Find Sports Tickets on eBay

YaoMingMania.com

100% dedicated to Yao Ming's life in the NBA

Yao vs. Warriors - 1/4/03

Golden State Warrior Adonal Foyle slams one home as Yao and James Posey look on. The Warriors went on to upset the Rockets 86-84 in Houston Saturday night.
as of 1/5/03
We predicted yesterday the Rockets would probably follow the trend of taking less-talented teams lightly, especially after having more than 3 days of rest. That's what happened Saturday night as the Rockets lost 86-84 to Golden State at home after the Warriors had lost in San Antonio the night before. Based on how Rudy T. has the Rockets' offense geared, these kinds of disappointing losses are to be expected, so we can't say we're surprised.

Since the Rockets don't emphasize crisp passing (like the Sacramento Kings) and instead rely on big performances that come mainly from players freelancing and taking lots of jump shots, the Rockets are highly dependent on two or three players havng big games in order to win. That simply didn't happen Saturday night. Cuttino Mobley was fantastic throughout most of the game (27 points), but Stevie Franchise was only 5-for-19 from the field (15 points). No one else really had many points, including Yao (11 points). The Rockets power forwards, Maurice Taylor and Eddie Griffin, combined for 16 points on 6-for-16 shooting. When you play Rudyball, you're very dependent on those jump shots three-pointers going in to win. In their last game against the Bucks they made 9-of-22 (40%) from three-point land and won. Against the Warriors they were only 4-of-17 and lost. Until the offensive scheme changes dramatically, that trend will probably continue.

Despite shooting 37% from the field for the game, the Rockets were able to stay within striking distance of the Warriors. They finally took the lead in the third quarter, and managed to overcome a 8-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take the lead once again.

But when it came down to crunch time, the Warriors made big plays and the Rockets didn't (the words "Warriors" and "big plays" in the same sentence is usually an oxymoron). The most glaring example was when Bobby Sura picked the Franchise's pocket and went full-court for a bucket that put the Warriors ahead by two with 1:32 remaining. Late in the fourth quarter, Francis and Mobley also missed wide-open jump shots (some not even hitting the rim) when they needed them most, and were a combined 1-for-9 in the fourth quarter. And Warrior Earl Boykins (133 lbs., 5'5") hit a wide-open running jumper in the lane with 53 seconds remaining after Francis fell down on a pick that freed Boykins up. That shot put Golden State up for good. So when your best players aren't hitting shots or are making costly errors, there's really nothing else you can do but say the other team deserved to win. That is…until the offense changes so you're not reliant on just two players for most of your points.

Slow start for Yao

In losses like these, we usually complain that Yao didn't get enough shots to help pull the Rockets through, but in this particular game Yao was not on his offensive game either. In Saturday's game he made only 1 of his first 8 shots, and finished 4-for-12 with 11 points. Perhaps the 4-day layoff affected Yao's timing early in the game. Ironically, he may not be accustomed to having much free time after being on such an intensive schedule the past year, but that's just a guess. Regardless, we were quite surprised after he did so well against the Warriors in their last game in Oakland.

Yao did have a monstrous number of rebounds (17) and some great outlet passes to start fast breaks which ended in dunks for teammates. He also snared some big offensive rebounds that resulted in clutch baskets that tied the game on two different occasions late in the fourth quarter. Those plays were so exciting, we encourage you to read them in the Detailed Yao Analysis below.

Light-hearted cheer: our 'Expert' Hall of Shame

To cheer up Rocket and Yao fans after losing another game at home against a team they should have beaten, we've come up with a nice diversion: check out our collection of stupid predictions made by so-called 'experts' about how Yao was going to flop in the NBA. And they were made only less than two months ago! It's really quite interesting how some of the media jumped to conclusions without doing its research!


