<div align="center">) The 'X' Factor: Trenton Hassell (7.7 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 2.0 APG) ) </font> Much like the rest of the Rockets' veterans, Howard has definitely been under-par. Many times he doesn't see Yao waiting for an entry pass, and will opt to shoot. Though he makes them sometimes, many times it misses and Yao is being pinned down by two defenders, so there's no chance of an offensive board. Howard must realize that feeding off of Yao will be much more beneficial for the team. Against KG tonight, there is no room for mishaps. Juwan must bring his A-Game. <font color="red">PPG: 8.0 RPG: 6.2 BPG: 0.0 </font></font> <div align="center"><font color="green">Timberwolves - Wally Szczerbiak, Michael Olowokandi, Kevin Garnett </div></font> <div align="right"><font size="1"></div> For anyone who remembers the years the Timberwolves were a playoff lock, one would know how good Wally really is. However, for all the glory he enjoyed in the years past, he has just not been quite the same. Though he is a good shooter, much of his groove will be subdued by McGrady. As of right now, on both ends of the court, Wally is totally at McGrady's mercy. Tracy should be looking for a good game against him, and Szczerbiak might just not have the offensive punch tonight. <div align="right"><font color="green">PPG: 14.0 RPG: 3.0 APG: 2.8 </font> </div> From Number One Pick in the draft, to the NBA's biggest bust, Olowokandi has really seen it all. He has dueled with the greatest of big men, pretty much losing to all of them. Against Yao, this should be no different, as Yao really outclasses him in all categories. Without any help, Yao will eat him alive, but you may see Garnett and Olowokandi switch up both offensive and defensive positions. <div align="right"><font color="green">PPG: 7.5 RPG: 5.5 BPG: 1.0 </font> </div> What else can you say about a former MVP, and arguably the NBA's most complete player? Leading his team in 4 categories (Points, Rebounds, Assists, and Steals) Garnett is a beast. As he proved two years before, all he needs is a supporting cast, and he will carry his team far into the playoffs. However, this year, the team has not meshed, but they do show signs of improvement from a terrible year last year. Garnett's game againts the Nuggets was not his best, and against a guy like Howard and Swift, KG will look to use his athletic ability (against Howard), and experience (against Swift) to out-do our two powerforwards. <div align="right"><font color="green">PPG: 20.7 RPG: 10.7 BPG: 1.67 </font></font></div> Pre-Game Notes <ul>McGrady's back - It seems Tracy cannot beat these injuries. Though he has been cleared to play, everytime he goes for a dunk, goes up for a shot while double teamed, or dive for a rebound, all Rockets fans hold their breath. That being said, McGrady is McGrady, and he will battle with resilience and courage throughout the season.[/list] <ul>The Garnett Problem - Stats really do not lie. And KG's stats are pretty damn good. Against a not-so-good defender in Howard, and a player who is still learning in Swift, Garnett might score in the 40is tonight. It's up to the Rockets to use that defensive lable Van Gundy has branded on them to keep KG on his toes.[/list] <ul>Veteran Issues - Rafer Alston, Derek Anderson, and David Wesley all need to prove their worth against Minnesota. Wesley especially, has come under fire for his recent string of bad performances. It seems to be more mental than physical, and if Wesley can hit his shots tonight, the Rockets might be set for an explosion into the rest of the season.[/list] <font size="1">Random Seinfeld Quote: GEORGE: Um, excuse me, I - I think you forgot my bread. SOUP NAZI: Bread -- $2 extra. GEORGE: $2? But everyone in front of me got free bread. SOUP NAZI: You want bread? GEORGE: Yes, please. SOUP NAZI: $3! GEORGE: What? SOUP NAZI: No soup for you! [snaps fingers] -Soup Nazi Episode</font> <div align="center"></div> <font size="1">The Rockets have been inconsistent, but they will look to hit their stride tonight. They have experienced all types of games, the Grind-it-out loss, the Regular loss, the Blowout loss, the confidence shattering loss, the regular win, the confidence building win.. except, they've haven't blown out a team this season.. I would expect them to do that.</font> Rockets: 94 <font size="1">Timberwolves: 79</font> <div align="center"><font size="1">*All Pre and Post Game comments should go in this thread. Thanks.</font></div>
GJ, I like what you said in the boottom line prediction. This should be a close game. T-Mac should be fired up, and Yao should kill Olok. on the boards. It all comes down to how well KG, TMac, and Yao play imo. rockets win it 89-86
Nice preview magnomonkey, love the quotes. Stromile will likely get the most minutes of the season so far tonight, as his quickness will be needed to contend with Garnett. Although Swift won't be able to shut the Big Ticket down, he'll most likely still do a better job than Howard, who is not fast enough to guard Garnett. The Wolves also have a lot of size in the backcourt and Alston/Anderson at 6-2 and 6-5 will have trouble guarding Jaric and Hassell. While Hassell won't be much of a scoring threat, Jaric is a good scorer and Alston will have to make sure he doesn't get open threes. Yao Ming will be up against another physical defender in Olowakandi, but Yao should be the winner by default in that matchup. He'll need to back Olowokandi down and draw fouls; getting to the free throw line in this game will be critical for the whole team.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> GEORGE: What? SOUP NAZI: No soup for you! [snaps fingers]</div> LOL! Very nice man... Anyways, Yao has almost always had great game against Olowakandi so it wouldn't surprise me if he goes of this game. Of course, for that to happen, he'll need to watch his fouls and not pick up the stupid touch ones. I see McGrady have a pretty good game as well, but he's going to have to be a bit more cautious with his injury and as everyone here hope, doesn't aggravate it. Who knows? Maybe if we mount up a bit lead McGrady might get to rest a bit. Garnett will get his statline regardless if Swift or Howard is guarding him, but hopefully Swift doesn't let him go off. We win, 92-86.
