ClutchFans Game Thread: Spurs @ Rockets 12/11/2003

Let me just say, I am glad I missed this game.

 

Popovich told Parker five games ago that to get the Spurs on the right track he needed to concentrate on getting more assists. In those five games Parker has averaged 9 assists and 2.2 TOs for an AST: TO of 4.1:1.

 

I know what I said, but where is your response? I am going to bed, so I will read it tommorrow. Have a good evening.

 

Amen.

Let's be honest. Yao did play like a big girl. There was a lot of contact and no whistles, and the Rockets' sloppy play made it that much easier to get away with slapping Yao around. With the whole team playing crappy (again, no leadership out there; bad leadership, bad play) the D could jump all over Yao's back. He started badly, missing point-blank shots, and he started spiraling downward from there.

But it doesn't help when we get another lead (albeit a small one) and start to coast again. A 5pt lead becomes a 4 point deficit very quickly.

The one thing that sportswriters had correct before the season was that JVG would be pulling what's left of his hair trying to deal with our guards. And I have to say, Cat has been a bright spot lately. Maybe I just admire that he can play D, or, at least, try.

We ain't going anywhere special with Francis at the helm.

 

My Honey thinks it will be a 'Retro' night in santonio Saturday night 'NoBodys Home' like the last playoff series. I stick with my original prediction. Sperts take both of these. ,P.
I will be there (only game I'll see this year, probably) with all my Rockets bling bling, cheering them on in the SbC Center. Go Rox prove Nan right and me wrong.....

 

Me too, I had to work all day came back and saw the score, well Lets just say I wasn't in a mood to support the rockets

 

run that by me again?.....

 

I'm going to completely erase this game from my mind.

*curls up in a ball on the floor, rocking back and forth*

Yao is ok.

Steve is ok.

I'm ok.

We're ok...

 

What a brickfest!

This game was the worst basketball game I have ever seen.

 

hey guess who got schooled today
Yao Ming, by everybody
steve (well not as much as yao)
but im ok
this team is still ok

 

Not cool to kick a man while he's down.

Francis is still the heart of this team. And it pains (or SHOULD pain) every Rocket and Rocket fan to see him struggling from the field like he is because there's no way the Rockets can continue to win consistently with him playing this poorly.

Is he a true point gaurd? I dunno, probably not, but he's still the most important player on this team and an incredible talent.

You wouldn't have dared saying something like that a year or 2 ago.

 

The ref should be reviewed.

 

Sorry I had technical problem. It will be forthcoming as soon as I get a few minutes to re-type it. It will be sometime this morning probably.

 

and a wonderful shooter

 

Wow, a thread post counting up to 254 without being rated at all. How reflecting of the mood around here.

 

Every single person that attended that game at the Toyota Center last night should be reimbursed their game ticket. No way should anyone have to pay for this abomination! Moreover, the Rockets players should be forced to give back their game check for their lack of efforts tonight.

Ridiculous. Embarrising!

 

This is nice! Perhaps one reason why the shooting was horrible? Les and everyone at the arena should be ashamed! What a joke. A brand new arena and we have this crap? A joke!


http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.hts/sports/bk/bkn/2289997

Horry sounds off with rim shots
By MEGAN MANFULL
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle


Robert Horry didn't need to fetch a ladder or a level.

The 12-year veteran could tell by just looking at the rims that they were tilted. He could tell by just shooting the ball that the hoops were too high.

The problems with both Toyota Center baskets baffled the former Rocket.

"You should go out there and look at those baskets," Horry said. "Those baskets are terrible. Go look at them. They are not right. They need to fix them. They are too tall and the rim tilts up in the front. You all think I'm joking, go check them out."

San Antonio teammate Manu Ginobili agreed with Horry, but fell short of joining Horry in placing the blame of the Spurs' miserable offensive outing on the baskets alone.

But Horry said much of the team's first-half struggles were because of the hoops. The Spurs had to overcome a franchise-low 30 points in the first half to defeat the Rockets 71-67 on Thursday night.

"The rims had a lot to do with it," Horry said. "Because the way the rim is tilted, if it doesn't go in, if it doesn't go straight in and you hit all net, it's going to scrape the rim and rattle out."

The Spurs converted only 11 of 41 field goals (26.8 percent) in the first half. Ginobili had the most problems, hitting just one of seven.

Horry didn't expect such problems with the rims in the Spurs' first visit to Toyota Center.

"The rims are terrible," he said. "They are supposed to be level. That basket is also too high. You'd think in a brand-new building they would get something that simple right."

San Antonio's 71-point outing was its lowest offensive output of the season. The Rockets and Spurs also combined to set an NBA record with 55 points in the first half. It marks the fewest points for two teams in the first half since the shot clock was introduced in 1954-55.

"The rims were bad, but we are not finding excuses with the rims because both teams shot on them," Ginobili said. "We are not going to find the rims guilty of anything."

 

I don't think Francis is the best pure point guard. He has weaknesses particularly in the area of being a floor general. He makes boneheaded passes and decisions too much. I don't have a problem criticizing him for that.

But... Francis is a better player than many of the pure point guards out there.

Francis also tries hard whether he's making bad mistakes or not. He's often the only Rockets player on the floor who dives out of bounds trying to save a ball, will go to the floor trying to pick up a loose ball, etc. He leaves it out there on the the court. Steve works hard in the off season and does what it takes to get ready to play. A couple of off seasons ago he had his shoulder taken care of early so he'd be ready. Steve went to the Mayo clinic and got totally changed his diet(not easy) in order to be able to play.

Steve is also the only star of a team I can think of who has gone so out of his way to make a rookie(Yao Ming) feel at home. He drove Yao Ming around, talked to him about the pressures of the NBA, made the effort to welcome him by choosing to stretch with Yao Ming every time instead of his regular teammates. Stars don't usually go that much out of their way to make a veteran free-agent feel that welcome.

Steve's rookie year when he was in the rookie game, the slam dunk, the nba reading program, and whatever else he was getting up at 5:30 AM after arriving at 2:00 AM. He didn't complain. He said that he wanted to be a star in the league and knew that meant putting in the work. This was done while most players had a break.

Steve has dedication. He may not be the quickest learner, but the desire and effort is there. Prior to this year I was willing to forgive Steve a lot because his whole life he had never been a PG. So when he came to the NBA he was not only learning the NBA game, he was also learning a brand new position, and one that requires a person to run the whole show. This year I don't give him that slack anymore. I agree that excuse time is over. So far this year he is making improvements. He's helped shut down guards like Billups, Davis, Marbury etc. That's huge. He's been asked to change his game perhaps more than any other Rocket and he's making progress(as well as mistakes) while doing so.

Another reason why I'm a Stevie gets bashed more than other players so I kind of like routing for the underdog. Other Rockets players have had more TO's in games this year despite having the ball in their hands far less than Steve, yet it barely gets mentioned. It's not criticism of Steve I mind, it's unfair criticism.

Perhaps another and possibly the biggest reason I'm a fan of his is that he plays for my favorite team. That's what really counts. Honestly I don't know if I like him more than some of the other players on the team. I guess his acrobatic moves are fun to watch, but wins are the most important thing to me.

 

LOL!!!