GAME: Houston Rockets(6-8) vs. Denver Nuggets(6-6) LOCATION: Toyota Center, Houston TIME: Saturday November 27th, 7:30PM PROBABLE STARTERS Houston/Denver SF Jim Jackson/Carmelo Anthony PF Maurice Taylor/Kenyon Martin C Yao Ming/Marcus Camby PG Charlie Ward/Andre Miller SG Tracy McGrady/Greg Buckner TEAM LEADERS Rockets: Tracy McGrady-21.1 points per game Yao Ming-7.8 rebounds per game Tracy McGrady-5.3 assists per game Nuggets: Carmelo Anthony-20.6 points per game Kenyon Martin-7.8 rebounds per game Andre Miller-4.9 assists per game KEYS TO THE GAME <u>Rockets</u> 1: Yao Ming Plays Smart-Yao Ming has not been in his best form recently and he will most likely be held to a low-scoring game again tonight against Nene, Camby and Martin. This is where Yao Ming will have smarten up. When he does not have the shot, Yao would need to try to spot the open man and hit him with a pass which would result to a wide-open shot. If Yao tries to force the shot and gets bad turnovers, the Rockets are almost hopeless in this game. 2:T-Mac-The Nuggets do not have a viable option at shooting guard, and McGrady will find Rodney White or Andre Miller on him most of the game. Although these guys are not bad defenders, McGrady's wide array of offensive skills would give him an advantage over whoever's on him. Expect a 30-point game from Tracy tonight. 3:Rebound-The Rockets are the worst team in the league in rebounding, and against the Nuggets that are not so good on the boards as well, Houston will have to force the Nuggets' players to take bad shots and box out for the rebound. Nobody is tall enough to contest with Yao Ming for rebounds, so Yao would have to utilize his height well and grab at least 10 boards. <u>Nuggets</u> 1:Go Down Low-Kenyon Martin will find Maurice Taylor on him for most of the night. Expect K-Mart to use that to his advantage as Taylor is not a good defender at all. If Martin uses his quickness and athlectism to get to the basket and shoot over Taylor, the Nuggets will have a big advantage in this game. Marcus Camby is also an efficient offensive player and his length and offensive rebounding would give him 10+ points as well. 2:Get Out On The Break-The Nuggets are a great running team. They get a fair amount of fast break points each game, and against the Houston defense that is not good transitionally, Denver will have to take advantage. All five of the Nuggets' starters can run the floor and they get out on the break often. They should have monster games if they outrun the Rockets defenders off steals and long rebounds. 3:Bench Shows Up-The Nuggets bench stars Earl Boykins, Nene and Rodney White. All three players are very good offensively and combine for 26 points each night. These guys will have to play good tonight and provide a spark when the starters rest. GAME OUTLOOK The Rockets enter this game with a two-game losing streak, while the Nuggets suffered a home loss against the Spurs last night. One team will come out victorious tonight, while the loser will extend their losing streak. The odds are against the Nuggets here. Kenyon Martin is riddled by the flu and Carmelo Anthony has had an inconsistent season. In addition, the Rockets have won their six previous home games against Denver. GAME PREDICTION Rockets-93 Nuggets-88
Both teams here have been projected to do very well in the season, and both have had very slow starts. It's interesting to see who will come out on top tonight. The Nuggets have a huge advantage with the front court and will definitely give Taylor, Yao, Mutumbo, and Howard loads of trouble. The strategy here would be to use Yao's height to at least try to out rebound them and use Mutumbo's stellar defense to slow them down a bit. Most importantly, McGrady must come out big tonight. He's probably out biggest advantage and we must use him. Put him on the fastbreak, drive inside, hit 3's, jumpers, whatever. Just make him do something. With that said, and the Rockets meet all their requirements, I see a close game with the Rockets winning by 2. However, most likely Yao will be dominated by Nene, Kmart, and Camby downlow which will be a key point in the game. If that happens, Nuggets win 94-86.