I also expect the Rockets to win this because Olawakandi will land into foul trouble early. Expect Tmac to frustrate who ever gaurds him. He wants to win and he will take over a game if necessary. With the defensive breakdown Sunday, I expect JVG to stress the Rockets to defend all aspects of the court.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TmacGarnett:</div><div class="quote_post">I also expect the Rockets to win this because Olawakandi will land into foul trouble early. Expect Tmac to frustrate who ever gaurds him. He wants to win and he will take over a game if necessary. With the defensive breakdown Sunday, I expect JVG to stress the Rockets to defend all aspects of the court.</div> First quarter 24-19, and its not Olawakandi in foul trouble its Yao. I swear they call the most bs fouls on Yao. The man plays a little defense, and its called a foul. HES 7-6 LET HIS HEIGHT ADVANTAGE BE AN ADVANTAGE AND NOT A DISADVANTAGE!!! We had some good FT shooting, and some nice shots SOME. I like the slash by Rafer for the 3 point play. Why is T-Mac the only one scoring?
Sorry for the DP. Well the Rockets are at the half, and I am getting so FRUSTRATED with them. You know what they should begin doing from the 3 minute mark of every quarter. Let T-Mac just drible out the shot clock and shoot a jumper. I swear, we can't close out for crap. I liked the 6-0 scoring run, but 8-0 for MIN was just crap because they were easy turnover points. Man it looks like another year of crappy officiating is goint to screw Yao over. I don't get it, that whole size bs is crap. Shaq is bigger (not by height) and Bradley is taller. They let them play defense. If only the officials can tell us how Yao can play defense w/o running out of the way.
didn't watch the game but according to box score..... luther head didn't play? did alston did realy good or something?
Yay another hard earned win, but I guess it wasn't pretty. TMac with 25 pts and Yao with only 13 and 7. However, a good team effort from Howard, Swift, Anderson, and Alston. According to CBS Sportsline we held KG to 4 boards? Amazing. Swift had another better game, 10 pts on 4-6 shooting but 4 fouls and only 2 boards. Van Gundy decided aganist giving minutes to Head for some reason... Also, yes I agree, the foul trouble Yao always gets into is soooo bs. I've heard that sometimes referees kinda don't call fouls on purpose on Shaq of commercial reasons. That's just totally unfair and bs all the way. Plus, Van Gundy has always questioned the legitimatcy of Yao's fouls, but nothing much has happened. Wonder if that one Crawford ref who played 2000 games has something to say about it?
I saw many upsides and many downsides to this victory I'll start with the upsides: 1)HOUSTON SAY HELLO TO STROMILE SWIFT. I don't know if it was eddie griffin, but Stro was taking it to the hoop aggresivley and not getting it stripped. He looked confident. I expect him to do better as the season goes. 2) Derek Anderson is making shots when needed and is shifting into the role of third scorer 3)Our reserves are doing a better job DOWNSIDES: 1) Foul trouble is plagueing the rockets like no other. Yao would have easily gotten 20/10 today if it wasn't for foul trouble 2) Turnovers- last 2 minutes of first half we had 3 consecutive turnovers which led to 8 minnesota points, but in second half we had none and dominated. 3)defense - We need to pick it up and stop giving them shots like at the buzzer Carter and McCants scored. Overall it was a good effort and I hope Yao doesn't slump. Good Win we needed it!
