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Yao vs. Pacers - 12/23/03
 Yao and Jeff Foster collide going for a rebound on Tuesday night in Houston. The Rockets offense stunk once again, and lost 79-71 to the Pacers. Yao incredibly only took 4 shots and scored 12 points. What is going on? (Photo courtesy AP) |
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TUESDAY, 12/23/03 - When you watch the Rockets' offense, you can't help but think of the popular movie, "Something's Gotta Give." The pathetic Houston "O" is just that - a big fat Zero. The Rockets were lucky to score 71 points in a loss to Indiana, 79-71, in Houston on Tuesday night. Once again, three days of rest and practice meant no improvement whatsoever for the offense.
The Rockets only scored 14 points in the first quarter (29% shooting), and 14 points once again in the second quarter, to trail 39-28 at halftime. I don't care how great the Indiana defense may be, that kind of offensive production (or lack thereof) is unacceptable. The Pacers went on a 15-1 run in the first quarter, and never relinquished the lead. On top of the offensive problems, defensively Cuttino Mobley and Steve Francis (primarily) were leaving Pacer point guard Anthony Johnson open all night long, and Johnson made them pay. On several occasions we ran the slow-mo and saw Francis completely lost on defense, packing it in the lane while his man roamed free. If it wasn't Francis blowing an assignment, it was Mobley or Maurice Taylor who left their man open, which required other players like Francis to cover for them. These lapses killed the Rockets in the fourth quarter when they still had a chance with the Pacer lead only being 59-56 with 8:52 remaining. But then Indiana went on a 12-0 run, and the game was over, with the Pacers leading Houston 71-56 with 5 minutes remaining in the game. Yes, you heard right--56 Rocket points with only 5 minutes remaining. During this Pacer run, both Taylor and Francis missed collectively 4 free throws, which was the norm on this night with the Rockets shooting a pathetic 17-of-27 from the line. After Francis missed his two free throws with 3:45 remaining in the game, the Rocket fans still remaining in Toyota Center booed Francis and the team, and for good reason. A few minutes later when Taylor turned the ball over, more boos rained from the rafters. The Rockets made a desperate 7-0 run in the game's final couple of minutes to close the gap to 69-75 with 54 seconds remaining, but we need to advise you to not be swayed by the game's final 8-point margin of defeat: it wasn't that close. But you have to wonder why the Rockets' offense can't play with more desperation (like it did in the final two minutes) all the time? Clearly when the pressure was off and they knew they were going to lose, they played with much more intensity, perhaps to avoid the embarrassment of having a sub 70-point game. While struggling on offense almost the entire game, I found it surprising that the Rockets would continue passing to guys on the outside perimeter to make jump shots when clearly their misfiring was contagious. Higher percentage shots were definitely in order instead of settling for the three-pointer, where they were an abysmal 4-for-17 (23.5%). Whatever happened to the 12-foot jump shot? The most steady offensive force this year for Houston, Cuttino Mobley, had an awful game. Mobley shot 2-for-13 from the floor, and missed all five of his three-pointers. He was playing with the flu, which clearly had an effect on his game. When Mobley has an off night, other guys have to step up and make up for it. What else did the Rockets get? Well, Cato had his normally underwhelming 6 points, and Mo Taylor only had 4 points (2-for-10), which really hurt. Francis had 23 points on 7-of-16 shooting, but he missed four free throws (9-of-13). Yao incredibly only took 4 shots (made 3 of them), and none in the pivotal fourth quarter when the Rockets offense went dormant. He did go to the free throw line 9 times (making 6 of the attempts). I'm sorry, but this is getting ridiculous. On a night when the offense is suffering so much, how can your best shooter and highest-percentage offensive option not be used? Sure, the Pacers may have been clogging the lane to make it difficult for him, but you would expect the Rockets to have one of their most accurate shooters (Yao) start taking outside shots (like I have been saying for several games now) where he's deadly! He has proven he can drain those long-range jumpers. In Saturday's game against the Suns, at least there was an excuse since Yao only played 20 minutes because of foul trouble. With all the accolades Jeff Van Gundy had when he came to Houston, the one fear most Rocket fans had in the back of their minds is that the New York Knick offense during the Van Gundy era was not very explosive. It looks like history may now be repeating itself. And the problem I have is that despite piss-poor and inefficient offensive production from starters Steve Francis, Kelvin Cato and Jim Jackson, I keep reading how Van Gundy is happy with how they are doing. SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE! Hey Jeff, where's the toughness we all expected? If we wanted that kind of blasé attitude, the Rockets probably would have kept Rudy T. as coach. Now the Rockets head to Los Angeles to play a nationally televised game on Christmas Day against the high-powered Lakers. It's not going to be pretty. But maybe the fear of being blown out by the Lakers in front of the world will make the Rockets play like they did in the last two minutes of the Pacer game--with a sense of offensive urgency. Don't count on it though. |
| 1st quarter | ||
| 10:39 |  |
