<div class="quote_poster">phunDamentalz Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">he needs to learn how to draw a foul if you ask me. He gets good positioning in the post, can hold onto the ball some of the time, just needs to learn the art of drawing fouls and he will be freaking unstoppable.</div> Here's what Yao said yesterday about getting fouled. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">?I feel that its not fair. I can only shoot 8 free throws yesterday and 6 today and they just let their big guy keep pushing me. I would say Kwame Brown and Andrew Bynum could be fouled 10 times already in tonight?s game and yesterday also. That?s not fair. I know I?m big, but that?s not my fault. I have two hand push on my back and they keep pushing while im going to shoot the ball and they don?t foul upstairs. No foul on my hands but they foul on my body. I shot only six free throws from my position. I know that?s not right. I hope the league and somebody could help us with this. Show them the film, its not just one or two games, its been a couple of weeks already.?</div> I thought Yao played well. 35 points on 35 shots is not great, but still very good. He missed the game winner, but didn't he make the two game-tying shots? Also, where was Battier's great defense?
<div class="quote_poster">evolidiot Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Here's what Yao said yesterday about getting fouled. I thought Yao played well. 35 points on 35 shots is not great, but still very good. He missed the game winner, but didn't he make the two game-tying shots? Also, where was Battier's great defense?</div> He was defending Kobe Bryant... sometimes great defense doesn't mean a thing when you are guarding him and he is in score mode.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">What the hell? Smush cusses at the ref and takes his headband off and there's no technical foul? Well, I guess the NBA decided to scrap that rule. </div> I was saying the same exact thing when that happened.....the technical fouls are so inconsistent that it's not even funny.
<div class="quote_poster">evolidiot Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Also, where was Battier's great defense?</div> Spoken like someone who only looked at the boxscore and didn't watch the game.
<div class="quote_poster">Trench Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I think Odom can be mentioned in the same sentence as Tracy in regards to their importance on their respective teams.</div> Sure. "Odom isn't nearly as important to his team as Tracy is ." Same sentence.
<div class="quote_poster">Trench Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Kobe was 2 assists shy of a triple double. </div> Yao was 2 blocks shy of a triple double. <div class="quote_poster">Trench Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Just remember, we are up 2-0 against you guys. Without Odom in both matches too!</div> Yeah 2-0 up against us without Tracy McGrady. Man, when is Tmac coming back? As soon as Tmac comes back, we have to go on a big winning streak. Right now, we are behind Dallas in standings, and with Tmac back and also Bonzi back, I see us destroying every team. All we need is McGrady back and healthy and then ownage starts.
<div class="quote_poster">THE DREAM Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Odom is extremely important to the Lakers, but he's not as important as Tmac is to the Rockets.</div> Are you sure about that? The Lakers are 4-18 without him. Both players are vital to their teams success. I think these teams are fairly evenly matched, but we have the coaching edge. The Lakers got back in this game when JVG decided to defend Luke with a guard again. Losing Chuck Hayes to foul trouble really impacted the Rockets on defense.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Are you sure about that? The Lakers are 4-18 without him. Both players are vital to their teams success. </div> yes, like I said Odom is extremely important to the Lakers, but if they didn't have him I think they still might be able to make the playoffs....I don't know if I could say that with no Tmac for the rockets.
^ Agreed. Kobe could probably take Lakers to playoffs on his own shoulders, but without Tracy McGrady (like last year) we aren't anything.
<div class="quote_poster">THE DREAM Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">yes, like I said Odom is extremely important to the Lakers, but if they didn't have him I think they still might be able to make the playoffs....I don't know if I could say that with no Tmac for the rockets.</div> I think it has a lot to do with the overall depth and flexibility the Lakers have on their roster. They have more options to replace Odom's role than the Rockets have to replace TMac. If Bonzi can fill the void with TMac out, the Rockets should win more games. He was unstoppable in the post last night. However, the longer he stayed in the game, the further he drifted away from the paint and settled for outside jumpshots. I'm sure fatigue was a factor for him and he needs to work harder to get his legs back.
That game last night made me sick! Im tired of the same BS by Rockets. Giving up on 10-15 point leads in the 4th quarter and in the midst of all of that, JVG doesn't call timeouts when the Rockets are giving up!
