I think JVG wanted to put his best 3 point shooting team out there given they were down by 11 with a few minutes left. I think Yao and Deke did their jobs tonight and we got good production out of the position. T-Mac just didn't shoot well and the Rox depend on him so much, as T-Mac goes so go the Rox. Nobody expected us to win did they? We are looking better as a team and with the addition of Wesley, Barrett and Barry I see a playoff spot for the Rox instead of the struggling team from a couple of weeks ago.
yao has to GO GET THE BALL ! He needs to hold his position in a strong manner. Yao played ok, but he could have punished the Suns if he played hard from the start. Tmac, well, frankly he hurt us with all those shots tonight. If they aren't falling, attack the rim or set the table for others to eat. Team is getting better, but I still think we are a long shot to make the playoffs. DD
Barrett played great in the first half pressuring the ball all 94 ft and getting us back into it. He was a little less effective in the 2nd half, but Tmac has to shoot better for us to win. DD
How did you know when you never tried? Please prove me wrong by showing his TOs when the guards did pass him.
What are you, his mother? His orthodontist? I want to see Yao play 48 minutes of agressive and engaged basketball. I want to see Yao not get dunked on by small forwards. I want to see Yao use his God given gifts and impose his will on players instead of having the Steven Hunters of the world feeling good about themselves when they come in the paint. I want to see all of that (hell, even a smile from Yao is acceptable ), but I just don't see it happening. If Yao were our back-up center who we picked up in the middle of the first round I would be satisfied with Yao's play tonight. But Yao isn't some mid-round stiff. A bad coach, or a bad system, or bad teammates has never kept a dominant big man from being dominant. Frankly, If Yao were the force many on this board think he is capable of being we would see more evidence of it. It just looks like that Yao's upside is not as high as many of us thought it was. Maybe the rule changes this year hurts big men, but it doesn't seem to have hurt Shaq, so I don't know. As always, I desperately hope Yao makes me look r****ded (not the first time) and lives up to his potential.
I'll give Yao the benefit of the doubt on that pass. Barry's pass wasn't a 100% 'i'm going just pass it to you' kind of pass. He jumped and acted like he was going to shoot but he faked it instead. I do that on the court and I know how even the fastest of players can miss it. And besides, Barry came in during that quarter guns ablazin. Fast break pull up 3? It went in but c'mon. Anyhow, I believe that Yao DID look up getting ready to rebound. If you watched the replay he actually reacted pretty fast to an UNEXPECTED pass. And when you do those kinds of crazy passes, you try to rocket the ball to your man.
He's a finesse player, not a brutal force dominant center as Shaq. He needs others' help to be great. He's not great yet. But his greatness (potential) could benefit the Rockets. If you think that's weak and garbage, by all means.
Please watch the game in slow motion and count the times that Yao has both hands up asking for the ball, and the guards hesitated, waited, or just swung the ball on the perimeter. I counted at least 8 times it happened in limited time when Yao was on the court. The other thing that I did not understand is why we doubled so much on their perimeter players, thus leaving they with so many wide open 3s? Yao played Amare straight up and totally shut him down, and yet we doubled, on whom?
Man, I was expecting all those crazy a** shots, they were throwing up, to stop going in. I haven't seen that many ugly shots or horrible shot selection since my brother played YMCA ball when he was 10. I think the Suns did a pretty good job at keeping the ball out of Yao's hands. They fronted him and brought a weak side defender down behind him to stop an over-the-top entry pass. I think the Rockets settled too much on outside shots and stopped trying to force it into Yao, but I'll give the Suns some credit on thier defense. They set out to make the Rockets beat them from the outside, and it worked. What was the difference? <b>3pts</b> - <b>Rox:</b> 8/28 .286 | <b>Suns:</b> 15/34 .441 I'm not going to get down on this game. The Suns have destroyed most teams this year and the Rockets did alot of nice things and stayed in it mostly throughout. I think this game basically came down to great shooting by the Suns and the Rockets' legs getting worn down by the 4th after chasing them all game.
Barry should have thrown it at Yao's melon, that way if he missed at least he would have a headache. DD
Big Mac was simpily responding to some stupid fish here who's trying to bash Yao whenever possible, even when that wasn't what decided the game. Why don't you spend more time posting " Yao-haters are so god damn annoying", instead.
It is JVGs game plan that the ball did not go to first because he was so afraid of YM's tureovers which may lead to suns fast break points. T-mac was the first offensive option, but he failed badly.
Yea, I would have liked them to let Nash go one-on-one and stick on thier other shooters. If Nash gets 40 points, so be it. But, he is not able to get others involved, especially getting them wide open 3-pointers. But, that's just me.
Exactly. I now fully believe our PFs suck. like really suck. their ineptitude on defense on Marion or Amare was big. when they get beat on the dribble, Yao has to slide over and cover. but then Marion or Amare just kicks the ball out, the ball is swung over to the open man for 3 *boom*. where was our PF you ask? not guarding a damn thing.