Is van gundy gonna have a differant game plan today, maybe use differant guys? I think the nuggets will take this one 102-93
the jvg is making me cry....its like the rockets players want to do a fastbreak...but then they just stop and start setting up for a miss.l...why houston why...!!!
BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! BOBBY SURA!! Hes the spark we need, I cant wait until he fully learns the system.
I second the excitement about Sura. With that said... The Rockets starting lineup for next game should be: PG - Bob Sura SG - Jim Jackson SF - Scott Padgett PF - Clarence Weatherspoon C - Dikembe Mutombo Put the "starters" on the bench for a while (aside from Jackson) and maybe they'll come in and play with the intensity that the guys I listed above do. *This isn't completely serious, but you get the point*
Yao Ming and Mo Taylor forgot to show up today, and we lost. The positive to take from the game is that it appears that Bobby Sura can help the Rockets (though he needs to hit those open jumpers). Van Gundy is playing Padgett ahead of Howard, which is a good decision in my opinion. I'd start Sura over Lue next game, and I'd stop running plays for Yao. Yao should learn how to score off the offensive boards and hitting spot up jumpers. Right now, he's playing like Michael Olowakandi.
I would start Howard over Taylor. Taylor hasn't done jack in the past games. Man I'm so pissed that they keep losing. I want them to WIN! I'm tired of these stupid turnovers man. Careless mistakes. Also, Mcgrady has been having a bad shooting selection the past games. Why can't he just drive in. Sura is the man, 6 assists, 6 points, and 4 points in 21 minutes. Also Lue had a good night. 11 points and 5 assists.
Im a big T-Mac critic and rightfully so. the dumb idiot shot 11 shots and made 1. Is he blind or just stupid. This is Yao's team give him the ball and let him go to work. Yao should get at least 25 shots a game.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Lakers2006:</div><div class="quote_post">I would start Howard over Taylor. Taylor hasn't done jack in the past games. Man I'm so pissed that they keep losing. I want them to WIN! I'm tired of these stupid turnovers man. Careless mistakes. Also, Mcgrady has been having a bad shooting selection the past games. Why can't he just drive in. Sura is the man, 6 assists, 6 points, and 4 points in 21 minutes. Also Lue had a good night. 11 points and 5 assists.</div> When Lue was in the game, the Rockets were getting blown out. They only kept the score respectable because of Sura's penetration. Howard hasn't played any better than Mo Taylor, but I wouldn't be against starting Howard over Mo. But one of those guys shouldn't play. Padgett has played better than both of them while he's been in the game. I think if Yao sat out this game we would have had a better chance to win. He clogged up the lane and hurts out penetration, turned the ball over half time he got it, played terrible defense all night, and gave up numerous offensive rebounds. Oh, and he missed a point blank dunk in transition. Just a frustratingly pathetic performance. THIS guy is the future of our franchise?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting YaoMing03-04:</div><div class="quote_post">Im a big T-Mac critic and rightfully so. the dumb idiot shot 11 shots and made 1. Is he blind or just stupid. This is Yao's team give him the ball and let him go to work. Yao should get at least 25 shots a game.</div> Give me a break. Are you actually watching these games, or just looking at boxscores? McGrady couldn't hit a jump shot to save his life, true, but he was being doubled all night. Yao, on the other hand, was played single coverage most of the night. He got PLENTY of touches, but he turned the ball over so many times that it became a liability to give him the ball. And at least McGrady got himself to the line and made 12 of 14. Yao, on the other hand, either got the ball stripped or was taking wimpy fadeaway jumpers. Yao should have been benched in the second half. We made a run in the 4th quarter, and when he came back in we lost the momentum. And he had a couple turnovers in the close minutes of the 4th quarter (deja vu?). I don't know how much Rockets basketball you've actually watched this year, but Yao has played terribly this season so far. He's had a few nice scoring nights, but defensively and rebounding-wise he's been sub-par, and his turnover-assist ratio is about on par with Yinka Dare.
