Game Quotes: Rockets 101, Bulls 100 ROCKETS COACH JEFF VAN GUNDY (on whether he felt helpless towards the end of the game) “No, not at all.” (on any similarities between the last 2 games played) "Not similar at all. We, obviously, have some trouble right now closing out games. We’re doing some good things to get ahead. Our team speed is problematic, our perimeter and pick and roll defense is something people are picking up on. It’s up to me to find some better answers and yet at the same time, if you had looked at our schedule coming into the year, you were down a couple of guys and you had played your last 3 games against Miami, San Antonio and Chicago, who many predicted to win it, and you won 2 of the 3, regardless of how the game ended, you would say they’re doing some good things. (But) I’m not happy at all with not playing up to our capabilities.” (on how much a coach can change the mind-set of the team) “First of all, you have to give the other team credit. And secondly, it’s up to me to put out a smarter team that gets to loose balls.” (on the positives of the Rockets’ play) “I was very happy with the bench play in the 1st half and Tracy’s (McGrady) aggression and making plays. In their (Chicago) 1st spurt, we guarded and rebounded well. Let’s leave it at that and on to Detroit.” TRACY McGRADY (on if tonight’s 4th quarter reminded him of Tuesday’s game against the Spurs) “It sure did. We played so well for 2 or 3 quarters and then in the 4th quarter, it’s always something. Somebody gets hot on us and they milk the heck out of that guy and we can’t stop them. Ben Gordon was that guy tonight. I don’t know what it is, but it’s got to stop because we can’t continue to go through the course of the season thinking that we’re going to play good for 3 quarters and have the lead and expect to win ballgames with a mental lapse in the 4th quarter like that.” (on what the Rockets can do to improve this lead-losing problem) “I don’t know what it is, but if we want to be great, it’s got to change. We can’t throw away games like this, especially at home. We’ve got all the energy in our favor and the crowd is louder here than I’ve ever heard it. To have breakdowns like that is really uncalled for. Moving forward, we have to do something about that.” (on whether he’s satisfied with tonight’s 1-point win) "I’m not happy, despite the win. I’m not happy at all because I know that this has been an on-going process. To be in a game like that, you have to be happy about the win, but the overall picture moving forward is not good because some of those games have slipped away and we had one slip away (Tuesday’s game against San Antonio). It’s not news to us and we should be able to put teams away.” YAO MING (on if tonight’s game reminded him of Tuesday’s game against the Spurs) "It’s too similar. The difference is the Spurs have a post player. We needed to concentrate on their (Bulls) perimeter shooting and the driver. With the Spurs, you have to defend both inside and out and I think that’s harder.” (on whether he’s happy with tonight’s win) “We won the game, but I still feel frustrated about the 4th quarter.” (on how the Rockets can play smarter in the 4th quarter) “Intelligence. More intelligence, I think. Know the time, know the score, know the penalties, know the number of timeouts. We need every player to know that and to know those situations.” (on whether tonight’s 4th quarter brought reminders of Tuesday’s 4th quarter against the Spurs) “With 2 or 3 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter, when they (Bulls) scored 7 or 8 points in a row, we went into the 4th quarter with about an 11 point lead and I didn’t think that was too bad. We have to learn to stay tight and to stay concentrated. For the most part, we did all right and we were able to stop their made-shots from the perimeter.” SCOTT PADGETT (on the Rockets’ 6-3 start to the season) "I think it shows the potential we have as ar as we have been getting victories on teams. Now we have to find the way to close it out. Granted, if you look at the last 2 games, San Antonio was a comeback and they won, and then Chicago tonight with the comeback. These are not chump teams. These are teams that are going to be there at the end of the year. It was good that we were able to get out to big leads on them and we have to figure out a way to sustain it. Tonight was one of those nights where you would have liked to have had Tracey (McGrady) and Yao (Ming) sit the last 4-5 minutes and get guys in there who haven’t had as many opportunities. At the end of the night, we got the win and that’s the good part.” (on the Rockets’ relying too much on their perimeter game resulting in losing their leads in games) “I think it’s one of those things where you probably need to have a little more balance. When you miss 2 or 3 (baskets) in a row, then the next time, you need to get the ball into Yao (Ming)or get the ball into the paint to get a higher-quality shot. Sometimes, I think, when you get hot, like when we were hot for awhile, sometimes you fall in love with it (perimeter game). Sometimes when you’re wide open, it’s better force-feed the big guy than to shoot up another 3. You’ve got to realize that with this team there are a lot of new faces. Early in the season, we’re still figuring things out. I think we have a lot of potential, but we’ve still got a long way to go.” CHICAGO BULLS HEAD COACH SCOTT SKILES (on the game) "We waited too long to have the type of intensity we needed to win the game. We got aggressive on the defensive end in the second half, and that gave us the chance to win. We did a nice job at the end, but were unable to pull it out When we get aggressive defensively, we are a very good team." (on Ben Wallace defending Yao Ming) "That's