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Yao vs. Sonics - 12/29/03
 Yao dwarfs Seattle SuperSonic Ray Allen in the first quarter on Monday. Allen and the Sonics beat the Rockets 87-86 in a game where Houston folded in crunch time once again. Yao finished with 15 points (7-of-8 from the floor and 4-of-6 from the field). To see more photos from the game, visit this topic in the YaoMingMania.com discussion forum. (Photo courtesy AP) |
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WEDNESDAY, 12/31/03 - As you might have heard by now, the Rockets traded Moochie Norris and John Amaechi for New York Knick power forward Clarence Weatherspoon (see related article). It's not exactly the blockbluster trade we were looking for to get the Rockets out of their malaise, but at least it's something. I still think if the Rockets continue to play like they have this season -- inconsistently -- then something else will happen.
I was pleasantly surprised to read that Jeff Van Gundy realizes the Rockets will have to take further action if things don't improve when he said on Tuesday, "Your job (as head coach) is to inspire those that cannot inspire themselves. And if we have too many guys that cannot inspire themselves, it's up on us (the coaching staff) to get some inspiration in here." I take that as meaning they will continue to make deals if necessary. I actually don't think Moochie was a source of the Rockets' recent problems. General Manager Carroll Dawson even admitted that in order to get something to address their rebounding problems, they had to give up something of value. I think Moochie was a source of inspiration this season by the way he got into great shape during the summer, losing 30 pounds, ridding himself of court antics, and deciding to shave off that distracting Afro. He really seemed to buy into the Van Gundy no-nonsense approach. Although he wasn't scoring much and wasn't getting as much playing time as in years' past, it looks like he is highly respected by new Knick GM Isiah Thomas, who said, "Moochie is a player who can break the defense down. He can get in the lane, like Frank (Williams), he can run an offense, shoot the long ball. He's a guy that has experience. He's played in this league for a while, he's competed at a high level, he's been very durable as a player." Thanks for the memories, Mooch. We wish you well in the big media market of New York. |
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TUESDAY, 12/30/03 - Although the Rockets' play of yet has not been first class, I wanted to let you know that Yao Ming's attitude has. Last night during the Rockets broadcast, color analyst Calvin Murphy commented on how Yao helped him out by participating in one of his basketball camps. I thought you might be interested to read what he said about Yao with loud enthusiasm:
"Let me just say something about Yao Ming. We all know he's going to be a superstar. Let's talk about him as a person. You should have seen him out there with those youngsters. I saw a different Yao Ming. There was not a scowl on his face (like he has on the basketball court at times). He was supposed to be there for an hour. He was there for 2 ½ hours! And signed everybody's autograph." |
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MONDAY, 12/29/03 - Clutch-less, Part 2. That's what you call another Rocket loss resulting from blunders (6 turnovers in the fourth quarter) and execution that needs Heimlich maneuvers to rescue it. Clutch-less, Part 1 occurred in the Rockets' previous game on Saturday night against the Nuggets. The Rockets' play on Monday night was as ugly as the Sonics' Vladimir Radmonivic's beard (you had to see it to believe it). You can just about kiss goodbye all the good momentum resulting from the Christmas Day victory against the LA Lakers just 5 days ago.