Is there something wrong with Yao's hands or something? Are they too small? Does he have the inability to grip? Seems like everything the ball is passed to Yao, some defender takes a swipe at it and then you have yourself a steal. Yao Ming needs to learn how to protect the ball! And why is Mcgrady shooting a lot of jumpers? Isn't he known for the slashing/lay-up person? Why did our supposedly 2-time scoring champion record 14 points? Our Rockets are playing FUGLY basketball people...just plain disgusting. I know it's early in the season, and you can always say chemistry isn't right. But once you keep on saying that the season will suddenly come to a close end and it'll be too late. We need CHANGES! Our ball team CANNOT WIN GAMES! RAWR! What's wrong?
If padgett an get into the lineup more and sura starts, i think that will help a lot, especially on the boards, which is a big problem
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting l2emix:</div><div class="quote_post">Is there something wrong with Yao's hands or something? Are they too small? Does he have the inability to grip? Seems like everything the ball is passed to Yao, some defender takes a swipe at it and then you have yourself a steal. Yao Ming needs to learn how to protect the ball! </div> Yao just doesn't seem comfortable on the court. I think he has a poor court-vision. He doesn't have a mental image in his head of where defenders are on the court. Maybe he's so tall that his peripheral vision doesn't allow him to see defenders around him. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">And why is Mcgrady shooting a lot of jumpers? Isn't he known for the slashing/lay-up person? Why did our supposedly 2-time scoring champion record 14 points?</div> Last year, around 80% of his shots were jumpers. The year before, when he average 32 ppg, it was around 75%. So, the last few years he's been primarily a jump shooter. Because he's so tall and he releases the ball high above his defenders, he can usually get his shot off. I don't think McGrady shot selection is bad. He got 14 free throw attempts in this game, which shows he was at least being aggressive. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Our Rockets are playing FUGLY basketball people...just plain disgusting. I know it's early in the season, and you can always say chemistry isn't right. But once you keep on saying that the season will suddenly come to a close end and it'll be too late. We need CHANGES! Our ball team CANNOT WIN GAMES! RAWR! What's wrong?</div> We're a poor rebounding team and we're soft inside. When Yao is having a poor game offensively, we have virtually no inside scoring presence. I also think we're very bad at defending opposing power forwards.
<font size="4">Post Game Quotes</font> Coach Jeff Van Gundy: About energy backups brought to the game "Again, it shouldn't be noticeable in our energy level. It is, but it shouldn't be. The coach should have a group playing with energy and passion, and obviously, I don't have that right now." About getting outrebounded yet again "Our rebounding has been a concern for a long time. We're obviously not pursuing the ball as we should. The coach should have the team playing with energy and passion and obviously I don't have them doing that." Tracy McGrady: About slow starts "We're coming out and having slow starts, teams getting ahead of us, digging a hole and then we try to fight back, like we're fighting dogs in the fourth quarter. It's been killing us, the slow starts. You can't beat teams like that in this league. It's tough enough to win already." About personally struggling offensively "My game right now, I'm so hesitant on the offense end and I can't get into a rhythm right now. I don't know what it is. I really don't feel in sync on the basketball court right now. I have hesitation in my game right now. I can't get into the flow at all." Yao Ming: About personally playing like poop "I hope that this is the most frustrating (stretch of games) I've been in in my life. I hope there's no more." About discovering that players grab rebounds, rebounds don't grab players "I think I did a bad job. I was waiting for the rebounds to come to me and I have to go get them."
Wow just when you thought things couldn't get any worse for the rockets..tmac can't make a shot and yao shows his alter ego..i think it's yao's diet..give him some dim sum keep him light and skippy i thnk he's been eating american junk food
Defense again, the defense was atrocious for the second night in a row. Maurice Taylor was garbage for the second time in a row, and the Rockets werent making shots again. Not too add they didnt rebound, which they didnt do all season. If those things improve they'll win.
