There goes all of the " i think steve is really fitting into jvg's system". This team is not smart and never will be with this backcourt. I just wonder where was pike and nachbar while mobley and steve were shooting bricks?
It would be best if rox does not get 'home-court' advantage for the playoffs.....the refs always screw the rox at home.
There's simply no excuse for blowing such a lead at home. I know teams always make a run, but the Rockets just fell apart. And YM needs to b***h slap AS the next time he showboats like that. Playing in the NBA is more than scoring, defending, and passing, it's also about respect, and YM has to make guys pay when they disrespect him. Like I said in a previous post, you would never catch AS pulling that crap on Shaq or Karl Malone. Raven
Well this game just furthers exposes one of our weaknesses. I mean comon, they full court pressed pretty much the whole game after the first quarter, and every single damn time we did the same thing to get around it. Passing it back and forth in the back court works but takes a good 3-4 seconds off the shot clock. The announcers mentioned how many shots we got off we the shot clock running down. JVG should have told the team to attack the pressure d and get some easy points, but we did the same thing over and over and we got left with bad shots at the end of the clock.
im the one that created that thread. And steve comes back and goes to dirbble mania and starts bricking again.
This is why I started the fundamentals versus athleticism thread in NBA Dish. The Rockets need way more fundamentals than athleticism at the guard position. Noone can shoot straight or pass out of traps without turning the ball over. Can Steve and Cuttino become good decision-makers? I doubt it. Look at Quincy Carter of the Cowboys. Parcells got Drew Henson because he knew Carter didn't have the brain to take the team to the next level. Francis = Quincy Carter.
all i remember after consecutive plays was TO, TO ,TO. Then it was the brick party, then it was yao getting dunked on. oh yes everyone was like OOhhhh until yao blocked 3 consecutive shots. THen what happened?? oh yeah keep shooting by the "oh so hot" guards. I mean come on MJ should never shoot and so shouldnt AG. Yao's 6 attempts in the last quarter (made all 6 conincidently) were from putbacks. He had like ONE where time was expiring and he was setup for a jumper. No i didn't watch it on T.V but i felt just as bad or worse than other games where i had to gut it out.
hi Clutch, I share your frustration. But IMHO, if I were to pick one self-defeating element to our game, it's the turnovers. The turnovers are costing us the game by giving opposing teams more possessions and oftentimes, great scoring opportunities, esp. in transition. Decision-making, ball-handling, poor-passing, mental lapses - anything you'd like to attribute to turnovers is where the Rox are really vulnerable. That second and third quarter scoring droughts alongside the Suns "runs" were all a direct consequence of turnovers. Sadly, even Mark Jackson had some blown passes and broken down plays. Credit this - in part- to the individual athleticism of Marion and Stoudamire - credit the other part to our own lack of poise and decision-making. Sure, Stevie and Mobley didn't shoot very well today. But overall, I have to say, I liked the "looks" they, and JJ were getting. Add JJ to the mix, and I'd have to say, our perimeter shooters got some high percentage FGAs. Although it would be nice to see Yao get more shots than the guards, but quite frankly, it's b/c Yao has been getting more touches that our guards are getting open looks to shoot. In fact, if I were to surmise D'Antoni's strategy, he, like many an opposing coach, has to honor Yao and instead chooses to challenge us to shoot from the perimeter. Obviously, it helps if we could knock down the shots. But overall, our gameplan appears to be working. Overall, I'm not the least bit discouraged after tonite. Am I angry and disappointed? Sure I am. But i'm not discouraged. On the positive note, Yao was quite the workhorse today in the 4th. And even though he missed a FT and a FG in clutch time, you can see his comfort level and leadership on the court. On consecutive plays in the 4th, as we were fighting back, Yao demanded the ball and got a dunk and another good shot off. Plus! Outside of one silly offensive foul, Yao couldn't be stopped! That is a great sign, IMO. My two cents and Happy St. Patty's Day too! theSAGE
I think yao did a good job by blocking the next couple shots by AS, but u kno amare was going to try to serve up a facial. Being 7' 6'' makes a great target to dunk on, the taller they are the better it looks.
I had a bad feeling after Rockets jumped out for a 33-15 lead in the 1st quarter and guards keep hitting their shots. I was afraid that they would be shot happy and ignore Yao and play less defense in the same time. Too bad I was right.
Bad loss. Francis and Mobley lost their shotting touch. Suddenly Yao stop shotting the ball the last few minutes of the game and most of the OT. But this is how the team grow. It has to be 2 step forward and 1 step back. But we are still moving forward and will enter the playoff the 1st time in 6 seasons. I am sure JVG will chow their asses off tomorrow and it is how ball players learn. We are looking good. You don't get rid off bad habits over night. 2-1= +1.
I don't understand the Rox defense strategy when they were up by 3 with 17 secs left. Why take Yao out at the moment. WHy not tell the team to NOT ALLOW any 3 point shot AT ALL and guard them tight outside...so what if they drive by you because Yao is in the middle ....so that means they're going to shoot 2 either made or miss but Rox still maintain the lead. I don't agreed with what Jeff did in that situation by taking Ming out....he should have told his players to play tough outside the arc and not allow any 3 and who care if they shoot the 2, just hope they miss but even if they made it ...we're still up by 1 and they still have to foul. This game should belong to the Rox if the coach play a little smart. I thought JVG did a good job during the Dallas game when he told the players to foul Steve Nash and bring him to the line when the Rox are up by 3. WHy not do the same thing here....they could have won this game instead of going overtime. It sucks that Yao had an awesome game and the Rox still lose...that just shows you how weak some of the other Rockets' players are....including Francis. That guy is overrated.
Why is everybody so obsessed with those dunks. How can you say other players don't respect Ming? They can trash talk all they want, and pretend not care about Ming's ability, but they still double or tripple or front him. That's respect in the game. If Rockets can win every game, I am cool with Ming getting facial 10 times per game, and he can answer right back with easy layups or beautiful fadeways. What matter is the game, not those stupid carton face or posture or tough talks. If Ming can score 20 points night in night out, and he get a couple of facials every game, so what? It's not like those pointes count twice or it really change the game.
Although this loss was BAD, it wasn't a disaster if you look at the big picture. Rox are pretty much going to be the 7th seed which match up with the T-Pups in the 1st round. If the Rox stayed hot and moved up their likely opponents would be either LA or SA which have PLENTY of playoff/championship expierience.
This game lowered Steve's trade value a couple of notches. I'm hoping Ray Allen is still available. The Rockets may have to give up a lot more than Steve. The Sonics GM probably saw this game on TNT.