The Rockets shot 43% from the field compared to the Sonics 35% shooting, and had a 9-point lead at one point, but they weren't able to put Seattle away when they had the chance and lost 87-86. Bill Worrell, Houston's play-by-play TV commentator, summed it up well at one point: "Seattle is only shooting 34% on the road (this season). (The Rockets) ought to be killing these guys." The Rockets were also out-rebounded 47-42 by the worst rebounding team in the league. This was a strange game in that the Rockets had very balanced scoring with 6 players in double figures. They got decent performances from Jim Jackson (14 points, 6-of-13 FGs), Maurice Taylor (13 points, 5-of-11 FGs) and a breakout performance from Eric Piatkowski (14 points, 5-of-10 from the field, including 4 three-pointers). The Rockets should be encouraged that Pike may be finding his range. But everyone's poor execution, turnovers (19) and lack of rebounding killed them. Yao had a typical game as of late. He only got off 6 shots, partly because he got in foul trouble on some very questionable calls. But when he returned to the game in the fourth quarter, he still didn't get many chances to shoot it, although he did make 5-of-6 free throws in the final period. It's clear that Houston is having trouble getting Yao the ball, so Yao needs to take it upon himself to be more selfish and shoot the rock no matter what. This has to be better than most of his teammates shooting it. Entering Monday night's game, Yao was shooting 60% over his last 7 games, so the percentages are in his favor. But Yao once again turned the ball over 5 times, and after racking up the same amount of turnovers in his last game, Yao was hard on himself. So you must know he is kicking himself right now. Compare that to Steve Francis once again shooting poorly, this time 4-for-12 from the field. Francis also committed too many turnovers (5) and once again executed poorly in the clutch. Like Saturday's game against the Nuggets, he missed two free throws in the fourth quarter. And for some strange reason in the nip-and-tuck fourth quarter, he fouled Brent Barry far away from the basket across the arm when Barry wasn't even shooting. Barry, an excellent foul shooter, nailed both free throws in a game where every point was crucial. Francis committed another huge mistake on Monday night. The Rockets were trailing by three points with a chance to tie the game, and Francis threw the ball too high for Yao to catch, and the ball was stolen by the Sonics. The Rockets were forced to foul Ray Allen, who made a free throw to put the game out of reach. Regarding the errant inbound pass by Francis, the Houston newspaper claims that Yao stumbled, which threw off the timing of the pass. However, we watched the replay many times and it was clearly Francis' fault. Essentially, when the pressure is on, Francis is not as solid as you would think an All-Star would be. It's evident even on those rare fast breaks when Francis is being contested by 1 or 2 defenders. It's amazing that in the past two games, the Rockets are losing games, in part, because their two veteran star guards (Mobley, 6-year veteran; Francis, 5-years) are making rookie-like mistakes. If they are still making them at this stage in their career, will they ever eradicate themselves from such mistakes? It's doubtful. When the pressure is NOT on, look for Francis highlights. Nothing was more indicative of this phenomenon than at the end of the game. With the Rockets trailing by four points and only a couple of seconds remaining on the clock with no possibility of winning the game, Francis made a long 3-pointer to make the score look more respectable. Of course. Turn back the clock a few seconds, and it's a different story. We do have a number from Monday that is probably the most important -- 51. What is 51? It's the number of days remaining until the NBA trading deadline on February 19th. If the Rockets don't make a major blockbuster deal by that time, I will be shocked. If they elect not to make a major move, it will surely be another year in the lottery. So what do you think? Submit your thoughts in the YaoMingMania.com discussion forum on what kind of trade the Rockets should make to change the mental toughness of this team. Remember, Sam Cassell is probably not available, even though lots of Rocket fans would like to see him back in Houston. Neither is Stephon Marbury, who scored 40 points, had 9 assists and 5 steals on Monday night and deserves to go to the All-Star game this season. |
| 1st quarter | ||
| 11:21 |  |
Yao comes out high to get a pass from Jim Jackson at the right elbow of the lane, then simply turns, squares up and shoots a 15-footer AND IT'S GOOD! The Rockets lead 2-0. |
| 10:37 | Free Throws |
Yao gets the ball on the left edge of the lane and is guarded by Jerome James. Yao pump fakes to get James to jump up in the air, then Yao pivots to try to get around him, but James crashes into him. But the ref doesn't call anything! It takes another foul by James for the ref to finally call something! So Yao goes to the line and makes both free throws. The Rockets lead 4-2, and Yao has all four of the Rockets points. |
| 9:51 |  |