Francis throws a lob pass to Cato, who is breaking toward the basket for a potential alley-oop dunk. However, the timing for the pass is off just a bit. Cato catches the ball under the rim and before his momentum takes him out of bounds, he dishes the ball to Yao, who is standing about 3 feet in front of the rim. With an opportunity to go up strong over Jermaine O'Neal and draw contact, Yao decides instead to pivot away from the rim and shoot a right-handed hook shot, which misses. This is one of those instances where Yao should have gone up strong toward the basket, not away from it. Yao is now 0-for-1 from the field. |
| 7:24 | Free Throws |
From the top of the three-point line, Cato throws a perfect pass to Yao, who is breaking toward the basket unimpeded. As ao goes up for a dunk, he is hammered from behind by Jeff Foster on a hard foul! Yao falls to the ground, then gets up and goes to the free throw line. Yao makes the first free throw, but misses the second. Yao has 1 point. The Rockets and Pacers are tied at 7-7. |
| 6:24 | The Pacers' Ron Artest outhustles Yao for a rebound along the left side of the rim, then scores over Yao on a put-back. Yao could have been more aggressive in going after that rebound. He jumped up, but could have jumped toward the ball to beat Artest to the ball. The Pacers lead 11-7. | |
| 3:34 | Yao checks out of the game for Maurice Taylor. Yao has 1 point on 0-of-1 shooting from the field. | |
| 2nd quarter - At the end of the first quarter, the Rockets trail 14-19. | ||
| 8:18 |  |
From the top of the key, Moochie Norris bounces a pass to Yao along the left edge of the lane. Yao takes a sideways kind of step toward the basket, and lays it in over Jeff Foster! That was nifty how Yao shielded the ball away from Foster with his body as he moved toward the basket and laid it in. The Rockets trail 20-22. Yao has 3 points on 1-of-2 shooting. |
| 8:02 |  |
Al Harrington drives down the left baseline toward the basket, and from the weakside Yao comes over to meet Harrington as he jumps up and tries to lay the ball in, and rejects his shot! That's Yao's first block of the game. |
| 5:08 |  |
From the three-point line, Mobley passes the ball to Yao about 3 feet outside the right edge of the lane and is posting up Jermaine O'Neal. Yao backs up a couple of feet toward the lane, then pivots toward the baseline, jumps up and shoots a fallaway jumper over O'Neal that's unblockable, and SWISH! Yao nails it, and he is now 2-for-3 from the field with 5 points. The Rockets trail 22-26. |
| 2:40 | Yao checks out of the game for Cato. The Rockets trail 25-34. | |
| 0:53 | Yao checks back into the game for Cato since Cato picked up his third foul. | |
| 0:39.3 | Free Throws |
Yao is fouled by Jeff Foster as he tries to break toward the basket. Yao makes the first free throw, but misses the second one. Yao has 6 points on 2-of-3 shooting from the field, and 2-of-4 shooting from the line. The Rockets trail 28-39. |
| Halftime - At the end of the second quarter, the Rockets trail 28-39. The Rockets scored 14 points in the first quarter and 14 points again in the second. The Pacers ended the second quarter on an 11-3 run. The Rockets are only shooting 32% compared to the Pacers' 34%. Indiana is outrebounding the Rockets 29-20, has a 6-1 advantage on offensive rebounds, and have 10 second chance points to Houston's zero. The Indiana starting front line of Artest and O'Neal have outscored Cato/Yao 28-6 (with Yao scoring all 6 of those points). Francis has 11 points and Mobley has only 2. | ||
| 3rd quarter - Yao starts the quarter. | ||
| 11:27 |  + Free Throw |
From the right side of the court, Francis throws a cross-court pass to the other side of the court where Mobley is standing. Mobley jumps up to get the high pass, and while in mid-air "touch" passes it to Yao who is standing deep in the paint. Trying to defend Yao, Foster gambles and tries to deflect the pass, which takes him out of position. With an open lane to the bucket, Yao then turns toward the basket, pump fakes to get O'Neal up in the air, then lays it in off the glass for the bucket, AND HE'S FOULED BY O'NEAL! That's O'Neal's 3rd foul, too. Unfortunately, Yao misses the "And-1" free throw. He's now 2-for-5 from the line and 3-for-4 from the field for 8 points. The Rockets trail 30-39. |
| 4:02 | Free Throws |
As Yao tries to make a strong move into the lane, Scot Pollard sticks his leg out and Yao falls hard to the floor. Pollard is called for the foul, and Yao goes to the line and makes both free throws. The Rockets trail 45-52. Yao has 10 points. He is 4-for-7 from the line, and 3-for-4 from the field. |
| 3:26 | Free Throws |
As he tries to jockey for position in the paint, Yao is fouled by Scot Pollard, and that's his 5th foul. Yao makes both free throws and is 6-for-9 from the free throw line. The Rockets trail 47-55. Yao has 12 points. |
| 1:06 | Yao picks up his third foul and checks out of the game for Cato. | |
| 4th quarter - The Rockets trail 49-57. The Pacers are 8-for-22 in the third quarter, but the Rockets are worse at 5-for-17! No one on the Rockets can hit a shot. Houston is shooting 31% from the field (2-for-12 from three-point territory). Yao does not start the fourth quarter. | ||
| 7:06 | Yao checks into the game for Cato. The Rockets trail 56-65. | |
| 2:48 | After the Pacers break open the game 73-58, Yao checks out of the game for Eric Piatkowski. Even though the Rockets go on a run to reduce the deficit to 6 points, the game was practically over at the 5-minute mark when the Pacers held a 15-point lead. The Rockets go on to lose 79-71. Yao finishes the game with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 1 block. Incredibly, Yao only took 4 shots during the game (made 3 of them), and none in the fourth quarter! | |
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