Yao Ming goes up for a shot against the L.A. Lakers Wednesday night. Yao had 26 points and 13 rebounds, but it was an off-night for him since he made only 6-of-18 field goals, and uncharacteristically missed 6 free throws (one was missed intentionally). The Rockets had their chances in the end to win the game, but couldn’t make shots down the stretch in a 93-90 loss.

This is probably going to be short since many of you in the U.S. probably saw the game on ESPN Wednesday night, it’s late, and Tuesday night’s loss against the Memphis Grizzlies compelled me to write a longer post than normal that kept me up fairly late Tuesday night.

Wednesday night’s game against the Lakers had so much drama that it could take me hours to recap it, but I’ll try to boil down my key observations for you.

As I’m sure you heard, Tracy McGrady injured his elbow, and as I write this late Wednesday night, it looks like the MRI results show it’s just a strain, and that he may miss only a week. It’s a pretty big week to miss with all the important games they are going to play, which includes San Antonio on Friday, Phoenix on Saturday, and Dallas on Wednesday.

In the first quarter, I decided I was going to start tracking all the questionable shots that McGrady threw up, and it didn’t take long to find one. At the 4:40 mark, McGrady could have passed it to Luis Scola, who had hustled down court on a fast break, but McGrady didn’t reward Scola’s hustle with a pass to the baseline where he was wide open. Instead, he shot a three-pointer on a freakin’ fast break, and missed. The Rockets didn’t get the rebound.

So McGrady was “down one” on my questionable shots tracker.

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I had a few more things I wanted to write about regarding Tuesday night’s game against the Lakers that I didn’t have time to write last night because the game ended so late.

It might be a symbol of great things to come that Yao Ming scored the first basket of the Rockets’ season, scoring on a reverse layup with 7:37 remaining in the first quarter after catching a sweet pass from Rafer Alston. On the next possession, Yao scored again on nice fadeaway jumper. Other Rockets had their chances to score first, but collectively they went 0-for-5 to start the game.

Did you see what Yao did with 5:09 remaining in the first quarter? He got the ball at the edge of the lane about 8 feet away from the basket, then made the most aggressive move I’ve seen him make in a long time. He dribbled strongly toward the basket with authority, was going to throw it down, and was fouled. Maybe his plan is to do that more often. After all, who is going to stop a freight train that’s 7’6″ and 300+ steamrolling his way to the basket? At minimum, he’ll get fouled and go to the line.

For all those critics who think Mike James is a ballhog…if he was a ballhog last night against the Lakers and he performs that way, then I’m all for it. Ballhog away! He was extremely effective scoring 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting. And I don’t mind a hot 3-point shooter taking another 3-pointer right after hitting one. You play the hot hand.

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Yao Ming prepares to throw one down in Los Angeles Tuesday night in a crazy game the Rockets won 95-93 to start the new season 1-0. Yao scored 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds in the victory. Click here to see more photos from the game.

The Rockets had a collapse at the end of their season-opening game against the Lakers on Tuesday night that was too reminiscent of their Game 7 implosion in the playoffs last season against Utah.

Many of the same players involved in blowing that lead against Utah, like Rafer Alston and Tracy McGrady, were the same culprits this time around –– but this time they blew an even bigger lead: a 12-point lead with 1:37 remaining.

Let’s look more closely into the mistakes that Alston and McGrady made that could have led to another disaster.

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Yao shows the intensity involved in the Rockets game against the Lakers Friday night in Los Angeles. It was a wild game that went into overtime, with the Rockets pulling out an improbable 107-104 win. Yao was incredible, scoring 39 points, grabbing 11 boards, making 17-of-21 free throws, and blocking 4 shots. Click here for more photos from the game.

When you play at Staples Center these days with the kind of scoring tear that Kobe Bryant has been on this month, you can’t expect to come out with a convincing victory – you just want to survive. You know Kobe is going to get his points. You don’t care how you win — just hold on for a wild ride and hope you can withstand #24’s offensive explosion.

That sums up what the Rockets did Friday night in a crazy game against the Lakers, holding on for a 107-104 victory in overtime

There were so many twists and turns in this game, I can’t possibly describe them all. Since the game was on ESPN, I assume many of you saw it, but I’ll try to describe some key plays while also providing a perspective on who was responsible for this big victory that pulls the Rockets within ½ game of the Utah Jazz for homecourt advantage in the playoffs.

Like many games in the NBA, this one got very interesting late in the fourth quarter when the Rockets had their biggest lead of the night — 12 points — with 4:30 remaining.