On a Rockets semi-fast break, Yao gets ahead of four Sonic defenders and waves his hand to Francis signaling that he is open. Right after he cross the half-court line, Francis bounces a pass to Yao that's a little off target. Yao has to bend down to fetch the ball, which gives the defense a split second more time to recover, but Yao is still able to lay the ball in uncontested. Yao is now 2-for-2 from the field and he has 6 points. The Rockets lead 8-2. |
| 4:58 | Yao checks out of the game for Maurice Taylor. Yao has 6 points on 2-of-2 shooting from both the field and the line. The Rockets lead 13-9. | |
| 2nd quarter - At the end of the first quarter, the Rockets lead 24-19. Yao has 6 points on 2-of-2 shooting from the field, and is 2-for-2 from the line. Yao starts the second quarter. | ||
| 6:21 | Yao checks out of the game for Kelvin Cato. Yao has not taken a shot in the 2nd quarter, but he did get 4 rebounds. The Rockets lead 31-25. | |
| 2:03 | Yao checks back into the game for Maurice Taylor. The Rockets lead 44-38. | |
| Halftime - At the end of the second quarter, the Rockets lead 46-42. The Rockets are shooting an impressive 50% from the field, and are 4-for-11 from three-point territory. The Sonics are shooting 37% from the field, and 4-for-18 from behind the arc. The Sonics have scored 17 points off Houston's turnovers, whereas Houston has scored 12 points off Seattle's turnovers. The Sonics have 10 offensive rebounds to Houston's four offensive boards, which is keeping them close. Yao did not score in the second quarter, and has 6 points on 2-of-2 shooting from the field, and is 2-for-2 from the line. He also has 5 rebounds, but four turnovers. | ||
| 3rd quarter - Yao starts the quarter. | ||
| 11:48 |  |
Yao misses a turnaround jumper in the lane. He is now 2-for-3 from the field with 6 points. |
| 10:51 |  |
Yao misses a face-up jumper from the outside. It's very rare to see him miss a shot as wide open as he was from the outside. I guess he's human! Yao is now 2-for-4 from the field with 6 points. |
| 10:39 |  |
Mobley passes the ball to Yao about three feet outside the left edge of the lane with Jerome James guarding him one-on-one. Yao holds the ball for a second to survey the defense, then spins toward the baseline and dribbles once in place, which throws James off because he is probably used to seeing Yao try to drive baseline on this type of play. Yao then falls away and shoots a long jumper over James, who was faked out and is out of position to try to block it, and THE SHOT HITS NOTHING BUT NET! I think that's the first time we've seen Yao stop and fallaway like that! It reminds me of Allen Iverson! Yao is now 3-for-5 from the field with 8 points. The Rockets lead 48-42. |
| 10:01 |  |
Francis passes the ball to Yao, who is on the right edge of the lane guarded one-on-one by Jerome James once again. Yao faces up on James then dribbles once toward the baseline, stops, pump fakes, is then double-teamed, then lowers his shoulder into James to create some space, then elevates and shoots a baseline jumper with a little hesitation in his release, and SWISHES IT THROUGH! Yao is now 4-for-6 from the field with 10 points. The Rockets lead 50-45. |
| 9:49 | Bad call! |
Ray Allen drives right down the middle of the lane into Yao, who has great position, BUT YAO IS CALLED FOR THE FOUL! THAT'S A BOGUS CALL BY THAT SAME BAD REF WHO ALMOST BLEW A CALL EARLIER IN THE GAME! He probably called it as a "make-up" call from Yao's previous field goal when he lowered his shoulder into James. Yao just laughs at how preposterous this call is! That is Yao's third foul. The Rockets lead 50-47. |
| 9:11 | Bad call! |
Yao is defending against Jerome James, and he is simply holding his ground, AND THE REF CALLS ANOTHER FOUL ON YAO! THIS IS INCREDIBLE! Since that is Yao's fourth foul, he has to check out of the game for Maurice Taylor. The Rockets lead 53-47. |
| 1:39 | Eric Piatkowski hits a big three-pointer to extend the Houston lead to 63-56, and Yao rises from the bench and raises his arms in excitement! | |
| 4th quarter - At the end of three quarters, the Rockets lead 63-60. The Sonics outscored the Rockets 18-17 in the third quarter. Yao hardly played because of foul trouble. Piatkowski is playing well with 12 points. Yao does not start the fourth quarter. | ||
| 10:36 | Yao checks into the game for Maurice Taylor. The Rockets lead 65-60. | |
| 3:01 | Free Throws |
Yao is fouled trying to lay a basket in, so he goes to the line with an opportunity to tie it up. He makes both free throws and ties the game at 78-78! Yao now has 12 points and is 4-of-4 from the line. |
| 2:00 | Free Throws |
Yao is fouled by Seattle's Vitaly Potapenko when trying to jockey for position down low. Yao goes to the line and makes the first free throw, but misses the second. The Rockets now trail 79-80, and Yao is 5-for-6 from the line with 13 points. |
| 0:17.2 | Free Throws |
Yao is fouled on a defensive rebound. Yao makes both free throws and the Rockets trail 83-84. Yao has 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the free throw line, and is 4-of-6 from the field. |
| 0:09 |
With the Rockets trailing 83-86 and needing a three-pointer, Steve Francis inbounds a pass to Yao, but Francis throws it way over Yao's head and Ray Allen steals it! He gets fouled and goes to the line to extend the lead to 87-83, and the game is virtually over.
Yao finishes with 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting, and 7-of-8 shooting from the line. He also has 6 rebounds and no blocks. |
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