<div align="center"> <font color=""Red""><font size=""4"">Atlanta Hawks</font></font> Houston Rockets: 3-11 Atlanta Hawks: 2-11 Houston Rockets Coach (Jeff Van Gundy) Atlanta Hawks Coach (Mike Woodson) <font color=""Red""><font size=""3"">Atlanta Hawks</font></font> C – Zaza Pachulia PF – Josh Smith SF – Al Harrington SG – Joe Johnson PG – Tyronn Lue <font color=""Red""><font size=""3"">Houston Rockets</font></font> C - Yao Ming PF – Stromile Swift SF – Juwan Howard SG – Luther Head PG – David Wesley The Atlanta Hawks, not the most intimidating team in the NBA but still, they’re not to be taken lightly, they only have 2 wins this season (Sadly, only one less then us) their most recent win against the 8-4 Indiana Pacers. There isn’t any player on the Atlanta Hawks that I can think has a huge advantage over any players on our team, the only player that comes to mind is Joe Johnson who is a very versatile player and may be too fast for our veterans and too tall for our young rookie and if T-Mac doesn’t play I can see Josh Smith’s athleticism being a big factor in the game. Luther Head has been great in recent games, he’s been playing at the level most of us hoped he would play near the end of the season to the start of his sophomore season, his playmaking skills are improving and he has the confidence to shoot it or take it to the ring for the gentle layup, he’s the one bright spot I see in our 7 game losing streak. Stromile Swift has also improved, getting more consistent with his rebounds although Juwan also did well in rebounds against Chicago (12 total). Wesley’s shot has come back to him and he’s also showing off his otherwise unnoticed playmaking skills, our other guard Derek Anderson seems to be playing well when coming off the bench as well. I don’t think there’s anything we really need to set in order to win, just the basics like cut down on turnovers, don’t take stupid shots and get the ball to Yao when he’s only got one defender on him, we need to make our open shots and prevent any easy shots for Atlanta. We should be able to beat the Hawks with or without T-Mac, obviously it would be easier with T-Mac but all our losses have mostly been against above average teams losing by single digits or just above double, when T-Mac does return I expect us to do a lot better, but if he’s not ready to come back yet, we should manage to beat the Hawks…Should being the keyword. </div>
I think we'll see Swift demoted to bench duty again and Bowen get the start. I don't know for sure, but having Howard match up on Josh Smith is a might disadvantage. Smith is much faster and will beat everyone down the court on the break. Zaza Pachulia is a very physical power forward playing center. While he has been playing great in Atlanta, it'll be pretty much a stretch to think that Yao will be held in check. Not to mention John Edwards is backing Pachulia up, and that the Hawks very often play Al Harrington as their center. It'll be really an embarrassment if the Rockets lose this game. Houston by 13 in a morale-boosting blowout. TMac is back.
t-mac is back... i hate when these games happen.. for example we can rest t-mac and let him be 100 percent, but we could lose the game be all sad about it and those rocket haters are going to take advantage of that... or we can play t-mac and take a risk of his health..... GOT THE POINT? i don't like these kind of game at all....
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">is t-mac back for this game?</div> From ESPN it said he was questionable and will be a game time decision. We should take this one easy, but what I'm most afraid of is them playing small ball with Harrington at center. Yao can be rendered totally useless on the defensive end if this happens since Harrington will no doubt drive by him and get him to pick up fouls. Anyways, regardless I think we should win this game. Most important thing would be for everyone to play with a high level of intensity and to not underestimate the Hawks. We got beaten by them a couple times before in embarrassing losses. The matchup I'd like to see tonight is Swift and Smith. Both are very athletic guys who can run up the court, block shots, and dunk the ball for Sportscenter. But, the big issue whether or not our guards get their shot on tonight and everything runs smoothly.
I hope T-Mac wont play and Rockets lost to Hawks to get JVG fired. JVG is taking no responsibility for the failure start of the Rockets this season. It's interesting most people make Yao accountable not carry the team. <font color=""Silver"">FUNNY LIFE!?</font> I only have one take for the Rockets this season. If anyone think of championship for the Rockets: <font color=""Red""><font size=""5"">FIRE JVG NOW!!!!!</font></font> Then the Rockets will see the twilight. Otherwise, the Rockets will always be rumble and tumble becoz people saying JVG system is so hard to learn with only 3 new players (only count SS, DA and RA becoz the DG & LB not playing) and a rookie. Other teams already running on fumes with more new players. Good luck to JVG fans and JVG defense!!!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting RockStar:</div><div class="quote_post">I hope T-Mac wont play and Rockets lost to Hawks to get JVG fired. JVG is taking no responsibility for the failure start of the Rockets this season. It's interesting most people make Yao accountable not carry the team. <font color=""Silver"">FUNNY LIFE!?</font> I only have one take for the Rockets this season. If anyone think of championship for the Rockets: <font color=""Red""><font size=""5"">FIRE JVG NOW!!!!!</font></font> Then the Rockets will see the twilight. Otherwise, the Rockets will always be rumble and tumble becoz people saying JVG system is so hard to learn with only 3 new players (only count SS, DA and RA becoz the DG & LB not playing) and a rookie. Other teams already running on fumes with more new players. Good luck to JVG fans and JVG defense!!!</div> Who are you? Tim Floyd looking for a job? Every one of your posts so far are about firing Van Gundy. It's getting annoying, we get the point, jeez.