We’ve all seen Houston blow leads this season, but even I thought the game was over. After all, Kobe’s shot wasn’t falling in the second half, hitting only 1-of-11 shots in the third quarter and part of the fourth after scoring 25 in the first half. I thought he had finally cooled off, and “the butter was in the refrigerator,” and “the jello was jiggling,” or whatever former Laker announcer Chick Hearn used to say.

But then Kobe finally got hot again, outscoring Houston 12-3 all by himself to cut Houston’s lead to 91-88 with 1:47 remaining. It was just a matter of time before he would resurface. Just hold on, Houston. Just hold on.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Rockets continued to shock the league Wednesday night. With Yao out and Tracy McGrady shooting horrendously (4-of-16, 8 points), Houston was still able to blow out the second best shooting (and fifth highest scoring) team in the league, the LA Lakers, 102-77. The Rockets are now 7-2 since Yao’s injury on December 23rd.

On a night like this when you need all the scoring you can get from your role players, it really helps when your starting point guard shoots over 30%. Rafer Alston finally hit a decent percentage, hitting 8-of-19 shots (4-of-9 three-pointers) for 20 points.

Juwan Howard was fantastic, hitting 10-of-20 for 23 points, and grabbing 11 boards. Shane Battier hit 6-of-10 (five 3-pointers) for 17 points. Luther Head was 5-of-11 for 12 points, with a one-handed slam from along the baseline over Ronny Turiaf that was unlike anything I’ve ever seen from him. I didn’t know he had it in him! Either did the crowd, who were on their feet after that slam!

And give credit to T-Mac, who still was effective by finding open guys after penetrating into the lane and dished 12 dimes.

Most inspiring of all was Dikembe Mutombo – the oldest player in the league – showing the youngest player in the league that you can’t mess with him. Andrew Bynum tried to go over Deke for two dunks, and both times he was rejected at the rim. His 5 blocks on Wednesday night moved him past Hakeem and put him in second place on the all-time block list. Oh yeah, he also grabbed a monstrous 19 boards, 7 offensive.

The highly anticipated matchup between Kobe Bryant and T-Mac never really materialized. Kobe only had 20 points on 6-of-18 shooting, and headed to the locker room with 3 minutes remaining to have a strained groin attended to. But the game was long over by then, with Houston pulling away slowly with great shooting by its role players.

This loss by the Lakers was a gut check for them. It was the second game of a back-to-back, having been whipped against one of the worst teams in the league – Memphis – after getting 46 points scored against them in the third quarter to turn a 5-point halftime lead into a 19-point deficit.

Meanwhile, it was a sweet win for Houston, who had lost 5 in a row to the Lakers and are now tied with them for the fifth seed in the Western Conference with a 23-13 record.

Yao goes after Smush Parker’s shot on his way to a career-high 8 blocked shots. But it wasn’t enough as the Rockets blew another big lead to the Lakers and lost a tough one in double-overtime 112-101. Click here for more photos.

Okay, since the Rocket-Laker game was nationally broadcast on ESPN Friday night, I’m sure many of you all saw the debacle like I did, so I’m going to spare you the details. You saw how it all went down. So I’m going into my “loved it” and “hated it” list instead:

HATED IT:

* It ticks me off the Lakers can come back from a 21-point deficit to close the deal, while the Rockets didn’t close out their home game against the Lakers a few days ago after making a 25-point comeback (all because of damn missed free throws at the end of the game). I thought the Rockets would have enough revenge and anger in them to put away the Lakers in this game. When they were up by 21 points in the first quarter, and 18 in the second, you KNEW they were going to blow it, and they did thanks to another 3rd quarter collapse. They still haven’t learned to maintain big leads. I’m tired of it. Radical changes are in order (more on that at the bottom of this post).

* I’m chapped that Yao put up unbelievable numbers in front of a national TV audience (35 points, 15 boards, 8 blocks) and the Rockets still didn’t win. I am concerned about his making only 15-of-35 shots, one of his worst shooting games with that many attempts taken. But it was a two overtime game, he’s tired after the 41-minute game the night before, and he’s carrying the load for a missing T-Mac.

* I’m bummed that stud guards like Kobe Bryant and Baron Davis will always be more valuable to a team’s overall success than a superstar center, mainly because players like them can slice through defenses and create their own shot. That was clearly evident these past two games.

* I’m tired of all the turnovers the Rockets are coughing up. They turned the ball over 25 times Friday night after turning it over 20 times in each of their last two games.

