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Yao vs. Knicks - 12/27/02


Yao struggles with former Rocket Othella Harrington for a rebound against the Knicks Friday night in Houston. The Rockets dropped their third game in a row, 99-83.
Another awful game for the Rockets. After having four days rest and an opportunity to refresh themselves, the Rockets told us they really needed that time off. It didn't pay off by the way they played Friday night against the New York Knicks. The Rockets looked about as bad as we have seen them this season by losing to the Knicks 99-83 Friday night at Compaq Center. Yes, I said the Knicks, winners of only 3 road games this year (2-7 before playing the Rockets).

The Rockets were booed mightily after falling way behind in the fourth quarter and after the loss was official. But they aren't getting booed so much so they will play HARDER, but because the fans want them to play SMARTER. Remember the passing you saw when playing the Kings and the Mavericks earlier this season? Do that. That's all we ask. You still may not win, but it will be a more sustainable offense in the long run that's not so dependent on making long jump shots. More suggestions in a moment.

Yao Report

Statistically Yao had a decent game, scoring 17 points on 5-of-12 shooting and 7-for-9 from the free throw line, with only 5 rebounds and 1 block. Yao didn't look comfortable with his shot early in the game. If Yao had been hitting his shots early, we would be complaining that his teammates should have fed him the ball more. But since he only made 2 of his first 7 shots, and several of them were not as smooth as normal, we can understand why they didn't give him the ball or why Yao himself elected not to take as many shots. But Francis (7-for-19) and Mobley (4-for-14) weren't hitting their shots either, but THEY kept jacking them up. Personally, I would take Yao's 12-foot jump shots anytime over longer jump shots from other players. Oh well, I guess that's what happens when you're the rookie.

If you're in New York and you're reading this, don't listen to Knick TV analyst Clyde Frazier. He doesn't know what he's talking about. Several times during the Knick telecast he (and Marv Albert) said that Yao was taking "bad shots" by shooting fadeaway shots and not going to the basket. Excuse me, but if you've watched any of Yao's plays this season you'll see that he has scored many of his jump shots on fadeaways. That fadeaway action is why many of his shots are virtually unblockable. You would think in a big media market like New York these analysts would have plenty of access to NBA highlights. I guess not.

Rocket ills

Don't get swayed by any of the reasons you might hear from the Rockets on why they are playing poorly. We hear about how tough the Western conference is, or how tired they are, or how bright their future is and how Yao is so new. Don't buy it. They have the talent to win at least 65% of their games this year. And compared to last year, they have been healthy and should have had enough time to jell more than they have. But after losing three in a row, many of the cracks in their foundation are becoming more visible. We need to hold the Rockets accountable in many ways by looking at what we have heard from them in the past few months, and what has actually happened. For example:

The motion offense - where is this more flexible offense Rudy talked about during training camp? They have had players healthy long enough to learn a new offense, but instead it looks like the same old thing--dribble, dribble, dribble, taking difficult shots in traffic, lots of one-on-one play, long jump shots not taken in the flow of the game, dumb passes (or no passes at all), etc. You get the picture. All of this leads to more turnovers (ranked 17th in the league out of 29 teams). Now we read the Rockets have been on the road a long time and haven't had enough time to practice. Well, they just played the second game of a six-game homestand, and so far signs of a new offense don't exist. In fact, it looks worse. We've got four more games to see some fruits of the Rockets' practice labors.

Glen Rice: We doubted the proposition of the Rockets trading for Rice a couple of years ago. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, we were hoping for better things from Rice when he said this summer he had felt better physically than he has felt in a long time after missing almost all of last year because of a foot injury. But Rice is only shooting 42% from the field this year. Also, he can't play defense very well, consistently being burned Friday night against the Knicks. Except for some streaky flashes, if this is as good as he's going to get, he should do the Rockets a favor and retire. Fat chance of that happening, though, with his hefty salary.