As predicted, Yao's having problems with foul trouble. Two fouls with about two minutes to go in the fourth quarter. On the brightside, he is rebounding the ball well tonight, hopefully he'll continue that trend into the game. Plus, McGrady's back and he's hot tonight.
mcgrady seems not to focus that much... like when he passed the ball to luther... he wasn;t even looking at luther or even trying to make a good pass. i think hes taking this to lightly
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TmacGarnett:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm glad we won...even if it was atlanta.</div> I was goin to say the sayme thing. I would have given up on them if they lost to the hawks
With Yao and T-mac, Everything looks like so easily. If Sura back, I think they can get into west finale.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting drm2dnk:</div><div class="quote_post">I was goin to say the sayme thing. I would have given up on them if they lost to the hawks</div> Im not going to lie, I was not going to watch any games till they got hot again (I know they will), because I do not care, when you are playing a team like Atlanta (even if they have won the last 2 teams) considering we are a WCF team this year, we BETTER NOT LOSE TO ATLANTA, W/ or W/O T-Mac. Just no reason to. I don't believe in that ohh theirs to much pressure crap, we need the win, but we didn't want to lose against a crappy team like ATL. Whatever, if you lose this you should put your head down as a Rockets fan. Well it is good we got the well deserved win, but seriously anyone who doubts us seriously needs to take a look at our recent (tough) schedule. We were close to tough teams like DET, and SA. A loss to ATL is inexcusable.
McGrady Makes Return as Rockets Break Streak, Defeat Hawks 100-85 By Dennis L. Silva, II. 11.29.05 It’s amazing how much one player can mean to a team of fifteen. Tracy McGrady made his long-awaited return from injury Tuesday night and guided the Rockets to victory against the Atlanta Hawks, snapping a seven-game losing streak. Finally, fans and followers of the Rockets were able to see a “full” Rockets squad (though Rafer Alston will sit out atleast another week due to a leg injury) in action as Houston put together their most complete showing of the season as Jeff Van Gundy earned his 100th victory as Rockets head coach, defeating the Hawks 100-85 before 12,825 at the Toyota Center. McGrady started off as if he had never missed a game, scoring Houston’s first six points, and 8 of Houston’s first 13, as the Rockets jumped out to a 13-7 lead with 6:16 left in the first quarter. The Rockets clearly were more focused on attacking the offensive glass, accumulating six offensive rebounds in the first half (and nine total for the game) after entering the contest ranked 28th in that area. McGrady finished the first period with 8 points on 5-8 shooting as Houston held a 26-22 lead going into the second quarter. The Rockets extended that lead to 38-29 midway through the period after consecutive 3-point hits from Derek Anderson and Luther Head (12 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists in the first half). Unfortunately, they allowed the Hawks right back into the game as Atlanta closed to within three points late, and when Hawks guard Joe Johnson (14 points and 4 assists in the first half)scored on a floater and was fouled in the process in the waning seconds, Atlanta had trimmed their margin of deficit to 51-52 going into halftime. Atlanta managed to negate Houston’s 14-5 advantage in second-chance points by outscoring Houston 9-0 in transition points and hitting 19-36 from the field. The Rockets started the third period focused to not let another potential victory slip from their hands. Houston started the quarter on a 10-4 scoring run, encouraging a 62-55 lead early. The rest of the quarter was an exchange of runs as Atlanta went on a 10-1 scoring spree to tie the game at 65 before Houston went on a 9-1 closing run of their own to hold a 74-66 advantage heading into the fourth and final period. Atlanta went on another brief scoring rally late, scoring seven consecutive points to close to within seven, but the Rockets’ lead was never in jeopardy. McGrady dished five assists (all in the second half) that allowed Juwan Howard to score 12 points and also opened up easy inside scoring opportunities for Yao Ming. Yao, who had been relatively quiet the first half, finished the game with 25 points and 12 rebounds on 10-17 shooting as the Hawks’ defense was preoccupied with the presence of McGrady (who would finish the contest with 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 7-16 shooting). The Rockets outscored Atlanta 28-12 in the paint during the second half, and their stingy defense held the Hawks to a mere 34 points total in the game’s final twenty-four minutes. The Rockets managed to put together an outstanding second half of basketball that showcased their vast potential on both ends of the floor. After their sharpshooting first half display, Atlanta was held to only 11-40 shooting in the second half, while Houston shot 18-37. For the