* I’m furious at Rafer Alston for turning the ball over 2-3 times in the final two minutes of regulation (7 turnovers overall!), as well as shooting an airball late when it counted most. He hurt his team when they needed him the most. And 8-of-22 shooting for the night! Oh my God!

* I don’t like how Bob Sura is taking up a roster spot. Either retire or start practicing. The Rockets cut Casey Jacobsen at the end of the preseason because Sura thought he could still play once he’s healed (whenever that happens), and the Rockets thought Sura deserved the chance because he was a proven veteran. I think Sura could really bring something to the table, but c’mon, it has been almost 1 ½ seasons now and there are still no signs of him making a contribution. Meanwhile, Jeff Van Gundy loved Jacobsen before he decided to let him go, and I thought he brought penetrate-and-dish ability into the offense, as well as a capability to hit some jumpers more reliably.

* I don’t like how Luther Head only put up 7 shots and scored 7 points after scoring 26 and 21 the previous two games. He can’t disappear like that while T-Mac is out.

* I’m mad the Rockets got unlucky with Kirk Snyder breaking his hand a few weeks ago. They could really use his speed and penetration ability right now.

* I’m still pissed that the Rockets let one get away Thursday night against Golden State they should have won.

Here’s what I LIKED, which isn’t much in comparison:

* I liked how the Rockets were putting Kwame Brown, a 40% free throw shooter, on the line with a Hack-a-Kwame strategy late in the game. But Luther Head stupidly fouled Brown with less than a minute remaining, putting Kobe on the line by rule, and that FT helped them tie the game and send it to OT. Pretty dumb. I guess I should have put that in the what-I-hated-section. Oh well.

* I like how Bonzi is starting to come around. Nine points on 4-of-10 shooting, 8 rebounds. It’s getting better. We need you Bonzi. Thank God you’re around to give this team some hope with T-Mac’s fragile back hijacking this season into mediocrity.

* I liked Juwan Howard‘s hitting 7-of-8 shots (14 points) and 6 boards. I was getting a little down on JuHo over the past several games. He’s still got some game left in him.

* I love how Yao finally came out and made the most demonstrative plea of his career about the officials. Maybe when a class act like Yao starts sending messages like the following to David Stern, he’ll listen and do something about it:

“I feel that is not fair. I can’t only shoot eight free throws yesterday (against Golden State) and six free throws today and they just let their big guy keep pushing me. I would say Kwame Brown and Andrew Bynum fouled me 10 times in tonight’s game, and yesterday’s game also, and they did not call it. That’s not fair.

“I know I’m big. That’s not my fault. They have two hands pushing on my back and keep pushing while I’m shooting the ball. They’re not fouling upstairs, not fouling on my hands. They foul on my body. I shot only six free throws. I know that’s not right. I hope the league, somebody can help with this. It’s not just one or two games. It’s been a couple weeks already.”

* I also liked how Yao seemed to be enjoying the moment like I haven’t seen in the past. His determined fist pump after a big baseline jumper, the smirk he had on his face after missing another one late that could have won the game, and his joking with Kobe Bryant as they were lining up in the lane for a free throw during crunch time all showed to me that Yao is extremely confident in being himself on the court. In other words, he knows he’s good. Damn good. And he’s not afraid to let people know how he’s feeling.

Final Thoughts & Recommendations:

This is the worst feeling. You know the season is slipping away — like I commented even after the win against Washington last Saturday night where T-Mac’s back spasms knocked him out of that game — and there isn’t much you can do about. You just get the feeling T-Mac is going to have back problems the rest of his career and the Rockets are doomed….UNLESS they decide to go for broke and realize they can’t continue to have this problem lingering that can strike at any time.

It may be the time to consider the bold moving of trading him to a similar team that may be struggling, has a superstar guard looking to win a ring with a big center like Yao, and also needs to take a chance to mix things up (remember the ‘risky’ Clyde Drexler trade with Portland in 1995 that resulted in another ring for the Rockets). And I’m not talking about Iverson at Philadelphia. He would not fit in with this Rockets team. How about someone like Ray Allen? I know he’s hurt with a strained foot, but hey, that’s not as bad as a bad back. And the Sonics are 10-14, so maybe they are looking to shake things up? I don’t know. I’m just throwing stuff out there to get something started. It’s better than squeaking into the playoffs knowing they are going to get knocked out in the first round…again.

