1. Welcome! Please take a few seconds to create your free account to post threads, make some friends, remove a few ads while surfing and much more. ClutchFans has been bringing fans together to talk Houston Sports since 1996. Join us!

If we played Phoenix 100 times, we would lose 90...

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Hank McDowell, Mar 12, 2007.

Tags:
Page 1 of 4
  1. Hank McDowell

    Hank McDowell Member

    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2002
    Messages:
    7,333
    Likes Received:
    12,079
    I now have very little hope that the Rockets will go far in the playoffs this year. We just do not match up with Phoenix well at all.

    It seems like no matter what we do, they have a better answer.

    I'm a BIG Van Gundy fan, but he has to take a lot of the blame for this. If our guards can't get Yao the ball when he is double teamed, they had damn sure better be able to hit the open outside shot. Rafer has proven time and time again that he just can't seem to do this. He was absolutely useless from the outside yet again tonight. Jeff has got to be willing to make adjustments on nights like these or we will not have a prayer against teams like Phoenix and Dallas in the post season. If we can't take advantage of their lack of size in the middle, we're going to get crushed 90 percent of the time. It's just so frustrating to watch....
     
    #1 Hank McDowell, Mar 12, 2007
  2. whoisray

    whoisray Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2002
    Messages:
    836
    Likes Received:
    11
    The good thing is we won't meet them until the finals, if we both reach it.
     
    #2 whoisray, Mar 12, 2007
  3. Tom Bombadillo

    Tom Bombadillo Member

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2006
    Messages:
    29,091
    Likes Received:
    23,991
    yea, but I put some of the blame on yao,he either took a tough shot, got blocked, or made a turnover.
    It goes both ways....
     
    #3 Tom Bombadillo, Mar 12, 2007
  4. Patience

    Patience Member

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2002
    Messages:
    8,247
    Likes Received:
    10,642
    I agree the Rockets don't match up well with the Suns. That said, this was one of the worst performances I've seen from Yao. He had the ball in the post plenty of times, but made bad decisions nearly every time. He seemed a step slow physically and in terms of his reactions.
     
    #4 Patience, Mar 12, 2007
  5. whoisray

    whoisray Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2002
    Messages:
    836
    Likes Received:
    11
    oops, i meant the WCF.
     
    #5 whoisray, Mar 12, 2007
  6. magnetik

    magnetik Member

    Joined:
    Aug 2, 2005
    Messages:
    5,570
    Likes Received:
    490
    wow.. you actually gave us 10?
     
    #6 magnetik, Mar 12, 2007
  7. plutoblue11

    plutoblue11 Member

    Joined:
    Dec 13, 2006
    Messages:
    10,528
    Likes Received:
    1,011
    Kinda disappointed with the loss.

    But the team just finish playing a game almost less than 24 hrs. ago, and Phoenix been resting since Friday night.

    I wish we could get and first round of the playoffs beat the leaving **** out of them and shut those mother f%&^king analyst the f&$k up.
     
    #7 plutoblue11, Mar 12, 2007
  8. davidhero

    davidhero Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2006
    Messages:
    18
    Likes Received:
    0
    are you high or sth, man?
    We definitely are gonna lose 100 times.
     
    #8 davidhero, Mar 12, 2007
  9. durvasa

    durvasa Member

    Joined:
    Feb 11, 2006
    Messages:
    38,893
    Likes Received:
    16,449
    He played Lucas. That wasn't an adjustment?
     
    #9 durvasa, Mar 12, 2007
  10. BrieflySpeaking

    BrieflySpeaking Member

    Joined:
    Aug 3, 2003
    Messages:
    5,019
    Likes Received:
    356
    we would win at least 2 games :cool:
     
    #10 BrieflySpeaking, Mar 12, 2007
  11. wnes

    wnes Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Feb 19, 2003
    Messages:
    8,196
    Likes Received:
    19
    Did it work? If it did, why didn't JVG stick with it? If not, why didn't he adjust again?
     
    #11 wnes, Mar 12, 2007
  12. AstroRocket

    AstroRocket Member

    Joined:
    May 28, 1999
    Messages:
    11,814
    Likes Received:
    458
    You know, against Phoenix an offense stressing passing and knocking knocking down open shots is fool's gold. They play the passing lanes and run out so well that by the time the ball is finally able to reach the open man, he's no longer open.

    What you want to be able to do is drive by the defense as it runs out, thus getting to the basket where you can take advantage of Yao occupying and sealing off two defenders. In this stategy you needs guys that can put it on the floor and get all the way to the rim. Also, your four man (whose defender in the first guy to come over on the Yao double team) needs to be able to either hit the open midrange shot or dive to the basket for layups. (This is why chuck and Juwan had good games).