Rockets’ Offense Awakens, Stop Wolves 94-89 By Dennis L. Silva, II. 11.15.05 Finally all the questions and frustrations that had worn down the Rockets and their fans were answered. There was Rafer Alston, slashing to the basket and scoring key buckets down the stretch. There was Juwan Howard. Grabbing key offensive rebounds that enabled more possessions. There was Tracy McGrady, revving up the engine to score 13 fourth quarter points. And there were the Rockets, standing victorious following a fulfilling 94-89 victory before 14,091 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. As has been the case in many of their first six games, the Rockets allowed their opponent to get off to a good start. The Wolves, who entered the game undefeated at 3-0 on their home turf, scored the game’s first six points en route to an 11-2 start. Yao Ming found himself in early foul trouble yet again, thanks to Wolves center Michael Olowokandi’s newfound aggressiveness. Olowokandi scored seven early points in the period, which matched his season average. However, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy chose to stay with Yao and have him play in foul trouble. The Rockets finished the quarter on a 10-5 run as Minnesota held a 24-19 advantage heading into the second period. The Rockets received some energetic contributions in the second quarter, courtesy of the intensity and athletic exploits of Dikembe Mutombo and Stromile Swift. Mutombo was a monster on the glass, standing his ground and snaring rebound after rebound. Swift was able to score inside, compiling 5 points, two of which came on a monstrous baseline dunk. The Rockets’ bench led them to a 39-39 tie with 2:40 remaining before Minnesota scored six consecutive points off three consecutive Houston turnovers, two of which came on errant passes from McGrady. Minnesota finished the half strong, owning a 47-39 lead going into halftime. The Rockets had problems with their transition defense, allowing the Wolves to score 11 fast break points. Houston also committed nine turnovers in the game’s first 24 minutes, three of which came in the half’s final three minutes. The Rockets’ offense began to mature early in the third quarter as Houston scored on ten consecutive possessions in the third stanza. Howard was nailing his midrange jumper and grabbing key rebounds. Alston was driving and slashing to the basket for easy layups instead of settling for the long-distance shot. Yao scored on a few easy post-ups inside as Olowkandi came back to reality and realized he was no real match for Yao inside. All of these noted efforts contributed to the Rockets outscoring Minnesota 28-22 in the third, and closing in on the Wolves, trailing by a basket going into the fourth and final quarter. In the fourth, the Rockets took advantage of Kevin Garnett’s absence as Minnesota chose to rest their 6’11” Superman to start the period. Houston went on a 9-2 run, scoring five consecutive points to earn a 76-71 lead early in the period. Unfortunately, the Wolves coaching staff came to their senses and put Garnett back in the game, where he led a Wolves run that closed the scoring gap and forced a 79-79 tie with 5:42 remaining. With that said, the Wolves would not be heard from on the offensive end for quite awhile as the Rockets went on a 6-0 run late in the quarter. McGrady hit a tough 22-footer over two helpless defenders, and then found Alston slashing to the basket on two more consecutive possessions. The Rockets’ vaunted defense held the Wolves scoreless over the game’s crucial closing fourth quarter minutes. McGrady finished the quarter with 13 points and three assists as the Rockets were finally able to put a team away when it mattered most- in crunch time. The Rockets’ offense looked smoother and more efficient than it has looked in recent memory. Houston shot 46% from the floor and hit 29-36 of their free throws. McGrady had plenty of help in the scoring department tonight as Rafer Alston and Yao Ming each scored 13 points, with Anderson scoring 11, and Swift adding 10. As can be expected, the offense wasn’t perfect by any means, as the team managed only 14 assists, compared to Minnesota’s 23. The defense was, as has been the norm, excellent. The Rockets held the Wolves to 42 points total in the second half, and also outrebounded the Wolves 40-32, a sign of Houston’s aggressiveness and intensity in their pursuit of loose balls. Garnett was his usual All-Star self, scoring 25 points, but no other Wolf scored more than 12. The Rockets will travel to San Antonio, where they play the Spurs on Thursday, on a high note and brimming with confidence. They played well against a competitive Minnesota ballclub who has proven to be a tough match on their home floor. The most significant aspect that can be taken from this game is that the Rockets are showing progress and showing initiative in the closing moments of games. For the Rockets, any sign of progress is a sign of progress in itself. Rockets Recap · Many of the Rockets who had entered the game struggling with their shooting shot for high percentages against Minnesota. Alston (who entered the game shooting 30% from the field) shot 5-9, Derek Anderson (32%) shot 5-10, and Swift (41%) shot 4-6. · The Rockets held Minnesota to 3-20 from 3-point range · Houston outscored Minnesota 38-26 in the paint, and held the Wolves to no fast-break points in the second-half. · The Rockets committed only three turnovers in the second half, while Minnesota accumulated eight. · Houston’s starting guards outscored Minnesota’s starting guards 24-14. · Aside from the efforts of McGrady, Alston, and Howard, Mutombo was a key part of the Rockets rally to close the game. Mutombo finished with only 5 points and 4 rebounds, but was responsible for tough interior defense and keeping possessions alive. http://www.nba.com/games/20051115/HOUMIN/boxscore.html