If there is no other player available to replace T-Mac via trade (there has to be) who can do what Baron Davis and Kobe Bryant can do, I say play Vasillis Spanoulis and/or John Lucas III at point guard many more minutes to see if their positives far outweigh their drawbacks. Both players have shown flashes of brilliance this season in limited duty. Bring back Casey Jacobsen while you’re at it. I’m desperate. If Phil Jackson of all people (6 rings, prefers veterans over rookies) can give a rookie guard like Jordan Farmar more minutes and upset a veteran like Smush Parker, then Van Gundy (0 rings, prefers veterans over rookies) can do the same. The Rockets need someone better than David Carr, er, I mean, Rafer Alston quarterbacking this team. Carr (Houston Texans’ quarterback) and Alston are similar in some ways: they put up decent stats, have athletic skills, but they are not winners who can make plays in the final minutes to get their team over the hump.

Yao convenes with John Lucas during the Rockets’ amazing run in the fourth quarter when they went on a 26-1 run to pull within two points, but missed big free throws in the final two minutes that kept them from taking the lead and winning the game. Click here for more photos.

The Rockets almost pulled off a miraculous comeback against the Lakers Friday night. Down by 27 points in the fourth quarter, they came storming back on a 26-1 run mainly by going ‘small’ with reserves like Steve Novak, Scott Padgett, Luther Head, Chuck Hayes and John Lucas III.

If it hadn’t been for 4-of-6 MISSED free throws in the final two minutes, the Rockets could have had a comeback story for the ages. Unbelievably, Scott Padgett missed two free throws in a row that could have tied it, and Luther Head and Chuck Hayes both missed 1-of-2 free throws before that.

I’ve got to give props to Jeff Van Gundy for leaving these guys in the game as they ratcheted up the defensive intensity to cool off the hot-shooting Lakers, who went on a huge run themselves in the third quarter. The Rocket subs got back into the game by throwing caution to the wind by jacking up three-pointers and taking it to the hole aggressively. It almost worked.

You have to question Van Gundy leaving some of these guys in a little too long after they pulled within two points, such that they were dog-tired down the stretch and couldn’t hit throws with wobbly legs. They had expended so much energy trying to get back into it, they apparently didn’t have the strength to finish it out.

The Rockets were also robbed when Kwame Brown committed goaltending by tipping in a Kobe Bryant missed layup attempt with 57 seconds remaining when only up by two points, but the refs didn’t call it as the Rockets’ bench erupted. That no-call was a backbreaker.

Luther Head picked up the slack for an injured Tracy McGrady by more than doubling his average point total to 21 points. T-Mac’s injury could really give Luther the chance to become a star. And John Lucas III showed the world the same energy and scoring ability he showed me at the Vegas Summer League where he absolutely dominated. So although the Rockets will dearly miss T-Mac while he’s out because of back spasms, it will be fun to watch these guys – along with Vassilis Spanoulis – step out from behind his shadow, improve as players, and improve their bench depth over the long-haul.

The Rockets went to Yao early to milk his hot hand after that 38-point outburst last Saturday night against Washington. He made 5 of his first 6 six shots and scored 12 in the quarter. Kwame Brown couldn’t stop him, getting scored on early and picking up two early fouls.

Yao scored 9 more points in the second quarter to finish the half with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting. By that time, no one really stepped up to replace T-Mac’s missing points other than Juwan Howard with 10 points in the second quarter. Rafer was 2-for-7. Shane Battier was 1-for-6. Still, the Rockets only trailed 54-51.

The third quarter was all Lakers, showing they are for real this year by going on a 30-13 run and making 65% of their shots while Houston turned the ball over a whopping 10 turnovers and making only 4-of-13 field goals.

Since they couldn’t stop the Lakers and were trailing 84-64 heading into the fourth quarter, and extended it to 90-64 with 10:36 remaining, Van Gundy had enough and decided to go with a smaller, quicker team and give his subs a chance. Out went Yao, Juwan, Alston and Shane. In came Chuck Hayes, Padgett, Lucas, and Novak. Luther stayed in the game.

The Lakers extended their lead to 93-66, but the subs went on that amazing 26-1 run with a no-holds barred attitude offensively, great defense and rebounding. Here’s how it all went down with 10 minutes remaining in the game:

93-68: Novak hits a running jumper with 9:27 remaining

93-71: Luther hits a three-pointer with 8:42 remaining

93-73: Luther hits another jumper with 7:49 remaining

94-72: Kobe makes 1-of-2 free throws with 7:34 remaining

94-75: Novak makes a trey with 6:52 remaining

94-77: Luther makes a jumper with 6:19 remaining

94-79: Chuck Hayes scores on a layup with 5:57 remaining

94-81: John Lucas III makes a jumper with 5:08 remaining. Now down by only 13 points. A complete comeback may be possible.