Detailed Yao Analysis
vs. Golden State 1/4/03


1st quarter - Yao starts the game.
9:59 Yao tries a very difficult fadeaway jump shot on the baseline from behind the backboard, but Erick Dampier is able to tip it for the block. That's only the second time we've seen Yao blocked this year on that shot. It looked like Yao's timing was off a bit on this one, especially since he knew it would be from a difficult angle. He wasn't rushed into shooting it, though--there were 10 seconds remaining on the shot clock.
8:08   From just outside of the paint on the right side, Yao faces up on Erick Dampier, then throws a perfect pass to Francis who had cut into the lane on the run and is fouled. A nice accurate pass from Yao to get it to Steve in perfect position under the rim. Francis hits both free throws to score Houston's first two points. The Rockets trail 2-8.
6:04 On a perfect give-and-go play, Cuttino Mobley passes the ball to Yao in his favorite spot on the left side outside the paint, then Yao passes it right back to Cuttino, who is cutting to the hoop and puts up a difficult shot in between two Warriors. The ball bounces off the backboard without touching the rim, but always-hustling Yao has great position to catch the rebound in mid-air and slam the ball down with one hand! Beautiful VacuuMING of the boards by Yao! That was Yao's first field goal of the night (1-for-4 shooting). The Rockets trail 8-10.
4:46 Free
Throws		 From his favorite spot on the left side, Yao spins baseline on Dampier and has a clear path to the basket. He goes up for a layup, but is hammered by Jason Richardson. Yao goes to the line and misses the first free throw, but makes the second. Yao has three points.
4:33   On the ensuing Warriors possession, Yao grabs a rebound and Francis and Mobley immediately start streaking down the floor. Yao quickly throws a perfect outlet pass to Francis, who sees Mobley ahead of him cutting toward the basket. Francis then lofts a perfect 40-foot alley-oop pass to Mobley who jams it through! The Compaq Center crowd goes bonkers! It reminds me of the Lakers' Showtime of the 80's with Kareem, Magic and James Worthy. Beautiful sequence started by Yao's outlet pass. The Rockets tie the game at 14-14.
3:36 Erick Dampier goes up for a jump shot in the middle of the lane, but shoots an air ball because of Yao's presence. For some reason, the official scorekeeper gave Yao a block although we watched the replays a couple of times and noticed Yao didn't touch the ball. We'll take it though. This is one of two errors we noticed with the official scorekeeping on Yao: the second one is at the very end of the game.
1:32   Yao checks out of the game for Cato with 3 points on 1-for-5 shooting. The Rockets trail 16-22.
2nd quarter - The Rockets trail 22-26 at the start of the quarter.
5:03   Yao checks back into the game for Cato. The Rockets trail 34-40.
1:56 Assist From his favorite spot on the left side, Yao is passed the ball from James Posey. Posey proceeds to cut through the lane, and YAO FLIPS A PERFECT ONE-HANDED PASS OVER HIS HEAD TO POSEY, who scores a difficult layup off the glass! The Rockets trail 42-48.
Halftime - The Rockets trail 46-50. Yao has 3 points on 1-for-6 shooting. It doesn't really look like the Warriors' defense on Yao has been anything different from what he's faced before. Maybe the 4-day break has made him a little bit rusty.
3rd quarter
11:05 Intimidation Slasher Jason Richardson drives to the hoop, but Yao is there to make him jump with nowhere to go, and Richardson throws up a wild shot that is rebounded by Yao.
9:38 From the right side outside the paint, Yao faces up on Erick Dampier, then drives along the baseline, stops, reverse pivots away from the basket and shoots a tough fallaway jumper. But the ball appears to be tipped by Dampier again. This was a tough shot because of all the moves Yao pulled to get the shot off. Pretty good defense by Dampier, too. After the play, Yao raises his hands in a questioning manner to the ref and appears to be asking, "Why didn't you call the foul?" Yao is a startling 1-for-7 from the field.
9:17 Steve Francis dribbles into the lane and draws four Warriors to him, but he throws a perfect behind-the-back pass to Yao, who is standing on the left edge of the free throw line and is converging on the bucket. Yao goes up for a certain slam dunk, but Gilbert Arenas comes from behind Yao and swats the ball out of his hands as he starts to elevate off the floor. Gotta give Arenas credit for a great defensive play.
8:30   Yao is passed the ball in the middle of the paint and scores on a beautiful spin move layup, but he is called for being in the lane 3 seconds. Don't blame this turnover on Yao, though. Cuttino waited a second too long to pass him the ball, making Yao stay in the lane longer than he wanted.
