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Yao vs. Jazz - 4/10/04
 Yao elevates for a shot in Utah on Saturday night where he made 5 of his 11 shot attempts (45%). But the rest of his Rocket teammates only made 38% of their attempts on their way to a dismal night offensively, and lost 69-82. For more photos from the game, click here. (Photo courtesy AP). |
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SATURDAY, 4/10/04 - There is bad news and good news from Saturday night's game against Utah. The bad news is the Rockets looked like fools as they failed to show up after clinching a playoff spot the night before against Denver. Bad shooting, lots of turnovers, and no intensity led to an embarrassing 82-69 loss.
The good news is that even if the Rockets continue to lose and end up as the #8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, chances are they will play Minnesota in the first round. Minnesota holds a 1.5 game lead over Sacramento, LA, and San Antonio for the #1 seed in the West, and Houston has done better against the T-Wolves than those other three teams this season. Quarter-by-Quarter review Utah went on a 15-0 run in the first quarter to take a 23-13 lead. Houston only made 6-of-17 in the quarter, but Utah didn't do too much better, shooting 6-for-16. But the Jazz hit 10-of-10 from the line. Jim Jackson missed all 5 of his shot attempts, while Maurice Taylor made all 4 of his shots. Result: Rockets trail 16-23. The second quarter was much better, with Houston outscoring Utah 24-23 to trail 46-40 at halftime. Taylor continued his hot shooting, making both of his shots to have 14 points by halftime. The third quarter was brutal offensively for both teams, with Utah outscoring Houston 16-11 points. The Rockets went almost five minutes without a point, going 0-for-6 from the field during that stretch while also turning the ball over six times. Overall, they shot a horrid 3-for-16 from the field. Maurice Taylor cooled off and missed all three of his shots. And Steve Francis was so bad, Jeff Van Gundy pulled him from the game late in the third after scoring only 5 points and turning the ball over six times. Francis did not return. We applaud the coach for not giving Francis "sacred cow" treatment and doing what was best for the team. Entering the fourth quarter down 51-62, the Rockets made it close when Cuttino Mobley capped off a 7-0 Rocket run after hitting a three-pointer to bring them to 65-69 with 2:41 remaining. Although he lit up the twine with 8 points in the game's final 5 minutes, he turned the ball over 3 times (five overall). After the game, at least he admitted his mistakes. It's good to see a player take accountability for his actions. Although Mobley made all three of his shots in the quarter, Taylor (1-for-4), Scott Padgett (0-for-3), and Jim Jackson (0-for-3) struggled and the Rockets lost 82-69. Yao had an okay game, scoring 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting, but he only had 6 rebounds. The Rockets only had 28 rebounds (4 offensive) against one of the worst defensive rebounding teams in the league. Jackson, who has been hot from the floor in his last 5 games shooting 59%, had an off-night and made only 1-of-12 shots (0-for-5 from three-point land) for six points. Now the Rockets head to Seattle on Monday and play a team that has had their number all season. Seattle has won all three previous match-ups, including a shellacking on February 29th when they lost 97-80. That #8 seed is looking more likely now. |