94-84: Scott Padgett makes a trey with 4:35 remaining

94-87: Lucas makes a huge trey with 4:02 remaining. Phil Jackson decides to put his starters back in the game.

94-90: Luther makes another three with 2:54 remaining

94-91: Luther makes one of two free throws with 2:01 remaining

94-92: Chuck Hayes misses one of two free throws with 1:38 remaining

– Scott Padgett is fouled on a defensive rebound, and he goes to the line and misses both free throws that could have tied the game. The second attempt teased everyone by rolling around the inside of the rim, then spinning out. You could tell he was either weary from the effort expended to get back into the game, was thinking way too much when shooting those throws, or both.

96-92: No goaltending is called on Kwame Brown’s tip-in when it should have been with :57 remaining. This no-call was huge.

– Novak misses a trey.

98-92: Smush Parker scores on a runner in the lane.

Here’s a couple of other tidbits from the game:

I thought the game was poorly officiated, like the goaltending on Brown that wasn’t called, Yao getting fouled as he was going up for a sure layup late in the game with no call, and a couple of other blown calls!

Yao only scored five points in the second half and finished with 26 points overall. In the second half, the Lakers defense tightened up and forced Yao to throw the ball away numerous times or get it stripped. For the game, Yao turned it over 6 times.

Bonzi Wells finally got a chance to fill the T-Mac void and didn’t do much in the third quarter, which was expected since he hardly has played this season. But he did show some nice passing skills by dishing a nice, selfless touch-pass to Yao down low for a dunk.

It was very strange, but good, to see all of the Rockets’ starters on their feet cheering with the crowd as the subs pulled them out of their hole. On average that only happens once or twice a season.

L.A. Laker Kobe Bryant scores on an alley-oop pass Sunday afternoon at Staples Center. Despite Yao scoring 33 points (16-of-25 shooting) and grabbing 16 rebounds, Kobe was too much, scoring 43 points in a 104-88 defeat of the Rockets. Click here for more photos from the game from sina.com.

by John

SUNDAY, 4/2/06 – After having impressive offensive showings against the Sonics and Wizards this past week, the Rockets’ Sunday ABC television game against the Lakers was an opportunity to show everyone in the country just how much they have improved recently without T-Mac.

The Rockets were delivering on those expectations from the get-go. In the first quarter, Yao was showing the nation just how much he has improved, hitting 4 of his first 5 shots and finishing the first quarter scoring 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting.

Rafer Alston was also impressive, hitting 3-of-4 shots. Hitting 50% of their shots, the Rockets looked good. On top of that, they didn’t commit a single turnover in that first quarter.

The problem is that the Lakers were just as good, hitting 12-of-21 (57%) and committing just two turnovers to only trail 29-27 heading into the second quarter.

The Rockets showed they weren’t a one-quarter wonder, though, extending their lead to 46-40 after Luther Head drove to the basket for a dunk. Then a couple of minutes later, Keith Bogans scored on a layup, then followed up with a dunk to make it 50-45.

Those aggressive plays brought the players on the Rockets’ bench to their feet, with a feeling that maybe they could shock the Lakers in their own gym.

By halftime, the Rockets’ lead was cut to 52-51, but Yao was rolling. He already had a double-double (20 points on 10-of-16 shooting, 10 boards) and was neutralizing Kobe Bryant offensively (19 points).

But no one could stop Kobe after halftime, who went off for 22 points in the third quarter alone (9-of-13 shooting) and outscoring the suddenly-cold Rockets team by himself, 22-18. It reminded me of his 81-point outburst in January against Toronto when he was hitting everything from the outside. There’s nothing anyone can do when he’s hitting shots like that.

The only way to counteract that kind of firepower is to respond with an attack of your own. Unfortunately, Yao only got off three shots, whereas Alston took six, missing five! Big problem! Even Alston admitted after the game, “We should have found Yao more. Yao should have had 50 points tonight. He should have had 50.”

After the game, Yao confirmed my hunch that there is nothing you can do except attack back. “In the third quarter when Kobe made those shots — those are great shots — I think our defense did everything they could do. But we didn’t get a good answer at the other rim. It’s about being mentally tough. When he hit a couple shots in a row, we were frustrated by that. But we cannot let games go on like that. If they score, score back. It’s on us. We have to take care of our game.”

