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Yao vs. Spurs - 12/13/03
 Yao Ming tries to get position on Rasho Nesterovic on Saturday night in San Antonio. The Rockets dropped their second straight game against San Antonio, who easily beat them 86-73. Yao finished with 11 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks. (Photo courtesy AP) |
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SATURDAY, 12/13/03 - I wanted to turn off the Rockets-Spurs game in the second-half, but I couldn't since I feel obligated to report on it here. That's really the first time I have felt that way.
The Rockets offense continued to struggle like it did on Thursday against the Spurs where they only scored 67 points (25 in the first half). Unfortunately for the Rockets, they couldn't count on San Antonio continuing their scoring struggles for a second straight game. The Spurs outclassed the fumbling, bumbling Rockets on Saturday night, running them out of San Antonio 86-73. But it wasn't as close of a game as the final score would indicate. The Spurs led the game in the second half by 24 points, and they didn't even need MVP Tim Duncan, who only scored 8 points and sat out the entire fourth quarter. Houston never really threatened with their pathetic offense. Shooting only 2-of-13 in the first quarter, and 33% for the entire game, the Rockets didn't belong in the same building as the Spurs. Their 8 points in the first quarter set a new NBA record: they are the first team in the shot-clock era to score 8 points in a quarter in two straight games. In that awful first quarter on Saturday night, they also turned the ball over 7 times. They looked like a junior high team versus a World Champion, with the Spurs out-assisting the Rockets 24-14. And unlike their previous game against the Rockets, the Spurs didn't have trouble hitting long jumpers in the second half this time. While Manu Ginobili, Bruce Bowen, and Hedo Turkoglu were hitting shots from the outside, the Rockets couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Yao had a hand in his face the entire evening. He struggled in the first quarter by missing all three of his shots, but he helped bring the Rockets back from their 21-8 deficit at the end of the first quarter by scoring 7 points in the second quarter to help close the deficit to 31-34. But he only took 4 shots the rest of the way, and finished with 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting. Yao needs to get more selfish and put up more shots when he has the opportunity to take them because it doesn't look like his coach is going to force his teammates to keep giving him the ball. The Spurs did play great defense by surrounding Yao when he received the ball, daring other Rockets to hit shots. Whenever Yao put the ball on the ground he was swarmed. It was so frustrating for him, at one point in the fourth quarter Turkoglu came in and tried to wrestle the ball away from Yao (obviously fouling him, but no whistle was blown), and Yao pushed him in frustration, which is rare to see. But we didn't mind the show of emotion, even if it was in frustration. The Rockets need some kind of emotion to get things going. In the meantime, maybe Yao will figure out a way to reduce his number of turnovers, finishing with 3 turnovers for the third straight game. He attracts alot of attention down in the paint, and he often gets into trouble and has his rhythm broken when he dribbles down deep. So what does Jeff Van Gundy have to say about this pathetic offense? I haven't really heard as much anger as I would like to hear. He ripped more into the Rockets after a preseason game against the Nuggets than he does now. What gives? While he's at it, Van Gundy needs to make this offense more exciting or no one will show up at Toyota Center. The fast breaks and alley-oops (a.k.a. "easy buckets") are still non-existent. Steve Francis continues to be a non-factor, and almost an offensive liability. He kept driving to the basket, and most times was unsuccessful. He was 3-for-14 at one point in the third quarter, and made only two shots in the fourth quarter after the game was way out of hand. 3-for-14 folks. That's miserable. Even Spurs' announcer Sean Elliott remarked after he hit a jump shot as opposed to driving to the basket, "Well it's about time he made that decision. Every time he tries to take it to the bucket he gets it rejected." And when he made one of those shots, he complained to the officials for not calling a foul, and they slapped him with a technical. Dumb! Cuttino Mobley, the Rockets' best shooter, didn't shoot as many shots you would think he would get. He only shot 7 shots in the entire ballgame. Like Yao, Cuttino also needs to take more shots for the Rockets to improve their chances of winning. Maurice Taylor, who has been impressive on the offensive end of the floor the past few games, had an off-night, and missed 7 out of 10 shots. With the slim margin of error they allow for themselves with their bad offense, the Rockets cannot afford to have 2-3 players have off nights. Van Gundy needs to do something to shake things up. He's got the defense playing well, but this bad shooting and inconsistency won't be addressed without some major changes either in his offensive philosophy, personnel changes, or both. Right now no one should be untouchable other than Yao. Kelvin Cato contributes almost nothing to the offense as a starter should. Cato should be made Yao's back-up again, or should be packaged in a deal with Francis and almost anyone else to get a solid, yet unspectacular point guard, and some more scoring punch on the front line with Yao. Before that happens, though, Taylor will probably have a chance to show everyone what he can do as a starter since Cato hurt his knee slightly and played less minutes as a result. It's doubtful Cato will play substantial minutes on Tuesday against Minnesota. So let's see what Taylor can do when he starts. But that, by no means, will solve the Rockets offensive problems. |
