Thank you for the kind words, they are appreciated. I have to admit I was shocked that I saw so much movement on offense. I sort of resemble those quotes by Barry and Sura: not sure if I totally buy the change, but I'm liking what I see more and more. Pleasantly surprised more or less. At first it was like they scored 100, did the stars align or something. Then it was 3 straight games over 90, what the heck is up. After that it was 122 vs Dallas(what the hell). But now that I saw a game live, I can see the change myself. There is a difference. The major thing I like is now guys are starting to understand their roles. You can see it in how they are playing on the floor. Wesley, Sura and Barry know when to shoot and when to pass to others. We also have clearly defined this as T-Mac's team (Yao as the nice second option that he never had in Orlando), which is the right way to go in my opinion. Players now understand the ball goes to McGrady/Yao on most possessions and the role players don't try to do too much, making them ultimately more effective. And this isn't the best Rockets fans will see from T-Mac/Yao over the years as both still have plenty of room to improve their games. Personally, I think fans should be thrilled with wins in two straight games where Yao has an off night, especially one against imho the best all around team in the league. Of course, I wasn't exactly thrilled with bringing in Deke so early in the 1st when we couldn't hit the broadside of a barn, but he flat out earned his keep tonight. His defense on Duncan changed the entire complexion of the game, easily, not to mention his work on the glass. Also, as an aside, I noticed Tony Parker always drove around the basket but would also kick it out rather than just turn around and go for a layup/foul possibility. Just something I wanted to mention. Of course, the Manu injury did not hurt our chances of winning, but the Spurs backups are no slouches either(seeing how they brought in Barry, who would start for a lot of teams). I still think the team is a longterm power forward/point guard away from a championship contender, but you are starting to see the necessary improvement in the offensive direction. I never questioned JVG's ability to coach D, it was his offensive gameplanning that up until recently I thought was rather "offensive on the eyes." He still has a few minor issues, such as solely making Yao a low block player(I think we should use the PNR with him and Tracy as much as possible), his use of timeouts and the fact he will not stick up for Yao with the refs, but overall I'm coming around. If this offense continues to play as it has recently, I have no problem with him at head coach. In fact, I would not want to face this team in may/june in the playoffs, as they'll be a much tougher out than many expect as long as they continue their current play. For a defensive struggle, this might have been one of my favorite games to ever attend. The fact that their were annoying Spurs fans to point scoreboard at didn't hurt at all. Honestly, this felt like a playoff game. Both teams played like it was, both groups of fans acted like it was(seeing how some got kicked out and all), and both coaches coached like it was. I was proud to say I was a part of it all, and that we came out on top. Lastly, I think a special praise goes to T-Mac, as his magical performance against the Spurs the game before gave this team something it desperately needed against this team: confidence they could play with them and win. He got the monkey off the back so to speak.
i couldn't agree more. i know yao has to improve alot of personal parts of his game but nothing is hindering his development and particularly his confidence more then the refs. he's referee'd so poorly that i can't imagine he has any idea what he's allowed to do without being called for a foul. look at his body language after these calls it's taking a toll on him. it's hard to sit there watching defenders with arms extended in his back or two arms pushing on him and a ref standing there doing nothing. defenders are allowed to do whatever they want whenever they want and it's probably the sh!ttiest thing i've seen and the league could care less. isn't this guy one of their international faces? in a league where superstars get unbelievable preferrential treatment, one of their bright young players, and the kind of person the nba should want to promote off the court, is getting shafted. i don't understand it.
Just imagine how fun and scary this Rox team would be if Yao plays close to his best and everyone is kickin' it!