    What killed us tonight was just bad personell decisions by JVG. A Rafer-Mac-Shane-Chuck-Yao lineup was screwed form the start, as only TMac and Chuck would exhibit any real scoring effectiveness against the Suns style of defense. A lineup Yao-Chuck/Juwan-Mac-Snyder-JLIII (Yes, i said Lucas) getting more PT might have fared a bit better.
     
    #12 AstroRocket, Mar 12, 2007
  13. NewYorker

    NewYorker Ghost of Clutch Fans

    Joined:
    Sep 14, 2002
    Messages:
    6,130
    Likes Received:
    41
    We aren't in the same league as the Suns.

    Sorry guys, but getting blown out by every good team we've played the last month isn't very convincing.

    I'll still watch because that's what being a fan is, but I expect this team to get past the first round.
     
    #13 NewYorker, Mar 12, 2007
  14. johnrox

    johnrox Member

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2006
    Messages:
    1,058
    Likes Received:
    0
    newyorker, don't take yourself too seriously, YOFS are just around the corner ;)
     
    #14 johnrox, Mar 12, 2007
  15. Hank McDowell

    Hank McDowell Member

    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2002
    Messages:
    7,333
    Likes Received:
    12,079
    No, playing Lucas was an adjustment, and it was a good one, but he didn't play him for very long at all. Lucas did a better job than Alston tonight, yet he didn't see much action after the first half.

    And I can't think of one single other adjustment that was made the entire game...

    The point is that Jeff doesn't seem to have a clue about how to beat Phoenix. He doesn't use his bench well at all. We do not challenge them to adjust to our strengths, and by trying to run with them we are so exhausted by the 4th quarter that it seems like the whole team just wants the nightmare to end and be over with.

    We should be able to pound the middle against them all night long, yet we don't get Yao the ball in good position a lot of the time due to the fronted double team pressure. But that means that someone should be wide open on the outside...and they are...but they can't seem to hit the shot and Jeff stubbornly won't allow others off the bench who could possible do a better job. Where was Snyder? Why was our best pure shooter on the inactive list? Why didn't Lucas play more minutes instead of Rafer? Or Spanoulis for that matter?
     
    #15 Hank McDowell, Mar 13, 2007
  16. anitasri

    anitasri Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2002
    Messages:
    835
    Likes Received:
    0
    Rafer Friggin Alston was a sight to behold with Barbosa riding him like a pet donkey all night long.
     
    #16 anitasri, Mar 13, 2007
  17. orbb

    orbb Member

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2002
    Messages:
    2,045
    Likes Received:
    16
    lmao. fans can be harsh
     
    #17 orbb, Mar 13, 2007
  18. Queeni

    Queeni Member

    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2005
    Messages:
    159
    Likes Received:
    0
    Good points. JLIII is the best move by JVG in this game.
     
    #18 Queeni, Mar 13, 2007
  19. durvasa

    durvasa Member

    Joined:
    Feb 11, 2006
    Messages:
    38,893
    Likes Received:
    16,449
    I thought it worked decently. I mean, it didn't hurt us. He didn't go back to it in the second half because he felt our best chance of getting back in the game would be with our regulars. You don't make adjustments just for the sake of making adjustments. There has to be a rationale behind it. You assess how a combination of players would work together, what are their strengths and weaknesses as a unit, and you choose the players accordingly.

    Does Lucas and/or Spanoulis give us a better shot at winning the game in the 4th quarter than Rafer/Luther? One could debate that if they like, but I think the decision to stick with Rafer/Luther is a sensible one. As for the decisions I didn't agree with:

    - I thought he should have kept Hayes in the game longer. In particular, I didn't like the Yao/Juwan pairing -- it made our frontline too damn slow.

    - I thought Yao was clearly ineffective from the get go; JVG should have curtailed his minutes significantly in the second half and gone primarily with Juwan and Chuck (both of whom were playing well).

    - I think Rafer's midrange jumper in transition is death -- JVG should specifically instruct him never to take that shot in my view.
     
    #19 durvasa, Mar 13, 2007
  20. Jeff

    Jeff Clutch Crew

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 1999
    Messages:
    22,412
    Likes Received:
    362
    You know why? Phoenix is a better team. So is Dallas. It's likely that, in a series, so are San Antonio and Detroit. Utah is a push and everyone else is even or below us.

    That's just the reality. Will that change? Who knows? But, right now, Phoenix is just a superior team whether we want to admit it or not.
     
    #20 Jeff, Mar 13, 2007
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)
Page 1 of 4

Share This Page