Good win for us..........I like the way we fought and didn't give up. I don't know why Van Gundy insists on playin Wesley over Head. Head didn't even play tonight. I truly believe aslong as Head's playing this well, he should be rewarded with more minutes.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rock4life:</div><div class="quote_post">Good win for us..........I like the way we fought and didn't give up. I don't know why Van Gundy insists on playin Wesley over Head. Head didn't even play tonight. I truly believe aslong as Head's playing this well, he should be rewarded with more minutes.</div> Because Wesley plays better defense and doesn't make rookie mistakes.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting tr@cy&ya0:</div><div class="quote_post">didn't watch the game but according to box score..... luther head didn't play? did alston did realy good or something?</div> He played his role well, and hustled today. He scored when we needed it most as well. Just as I guessed in the other thread. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting houston_owns_u:</div><div class="quote_post">Also, yes I agree, the foul trouble Yao always gets into is soooo bs. I've heard that sometimes referees kinda don't call fouls on purpose on Shaq of commercial reasons. That's just totally unfair and bs all the way. Plus, Van Gundy has always questioned the legitimatcy of Yao's fouls, but nothing much has happened. Wonder if that one Crawford ref who played 2000 games has something to say about it?</div> Man so you are telling me they will continue to make calls like this to a player with so much fans and rep? Let him have his 25/10. I think Yao means more to the NBA, than Shaq as of now and the future. I friggin hate the official system. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting TmacGarnett:</div><div class="quote_post">I saw many upsides and many downsides to this victory I'll start with the upsides: 1)HOUSTON SAY HELLO TO STROMILE SWIFT. I don't know if it was eddie griffin, but Stro was taking it to the hoop aggresivley and not getting it stripped. He looked confident. I expect him to do better as the season goes. 2) Derek Anderson is making shots when needed and is shifting into the role of third scorer</div> Im glad these 2 are beginning to show signs of good chemistry with there new team. As well as Alston. It was one game, but expect us to be playing like this once we take over. This is what we call clutch city. The Rockets are the 4th quarter team, they outscore other teams when they are down. We don't need to lead the whole game and be to tired to close. Save some energy for the 4th, and close out the game. Thats how the Rockets have always played. Clutch City 05-06!
SKIP finally took the ball to the hole. STRO finally showed he COULD be a big spark off the bench. TMac did the scoring and passing in the 4th. Yao Yao Yao. I said it in another thread, he has got to challenge shots not try to take a charge or walk underneath them. Its driving me as crazy as Bill sounded when he kept repeating that. He has got to go after the ball and stop blaming the refs, thats the one part of his game thats hurting him. Head was not a good match up against the bigger guards for Min.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting chineseafro:</div><div class="quote_post">Because Wesley plays better defense and doesn't make rookie mistakes.</div> Head is quicker, faster, stronger, and definatley plays better D than Wesley. All the evidence has been in the first 7 games of the season. Wesley has been terrible in just about every aspect of the game. Despite your claim, Head hasn't made many rookie mistakes. Actually, he's been one of the more efficient guards on our team. He's shooting the 3ball better than anybody on the team also. Aslong as Van Gundy keeps playing Wesley over Head, we're going to have a uphill struggle winning games.
How much time do you give a player until you know that either rafer , anderson, and swift was the right fit for the team? They already play 13 or 14 games thats including the preseason. How much time do they need?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting moeinhouston:</div><div class="quote_post">SKIP finally took the ball to the hole. STRO finally showed he COULD be a big spark off the bench. TMac did the scoring and passing in the 4th. Yao Yao Yao. I said it in another thread, he has got to challenge shots not try to take a charge or walk underneath them. Its driving me as crazy as Bill sounded when he kept repeating that. He has got to go after the ball and stop blaming the refs, thats the one part of his game thats hurting him. Head was not a good match up against the bigger guards for Min.</div> With JVH and Ewing on the coaching staff, and Mutombo as a teammate, one would think that he'd know this by now. The coaching staff must be directing him to play defense like that, for some reason. Who knows why.
Big win for us (especially with the spurs and pistons coming up)......I thought the refs gave Yao a lot of crap calls, but Swift and Alston looked really good last night.....One thing I still don't understand is why Luther Head wasn't put on the roster last night.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting aznstud:</div><div class="quote_post">How much time do you give a player until you know that either rafer , anderson, and swift was the right fit for the team? They already play 13 or 14 games thats including the preseason. How much time do they need?</div> Homie, um, relax. According to you, we should trade all of them and get a whole new group of guys (yea right lol). Unfortunatley, rocket fans are a tad bit more optimistic than that. The way you sound, you would assume we're 0-7 lol. I bet you by allstar break, you'll regret every negative comment you've made.
