After eventually arriving in Houston, apparently fuel is not supposed to drain out of the engine of a plane while on the ground. HeyPartner fed me and Mrs Smeg well and we raced off to make the game by tip-off. Got a cheap ticket from a scalper and while walking in realised it was a damn good seat, row G behind the rockets bench and Calvin. Damn that was a fine suit!!!!! Did anyone else see Yao tip Calvin for his suit in the second half, it was during a time-out and Yao had been subbed he just walked over a threw a dollar bill at Calvin, this had the all the commentators around Calvin, Yao, the players nearby and nearly all the coaching staff laughing real hard.... great stuff Yao!!! Now back to the game, the Rockets started fast, Mobes made his first two threes and then one from High Eggie and i think it was 14-5 before Doc called a timeout to slow the damage. Pity Gooden was non existent and the rest of the maguic were terrible. McGrady put on a nice show for the Magic, damn the guy is amazing, when i saw him a few years back he was an amazing athlete who could dunk but that was it, now the guy can score from anywhere. The Rockets looked great in the first half, think the first half dozen baskets were all scored on assists. They ran well and played some nice defense, most importantly they kept the Magic the one shot nearly all the first half and made Gooden, Giricek, Armstrong and Kemp non factors. Like they way they pushed the margin out late in the second quarter after McGrady had single handily got the margin back to single figures (think under 5). The hustle factor for the rockets was great. The second half had some nice plays but really after the first few minutes from Steve and Yao was a extra fun practice-garbage time session. Loved the way the pumped it to Yao in the post for 4 straight possesions, the spin dunk just makes any move possible for Yao, he then can square up and shoot any time once the had been embarassed by the spin. Loved the give and go by Mobley and rice with Gordon playing defense in Cat's jockstrap. Steve made some sweet plays in the second half, loved the crossover. One big thing i disliked was the lack of intensity from the bench players in garbage time. Hawk, TMo and especially Maddox really didn't seem like they wanted to play for 4 minutes straight, absolutely no desire to play defense and no idea on offense, Maddox seems good at one thing ....... turnovers. Other Random comments * Anyone else catch Steve sulking when he got subbed late in the second quarter, probably just disappointed with himself and certainly made up for it in the second half. * From where i was sitting you can hear Yao talking on defense all the time, both him and Mo talk the most on defense, Yao talks up every screen. Sort of disappointing reflection on the crowd that from the eighth row that you can hear the players. * Steve dribbles the ball way to high and anyone notice when the full court pressure was put on him by vaughan or armstrong that Mobley brought the ball up. * Posey's 3 pointer is not respected at all, even after he makes one. * Yao seems to always get the ball on the right block and seems to go baseline most of the time, love to see him fake the baseline handoff and then drive to the middle. * Players on the bench don't seem to get into the game at all, Colin Pine and the assistants make more noise, some the players on the bench, including starters barely watched the games at times, lots of mopping. * Like the strong side movement after post feeds, either with the baseline cut on the feeder from 45 cutting through. * Love the way they have the extra player strong side ont he pick n roll (usually Posey) which makes that alley oop an easy play. * Some excellent ball reversal and then a drive at the end of it or a Rice three. * Also saw a couple of times Yao got fronted and instead of trying to feed from the top there was a pass to wing then an easy pass. * Love the Ming steal off McGrady under the basket, smart play. Smegariffic Play of the Game - The hustle, tip and then the dive from Mo to save the ball to Mooch and then a sweet half wrap-behind the back pass to Mobes for the basket. Close runner-up the alley-oop from Mooch to Steve, tie for the third was Mooch's celebration after the before mentioned alley-oop and the Ming spin and dunk on the Doughboy. Smegtastic Player of the Game - The Cat, scored his 23 so easily, made a couple of very nice passes to Eggie and Ming after drives and did a nice job on Gordi. Another racap of the Blazers game tonight. SMEG PS in case you didn't know tonight there is a free giveaway a free bag of pot to the first few thousand fans.
It would be nice if the players would actually USE a few of those screens! I've been to some games this year where you can hear sneakers squeeking from the upper deck! I guess that's what 4 (soon to be 5) years of no playoffs will do. Nice read, Smeg.
Smeg, Welcome to Houston (even if this is not your first time). I hope you and Mrs Smeg have a wonderful time here and I hope we clinched the #8 spot just for you.
I'm jealous of your seats! I was towards the back, with an older man behind me chastising the Rockets' guards everytime they touched the ball because they were dribbling and not passing to Yao. There was only one instance when I just couldn't take it anymore. It was the 2nd quarter, and the Magic were making a run. Yao was setting a high pick for Francis, but started rolling before he picked anyone, and the play resulted in a turnover. Dude goes, "Typical. Another turnover by Francis." At that point, I politely turned around and asked which team he came to root for. And I have to say, the environment in that entire area became much more enjoyable after that. Everyone cheered a little bit more ... it became very fun indeed!
kudos toast...and i just noticed your sig...if you need someone to break some kneecaps, torche some houses, or take some whistles as hostage...im your man. smeg...great recap. where you there for warmup...everytime i go i see that only a couple of players actually prectice game time shots. cato likes to take 20 foot fadeaways, posey likes to do running layup where he doesnt even jump, and mooch likes to guard yao.
Nah, we don't ever cause any PHYSICAL harm. Just verbal assaults. (Although whistle kidnapping sounds intriging). Favorites include: Hey ref! Bend over and use your good eye! Hey ref! Tell your wife to quit calling me! Hey ref! How much did they pay you for that call! Hey ref! What game are you watching! Hey ref! Is your purple and gold <or insert opponents colors> jersey at the cleaners! Hey ref! Which one of the Nets <or insert opponent here> is your brother in law! Hey ref! I want some of what you're smoking! The list goes on and on ... (some of them not suitable for the clutchcity bbs of course).
Great commentary, Smeg! I'm looking forward to your views on tonight's game. By the way, how many games are you & the Mrs going to be able to see while you're in Houston? As a matter of fact, this whole thread is refreshing. Everytning was factual and simply stated. no exaggerated bashing. It was SIMPLY THE GREATEST THREAD OF ALL TIME!!! That's not bashing!!
Smegg, Great post and I'm gladd you made it in time to catch the retro game. BTW, is it bad and a jet engine is spitting fuel and the ramp before a flight? Hope you make the game tonight since you are obviously good luck.
Enjoy the game!! I will be signing my new housing contract, studying, and reading the PBP in Clutch chat tonight. GO rocks. Hope they give a good game.
I enjoyed reading your recap Smeg, and looking forward to your next one. Congrats to you and Mrs. Smeg on your new marriage - I wish you both the best.