the best I've ever seen anybody defend Yao (Ming) since he's been in the league... Fred (Bulls trainer) thinks he may have a tiny tear in his bicep, but we'll have to see how it goes." (on the out-of-bounds play late in the game when Rafer Alston called time-out while in-bounding the ball) "Yes, he did travel. We looked at the call after the game, and the refs missed it." (on Andres Nocioni's three-point attempt to end the game) "There was no foul. It wasn't even close. It was a good no-call." KIRK HINRICH (on the game) "You have to give us credit for not giving up. I thought in the first half we played in spurts, and it killed us with a five or six minute stretch that did us in." (on the Rockets) "Houston is a very good team. With Tracy (McGrady) and Yao (Ming) healthy, they're going to be a hard team to stop in the West. I expect them to be in the playoffs." BEN GORDON (on the game and his shooting) "We let them get away from us early, and weren't able to come all the way back. I've been struggling with my shot lately, and I was trying to get to the basket and the free-throw line. I had a couple of good looks at the end of the game, but unfortunately my luck ran out, and hopefully I can make those shots in the future." P.J. BROWN (on the game) "We didn't get off to a good start. Our defense wasn't sharp, but we played hard. Houston did what they wanted to do. We gave ourselves a chance, but it was a little too late." (on the Rockets) "I have a very high regard for Coach (Jeff) Van Gundy and his coaching philosophy. If Tracy (McGrady) and Yao (Ming) stay healthy, they are very powerful 1-2 punch. They are definitely a team that has to be reckoned with." BEN WALLACE (on his injured bicep) "It's cool. I'll play if it's feeling like this the next game. I heard a little pop, and I don't know how it exactly happened. I was able to come back, and it hurt a little, but nothing I couldn't play with." (on the Rockets) "Houston played well from the start, and I think they relaxed down the stretch. They played hard enough to win the game." http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Game_Quotes_Houston_101_Chic-195882-34.html
Ben Wallace probably tore his bicep defending Yao Ming. That's what he gets for wrestling the Great Wall of China. Shaq claims it was Chuck Hayes that injured him, but he just doesn't want to give credit to Yao Ming. Those are the similiarities I like. Yao victims: 1) Shaq 2) Ben Wallace 3) Nazr Mohammed? 4) ?... ?.....
My impression of it was that JVG was saying the way we choked yesterday was different from Tuesday. The players say it was similar because it was that same sinking feeling, but the actual way it happened was different.
I like these quotes threads, I started one after the Spurs game. I wish this was a regular feature of the board. The game threads are so long, it is difficult to find game quotes in them.
JVG is really doing a good job staying positive If this were last year, he would have publicly ripped his team
These are the quotes that bother me Some will say. . . Well JVG is taking responsibility and to me. . Looks like he called the player Stupid and lazy [not getting loose balls] in a sly way Rocket RIver
The way the 2 leads shrank were totally different. The Rockets went cold offensively in both games, but they were getting many more quality looks in the Bulls games, and so held on instead of collapsing. Also, defensively, the Spus game was a total collapse by the coaching staff and players. In the Bulls game, I thought the defense played hard and smart. Ben Gordon put on an incedible performance that took advantage of the Rocket's lack of big men speed, but it's not like the Rox played poorly...Wade Gordon was just unstoppable.
The funny thing is, despite almost blowing big leads in a number of games, all those teams come away very impressed with the Rockets, and have nothing but high praise for the team. They're more positive about the Rockets than Rockets fans.
Indeed. Another good sign is that the Rockets themselves are distressed about the 4th quarter problems, rather than being complacent and just saying "A win is a win". With the trend the team has had the past few games, it's good to see that the Rockets want to close out games.
but choking is choking.. there are no different ways of choking.. JVG is a freakin idiot.. "not similar at all".. wtf ??
not at all, wtf?? JVG is on crack y'all, it's official.. yeah, not similar at all.. another wtf?? speed ?? that's the only thing we did well and Doug Collins mentioned it like 600 times during the game.. he was like "I expected Bulls to outrun Rockets, but I see the opposite! Rockets seem to be a step faster" pick & roll defense, man, I love how JVG keeps saying this.. we messed up almost everything and then u have him say, "our pick and roll defense sucked".. freakin r****d.. no, it should be more like "you have to give my great coaching & adjustment making skills credit for Gordon going crazy, I didn't put VSPAN in because, I wanted to see an interesting game, Gordon is a heck of a guy, let him have a good game" [/QUOTE]And secondly, it’s up to me to put out a smarter team that gets to loose balls.”[/QUOTE] yeah, that's right, it's up to u.. now why the hell didn't u do just that !!! yeah, bench played great.. they just got outscored 56-29.. they did a hell of a job!! sorry guys, I know that I am turning every single thread into a "JVG Sucks" thread.. I really hate to do that.. I hate all the JVG sucks threads and I hate when people start complaining about him even though we won.. I've always defended him in such threads.. but I've had it with him.. that's it.. he jsut went too far... I mean seriously, what kinda quotes are these?? I bet u Clyde Drexler would've done better than that..