Yeah, that's the puzzling thing for me too. I figured when we drafted Yao that we would start getting bunches of calls like Shaq and Kobe got in LA and MJ got in Chicago. I thought the refereeing would biased towards Yao because of the desire to promote the NBA internationally. I thought they would coddle Yao like they did MJ and Shaq. But it hasn't happened. In fact, it's quite the opposite. It really seems like the refs do not want Yao to be successful and are doing everything in their power to keep him from getting off right from the opening tip. Stern controls this league. Is there some reason that he is letting this issue go? He has been the greatest commissioner in my lifetime in any sport. Is there some reason that he would not want Yao to be successful? I can't figure it out. After thinking about this and becoming frustrated over it, I have come to the conclusion that there is really only one thing that Van Gundy and Yao can do about it. Yao needs to come out aggressive and stay aggressive all the way through the game. He needs to come out and play his game. If they call a bunch of fouls on him, Van Gundy needs to just leave him in there and he needs to continue to play the way he knows how to play and loosen up his game and bring back some of those quick drop step dribble drives and stuff. Even if he gets 2 whistles in the first 5 minutes of the game, Van Gundy needs to leave him in there and tell him to go after every shot, play defense, and play his game offensively. Let the refs foul him out. Force the refs to have to blow that whistle 6 times on Yao. And keep doing that over and over. I don't care if he gets 5 fouls by halftime and picks up the 3rd foul in the first 2 minutes of the 2nd half, Van Gundy needs to keep him out there and let that happen, game after game after game after game. Once enough of those games string together, I think it would make the argument much stronger to the league office, especially when Yao is playing 18 minutes and fouling out, maybe 15-20 minutes and he's gone. When that happens time after time to the player that clearly has skills, and those game tapes are reviewed by the league, and Van Gundy has gotten booted a few times because of arguing Yao's 6th foul, there has to be some kind of adjustment made. I think it is really up to the Rockets to do things that let the league know that they aren't gonna accept the refereeing the way it is being called on Yao right now. Can you imagine the refs coming into TC after Yao has been fouled out of 4 or 5 games in a row with a bunch of bogus calls and Yao getting those fouls in about 15 minutes of playing time, and the fans booing like crazy, ESPN showing the 6 fouls, and all the hubub? Do you think the refs are gonna continue to call the game poorly on Yao under those circumstances, especially if their foul calling starts showing up on ESPN nightly because.... "Yao fouled out again"? I don't. I think you have to create a psychological atmosphere that causes the refs to really think twice about blowing that whistle and not blowing the whistle. The key to the whole thing is Yao has to come out, ignore the referees, ignore his foul count, and play his heart out, every night, until they tell him he has to sit down like Shaq did in the early years of his career. Shaq was a fouling machine and still is to some degree, just not nearly as bad as when he came into the league. But the refs couldn't call all of them. He knew it, his coaches knew it, and the refs knew it. Van Gundy, CD, and Yao have to force the league to adjust, not ask them to adjust, not consider making adjustments, not plead with the referees about how to play and not get the fouls called. They need to force the league and the refs to adjust. All the great ones do.
jop, Interesting take, but we can not afford to blow games, and Yao is a mismatch for us each night. They just need to put a tape together showing the crappy calls, and send it in to the league. DD
DaDakota, did you hear JVG on 610? He has sent in tapes. The Ref League Office replied with, "Yes, you are right. Those were bad calls..." But nothing changes because they (refs) haven't yet figured out how to ref Yao.
DavidS, Got to keep sending in more tapes, and tell them if it doesn't change, you are going to go public with these complaints and TAPES. Keep up the pressure. As for 610, I live in Austin, and since 610 is not streamed on the internet I can not hear any of their broadcasts. DD
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I agree with jop, let Yao foul out before the half for a few games continuously, especially on national tv. If yao worries too much about foul, he wont be productive, what is the point keep him in the game? After fouling out Yao several times, the refs have to think twice next time before calling fouls on him so frequently. The refs will feel pressure if yao fouls out due to bad calls. Now the refs know that Yao will manage to stay in the game with so many bad calls, the refs feel no pressure and have nothing to concern about. They care about your complaints? Do not be naive. Who care about your complaints? They care only about their job and image.