When Cuttino Mobley is hitting his jumpers, he's the bomb. Cat has won many games for the Rockets, but the Rockets need more consistency from the two-guard spot. Cat's problem is that he takes a lot of ill-advised shots, has shot only 41.4% from the field this year, and only 28.4% of his three pointers. We predict that new addition James Posey will get more playing time to prove what he can do, and if J.P. performs well, look for Mobley's minutes to be reduced. If that does happen, it's not going to be pretty. Mobley is a fierce competitor and would surely voice his displeasure, and since he's one of Steve Francis' best friends it will be interesting to see how Francis handles it. Hopefully Mobley's shot selection will improve so we don't have to face that situation. But there's nothing wrong with a little competition from Posey to get him into that smarter mindset. If it does get ugly in the Rocket locker room with Cuttino's attitude, I wouldn't be surprised to see a trade, especially since they have a worthy replacement in Posey.

Francis has been better from the field (44.1%, 43.7% from three-point land), but since he's untouchable we won't even talk about personnel moves at the point guard spot. But we will continue to say, "Keep your teammates involved." It wouldn't hurt if Rudy forced his PG to play with a little more discipline.

Note: as big of Rockets fans we are, we learned last year to NOT put Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley on our fantasy league rosters. Their field goal percentages are just too low, and they commit way too many turnovers. That's certainly bearing true after they both got off to pretty hot starts.

Eddie Griffin: some games he shows he's ready to make an impact in this league, but other games we wonder why Rudy allows him to shoot all these three-pointers. Wasn't this year going to be the season where he played closer to the basket? Every time we see him jacking up treys, we wonder what kind of coaching is going on here. Until he lives up to the hype we heard from Rudy when the Rockets drafted him, we hope we can say we didn't trade Kenny Thomas too early.

What about Bostjan Nachbar? We're now at a time where it wouldn't hurt to see what he could do since Rice is struggling. He was one of the best players on his Benetton Treviso team, and Rudy was high on him when they drafted him. Is he going to turn into another Dan Langhi or Oscar Torres where we were told about their immense talent when they were acquired, but never got a chance to really see it as they went stale on the bench for good?

If the Rockets continue playing like the way they have been playing, I wouldn't be surprised to see another trade. One thing I know about the Rockets is they don't stand pat when things aren't working. They have executed many trades in the past to shake things up. Players they touted highly at one time but then ultimately traded are guys like Otis Thorpe, Carl Herrera, Othella Harrington, Robert Horry, Sam Cassell, Rodrick Rhodes, Scottie Pippen, Shandon Anderson, and lately Kenny Thomas, just to name a few.

So no one is untouchable except Yao and Franchise. The problem is they've got so many fat contracts (a.k.a. "overpaid") on the roster (Maurice Taylor, Moochie Norris, Glen Rice, Kelvin Cato, and perhaps Eddie Griffin), it's very difficult to trade them. That only leaves Cuttino if you had to single out anyone.

Rudy T.

We just don't see how Rudy can let his players continue jacking up bad shots and not feed the ball to Yao. If things don't improve with the offense or the recently collapsing defense, then don't be surprised to see a change with the franchise institution. It's probably a long way off since Rudy has been with the team for 33 YEARS. But all good things are known to come to an end. It's going to happen sometime, so be prepared for the inevitable if the Rockets don't make the playoffs for yet another year. Rudy has so much class, though, you would probably see him step down before he ever received a pink slip. And you can bet owner Leslie Alexander could attract many stellar coaches as applicants. Who wouldn't want to coach Yao and Stevie Franchise?
Detailed Yao analysis


