<div align="center"> <font color="red">Rockets (40-25)</font> vs <font color="purple">Raptors (36-29)</font> Friday, March 16, 2007, Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON 6:00 Central; FSNSW, SportsRadio 610 AM <font color="red"> <font size="1">(R. Alston, T. McGrady, S. Battier, C. Hayes, Y. Ming)</font></font> <font size="1">Leading Scorer: Yao Ming - 24.6 PPG Leading Rebounder: Yao Ming - 9.2 RPG Assists Leader: Tracy McGrady - 6.1 APG </font> <font color="purple"> <font size="1">(T. Ford, A. Parker, J. Garbajosa, C. Bosh, R. Nesterovic)</font></font> <font size="1">Leading Scorer: Chris Bosh - 22.8 PPG Leading Rebounder: Chris Bosh - 10.3 RPG Assists Leader: T.J. Ford - 7.9 APG </font> <font size=""1""><font color="red">Luther Head (6th Man)</font></font> <font size="1"><div align="center">27.9 MPG, 10.6 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.5 APG</div></font><font size=""1""><font color="purple">Andrea Bargnani (6th Man)</font></font> <font size="1">24.9 MPG, 11.5 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 0.7 APG</font> Predictions: <font color=""Red"">Rockets 101</font>, Raptors 89</div> Keys To The Game: <font color=""Red"">Rockets:</font> T-Mac had an OK game after the win against the Clippers. Yao was playing pretty good but needs to stay more positive on the offensive side of games. The Rockets had a great offense after blowing a few games before and the Rockets need to continue that. Bonzi may also play in this game so it will be good for the Rockets. T-Mac needs to continue the offense but also now the Rockets need to start using Yao on offense alot because the Rockets will need it for the playoffs. The Rockets defense needs to continue and they need to lower the opp ppg. We have to contain Andrea Bargnani and Jorge Garbajosa because they are great shooters. Juwan needs to continue to do good, and Yao also needs to continue and do a good job on Bosh. The Rockets need to rebound, score, and defend. The Rockets also need to stop Chris Bosh and that will be tough so we hope to shut him down. Anthony Parker and Jose Calderon are big players to so they need to contain them. The Rockets have to contain the penetration of T.J. Ford. <font color=""Red"">Luther Head hit some 3's!! </font> <font color=""purple"">Raptors:</font> Keep Tmac from scoring more than 30. The Raptors need to rebound and get points in the paint. Ford should continue what he is doing and keep scoring on and on. Andrea Bargnani will come off the bench so he needs to contribute well and they also need Garbajosa to score. The bench needs to produce and Parker needs to give them energy with Points. Nesterovic is also a key player because he is not offensive minded but he still needs to try to score. Nesterovic and Bosh need to score on Yao so they can ware him down on offense. The offense needs to go through Ford and Calderon. Cover luther head on 3's! <font color=""Black"">Bottom Line:</font> This is another game to help the Rockets to maybe get a home court advantage in the playoffs to the Rockets need to win this. The Rockets need a streak because every good team has been on a streak lately and they need to prove that they are good and also to clinch the playoff berth. The Raptors are a very deep team and they cause size problems so the Rockets need their defense to be well. The Rockets mainly need to score because you cannot win a game if you do not score. All the Rockets need to do is pickup their offense and defense and not play Lazy then they will win. If the Rockets can close the game out well they will come away with the victory. The Raptors are still a tough team to beat because they have Bosh at the PF and Nesterovic at C so height will be an issue for the Rockets, nonetheless the Rockets should do good. They won the last meeting because of the Rockets terrible shooting and the first half of Andrea Bargnani so we need to really get off to a good start. Hope for a great game and may the best team win.
Oh man, that was a nice T-Mac dunk. The Rockets are going off on the Raptors. This reminds me of the last game between the two, except vice versa. 5/5 behind the arc for the Rockets and we're up 29-11 Rafer for threeeeeeeeee
Raptors made the expected push, but the Rockets still hold a 9-point lead at the half. Not much else to comment upon. No one on either side has really stood out.
Great win againts a pretty good team on the road. Our starting group played great for the second game in a row.
