those stats for deron is the ENTIRE playoffs. his stats were increased when he faced the warriors and they scored 100+ repeatedly. his stats for ONLY houston was around 13-14 ppg, 8 apg, and 43% shooting. so u can imagine how well he played AFTER houston. the 34% fg by rafer killed us, considering he played 44 mpg. battier and others didn't show up either.
Why the rockets lost game 7: Boozer: 13-23 35 pts 14 rebs 5 ast 1 steal 1 block 2 pf Yao: 9-20 29 pts 6 rebs <--man WTF 0 ast 0 steal 0 block 5 pf Man that 3 offensive rebounds by the Jazz in the last minute... makes me wanna... ARRRRGG
I am a bit concerned with how we matchup against the Lakers and the Suns now. The Lakers now have a lot more scoring punch with the addition of Gasol. The Suns with Shaq are going to be interesting. By the way Shaq's first game will be on Wed. against the Bulls for anyone that might want to tune in to see how the Suns do. Lot of question marks on this team come playoff time. How will they standup to the pressure or will they wilt and fold? It's not a Van Gundy team anymore and I like the changes on offense. Now they run a hybrid high low post offense made popular by John Wooden of the UCLA Bruins.
Boozer is a bad match up for Yao any way you look at it. His significantly improved his boarding and blocked shots this season though. I've noticed Yao makes a huge difference on the defence end now a days. It is a good if thats the case
Our current win streak is at least 80 percent due to easy schedule. Therefore, we should be using it to trade guys who are looking as good as they're ever gonna look, while their stock is high.
yao can't guard boozer. u can't expect a 7'6 guy to guard an athletic/mobile PF. hayes should have been on him, but then yao can't be way out in the 3pt line. hayes would have shut down boozer like he did earlier this yr. maybe we can go small now w/ landry/scola and hayes for longer stretches and play yao around 25-30 minutes when we play utah.
No those are from the Houston playoff His playoof stats are 19.9PPG in 38MPG (45FG% - 33 3p%) 4.3 RPG 8.6 APG
oh ok 16 and 8 on 43% shooting is not what i call dominant, though i was off by 3 pts. rafer was just bad.
Those Rebound where most long rebounds. Yao got the inside position and thats what he suppose to do, but the ball when all the way back or the side.
Why? We arguably match up with these two teams at every position better than any team in the Western Conference. Our matchup with the Suns just got a whole lot easier with the subtraction of Marion and the addition of Shaq. We have the size to matchup with the Lakers at every single position - moreso than any other team in the West. This team has room to grow -- I think we can and need to continue to improve on offensive efficiency in particular, but I don't think matchups are a problem.
Good thread. A couple of points. We don't have a young weak side shot blocker/intimidator beside Yao. Deke is old and is a center. When Yao goes out, there is no legit interior defense presence. On nights when we can't contain perimeter penetration, pairing Yao with a shotblocking pf is a bandaid against it. We don't have that option now. Rafer's mentality under intense pressure worries me a little. Him sucking in the last playoffs is a sign of mental weakness or a fluke remains to be seen. A defensive pg with steady handle and a consistent shot is in order, but that might be hard to get.
Maybe Hayes would have done a better job than Yao, but I don't think he would have shut Boozer down the whole series.
Boozer got most of his shots off passes from the pick and roll from Williams. And Yao having to choose between Williams or Boozer after Rafer was beaten and Yao being slow to close out on both.
he won't, but i'm sure he can hold him below 20ppg that's for sure. u gotta understand. hayes has guarded boozer straight up for most of the game 2 times in the past 2 yrs (both games that yao missed) and boozer has stunk up the joint, literally. the problem is, you would have to play yao less and our offense was so pathetic already b/c only him and tmac were scoring consistently. you can't afford that. maybe this yr w/ scola, landry... we can afford to do that.
Will you're right. I feel that the following players are looking as good as they are going to get. Battier Bonzi Head Hayes Rafer All important role players,who can only be tradable for a significant addition if they are combined with Tracy or Yao plus/minus a 1st round pick. I wouldn't trade Yao. Tracy only if we can get a player who can be a real difference maker in the short and long run. Combining any of the senior role players plus a 1st round pick isn't likely to help much either but the management should still be looking into it in case something good unexpectedly shows up. Players with upside who should be retained IMO. Scola Landry Brooks
You can't hold him under 20ppg when his shot is falling. The way he shoots the ball he can get a shot off no matter whos in front of him. I say if we meet the Jazz in the playoff again let him score all he wants to and try to shut everyone else down.