Bruised and beaten: Ginobili hurt in Spurs' loss to Houston Web Posted: 01/16/2005 12:00 AM CST Johnny Ludden Express-News Staff Writer HOUSTON — As Tracy McGrady's 25-foot shot settled into the net late Saturday, the scene at the Toyota Center was not too unlike the one here a month ago. The sellout crowd was on its feet. The clock was at 35 seconds and counting. McGrady was firing. But on a night when the Spurs almost matched their lowest-scoring performance ever, McGrady's lone 3-pointer only seemed like four. Unable to pull off their own improbable comeback, the Spurs fell 73-67 to McGrady and the Houston Rockets. The Spurs also lost more than a game, playing almost all of the second half without Manu Ginobili after he suffered a right quadriceps contusion. Adding insult to injury, Ginobili had to watch his teammates shoot. "I might have watched 'Desperate Housewives,'" Spurs guard Brent Barry said, "instead of this game." Though the Spurs and Rockets reportedly have transformed themselves into more potent scorers this season, Saturday's game quickly disintegrated into the standard Gregg Popovich-Jeff Van Gundy struggle: defense, defense and more defense. Which is to say it featured the type of ratings-killing shooting that makes NBA commissioner David Stern call a meeting to change the league's rules. The Spurs scored a franchise record-low 28 points in the first half, going the final 9:26 of the second quarter without a basket. The teams combined for 58 points in the half, narrowly averting the NBA record they set last season with 55. Houston shot 33.3 percent and won, recording its lowest point total ever in a victory. The Spurs shot 35.3 percent and weren't much better when they were left unguarded at the free-throw line (17 of 27). Their 67 points were three more than the franchise's record low. "It's always the same," Popovich said. "It always has been for I-don't-know-how-many years now. Houston and San Antonio, the games are always rugged and they're always good competition." Van Gundy, Houston's coach, spent a good 10 minutes prior to the game praising the Spurs, calling them "the best team I've seen in the NBA in a long, long time." He reserved his biggest compliment for Tim Duncan. "He's like that Rocky (III) character, in Russia," Van Gundy said. "Igor Eye-Gor Ivan Ivan Drago. Yeah, that guy. Like a machine. Just pumping it out every day." Unfortunately for the Spurs, Duncan was pumping out only bricks. The Rockets crowded him, often forcing him to shoot over the long arms of 7-foot-2 backup center Dikembe Mutombo. He missed 12 of 19 shots. "They made it tough for Timmy," Popovich said. "And from the outside we just didn't follow through. We were hoping our bench could help us in that regard and we just didn't get it." It didn't help that Ginobili collided with one of Yao Ming's sequoia-sized legs less than a minute into the second half. He immediately grabbed his right thigh, but he still scrambled to his feet, limped downcourt, made a steal and threw the ball ahead to Bruce Bowen, starting a fast break that ended with a layup by Tony Parker. Ginobili went to the bench and never returned. After the game, he said he felt all right, but Popovich showed more concern. "He's a pretty tough kid," Popovich said. "He wouldn't have come out if he didn't need to. I'm real worried about that." Perhaps fatigued from Friday's draining victory over Dallas, the Spurs were outrebounded 49-39. Houston took 13 offensive rebounds, including two on one critical possession with less than two minutes left. "Either we didn't have enough juice or just didn't have enough focus, I don't know which," Popovich said. "But the boards obviously hurt us tonight. And the missed free throws." And McGrady. The Rockets didn't require his Dec. 9 heroics, when he ran off 13 points in the final 35 seconds to beat the Spurs, but he still delivered some. He finished with 28 points and his 3-pointer with 34.6 seconds left put the Spurs in a 69-61 hole. "You try to make him shoot a lot of tough shots, which I think we did," Popovich said. "He made his share. You just can't stop him. He might be the toughest cover in the league." As for Drago? In case Van Gundy forgot, he gets knocked out at the end of the movie.
