Game 50 Timberwolves @ Rockets 2/7/09

[DreamShook34]

Rafer 8-10 LOL, AM I ON ACID?

i think we are all trippin' a little bit

[TMU]

OMG I SAW TMAC SMILE.

I thought he was upset when they took him out, but I guess not.

Solid performance by the "Big 3" and great defense as a whole. Good things happen when you feed Yao.

[PocketRockets]

Wow good game. I'm glad the wolves came down to earth. I was afraid they'd pull a Mem on us and stay hot all game. Let's hope yao watches footage and sees how much of a difference it makes to the team's mentality when he goes hard (2 dunks...and demanding the ball). When your leader plays soft...others get soft too.

[TMACFORMVP]

Good win, showed some heart in coming back, and blew em out in the 4th.

Yao was awesome, Artest was efficient and McGrady actually played good defense. Hopefully we don't come out next game thinking we rock, and end up losing.

[bballmaniac27]

just saw the boxscsore Al jefferson 36 pts 22 rebounds... lol who was guarding him.

[abcdef]

just saw the boxscsore Al jefferson 36 pts 22 rebounds... lol who was guarding him.

Yao. At least this time he went back at Jefferson on the other end and his defense did get better as the game went on. Still overall a bad defensive effort by Yao. He needs to work his defense in matchups like these, Jefferson and Boozer.

[TMU]

just saw the boxscsore Al jefferson 36 pts 22 rebounds... lol who was guarding him.

Good offense trumps good defense. Yao, Scola, Landry, and Mutombo weren't able to guard him in the first half. Jefferson slowed down in the 2nd half thanks to Hayes and Yao's improved defense.

Yao. At least this time he went back at Jefferson on the other end and his defense did get better as the game went on. Still overall a bad defensive effort by Yao. He needs to work his defense in matchups like these, Jefferson and Boozer.

I thought Yao did a much better job in the 2nd half.

[Guy986]

just saw the boxscsore Al jefferson 36 pts 22 rebounds... lol who was guarding him.

Yao. At least this time he went back at Jefferson on the other end and his defense did get better as the game went on. Still overall a bad defensive effort by Yao. He needs to work his defense in matchups like these, Jefferson and Boozer.

Yao will never be able to defend against the likes of Jefferson and Boozer. Never. His footspeed wont let him.

You just have to hope Yao dishes out equally as much damage on the other end.

[sook]

props to Yao the 2nd Half. Hope he keeps up this high level of play..

Now if we can only snag Al for Yao + whoever

[grond]

Beat a team we were meant to beat with everyone playing well. Good to see.

Maybe we can use this game to finally *snicker* build *guffaw* some consistency *LOL*.

(Actually, as long as we can stay healthy - touch wood - we might just be able to at that)

[smapor]

props to Yao the 2nd Half. Hope he keeps up this high level of play..

Now if we can only snag Al for Yao + whoever

Seriously I know how folks love Stats..... but the one clear thing Yao has over every other Center in this league, including DH. Teams need to prepare for Yao, they run all kinds of defensive schemes to stop Yao.

Look at today, we rarely doubled Al, I can count them with my fingers. With Yao, we started to see triple teams. Its up to the Rocket Role players to take advantage. As much as I hate Yao passing to the open Man, but what he is doing is correct, we don't like how much faith he puts in his teammates, but that is why every Rocket player has Zero issues with Yao.

Regardless who is our Coach, ever since Yao arrived to the Rockets, Rockets have been top 10 in defensive FG%.

Yao may not provide huge stat numbers, he may not be flashy. But he does a lot of intangibles that people just do not see nor keep track. Like I said Ultimate team player. Thats my only reason why I like him, even though I constantly call him soft as tissue (mental not physical)

[stockmarketgod]

wow always like to watch a game where the big men are the ones doing all the damage... just like the old days...

Jefferson just abused Yao at the start but then Yao came back... cant blame him he has trouble with ""short 6'10 centers"" but then will have a advantage on the offensive end... even if they double and triple him...

Jefferson is a really good player got that nice mid range shot now ... but I think if he becomes the focal point of other teams defense... his numbers will tail down...

ill take Yao 12 for 18 shooting for 30 points... over Jefferson 16 for 30 shooting 36 points

any day....

[smapor]

wow always like to watch a game where the big men are the ones doing all the damage... just like the old days...

Jefferson just abused Yao at the start but then Yao came back... cant blame him he has trouble with ""short 6'10 centers"" but then will have a advantage on the offensive end... even if they double and triple him...

Jefferson is a really good player got that nice mid range shot now ... but I think if he becomes the focal point of other teams defense... his numbers will tail down...

ill take Yao 12 for 18 shooting for 30 points... over Jefferson 16 for 30 shooting 36 points

any day....

A lot of non-Rocket fans even realize just how efficient Yao is in scoring.

[MaxRider]

sure Al Jefferson puts on great stats
at the end it's Rockets with the win

[Iggyemu]

Good win. We are pretty potent offensively when Rafer makes shots b/c out of everyone on the floor they'll always leave him open. When he is making those shots we'll always score more than enough points to beat anyone. Our defense was great in the second half. I thought we did a great job on Jefferson during that stretch.

McGrady made a few plays but didn't look like he was interested in going hard. Battier made a few contested 3s but still struggling on both ends IMO. Artest played well. And as usual Yao pretty much erased Jefferson's output offensively. If he scored 15 while Jefferson was going off like that we would have been in trouble. But he stepped up and came through.

Back to the road. A place where we have struggled mightily because of our inconsistent defense. 3 straight wins going into the allstar break is something that would go a long way with this team right now. And its very doable. Just gotta beat the Bucks.

[Amel]

good win

everyone played well