<div class="quote_poster">dexxa Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">why does t ford have a golden aura around him in the picture?</div> He's a saint!
One thing I liked about the game is that we were able to get out the gates and make the Raptors play to our pace. At the start of most of their games, especially ones at home, they get down the floor very quickly and usually manage to get great looks within the first ten seconds of the shot clock. The Rockets were able to hold them to our pace and that attributed to their poor start. A guy like Andrea Bargnani scares me though. Against a team like Phoenix, Juwan Howard definitely can't keep up with Shawn Marion, who plays the same position and has an outside-in game like Bargnani. And Rock4life can't even pin that on JVG.
Another great game by Hayes. Notice the trend Rock4life? Ever since Yao came back, and Hayes along with him to the starting lineup, hes put up great numbers. I guess you were wrong again.
<div class="quote_poster">Locke Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">A guy like Andrea Bargnani scares me though. Against a team like Phoenix, Juwan Howard definitely can't keep up with Shawn Marion, who plays the same position and has an outside-in game like Bargnani. And Rock4life can't even pin that on JVG.</div> What does Juwan Howard have to do with Bargani? Niether Howard, Chuck, Yao, Deke or Big Jake can hold him either. Oh, and Snyder should be the one holding Marion. But JVG won't play him in games like that
<div class="quote_poster">Rock4life Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">What does Juwan Howard have to do with Bargani? Niether Howard, Chuck, Yao, Deke or Big Jake can hold him either. Oh, and Snyder should be the one holding Marion. But JVG won't play him in games like that</div> Juwan Howard was the one on Bargnani most of the game. And how the hell would Snyder hold Marion? Marion's way quicker and can get offensive boards much easier than Snyder. My point is, some things no coach nor player can control. You can't just blame everything that goes wrong on the coach.
<div class="quote_poster">Locke Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Juwan Howard was the one on Bargnani most of the game.</div> Bargani's a 7footer and matchup problem for just about every team in the NBA. Name somebody who could've done a better job... <div class="quote_poster">Locke Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">And how the hell would Snyder hold Marion? Marion's way quicker and can get offensive boards much easier than Snyder. My point is, some things no coach nor player can control. You can't just blame everything that goes wrong on the coach.</div> Marion's 6'7 & Snyder's 6'6. Marion's athetic with long arms, so is Snyder. Marion's quick and Snyder's quick. If anybody can give Marion problems, Snyder's the best option.
<div class="quote_poster">Rock4life Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Bargani's a 7footer and matchup problem for just about every team in the NBA. Name somebody who could've done a better job...</div>Just thinking off the top of my head here, Kevin Garnett, Ruben Patterson, Tayshaun Prince, Danny Granger and Gerald Wallace. I know these are known more as the upper-class of defenders, but that seems to be the category you put Howard in. The fact that you even thought Howard did as good a job anyone could do shows it. What happened was that Bargnani exposed Howard's slow-footedness on defense. A few times when Howard should have played Bargnani closer on the perimeter, he backed off because he was afraid to let Bargs drive, and in turn got burned when Bargnani made outside shots. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Marion's 6'7 & Snyder's 6'6. Marion's athetic with long arms, so is Snyder. Marion's quick and Snyder's quick. If anybody can give Marion problems, Snyder's the best option.</div>You mean anybody on the Rockets. Snyder and Marion share the same dimensions, but you overlook the fact that Marion is quicker than Snyder. Snyder's quick, but Marion is on another level. Basically Marion is everything that Snyder is, but much better. You still haven't told me how Snyder will keep Marion off the offensive boards. He seems to live on putback dunks. Also, how do you think having Snyder play power forward on the other end will help? One more question: do you think that Chuck Hayes played a good game?