Mike Monroe: Rockets turned on the offense after beating Spurs in December Web Posted: 01/16/2005 12:00 AM CST San Antonio Express-News HOUSTON — Before Tracy McGrady scored 13 points in 35 seconds to beat the Spurs back on Dec. 9, he ranked 24th in the league in scoring. At tipoff of Saturday night's return match at the Toyota Center, McGrady had pumped his scoring average up more than four points, to 24.7 a game, and climbed to fifth in the league scoring race. That should tell you what that Dec. 9 game did for McGrady. Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy won't admit it, but seeing his club score so many points in such a short span seems to have changed his outlook on offense, too. In the 14 games that preceded Saturday's game against the Spurs, the Rockets had averaged 101.6 points and made 47 percent of their shots. Before those 14 they had averaged only 89.6 points on 42.1 percent shooting. Of course, none of those 14 games included another contest against the Spurs, or the Rockets might be threatening the New Jersey Nets for the league's lowest scoring average. Van Gundy and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich both stress defense, but when they coach against one another their teams seem to forget how to shoot. The Rockets missed 44 of 68 shots Saturday night, and they were the "hot" team. Van Gundy points out that the Rockets got blown out by Charlotte in their first game after the McGrady Miracle, his way of proving that one amazing event did not serve as the flashpoint that jump-started his team. Of course, that ignores the obvious, that the Rockets have gone 11-6 since that night, including their 73-67 victory over the Spurs on Saturday, and climbed back into the playoff picture in the Western Conference. Understand, Van Gundy is a chronically dour sort, given to bouts of self-loathing that border on Freudian. Point out that his team has been playing its best basketball of late and suggest that perhaps he deserves some credit for their improvement, and he scowls. "Go down there and talk to that guy whose team is 30-8," he said before Saturday's game, nodding toward the Spurs' locker room, where Popovich was visiting with some friends. "That guy deserves credit." Popovich wasn't buying Van Gundy's woe-is-me routine, not before, and especially not after, Saturday's game. "Tell Jeff to stifle himself," Popovich responded when told Van Gundy was gushing about the Spurs. Popovich hasn't had to adapt to an ever-changing cast of characters this season the way Van Gundy has. Houston already has made two trades to adjust a lineup that had only four holdovers from last season to begin with. The Rockets also have had a spate of injuries, while the Spurs have been relatively injury-free. McGrady is hurting these days, too, with a strained left quadriceps, but he has been the focal point of Houston's increasingly efficient offense — at least, it had been efficient before Saturday's clankfest — when he was able enough to jack up 28 shots. McGrady reflected on his remarkable first game against the Spurs by telling the Houston Chronicle he didn't want to have to try to match his miracle Saturday night. There was no need, but he still applied the dagger when he nailed a 3-pointer with 34.6 seconds left that gave Houston an eight-point lead. Van Gundy doesn't ascribe much significance to that Dec. 9 outcome. "I don't think it had any significance for our season," Van Gundy said. "Next game out, we got blown out. But it was a miracle win and you need some miracles thrown your way, if you're in our position. The second half, they dominated us and we struck gold in the last 30 seconds." Van Gundy's players know better. "It was a boost for us," Rockets guard Bob Sura said. "We had some losses after that, but our energy and effort got better after that and now we've finally started winning some games we should win. It was definitely a big boost for us." In an odd way, it was a boost, too, for the Spurs, a team Van Gundy says is so good he would enjoy watching it play every night, if only he didn't have to face it four times a season. Occasional humility is required for a Spurs team that more and more experts, including Van Gundy, believe is the NBA's best. The Rockets seem willing to apply it.
T mac is letting his presence be known in Texas. He is here to stay so San Antonio and Dallas just need to lay down and take it. Great win. Things are looking bright.