1st quarter - Yao starts the game.
10:27 Great Defense On a fast break, NY Knick Othella Harrington receives a pass and goes to the hole, but Yao slides over to get good position and draws the charge as he falls to the floor from Harrington's push.
10:15 From his favorite spot on the left side, Yao quickly spins baseline and leaves Kurt Thomas behind him as he dribbles twice along the baseline, jumps and DOES A REVERSE LAYUP SOFTLY OFF THE GLASS!! We've seen Yao make this shot before, but never so quickly to leave his man in the dust like this, and not with such ease and grace on the shot! And this time, Yao did not extend his left arm too far like he has done in the past couple of games, once to the point where he was called for an offensive foul. Rockets lead 4-2. Yao is 1-for-1 from the field.
9:45 Yao receives the ball about 3 feet inside the free throw line, and pivots to shoot a fallaway jumper, but at the last second before falling away, decides to lean in toward the basket and shoot the shot. Kind of an uncharacteristically ugly shot as his lower body was falling away while his upper body moved forward.
8:57   From his favorite spot on the left side of the paint while dribbling, Yao is backing it in hard on Kurt Thomas. But Thomas pulls a veteran move by just backing away from Yao, and Yao falls backward to the floor and is called for traveling! This was actually kind of a funny play, and Yao knows it as he grins after making the mistake. That's the only way Thomas is going to be able to defend Yao--by playing little tricks here-and-there. But that kind of gimmicky defense can be effective only for so long.
8:00 From the right side just outside the lane, Yao fakes one way and then spins the other way toward the baseline and fakes a shot again to face up toward the basket. Kurt Thomas bites on the fake and goes airborne, so Yao shoots a quick jumper but it's an airball. This is extremely rare for Yao. I think the four days of rest has really thrown off Yao's rhythm. This is the worst stretch we've seen from him since he started playing for the Rockets. Yao is 1-for-3 from the floor.
6:55   Yao sets a pick near the free throw line, and then motions with his thumb to Eddie Griffin to pass the ball to Steve Francis, who is standing behind him, so he can attempt a three. Griffin does just that and Francis drains the trey! Great leadership by Yao to set the pick and to tell his teammate to pass Francis the ball.
2:28 From his favorite spot, Yao turns toward the basket and fakes a jumper. That move gets Thomas to bite, which gives Yao the opportunity to lean around him, jump, hang and shoot a soft jumper high off the glass--SCORE IT! That's what we like to see! It looks like Yao had his normal rhythm on that shot. Yao is 2-for-4 from the field for 4 points.
1:43   Yao checks out of the game for Cato.
2nd quarter - The Rockets trail 20-24. Sprewell got hot and scored 8 points in the first quarter.
6:37   Yao checks back into the game. The Rockets trail 30-33.
2:04
+
Free Throw		 Yao gets the ball in the paint with Michael Doleac guarding him. Yao fakes left, then spins right toward the bucket, jumps, leans, and banks it off the glass with his right hand! TWO, and he's fouled! Yao hits the free throw, and has 7 points on 3-for-8 shooting.
:02   Michael Doleac pump fakes a 17-foot jump shot, and Yao bites on the fake, goes airborne and fouls Doleac. Yao's visibly bummed he got faked out and fouled Doleac for free throws with two seconds remaining in the half.

The Rockets trail 41-50 and are 13-41 from the field. Ugly ball. Well, when your playing the Knicks, that's what the game usually turns into. Remember the 1994 NBA Finals between Houston and New York? Surprisingly, the Knicks shot 54% from the field. What has happened to the Rockets defense?
3rd quarter - Yao starts the third quarter.
7:58 Free Throws Yao shoots a jumper from the baseline, but is fouled by Kurt Thomas. Yao makes both free throws, and the Rockets trail 53-56.
7:25   Yao checks out of the game with 9 points on 3-for-8 shooting, and is 3-for-3 from the line.
4th quarter - The Rockets trail 65-71 at the start of the quarter.
10:41   Yao checks back into the game. The Rockets trail 65-75.
8:07 Clarence Weatherspoon drives to the bucket, but Yao is there to intimidate the shot. Yao is credited for a block although replays don't show Yao touched it. It doesn't matter, though, since Weatherspoon gets the rebound and somehow gets a hook shot to fall over Yao's outstretched arms. Knicks lead 85-67.
7:02 Francis drives to the bucket but misses, Posey tries to tip it in but misses. However, Yao is there under the basket for the put-back. It doesn't look like it will matter, though. The Rockets have gone ice cold and trail the Knicks 70-87. Yao is 4-for-10 from the field with 11 points.
5:45 Free throws Yao is fouled underneath the basket, and goes to the line for two free throws. He makes both, and is 5-for-5 from the line.
5:11 Free throws Yao is fouled again, and goes to the line. Yao misses the first one but makes the second. He now has 14 points.
1:30 With the game way out of hand, Yao gets the ball in his favorite spot and dribbles into the lane and shoots a fadeaway jump shot for the score. Rockets trail 79-95.
:25.8 Free Throws Yao is fouled and makes the first free throw, but misses the second. Rockets trail 83-99, and proceed to lose by the same score.



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