On the bright side, Richie Frahm showed he can shoot from the outside, hitting 3-of-4 treys. But by the time the quarter was over, it was too late. The Lakers outscored the Rockets 37-18 and led 88-70 headed into the fourth quarter. That basically was the ballgame.

The Rockets couldn’t get any closer than 13 points, but Yao did hit 4-of-5 shots in the quarter to finish with an impressive 33 points, 16 rebounds and 3 assists.

Disappointing was the fact that Rockets who have been shooting so well lately couldn’t deliver. Luther finished 2-of-10 from the field for six points, Bogans was 3-of-11 (maybe tired from chasing Kobe all over the place), and Alston was 5-of-13 for 12 points.

The only other bright spot was Stromile Swift’s 5-of-10 shooting in 22 minutes. For a guy who is known for his dunking ability Swift has a really sweet shot from the top of the key. I don’t think I’ve seen him miss a shot from there the past three games. All the announcers keep ripping on Swift, but I’m okay with him. He has been playing well lately, this season is a write-off anyway, so the time to really judge him is the remaining games this season and early next season.

The Rockets are now on a brutal stretch of games. They next play Tuesday at Seattle, Wednesday at Portland, Friday at Golden State, Sunday at Sacramento, and Monday at Utah.

These games will be critical for the front office to use in evaluating young players on the bubble like Bogans, Frahm, Rick Brunson, Chuck Hayes, as well as veteran players like Juwan Howard and the aforementioned Swift.

In addition, if they can win some of these games on such a difficult road trip, that could be a big confidence boost for this young team as they head into the off-season trying to figure out how to get back into contention next year.

john@YaoMingFanClub.com

To see the boxscore from the game, click here.

To read the Houston Chronicle’s article about the game, click here.

Kobe Bryant blocks one of Yao’s shots during the Rockets 89-78 loss to the Lakers Wednesday night at Toyota Center. Yao scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a loss that ended Houston’s 4-game winning streak. To see more photos from the game, click here.

by John

WEDNESDAY, 2/8/06 – Through three quarters Wednesday night, the Rockets game against the Lakers was one of the best of the year in my opinion. Not that the Rockets played that well. They were trailing 44-33 at halftime. But the buzz among the 18,000+ Houston fans was palatable as they watched the Rockets go on a 15-3 run to take their first lead at 48-47, and it looked like it was going to be an exciting game the rest of the way.

The largest Toyota Center crowd of the season was finally able to get excited about the game, and you could feel how badly they wanted a win since the Lakers currently occupy the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference playoff seedings, with the Rockets only 5 games back in the standings. On top of that, the Lakers had lost their last four games, so the fans smelled blood.

But then Kobe went off and scored 12 points in the third quarter with an amazing array of shots, and the Lakers cruised to an 89-78 victory. So instead of only being 4 games back if they had won this game, the Rockets are now 6 games back.

It was interesting to hear Kobe’s comments after the game about how much the Rockets appeared to take him lightly when he said, “I started coming off the pick and roll and I was so wide open. It really threw me off at first. It’s been two months since I’ve been that wide open.” What?! Even more wide open than the 81 points you scored against Toronto? We’re lucky he only scored 32.

Of course, Jeff Van Gundy wasn’t happy as you can tell by these post-game quotes:

“How little we put in the game, from the start of the day to the end of the game, was totally uninspiring. We went through the motions, but didn’t even fake it very well.”

“We didn’t try hard enough. It gives you pause to think what do we really have here? We should’ve been frothing at the mouth, like pit bulls. I so much want to have a team that really, really, really wants to play every day, every night.”

Unfortunately, the highly anticipated showdown between Kobe and T-Mac never materialized. While Kobe ended the game with 32 points, 9 assists and 6 steals, McGrady struggled from the floor again, shooting only 5-of-18 from the floor and scoring just 11 points and grabbing 4 boards. And since Yao had a so-so game (14 points, 7-of-17 shooting, 13 rebounds), there was no way the Rockets were going to win with Yao and T-Mac both having sub-par games while Kobe and Brian Cook (of all people) combined for 59 points.

Even more disturbing is that T-Mac has now only made 30% (19-of-63) of his shots over the past 3 games. Hopefully he’s not going through back problems that are affecting his play. We’ll find out Saturday when they play Utah at Toyota Center.

John
john@YaoMingFanClub.com

To see the boxscore from the game, click here.

To read the Houston Chronicle’s article about the game, click here.