first time in what seemed like ages, the Rockets’ offense had a purpose and a foundation of attack. It was either: 1) dump the ball in to Yao, or, 2) let Tracy McGrady shoot. All five of the Rockets’ starters scored in double figures, while the players off the bench came in to fulfill their natural specialist roles and did not have to be relied upon for heavy dosages of play. Ryan Bowen, removed from the starting lineup, came in to provide a spirited eight minutes of hustle and energy, and Derek Anderson was back to his comfortable role as a third or fourth scorer on offense, contributing 10 points. The game marked Houston’s highest point total of the season, as well as their largest margin of victory this year. The Rockets have three days off before facing Memphis again, but this time it will be at home at the Toyota Center. With Alston said to be targeting a return date of next Tuesday, it is possible that the Rockets’ are ready to put their hellish November start in the history books and prepare to be the team that everybody expected them to be. ROCKETS RECAP · Atlanta outscored Houston 17-5 in transition. · Five Hawks scored in double figures (led by Johnson’s 17) but those five combined to shoot 24-65, a percentage of 37%. · Hawks’ center Zaza Pachulia entered the game leading the league in offensive rebounding (averaging 4.7 per contest) and had 5 offensive caroms against the Rockets, though only one came in the second half. · Stromile Swift scored only 5 points in 12 minutes of play, while picking up 4 fouls in the process. · Houston outrebounded Atlanta 46-38. http://www.nba.com/games/20051129/ATLHOU/boxscore.html
It's great to see the Rockets win again with TMac on the board. I hope he's already fully recovered. 3 days rest before the next game against Memphis will give ample of time for TMac, Alston and Barry to recover and conditioned themselves. Head continues to play well. With his good shooting from beyond the arc, TMac and Yao will always look for him.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting igotask8board:</div><div class="quote_post">Im not going to lie, I was not going to watch any games till they got hot again (I know they will), because I do not care, when you are playing a team like Atlanta (even if they have won the last 2 teams) considering we are a WCF team this year, we BETTER NOT LOSE TO ATLANTA, W/ or W/O T-Mac. Just no reason to. I don't believe in that ohh theirs to much pressure crap, we need the win, but we didn't want to lose against a crappy team like ATL. Whatever, if you lose this you should put your head down as a Rockets fan. Well it is good we got the well deserved win, but seriously anyone who doubts us seriously needs to take a look at our recent (tough) schedule. We were close to tough teams like DET, and SA. A loss to ATL is inexcusable. </div> The scary thing is that we would have lost against the hawks without TMAC. He was basically the guy creating and scoring and it was still a tough win against the league's worst =HAWKS
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting drm2dnk:</div><div class="quote_post">The scary thing is that we would have lost against the hawks without TMAC. He was basically the guy creating and scoring and it was still a tough win against the league's worst =HAWKS</div> Yea I was thinking at times like when McGrady was doing all the scoring in the first few possessions. If we did not have McGrady the game would have been a lot closer. That did somewhat scare me. I don't get it, I don't see us as a threat to whoever we play in the first round if no one can back up McGrady when we really need the points. This run w/o McGrady has really showed the limits to this team. Shut down McGrady on scoring (easier said than done) then force everyone else to take the tough shots. The Spurs would rape us unless we could match there defense, which is more than possible. I don't know, lately watchin this Rockets team I have learned a lot about them. My opinions have changed so much on what kind of team you need to win a championship. Once again, I don't see us as a 2nd round team to be honest, but if we can get some chem going (hopefully before the All-Star break) then we could be a threat.
Great win. No Hawks player could get it going and Yao had a much easier night offensively with TMac taking pressure off of him. 23 points on 10-17 shooting, not to mention 12 rebounds, is what we need from him. Continuing to bring Anderson off the bench IMO is better than having him start. He gives us a spark and an instant scorer. Although he hasn't been shooting well, he is better than the second line players he'll face, and it won't be absurd to think he'll average 10 points per game the rest of the season at around 28 minutes per.
I know it was the Hawks, but Tmac (healthy or not) makes the game easier for everybody. Anybody notice how Luther Head played with so much confidence? Why you ask? because he's benefited from Tmac being out, and doesn't feel as much pressure. That's why I wasn't in panic mode like some of you. The losing streak forced the role players to step up, now they're not near as timid.