They've been sending tapes since last year Da and nothing has changed. In fact, it has gotten worse. Pressure? What pressure? Threats? Man, you gotta make it happen. No more threats, no more tapes. Just run him out there and let him get his 6 and be on ESPN for as many nights as it takes. You wanna go public, do it the smart way. There's a million ideas that can be implemented to put pressure on the league if Van Gundy would just do them. And what are we worried about Yao fouling out for? Man, when he gets in foul trouble, everybody on this board complains ad nauseum about how ineffective he is. And Van Gundy sits Yao's rear on the bench because of it. That's ridiculous. What's the difference, a Yao in foul trouble sitting on the bench not playing or a Yao that fouled out putting his heart and soul into the game and making a few things happen sitting on the bench? Tell him to go out and play his game and totally ignore the whistle, and let him play until he racks up his 6. Don't even acknowledge the referees. And then there are so many different ways to say things and get the message across indirectly. When Yao fouls out and Van Gundy is asked about the fouls on Yao he can simply respond, "I have no comment on the fouls, I just hate it that the fan base doesn't get to see the players that they come out to see. I apologize on behalf of the Rockets for it and I wished I could change it but I can't. Yao played a good game, he played the right way, but unfortunately he was called for 6 fouls. I feel he played the right way and I am not going to ask him to change anything about the way he plays because it would be asking him to do things that I don't require or ask of the other players. Yao is not a complainer, he is not a whiner. He is one of the leaders of this team and deservedly so. And he is an excellent role model and representative of NBA basketball. I can only wish that the rest of the players in this league and on my team had the same reputation and held themselves to the high standard that Yao holds himself to. Anybody that follows the games, and sees the calls is free to make judgments for themselves on the fouls. Once again, I'm sorry to our fans, especially our Asian fan base, who obviously come out to see Yao play and they aren't able to see him really play. I would encourage each one of you that are in that category to watch him play in Olympic competition and International play because he will play and dominate. The NBA will have to decide how much of Yao that they want to see on the floor. If they don't want to see him playing much or they don't want him in this league, then there is nothing that I can do about that. Next question?". So you see, he should have this memorized and give it or some form of it everytime the question comes up. And then make it obvious during the games by getting booted with the 2 technicals as the game allows for it. In other words, when the game is out of hand one way or another and we are either gonna win, start yelling and get your 2 T's. Or if we are down by a bunch and aren't gonna get back into it unless something drastic happens, go get your 2 T's Mr. Van Gundy. And then have "No comment" about it at the press conference. And then the next step is for the fans to take signs to the games that read: N-No B-Basketball'n A-Asians And then we fire up these signs along with the boos when Yao gets 6. You can think of 1000 acronyms to put on those signs. How much stuff do I gotta think of? The whole thing is you've gotta get the fans and media involved and on your side. Use your noggin CD and Gundy. Do any of us really wanna see 15 years of Rik Smits/Chris Dudley/Luc Longley/Mark Eaton being paid max dollars and turned into a circus freak show in this league that has to be paid max dollars because he is an International Star and attracts world wide attention and brings so much money to the table in merchandise sales and advertising dollars but can't really play in this league? I don't. I won't. If they allow Yao to be turned into that kind of player when it is plainly obvious that he is much more than that, I won't watch it because it would be a travesty. And I think Yao will quickly retire and go back to China because he knows he is much more than that. He'll just play in China and Internationally ..................... and dominate. It's up to Van Gundy and Yao to make it happen. Van Gundy keeps saying it's up to Yao. But really it's up to Van Gundy. A player shouldn't have to have a lobotomy to play in the NBA. Yao is a great, smart, extemely gifted basketball player. Quit trying to make him something he is not. He is not a thug. He is not gonna become Spreewell, or Oakley, or Artest. He is not gonna become a Prima Donna that starts fights when things don't go his way. Tim Duncan does none of those things. Tim Duncan just goes out and plays ball. Yao needs Van Gundy to go to bat for him and make it happen instead of hearing Van Gundy regergitate to the media everything that is wrong with Yao's game and what Yao has to change to become dominant. The biggest factor that would make Yao dominant would be a change in the attitude, demeanor, and response of his coach to how the game is called on Yao. Then Van Gundy can go to work fixing all the minor things that hinder Yao.
Very good read. The league and refs are not gonna change if you keep complaining. Who care about your complaining, unless you make it public? You have to take advantage of public media to let it known that the refs are doing something wrong.
