[Houston Press] Yao at center of Rockets' adjustments

The Cat · Apr 24, 2009

None of this is earth-shattering, but I figured a few of you would be intrigued by the "analyst" in this story.

By Ben DuBose in Sports
Friday, Apr. 24 2009 @ 6:58AM

Two years ago, Tracy McGrady made headlines by telling the world the Rockets' playoff success or failure was all on him.

Flash forward to today, and it's all on Yao Ming, and the world knows it. So do the Blazers.

After losing Game 2 in Portland, the Rockets have quite a few adjustments to make before Game 3 on Friday night here at Toyota Center -- and two of the biggest ones involve the Rockets' prized center.

Of course, one of the most important changes for Yao is out of the Rockets' hands.

Led by lead official Joey Crawford, the officiating in Tuesday's Game 2 was so abhorrent, so awful at times that it seemed Rockets' announcers were on the verge of laughing from the ineptitude. (Good thing the Rockets themselves didn't, because Crawford has a history of ejecting players for laughing.)

Crawford is not expected to referee Game 3 in Houston, so that's one less thing for head coach Rick Adelman to worry about. But aside from officiating gripes, the Rockets and Yao certainly have room for improvement.

I broke down my five biggest areas of concern, and for analysis, spoke with resident Rockets guru David Hardisty. If that name doesn't sound familiar, you might better know him as "Clutch" -- the founder of the legendary Rockets' fan site clutchfans.net. Here's our take on five of the most pressing issues entering this weekend's games.

5.) Yao has gotten into foul trouble in each of the first two games, notching his fourth foul mid-way through the third quarter. How does he stay on the floor?

Dave Hardisty: One of Portland's primary goals is to get Yao in foul trouble -- I think that's Joel Przybilla's only goal, actually. They're going to post Oden up on him to try to draw fouls as well as have Roy throw his body into him on drives, and at times (as we saw in Game 2), he's going to be victim of a bad call or two. I don't think you'll see him get horrendous calls at home, so I think as long as he stays away from the "swipes" and keeps his post position and hands up he'll be fine.

4.) When Carl Landry was out for three weeks, much was made of how his absence hurt the team and how he was necessary for the playoffs. In two games against Portland, he has five points. What happened - is Portland a bad matchup for him?

DH: This surprised me as I expected him to have a bigger impact, but I do think defensively he's a weaker option. Aldridge is a tough cover for him and so is Travis Outlaw, but the Rockets need to find a way because his offensive skillset can really help break the fronting defenses that Nate McMillan will employ.

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http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/04/rockets_portland_game_3.php#more

moestavern19 · Apr 24, 2009

Awww, when you said you were interviewing Clutch, I thought you meant the Bear.

The_Yoyo · Apr 24, 2009

Nice read and interview

thanks

ItsMyFault · Apr 24, 2009

moestavern19 said:

Awww, when you said you were interviewing Clutch, I thought you meant the Bear.

Click to expand...

Funny...... not.

moestavern19 · Apr 24, 2009

ItsMyFault said:

Funny...... not.
Click to expand...

inside jokes usually aren't.

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