ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets vs. Bulls 10/21/2004

I remeber hearing JVG say that TMac is most effective in the post on the left side. I'm pretty sure he is going to have TMac post up the smaller guards all the time, I'm excited.

I didn't get to see the game, but I like the scores and stats.

 

Highlights of the game from nba.com

 

that link doesn't seem to work for me, do you have an alternate?

 

I live in st. Louis and watched the Bulls play the Cavs last Saturday night and the Bulls looked terrible, I am not surprised that it was a blowout.

 

I agree - his rebounding needs work. However, it seems to me that Yao has lower rebounds often because the guards tend to be in on the rebounds as well. I wonder if JVG told the guards to get down the floor after the miss if then Yao's rebounds would go up...

I dunno...

I would give Howards the start. He is a much better rebounder, which is a good match with Yao. Taylor has the offensive ability to take over other second stringers too - see last year.

 

Didn't see the game, but from the box score....

A/T
Bulls - 19 assists / 24 turnovers
Rockets - 26 assits / 15 turnovers
Ward 4 assists / 1 turnover
Lue 7 assists / 1 turnover

Efficiency
T-Mac 27 points on 17 shots
Yao 20 points on 15 shots

Rebounding??
Jim Jackson (8) was tied as our leading rebounder ?

 

Highlight is available in the NBA.com Recap:
http://www.nba.com/games/20041021/CHIHOU/recap.html

 

Tracy McGrady: I believed Steve Francis was our best player last year... and for this year it is T mac. Tracy said that the Rockets are Yao's team. Thats all nice and dandy but the guy thats going to get the Rockets into the post season and beyond is McGrady. Its soo amazing to see b/c half of what Mcgrady does is soo effortless. He is soo good and the game comes soo naturally to him that I can't help but think in his mind...why do u guys suck soo much... he is very good. Passes VERY well. Shot an excellent clip (his shot is flat though) and has more range then Kobe. I always believed the Rockets would of been soo much better if Steve could just make those open 18 footers... well i think McGrady can and will very easily. Expect VERY big things from him this season



When you said "Why do you guys Suck so much" were you referring to T-Mac thinking that of his fellow rockets or his opponents?

 

Rockets were probably preparing him for the Magic game. No one wants to lose that game!!!

 

Actually, Nachbar is one of the better defensive players on the Rockets. He may be having a bad preseason, but he is one of the few guys in history that has gone head-to-head against Razor Elbows Malone. Give him time. I don't think defense is a key priority during the preseason. I think more emphasis is placed on offensive timing which is a lot harder to establish. Nachbar needs to get into a shooting rhythm (which we've been waiting two years for him to get into) and unfortunately, his limited playing time is not going to help him achieve it.

 

As much as I want Boki to succeed, it is getting annoying how everyone is saying "he can't shoot, but he went up against Malone!" That was one game, 2 plays, can you base everything on that? It's looking more and more like he's had his chance and even though he's decent on defense, he seems to be well below average on offense. I wouldn't look to see him back next year.

Pugs

 

It seems pretty clear that T-mac is the best player on the team. He's looks much more deadly in the post than Yao. You HAVE to foul T-mac or it's an automatic dunk or layup. He's just incredible.

That said, I think this sets up Yao to have some pretty big nights even if he only improves marginally.

 

Nachbar was a consistent defensive player when he was in the game last year. His shining moment was the great defensive series against the Laker in the playoffs. Granted, if he does not make that next step this year, he'll become one in the long list of wasted draft picks. It's such a shame because he shows brief flashes of greatness...ala Robert Horry...but seems likes he'll never live up to expectations.

 

....

Are you joking?

Nachbar is anything but a defensive player. That's why he never played, because he couldn't play defense. He has trouble sliding his feet and keeping up with the faster defenders. Watch his fouls per minute, they're not very encouraging.

QUESTION: anyone who watched or was at the game, why did T-mac play so many minutes?

 

I was at the game last night

The great thing about it was - all our players did their jobs well, and that's a beautiful feeling. Tracy shot the lights out with 27 points. Yao and Dik did a good job in the low post. JJ snagged 17. And, although other players didn't score much (like Juwan, MoT, Lue, Ward, Bowen, Boki) they didn't really need to. But they all fought hard, did well on defense, scored a few points here and there, setup plays VERY well, took the right shots at the right times, didn't turnover much, and got the ball into the guy with hot hands. An excellent team effort.

Now, of course, it was just against the bulls in preseason, but It was still great to see. As we continue to develop chemistry, this team is gonna be quite formidable.

-- droxford

 

I agree - if you have a dvr it is very clear - he can't keep up when attacked and fouls as players go by - he did it again last night - reaching in when he got driven on in the 4th quarter.

 

Search the net:
Bulls game torrent link?

 

JVG is going to use TMac a lot in the low post. The guy is just too tough to defend with the average SG. Being able to post up was a big reason why Gary Payton and Mark Jackson were successful in the NBA.

 

Last nights game says more about how bad the bulls are than how good the rockets are - we won't see too much of them out west.

The game played out more like a scrimmage than an actual game - way too easy for T-Mac & Yao - Bull's back court has no answer for T-Mac and their front court played very soft - not at all like what Yao & company will be facing out west.

Only other thing that stood out was another poor outing for Mo Taylor - he seems out of sync - flustered easily - mistake prone - maybe he's very uneasy about his situation on the team - I don't know - but right now he's more like an offensive flat tire than a spark plug.

Note On the Bulls - I thought Curry looked very bad - can't believe - with the soft touch they say he has - that he throws blanks half the time from the line. Recalling what the Bulls spent to get Curry & Chandler - and where they're at now - it could be one of the worst drafts in history. Elton Brand still produces close to their combined output!