1st to agree with Rockets2K! Seriously, please stop that. It reminds me of all those yokes on Aintitcoolnews talkbacks.
Technically, no one will ever be 1st except for Clutch. So when they say 1st, they are really second...some of you people really have counting issues... I propose some to go back to school and learn how to count...
You really think Marion and Stoud will dominate for sure? JJ should be on Marion....I really think he can at least slow him down a bit. and Stoud doesnt yet have the outside game which Cato is weak in defending...He plays more close in to the paint, which Cato has shown he can defend against...Cato has the height and weight advantage....I think strength will be a push.. Curious...and since I respect your opinion....why do you believe that?
Since there is a sign we take step back to last year's Rox and last year Rox would have a long losing streak after a winning streak, so I predict a loss, again: Rox 79 Sun 85
I think you are wrong. Marion won't have an easy time against JJ and Stoudamire don't play well against guys who are physical against him (Cato will hopefully rough em up). Just look at last year when Kurt Thomas and others shut him out because they were really physical towards him. One game last year I remember Stoudamire picking on EG because he plays soft, but when MoT came in and banged with him, he was virtually shutout the rest of the game.
I hope the Rox bring back the guards' scoring touch and make Yao put in some aggression. At this stage in his career, I'd rather he play hard and foul out than remain on the court and be b****slapped around like a 7'6 twig... Somethings gotta give... he's gotta get pissed and get personal!
I'm telling you, if you paid attention last year when we played the Suns, Yao really holds Amare well everytime they are matched up one on one. Amare can't do nothing on Yao because of his length.
ChenZen and Rockets2K, There are countless reasons why Marion will dominate JJ. It's because he's taller, jumps higher, is as quick, stronger, a better rebounder, a better defender, and has added range to his ultra-powerful athletic game. Marion is 20/10/2 from the SF position, probably the 2nd best SF in the league behind Kevin Garnett. Although SF is admiteddly the weakest position in the league, he's still up there. As for Stoudamire, come to think of it you may be right. What I'm basing my opinion on is motivation - Amare wants to show off against Yao and the Rockets, and when he has that fire going he's pretty good. Right now, he only has a power game, and can only drive to one side. If cato can exploit this, and doesn't put Yao in foul trouble, then we'll be ok. However, I think Amare is quick enough to take Cato, Braggs and Padgett to the hoop over and over again, putting Yao in foul trouble (help defense). So I guess the fate of this game will depend on how smart Cato is in forcing Stoudamire to drive to his weak side. Cato will be the difference. With that said, Rockets 88 Suns 80
To think about it, I am still confused as to why we had no problem dealing with the Kings while failed miserably against the Mavs. The kings are a much better passing team... So, I guess there are just some teams that we have no or little problems, and some teams that we just could not win. We had Suns numbers last year. So, I truly fully believe that we will win tonight. Boy, I miss the previous days visiting the site when we were winning. We need a shot of ...
I will say 7 of the next 7 losing. tonite: ROX -- SUN 65 -- 77 Yao, 3pts, 6rebs, 1 assist, 2 blks in 38 mins
Scotia I will be extremely disappointed in JVG is your prediction of Yao's stats is close. What I saw in the Mavs game is that we did not run plays through Yao on the offensive end when he was in the game. On the defensive end, however, Yao was a liability against the quicker Mavs players. I think the same will be true against the Suns. So, if you don't play him on the offensive end, then don't play him at all. 38 Minutes and 6 points? One of the number has to be way off.
Sane, the gap at the 3 has narrowed tremendously from last year. We had Rice holding Marion last year. JJ won't shut Marion out but will hopefully keep him from going off like he did last year. I think Marbury is the key. It would be nice if we put Cat on Marbury because stevie doesn't do well defensively against quick/hesistation type penetrators (nash & marbury). We've got to try that JVG!
theres going to be some determination in the game tonight. this game is more important because the suns are on equal footing on us, this game will determine our ranking for the next week. that said, after our loss last night, we cant lose, and if we do, God help the bandwith of the bbs. suns 78 Rox 87
LOL! nyquil82, I respect the spirit of your post. And I do agree that, come playoff time, it's far more important that we edge out the Suns. That being said . . .this isn't college football. Next week's "rankings" don't mean a damn thing. It's fun to keep track of the rankings at ESPN and at CBS, but I've never been worried about winning a particular game so that we'll look good in next week's rankings.
