Juwan’s absence makes a difference in loss to T-wolves
March 20th, 2005by John
Yao battles against Minnesota’s Michael Olowokandi on Sunday night. Yao’s stats were okay (21 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks in 21 minutes), but the Rockets were easily beaten by the T-wolves 94-86. For more photos from the game, click here.by Chia-Chi
SUNDAY, 3/20/05 – Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said this before the Timberwolves game on Sunday night: “My players believe they’re already guaranteed a playoff spot, and I’m thinking disaster is right around the corner.” The former explains why the Rockets played without their normal energy until the fourth quarter, and the latter describes tonight’s game: disaster. The Rockets lost their second straight by getting outplayed once again, this time 94-86 to Minnesota.
The Timberwolves, fighting for their lives in a race to capture the last playoff spot in the Western Conference, played like a hungry team all four quarters and established a lead early on that couldn’t be overcome. The Timberwovles simply wanted the win more and the Rockets, for a variety of reasons, just couldn’t match the intensity.
But this loss can’t be blamed on a lack of effort completely. The absence of Juwan Howard continues to haunt the Rockets and present defensive nightmares, such as when backup center Dikembe Mutombo briefly played the power forward position against Kevin Garnett.
We may have taken Howard for granted because of his demure attitude, but his defensive and offensive prowess have been critical factors in the Rockets success. Without his presence, the team needs to compensate in ways that has a chilling downstream effect.
The team’s shooting woes also continued, accentuated by T-Mac‘s horrendous 4-22 shooting. As a team the Rockets were frustrated by a physical Minnesota defense, as exemplified by T-Mac shoving Sam Cassell when his screen was a little too close. But even the foul calls that the Rockets got went to waste, as the team shot only 68% from the charity stripe.
On a night where the Rocket sharpshooters hit nothing but the rim, Yao had a surprisingly effective game offensively. As normal, Yao received the ball early in the first quarter and he scored the team’s first six points.
In the second quarter, it was nice to see nearly every possession continuing to go through Yao. He seemed to be involved in every offensive and defensive play, whether it be scoring in the paint, passing out to his teammates for easy points, blocks, or drawing fouls on his opponents. Yao got the Timberwolves centers in so much foul trouble that they had to play their third-string center against him.
But Yao’s performance alone was not enough to derive a win, and the Timberwolves’ lead extended past 20 points.
The Rockets made a valiant push in the fourth and actually played with hustle, getting defensive stops, steals, and scoring efficiently. But a 20+ point lead was too much for the Rockets to overcome, and Garnett and Cassell would not allow their team to lose. The Rockets came within 8 points, the smallest point difference in the game, in the final minutes. But it was too little, too late.
The Timberwolves were a team that the Rockets would have beat with Howard in the lineup. How the Rockets fill this hole will be critical in their remaining games as they play the Heat, the hottest team in the league right now, in their next game on Tuesday night.
Chia-Chi
zenithnadir@YaoMingFanClub.com
John’s take of the game
Okay, when you’re scoring star (T-Mac) is struggling (4-of-22 on Sunday for 15 points) and your power forwards (Scott Padgett and Clarence Weatherspoon) substituting for the injured Juwan Howard only score four points, you’re going to have problems winning ballgames.
Obviously, other guys need to step it up with those kinds of scoring problems. Even though Mike James scored 13, Yao only scored three points above his season average (21 on Sunday), Bob Sura scored 7 points, and David Wesley only scored six. Dikembe scored 5 and was even inserted alongside Yao in the lineup at one point in the third quarter to try some “Twin Tower” action, but it didn’t last long as Deke was forced to guard Kevin Garnett, which was ‘no contest.’
So with very little scoring and Sam Cassell and Kevin Garnett scoring 18 and 30 points, respectively, there is absolutely no way you’re going to beat a desperate Minnesota team fighting for their playoff lives, especially when you only shoot 35% from the floor and miss 15 free throws (32-of-47, with Yao missing 5 out of 16).
With the trading deadline long past, the Rockets can’t make any big deals now. That’s why they had to sign a guy they cut earlier this season, Torraye Braggs, who is on his way over from Russia and should be in uniform Tuesday night against Miami.
All I can say is that if Braggs plays before reserve forward Vin Baker does, then it’s really sad to see Baker has lost so much of his former self. Wouldn’t it be great to see Baker make a comeback with a strong contribution while Howard is out? Don’t count on it.
As badly as the Rockets played, they had a chance when they went on a 15-2 run to close the gap to 86-77 with six minutes remaining in the game. They could have cut the deficit to 7 points when T-Mac stole a T-wolve pass and dished it to Dikembe in front of the rim, but he blew the layup.
Then the Rockets missed two three-pointers in a row, and couldn’t grab a rebound after two consecutive Minnesota misses. A few minutes later, Bob Sura turned the ball over on a fast break, and then the Rockets missed another three-pointer, and that’s all she wrote.
All I’ve got to say is that there is probably little chance the Rockets are going to win Tuesday night against Miami, the hottest team in the league and the toughest matchup for Yao (Shaq) that has ever lived. As a result, the quest to overtake Dallas for the fourth playoff spot and gain home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs is slowly slipping away.