8:00 Cuttino shoots a long 3-point attempt, but Yao has perfect position under the basket and does some vacuuMING on the boards, grabs the rebound with 4 Warriors around him, pump fakes, then lays it in off the glass beautifully with his left hand. Yao is now 2-for-9 from the line with 5 points. The Rockets tie the game at 56-56. The Houston crowd roars its appreciation!
3:53   Yao grabs another defensive rebound and immediately pushes an outlet pass to Francis on the wing, who continues the fast break by dribbling up the court. Spotting Maurice Taylor hustling up the floor, Francis passes a perfect bounce pass to Taylor in the middle of the lane, and Mo' goes in for the jam! This is the second fast break in this game that Yao has started with a quick outlet pass that resulted in a dunk! Without Yao pushing the tempo with a quick pass, these dunks on the other end of the floor probably wouldn't have been possible. The Rockets have been missing that element over the past couple of years. The Rockets lead 66-63.
2:38 In a half-court offense, Gilbert Arenas drives the lane with Yao picking him up about 3 feet inside the free throw line. Arenas goes up for a layup, but YAO'S REACH IS SO LONG AND HIS ANTICIPATION IS SO GOOD, Yao blocks the shot and tips it to himself. The crowd loves it!
1:35   Yao checks out of the game for Cato. Yao has 5 points on 2-of-9 shooting, but he does have 12 rebounds and 2 blocks.
4th quarter - - The Rockets trail 66-69 at the beginning of the quarter.
6:23   Yao checks back into the game for Cato.
3:51 Free
Throws		 Things are getting tight for the Rockets. They are down 75-82 with less than four minutes remaining in the game. Yao hasn't been able to shoot the ball since checking in. In their half-court offense, Francis has the ball on the wing and spots Yao breaking toward the rim with a clear lane. Francis delivers a perfect pass over two defenders to Yao, who goes up for a one-handed throw-down, but he's fouled hard on the arm by Troy Murphy! Nice authoritative slam attempt by Yao. Wish the ball had gone down, though. Yao misses the first free throw, but makes the second. Yao is 2-for-4 from the line with 6 points. The Rockets are down 76-82.
1:58 The Rockets are still down by three points, 79-82. Francis curls around a screen set by Yao at the three point line and drives down the lane, elevates, double-pumps and tries to spin a difficult shot off the glass, and it bounces off the rim. BUT YAO IS THERE TO OUTREACH TROY MURPHY FOR THE REBOUND. YAO COMES DOWN WITH IT, IMMEDIATELY GOES UP AND IS FOULED BY MURPHY, BUT IS STILL ABLE TO POWER THROUGH THE FOUL FOR THE BUCKET (but just barely as it rattles around the rim for a couple of seconds). COMPAQ CENTER ERUPTS AGAIN! Murphy swings his arm in disgust while Yao lets out a yell of elation, and then Yao lams the ball to the floor with both hands with intensity! WE LOVE TO SEE THE EMOTION FROM THE BIG MAN! Yao is 3-for-10 from the field. More importantly, YAO TIES THE SCORE WITH THE FREE THROW. NICE PRESSURE SHOT!
1:13 In a very helter-skelter offensive set with the Rockets down 82-84, Francis just dribbles around trying to create something as he's guarded by Earl Boykins. It's not a pretty site as Francis backs into the lane...but he does spot James Posey cutting along the baseline and zips the ball to him. Posey goes up for a reverse dunk, but his dunk clangs high off the rim. Francis gets the rebound and shoots a fadeaway double-pump jumper as he falls to the floor, but it's too strong off the backboard and it also clangs off the front of the rim. BUT YAO IS THERE TO SKY FOR THE REBOUND OVER EVERYONE ELSE, COMES DOWN WITH IT, LEANS AGAINST HIS DEFENDER TO CREATE SPACE AS HE BOUNCES IT ONCE OFF THE FLOOR, ELEVATES AND SHOOTS A SOFT HAKEEM-LIKE FLOATER TO SCORE THIS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT BASKET TO TIE THE SCORE! Leave it to Yao to bring calm and sanity to Houston's offense when it's struggling! THE CROWD ERUPTS AGAIN AND LEAPS TO ITS FEET!
:01.1 After Earl Boykins hit a shot to put the Warriors ahead by two points, and the Rockets missed a couple of shots, it all comes down to a jump ball between Antawn Jamison and James Posey on the Rockets end of the floor. The Rockets can only hope for a miracle. The ball is tipped to an open space on the floor, and Yao is there to pick it up, and he shoots a tough fadeaway 3-pointer to win the game...but misses long. It was a tough shot since Yao had very little time to set himself up for the shot. This was Yao's first 3-point attempt this season. Boy, it would have made every highlight reel in the country if it had gone in...but the Rockets lose 84-86.

There is some dispute if this attempt by Yao should count as an official shot attempt since the ball might have left his hand after the final buzzer. If it would have counted, then the official scorekeeper would be incorrect because it was certainly a three-point attempt from behind the arc.



Back to Home