrow's games.

 

Bring them on, and kick them all

 

Live to fight another day!

 

Garnett isn't overrated. In fact, I think he's been underrated the past few seasons. A lot of people are critical of him because his team has played poorly and he doesn't dominate offensively in scoring. But Garnett is still the best all around big man in the game today, and it isn't very close. He's a fantastic rebounder and defensive player, and he's the consummate team-first player on the offensive end. He's still one of the top 5 players in the game, in my opinion, regardless of how bad his team has been. Blame McHale for the poorly constructed team, not Garnett.

 

Houston 93, Minnesota 87

Preview - Box Score - Recap

By JON KRAWCZYNSKI, AP Sports Writer
March 7, 2006

AP - Mar 7, 9:28 pm EST
More Photos

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- With Yao Ming emerging as an offensive force, the Houston Rockets didn't need Tracy McGrady on Tuesday night.

Yao topped 20 points for the eighth straight game, scoring 30 points and grabbing 13 rebounds to lead the Rockets to a 93-87 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

With McGrady on the bench again with back problems, Yao dominated the paint and Stromile Swift added 11 points and nine boards off the bench for Houston, which used a 12-0 run to start the fourth quarter to get their third straight victory.

Kevin Garnett made only six of 17 shots, but scored 15 points and had 21 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who didn't score in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, missing their first 12 shots.

Marcus Banks scored many of his 26 points with the reserves in, and Mark Blount scored 12 of his 18 points in the first quarter before fouling out for the Timberwolves.

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The Rockets again were without McGrady, their leading scorer at 24.6 points a game, after his bothersome back flared up in Sunday's game against Portland.

McGrady scored 18 points in the win over the Blazers before leaving late in the third quarter. He was a game-time decision on Tuesday night, but Keith Bogans started in his place.

When McGrady goes to the bench, it's almost always bad news for the Rockets, who are 2-13 in games without their leader.

Yao more than compensated, extending his career-best streak of 20-plus points in style. He was aggressive all night, using an impressive array of turnaround jumpers, bull rushes to the rim and soft hook shots.

The undersized Wolves didn't have an answer. Blount got off to a fast start, but was overwhelmed down the stretch, as was Eddie Griffin and even Garnett.

Blount went right at Yao to start the game, scoring 12 points in the first quarter to help the Timberwolves to a 25-16 lead.

The Timberwolves made 12 of their first 19 shots, nearly all of them mid-range jumpers. But they hit a drought at the end of the first period, missing nine straight shots, a precursor of things to come.

After spending a chunk of the period on the bench with foul trouble, Yao returned to score six straight points for a 61-60 lead in the third period.

Rafer Alston added 17 points and five assists for Houston, which shot just 39 percent from the field, but made 47 percent of its 3-pointers (7-of-15) to overcome a six-point deficit to start the fourth.

Notes

Prior to the game, the Timberwolves showed a short video tribute and held a moment of silence for former Minnesota Twins star Kirby Puckett, a Wolves season-ticket holder, who died on Monday after having a stroke. ... Garnett inscribed "K.P. 34" on his shoes in honor of Puckett. ... The fourth quarter started twice. The two teams played for about 15-20 seconds before officials noticed the clock was malfunctioning. Since no points were scored or possession changed hands, the officials decided to have a "re-do" and start the period over.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2006030716

Yao finally gets respect!

 

TMac quietly sent a message to those "trade-Yao-for-KG" fans here.

 

Man, Huge win!!!! YAO is superman!!!!!!!

Hope TMAC come back tomorrow and get W!