We come back and get a HUGE win on the road from a playoff calibur team and this happens? Sick, just sick.
What is the whole point of this discussion forum then? Let's just shut down clutchcity because nothing we say or do will have an impact on the actual games.
I get the feeling there are a lot of people that are Yao fans over being Rocket fans. It seems as long as they see Ming take a lot of shots they are satisfied win or lose. Just like if they don't think Ming shot enough, they won't be satisfied win or lose. Basketball IQ dictates that you take what the defense gives you and don't force it. If Boston is going to sell out to stop Yao, then you make them pay for paying no attention to your guards. That's just smart Basketball. That IS effectively using Yao's presense to create easier opportunities for other guys. And beside, I'm a ROCKETS fan, and I'm just glad they got a big win. I don't give a damn if Collier takes 30 shots as long as we win!
The whole point is that we can't expect our guards to have such superb nights every night. We must find a way to give Yao the ball, even when he has the defense geared towards him. Frankly, we were lucky to pull off a win tonight, and on most other nights, we would have been dead in the water.
Don't you guys realize what is going on? Rudy is coaching his ass off. It's all part of the playoff strategy. Cat and Steve are going to "ignore" Yao until the playoffs, thus causing our first round opponent to forget about double teaming him. Once the playoffs begin he will get get the ball repeatedly becoming our trojan horse. You guys just don't know anything about basketball.
Did you guys watch NBA2Night? They kept commenting on how they are not passing Yao the ball... with these HUGE ARROWS... hehehe... kind of funny. I don't care if they don't pass to Yao... as long as the Rox win.. but I am definitely disappointed that Yao only managed 3 REBOUNDS in 40 minutes... that is very sad
The Rockets only know how to win the hard way. It took monster games from SF and CM to pull off this victory, but an offense run through YM would be more smooth, and require less heroics. Raven
I'm a Yao fan. I admit I would never be a rox fan if Yao were not there. Not because I dislike rox, just Houston is too far from me. Now since Yao is there, a lot of people care about rox and they want rox to be in the playoff. If you can read Chinese and go to a Chinese sports forum, you will see many people who have no relationship with Houston at all celebrating every win of rox and cheering when Phoenix lost to Bulls. Most of the Yao fans do wish rox to win every game and get the Championship eventually. People are frustrated not just because Yao didn't get the ball, but they think Houston will never be a great team by continuing to play the no-passing game.
Probably not on the actual game, but I am with you that we should not ignore existing problems. Our guards, in fact the entire team, cannot make good entry pass to take advantage of Yao's size. While I am elated about tonight's miraculous win, I am not oblivious of our shortcomings. I don't understand why people get so defensive when we criticize our guard's plays.
You know, Houston is constantly blasted as a city full of fans who don't support their teams unless they are winning. Often, people will say that fans in Houston don't cheer at the right times - not fully understanding the implications of the game at that moment. We have low attendance. We have low sports IQ. And on and on. Tonight, we come back from 15 down in the fourth behind the frankly brilliant play of our two guards and the primary comments seem to be: 1. We got lucky. 2. Yao didn't get the ball enough. 3. Francis and Mobley are selfish. 4. We'll never get into the playoffs playing like this. Good LORD, will anyone EVER be happy? I mean, I understand being a blind fan and all, but DAMN, this is ridiculous! Instead of looking for the silver lining, you guys look for the thunderstorm. And hell, you don't HAVE to look for the silver lining in this one because we freakin' WON! It was a helluva exciting game. It friggin' rocked. Where are the cheers? Where are the happy fans? If this is how pissed we get when we win on the road in overtime against a playoff-bound team after being down by 15 in the fourth when our second best player only had 7 points and our star guard had to play through a seriously sore back, I'm terrified to think what will happen if we win game 7 in the Finals. I guess then the first comment will be, "Yeah, but we'll never win back-to-back championships." Sheesh. And, for the record, I am not suggesting we ignore problems or not try to follow the games closely. I'm saying that, at some point, this is supposed to be about enjoying the game and winning. If it stops being about that, why bother watching?
Tim Legler said he pick the Suns to go to the playoffs because Yao doesn't get the ball. He also said it's funny how opponents seem to notice Yao but his teammates don't. Anyways we'll see how this Yao not getting the ball issue will affect on our playoff chances.
Translation: Quit b****ING!!! We won a game on the ROAD against a GOOD TEAM. My sentiments exactly Jeff.....
I think what the original poster 'haven' wanted to know is why doesn't the guards pass him the ball when he is WIDE WIDE OPEN UNDER THE BASKET?' Its ok if the guards are hot, Yao is doubled/tripled team and they decided to take the shot, but when he is wide open for a guaranteed 2pts, don't you think he warrants a pass? Yao is there to be ultilised, not a safety precausion to be used only when the guards are off in their shooting. And this is not just about Yao, if Eggie or Posey are wide open under the basket, I don't care if the guards are shooting the lights out, they should pass it to them. If these simple things can be corrected, the combination of our guards and Yao would be hard to beat for most teams in the league. Go Rocks! -G'day-
Simple question are we going to pull the same stunt off tomorrow night and on if we keep playing small ball passing up big fella. I know that the inside-out game is going to get us to the playoff. It's not just this one game we are fighting right now. If the same Rox team shows up tomorrow night in MSG and spree/houston shooting the lights out, we are going to get embrassed big time. We need to play the right basketball to win.
Absolutely, but Sports Center highlighted 5 points in a game with 80 or 90 possessions. Isn't it equally as possible that Yao was being hammered by the Celtics on 75 percent of those other plays? What if the guard with the ball just couldn't see around his defender for the split second or two Yao was open on those 5 or so plays? In the past week, the Rockets have made a concerted effort to get the big fella the ball. Tonight was not his night. The Celtic were climbing all over him like a jungle gym from the moment he set foot on the floor. They were doubling him before he even got the ball - one in front and one behind. If they would have forced the ball to him, Francis would have 10 turnovers instead of two and we'd all be complaining about how he turns the damn ball over too much. SportsCenter is like the National Enquirer of sports news. They give you all the sensation from the angle they think is most profitable for their sponsors but in-depth analysis is a tad on the short side.
One other thing....YAO WAS DEAD TIRED. We couldnt go to him because he wasnt positioning well. He also couldnt rebound. His movements were slow and awkward. WE WON PEOPLE!!! enjoy it.
I wouldn't be surprised seeing yao managed 3 rebs. I bet most of the time he was contesting 3 point shots or out of the key. Rox defence is really suckk