<div class="quote_poster">durvasa Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Spoken like someone who only looked at the boxscore and didn't watch the game.</div> I actually did watch the game, but I'll admit that I was not analyzing Battier's defense at the time. Still, you can make true assumptions from looking at the boxscore. Battier had some good steals, but he still allowed Kobe to score 50+. What good is having a defensive specialist who can only stop second-tier stars and not the top-tier superstars. There may not have been anyone who could have stopped Kobe, but that should not excused Battier. If he can't contribute on defense, than he should do something on the offensive end. His reluctance to shoot is really frustrating me. How can he take 15 less shots than Rafer, who is a worst shooter. All that talk about intangibles is stupid. Who says that you can only have one of the two, and not have tangible with the intangibles.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> actually did watch the game, but I'll admit that I was not analyzing Battier's defense at the time. Still, you can make true assumptions from looking at the boxscore. Battier had some good steals, but he still allowed Kobe to score 50+. What good is having a defensive specialist who can only stop second-tier stars and not the top-tier superstars. There may not have been anyone who could have stopped Kobe, but that should not excused Battier. If he can't contribute on defense, than he should do something on the offensive end. His reluctance to shoot is really frustrating me. How can he take 15 less shots than Rafer, who is a worst shooter. All that talk about intangibles is stupid. Who says that you can only have one of the two, and not have tangible with the intangibles.</div> there was a stretch of the game where Head was guarding Kobe....Shane did a good job on him, Kobe scored 56 points total in 2 OT periods...he just hit some tough shots.
<div class="quote_poster">evolidiot Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I actually did watch the game, but I'll admit that I was not analyzing Battier's defense at the time. Still, you can make true assumptions from looking at the boxscore. Battier had some good steals, but he still allowed Kobe to score 50+. What good is having a defensive specialist who can only stop second-tier stars and not the top-tier superstars. </div> You're assuming that Battier was guarding Kobe all night. That wasn't the case. Battier doesn't play defense like Bruce Bowen. He's not only focused on guarding one player. Often times (for whatever reason) Luther Head ended up on Kobe. I guarantee that if you took note of all the times Kobe faced Battier specifically in a one on one situation, his conversion rate would not look very good.
<div class="quote_poster">durvasa Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">You're assuming that Battier was guarding Kobe all night. That wasn't the case. Battier doesn't play defense like Bruce Bowen. He's not only focused on guarding one player. Often times (for whatever reason) Luther Head ended up on Kobe. I guarantee that if you took note of all the times Kobe faced Battier specifically in a one on one situation, his conversion rate would not look very good.</div> Just out of curiosity, since you're stat-man, why don't you post the one on one situations with Battier. All defensive players are at a disadvantage against stars anyway.
<div class="quote_poster">huevonkiller Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Just out of curiosity, since you're stat-man, why don't you post the one on one situations with Battier. </div> Because it would require me to rewatch the game and manually chart it. If you doubt what I said, go for it.
We need Snyder back in a hurry that will give us another long body to throw at the leagues premier perimeter threats....Head is too short to guard a Kobe, Wade, Lebron, etc.
<div class="quote_poster">Umair Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">^ Agreed. Kobe could probably take Lakers to playoffs on his own shoulders, but without Tracy McGrady (like last year) we aren't anything.</div> How can you say that? Last night Yao made me a believer. The guy is an unbelieveable player and very humble too boot. He has come such a long way from the last time I watched him play. He doesn't complain and just plays his game. His low post presence is beastly, he can rebound and score, and he's so damn tall, you just need to find out how to feed him the ball early enough. Houston can win without T-mac, but they need to feed him the ball earlier and someone needs to step up and take some of the load off of him. You have to realize that T-mac will have those back spasms for the rest of his career, so the Rockets must find ways to win w/o him. This is all spoken from a Laker fan too!!
<div class="quote_poster">THE DREAM Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">We need Snyder back in a hurry that will give us another long body to throw at the leagues premier perimeter threats....Head is too short to guard a Kobe, Wade, Lebron, etc.</div> Exactly. Even if people think that losing Odom hurts the Lakers about as much as losing T-Mac hurts the Rockets (I don't get that), the combination of losing McGrady+Snyder is huge. With our full roster, I think we match up very well against the Lakers. With McGrady and Snyder out, and Bonzi not close to full strength, we're at a serious disadvantage.