| 1st quarter - Kelvin Cato jumps the opening tip for the Rockets against Tim Duncan. | ||
| 11:32 | Free Throws |
Yao tries to shoot a jumper in the lane, but is fouled by Nesterovic. Yao goes to the line and makes both free throws. The game is tied 2-2. |
| 10:19 |  |
Yao misses a fallaway jumper in the lane over Nesterovic that was just a little too hard. Yao is 0-for-1 from the field with 2 points. |
| 8:40 |  |
Yao misses a fallaway jumper just outside the right edge of the lane over Nesterovic that also was just a little too hard. Yao is 0-for-2 from the field with 2 points. |
| 8:09 |  |
Yao misses a jump hook shot just outside the right edge of the lane along the baseline. Yao is 0-for-3 from the field with 2 points. |
| 5:54 | Yao checks out of the game for Maurice Taylor. | |
| 2nd quarter - The Rockets trail 8-21. Yao is 0-for-3 from the field with 2 points. Yao starts the quarter. | ||
| 10:53 |  |
Down by 16 points, the Rockets need points in the worst way. Jim Jackson tries a jump hook along the right baseline. Surrounded by Duncan and Turkoglu, Yao grabs the rebound on the left side of the hoop, goes up for the layup and is fouled, AND THE SHOT GOES IN! FINALLY A SHOT GOES IN AFTER YAO IS FOULED! Yao makes the penalty free throw, and the Rockets finally have some momentum! The Rockets trail 11-24, and Yao has 5 points on 1-of-4 shooting. |
| 8:57 | Great rebound! |
After the Spurs miss a shot, Yao is in front of the rim to tip the rebound to himself twice one-handed. After he gathers it in with both hands, he immediately whips a pass to Francis at the three-point line, then Francis passes it to Eric Piatkowski on the left wing behind the three-point line, and PIKE NAILS IT! Yao clutches his fist after the ball flies through the net, happy that the Rockets have closed the deficit to 16-25.
Spurs' announcer Sean Elliott was so impressed with the rebound, he immediately states, "Wow, did you see how he came down with that rebound? Amazing!" During the replay, he goes on to say: "You don't think this guy can be a force? Watch the way he pulls this board down. He snatches it with one hand right there taking it outside away from his body. Not a lot of people can do that--snatching a basketball with one hand as it comes off the rim." |
| 6:57 | Intimidation | The Spurs' Manu Ginobili drives along the left baseline on Yao and elevates to 'posterize' Yao with a massive one-handed dunk, but Yao isn't afraid to contest the dunk. Yao also elevates, and Ginobili ends up missing the dunk! We love how Yao's arm is there for Ginobili's face to run into it hard, too! Serves him right! (No foul is called). Great intimidation by Yao! |
| 6:47 | Free Throws |
Yao is fouled by Willis in the lane. Yao gets to shoot free throws, and he makes both. The Rockets have cut the deficit to 22-27, thanks to Yao! Yao now has 7 points on 1-of-4 shooting from the field. |
| 6:27 |  |
From the left side of the lane, Tim Duncan dribbles into the lane and goes up for a right-handed jump hook shot, BUT YAO IS THERE TO STUFF DUNCAN'S SHOT! THAT'S A RARE SITE TO SEE DUNCAN BLOCKED! That is Yao's first block of the game. |
| 2:20 |  |
Rasho Nesterovic shoots a long jumper, but Yao contests the shot from way outside. The shot misses, perhaps because Yao got a fingernail on it, but the official scorer gives Yao a block on the play. It didn't look like the arc of the shot was altered, but regardless, we'll take the block. |
| 2:09 | Assist | Yao gets the ball just outside the left edge of the lane, pivots into the lane, and it looks like he's going to shoot one of his fallaway jumpers. But instead, Yao whips a one-handed pass to Jim Jackson in the deep right corner behind the three-point line. On cue, Jackson launches a wide open three-pointer AND NAILS IT! The Rocket bench jumps up in elation! They have narrowed the 16-point gap to just 31-34. |
| 1:41 |  |
Yao misses a jump hook in the lane. Yao is now 1-for-5 from the field with 7 points. |
| 1:11 |  |
Guarded one-on-one by Kevin Willis, Yao gets the ball from Steve Francis deep in the paint on the inside edge of the lane. Yao pump fakes to get Willis to launch himself into the air for the block, THEN YAO GOES UNDERNEATH WILLIS AND TAKES ONE STEP TOWARDS THE BASKET AND JAMS IT DOWN ONE-HANDED WITH AUTHORITY!! THE HOUSTON BENCH LAUNCHES ITSELF OFF THE BENCH IN AWED REACTION TO YAO'S FINESSE AND POWER ALL EXHIBITED IN TWO SECONDS OF PLAY! THAT IS THE KIND OF MOVE WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE YAO DO ALL THE TIME!