<div class="quote_poster">Locke Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Just thinking off the top of my head here, Kevin Garnett, Ruben Patterson, Tayshaun Prince, Danny Granger and Gerald Wallace. I know these are known more as the upper-class of defenders, but that seems to be the category you put Howard in. The fact that you even thought Howard did as good a job anyone could do shows it.</div> Okay...When have I EVER put Howard in the same class of Kevin Garnett? Did I EVER say Howard did a great job against Bargani? Are you sayin Chuck Hayes could've done a better job against an athletic 7footer? Answer's please <div class="quote_poster">Locke Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">What happened was that Bargnani exposed Howard's slow-footedness on defense. A few times when Howard should have played Bargnani closer on the perimeter, he backed off because he was afraid to let Bargs drive, and in turn got burned when Bargnani made outside shots.</div> Oh I get it now. Ur attempting to discredit me, ok. Well for the record, Bargani had only 16pts. He made 50%, but he only took 8 shots. If Howard's footwork was so slow, who do recommend should've guarded Bargani? You actually think a 6'6 Chuck Hayes would've locked him down? Do you even know who leads the team in foul outs? Does that factor in "footwork"? <div class="quote_poster">Locke Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">You mean anybody on the Rockets. Snyder and Marion share the same dimensions, but you overlook the fact that Marion is quicker than Snyder. Snyder's quick, but Marion is on another level. Basically Marion is everything that Snyder is, but much better. You still haven't told me how Snyder will keep Marion off the offensive boards. He seems to live on putback dunks. Also, how do you think having Snyder play power forward on the other end will help?</div> Obcourse Marion's better than Snyder. Pay attention . I'm sayin that if anybody can do a good job of guarding Marion, Snyder's bout as good as it's gonna get. Joe Dumars isn't nearly the player Jordan was, but he did a great job holding him. Do the math <div class="quote_poster">Locke Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">One more question: do you think that Chuck Hayes played a good game?</div> Absolutley! He played one of his best games as a Rocket, 8pts, 8rebs, 3stls & 1assist. That's great!
<div class="quote_poster">Rock4life Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Okay...When have I EVER put Howard in the same class of Kevin Garnett? Did I EVER say Howard did a great job against Bargani? Are you sayin Chuck Hayes could've done a better job against an athletic 7footer? Answer's please</div>You challenged me to name someone who would have done a better job. Basically, you're implying that Howard did the best anyone could do on Bargnani. You also called Bargnani a matchup problem for any team. In a nutshell, you maintained that Bargnani is hard to guard and that Howard did a good job. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Oh I get it now. Ur attempting to discredit me, ok. Well for the record, Bargani had only 16pts. He made 50%, but he only took 8 shots. If Howard's footwork was so slow, who do recommend should've guarded Bargani? You actually think a 6'6 Chuck Hayes would've locked him down? Do you even know who leads the team in foul outs? Does that factor in "footwork"?</div>You tell me. You saw the game. For the record, I do think that Hayes would have done a better job. Hayes would have played Bargnani tighter and kept up with him on a better scale. He'll get beat too, but at least he won't give up easy outside shots. Bargnani had only 16 points? Oh right, he's a monster who normally goes off for 30, so Howard did a good job. Yeah, he only took 8 shots but he shot 9 free throws. You knock Chuck Hayes for being foul prone when I remember Howard fouling Bargnani on two occasions, both of which resulted in free throws. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Obcourse Marion's better than Snyder. Pay attention . I'm sayin that if anybody can do a good job of guarding Marion, Snyder's bout as good as it's gonna get. Joe Dumars isn't nearly the player Jordan was, but he did a great job holding him. Do the math</div>Why should I do the math when you've rejected any mathematical argument in any debate? And what math do you expect me to do when there's no numbers of any sort you present? <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Absolutley! He played one of his best games as a Rocket, 8pts, 8rebs, 3stls & 1assist. That's great!</div>Don't be sarcastic now. You're the one knocking stats and now you bring them out. You also noticed that Chris Bosh had a very rough night and shot only 3 free throws when 10 attempts are the norm for him?
<div class="quote_poster">ownage Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Rockets win , Utah lose. One step closer to that 4th seed </div> I thought if we had the better record than Jazz, we only get home-court advantage. The only way we can get 3rd or 4th seed is if we beat San Antonio.
<div class="quote_poster">Umair Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I thought if we had the better record than Jazz, we only get home-court advantage. The only way we can get 3rd or 4th seed is if we beat San Antonio.</div> Yes, but being a 5th seed with home court advantage, for all intents an purposes, is the same as being a 4th seed with home court advantage.
