It is still an excited game. Rockets got out-rebound on the 1st half. But Barry/Brooks DBL guards were great. Many of the audiences stay till the end of the game. Can't wait for next match when Mutombo and Battier come back.
Easily his worst game, I'm really pissed too. Just seems like he lost what little hops he had after the surgery, he can barely get up to dunk anymore and he gets blocked now more than ever. Got blocked 4 times, 1 by the rim. how he responds to this game will be more important though, as every great player will have bad stretches. It's about improving on mistakes and getting better.
Yea Yao got blocked by the rim gotta be the play of the year Im also suprised nobody even mentioned the refs?! C'mon guys when Yao got it going in the first qtr they simply took him out of the game by blowing that phantom offensive foul. Tmac carried the team and Ron shut down Pierce...but his shot selections were questionable. Good game anyways.
Unlike some people who state yao had a poor game, I think his game was poor because he didn't rebound or defend. If yao had 10 pts, but had 15 rebs and 4 blks, we wouldn't be talking about a poor game. My biggest problem with Yao has always been that he lets his offensive production effect his presence in the game. That's my problem and tats a problem that has been consistent with him. He never contested perkins jumpers and he got pushed around.
First of all, the first 5 games don't tell you much - particularly when you look at two elite teams meeting. Guys haven't played together - it's really still pre-season. Guys are getting their legs back, getting their shot back. Secondly, Yao's performance - he's coming back from a season ending injury - he's not going to be at his best for a few more weeks at least. Artest's shooting has definitely been the biggest concern for me...but again, I don't think much of it at this stage of the season.
I can't believe the amount of bashing Yao is getting here! If we hit a few more shots, we win the game! Barry wasn't hitting, Aaron Brooks missed some wide open 3's. Artest went 3-16!! (although he did a great job on Pierce). Rafer couldn't hit a shot in the ocean. Only Scola and Tmac were on tonight. Yao being doubled and fronted got the Rockets wide open shots. We just have to make them. If we made a few more shots, and we won the game, there wouldn't be nearly as much Yao bashing, bunch of bandwagon fans who never played a game of basketball in their lives... I'm not saying Yao was at his absolute best today, but he was getting called for weak touch fouls while Perkins and Davis were able to push him wherever they wanted to without being called for a foul. Besides the dunk he missed, he did nothing wrong. He was worn down by trying to fight for position while they fouled him. That will make anybody tired, let alone a man coming off injury and playing in the Olympics. Without Yao, we don't get 1/2 the open looks we got today. This game showed where Battier would've been great. He is better at chasing guys around like Allen, Hamilton, and Martin. He can guard the great isolation players as well, such as Kobe, Lebron, DWade, and Pierce, but Artest is probably more effective, because his strength can where them down more than Battier's hand in the face throughout the game. Artest is not great at chasing guys around picks and contesting shots because he is really big to get around screens and he is not as fast or quick as Battier. Artest is better at guarding various positions and just using his strength and aggressiveness to play defense. Battier is a little more faster and quicker, and uses great technique to play defense and can outsmart any opponent. Once he comes back, Artest won't have to worry so much about playing defense and scoring a lot, that will prevent 3-16 nights. Tmac played great in the 2nd half. He took over, realizing that Yao was being hounded and Artest was shooting horribly today. He was great on offense and on defense he played somewhat decent getting steals, but his lateral movement is nowhere near the Tmac we know. He may not be able to do this every night, but its good to know that if we do need him, this guy is capable of carrying us to a win almost by himself.
I know there were multiple factors but the Rockets went on that 23-4 run in the 1st half to go from 16 down to a few points up... while Alston was on the bench. It's just one game so not enough to pass too much judgment.
Yao did start the game out strong, at least offensively. I wonder how much impact sitting on the bench for much of the 1st half had on his game. No, I'm not looking for excuses, just the facts.
I agree about the PF redundancy, the Rafer issue and our desperate need for frontcourt length. Two possible moves: 1. Give Brooks a chance to start. Let him loose for a few games and see what happens. If that doesn't work, revert back to Alston starting and continue looking at options for bringing in an upgrade. 2. Package at least one of those PFs with Head's and/or Francis' expiring contracts and try to trade for a backup C.
CONFIDENCE matters in pro sports remember back to when Tmac lost his confidence, his game was as good as mine, but he got his confidence back and lit it up Yao will not play like this again or a long time
Who said Rockets lost this game! All I saw in this game was a statement to the Champs : we are very close to you guys. And I am not kidding. I know the score says 103-99 but 1 more 3 from Rafer or Ron, 1 more shot of Tmac or a devensive stop could flip the score board. Yes this game was that close. Now, if the rockets had won this game say 103-99, would that mean Rockets are legit contenders now? NO. Look, close games like this will shape our character as a team. We are not ready yet, some players are not still 100%, big 3 is learning to play with each other and there are some inconsistencies. Let them gel, get Battie and Mutombo back and we will be fine. We will also loose close games to Lakers and NO, but those will also make us nothing but better. I am very very confident that bar any injury, we will be firing in all cylinders after the Allstar break. I see all the good things in this game. Have patience, we will be beating Lakets,NO and Boston on regular basis.
all valid points. i was angry at yao. and anger can make you blind momentarily. but yao still sucked big time tonight.
Rockets fans should be used to the refs. any rockets team has to win DESPITE the refs. that just comes with being a houston team. so, it boils down to 2 of our big 3 not shooting well. and Yao's horrid defense. we'll get em next time.
I couldn't agree with you more. 4 games into the season and we played terrible against the defending champs, but go within 4 points and had a chacne to win. Great signs of our character to be able to stay in the game.
I don't think it will happen, but this would be my thinking. Trade Head for Calvin Booth. 2 guys with expiring contracts who won't play. Rafer for Hunter and Carter. Hunter is the backup to yao and booth is another long armed big that is there if yao has to miss 5 games or so. Carter is the backup to brooks. Cut francis, sign strawberry. Now the rox have a atheletic backup big in hunter and a good defensive veteran backup pg in carter. They could send dorsey to the nbdl.
tmac lost his confidence b/t of injuries and not knowing when he'll be healthy to play. yao clearly lost his confidence b/t perkins blocked him in single coverage and he embarrassed himself by missing that dunk. that's a big difference. and i'm sure yao won't play this bad again. but every year we go through this. if yao struggles offensively, he usually is a non-factor in other areas. he needs to change that. if he misses shots, get to the line (start posting up deeper and get easier shots). get double digit rebounds. block 4-5 shots. a great player should not let offense dictate his impact. yao is still learning this apparently going into his 7th season. it's frustrating.
I've seen tracy have bad nights shooting, but he would have 6 rebs and 8 asst. Yao brought nothing on the glass and controlling the paint.
I understand Yao had a bad game, but wow.... eh I won't get into that, Rox played a gg none the less , def can not wait for Battier to be 100% , but even without him out there we had a great chance on winning this. Rox keep building!
I think even with the loss. We're ready in terms of personnel. Just a few more changes(Another PF/C around 6"10 or taller(Mcdyess + Mutombo). Also, Ron needs to help Yao bring that inner thug in him. We need a tougher and better finisher version of Yao to beat the elite teams. Great game by Tmac, Luis(hopefully he's game carries over the whole season), AB and the 2nd unit. Rockets rise up to the challenge! Claim the victory! This should be our year to win the championship!