Even Sean Elliott says, "That is an exceptional up-and-under. How do you go up-and-under somebody when you're taller than him (Willis) by 6 inches! That was an exceptioinal, beautiful move by Yao Ming!" The Rockets now trail 33-36, and Yao is 2-for-6 from the field with 9 points. |
| 0:31.8 | Bad call! |
Bruce Bowen drives the left baseline toward the hoop, and Yao is there underneath the basket. Wisely, Yao doesn't try to do anything other than just stand his ground and keep his arms up. Bowen proceeds to jump into him and make his layup attempt, but the damn official calls a foul on Yao!! That's bull*^#)! What's Yao supposed to do, move out of his way?! That was a terrible call! The official shouldn't have called anything!! The expression on Yao's face shows that he agrees with our assessment. |
| Halftime - After trailing by 13 points after the first quarter, the Rockets now only trail 33-40. Yao is 2-for-6 from the field with 9 points. | ||
| 3rd quarter - Yao starts the quarter. | ||
| 9:56 |  |
Tony Parker drives past Francis, then PALMS THE BALL (which the official doesn't call) to go past Yao in the middle of the lane. Parker proceeds to drive to the basket and puts up a layup attempt off the glass, BUT YAO IS THERE TO SLAP IT DOWN FOR THE BLOCK! HAHA PARKER! SERVES HIM RIGHT AFTER HE ILLEGALLY CARRIED THE BALL! |
| 3:28 |  |
Yao misses a little jump hook on the right edge of the lane. This was kind of an unusual shot for him since he decided to bank it off the glass instead of shooting it straight on like he normally does with his right-handed hook shots. It was close, though. The shot just rolled off the side of the rim. |
| 3:08 | Yao checks out of the game for Maurice Taylor. He is 2-for-7 from the field with 9 points. The Rockets trail 43-59. | |
| 1:33 | Yao checks into the game for Kelvin Cato. The Rockets trail 45-63. | |
| 0:08 |  |
Yao gets the ball in great position in the middle of the lane, and he has Robert Horry behind him. Rather than try to lean into Horry to get a little closer to the hoop, Yao decides to just shoot a little floating jumper about 3 feet away from the basket. Yao's shot misses. We think he could have been a little more aggressive and tried to use more power to get to the hoop and try a higher-percentage shot since Horry is much shorter than him. Yao is now 2-for-8 from the field with 9 points. |
| 4th quarter - The Spurs lead 65-49. Houston is shooting only 30% from the field compared to the Spurs' 46%. The Spurs have 20 assists compared to the Rockets 8. | ||
| 9:49 |  |
Trailing by 20 points, Yao gets the ball in the middle of the lane and shoots a little jump hook over Nesterovic, and it goes in. Yao is now 3-for-9 from the field with 11 points, and the Rockets trail 52-70. |
| 8:24 | With the game out-of-reach (Spurs 75, Rockets 52), Yao checks out of the game for Scott Padgett. The Rockets go on to lose 86-73. Yao finishes with 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks. Although the flight back to Houston is only an hour long, it will be a long plane ride back home. | |
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