灰熊之戰賽後小評
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bk/bkn/rox/2197069
Rockets fall 79-71 in bumpy ride
And now it's time to play ... pick your favorite Rockets turnover.
"I would hate to narrow it to one play," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said
Saturday night. "But that's how we play our game."
First came the first-half pass by Steve Francis, who while heading to the rim
tried a no-look, behind-the-back flip that caught the back of one of the
Grizzlies' heels. The Rockets were on their way to an 11-point deficit then,
but they came back and led by five heading into the fourth quarter.
Our next contestant was Cuttino Mobley, who dribbled the ball off his foot,
turned to the officials and begged for a call. The Rockets trailed by 10, and
the first boos directed at the home team were heard at Toyota Center.
Finally, we had Francis again, moments after grabbing an offensive rebound in
the last minute. With the Rockets down by four, he lowered his shoulder and
splattered former teammate James Posey for a charge with 44 seconds left.
Seconds later, the Grizzlies finished a 79-71 comeback win before 13,051 fans
in the second regular-season game at the venue. Memphis scored nearly a third
of its points off the Rockets' 24 turnovers.
"We were flailing," Van Gundy said. "I'm sure some part was carelessness.
Some part was their pressure. I thought we did not react well to their
pressure. We were discombobulated a lot offensively.
"I think the biggest thing I noticed, which I noticed last year in games that
were highly competitive and highly intense and highly physical, there was a
lack of poise under pressure. ... Up five going into the fourth, they came
back (and) made the run; we were taking bad fouls, missing open shots,
missing free throws, not getting loose balls (and) not getting rebounds. We
were playing frustrated more than composed."
In short, the Rockets panicked. They panicked when the Grizzlies surrounded
Yao Ming in the first half, taking away entry passes. They panicked when they
could not make their shots in a 24-of-66 (36 percent) performance. Mostly they
panicked when Bo Outlaw and Earl Watson scrambled around the court, daring
the Rockets to run their offense with poise.
For old times' sake, the Rockets even tried one of last season's
near-impossible alley-oops, turning a two-on-one break into something that w
ould be considered too risky for a dunk contest.
"You mean all the lobs," Van Gundy said when asked about the passing
decisions. "I would say that what our lob percentage really is and what we
think it is are two different things. When we keep it, just in general ...
sound, solid and simple, we're going to be OK."
That did not happen until 10 minutes into the fourth quarter Saturday, when
the Rockets had scored all of seven points in the quarter.
But Jim Jackson and Francis each hit a pair of free throws. After a Posey
reverse, Francis was fouled and brought the Rockets within 75-69. Mike Miller
missed, and Yao was fouled while finishing a drive. With the Rockets within
75-71, Yao missed his free throw, but Francis got the rebound.
Moments later, Posey was sent crashing to the floor.
With that, Watson hit a jumper, and Posey hit a pair of free throws to put
the game away.
"They were more aggressive than we were, plain and simple," said Francis, who
had 19 points and six rebounds but also six turnovers. "That was basically the
game from the jump ball to the end of the game. They had us playing back on
our heels, which I thought would never happen. I thought we would never let a
team be more aggressive than us, but they were way more aggressive. And we
didn't make any shots.
"We shouldn't let another team dictate where we are on the court. The
turnovers banged us in the head."
Francis did not think he charged Posey but said he really could not complain
much about the call.
"Of course I'm going to say I didn't think I charged," Francis said. "I think
it was a makeup call. I fouled Pau Gasol to get the ball anyway. I definitely
pushed him."
The charge ended the Rockets' late run. But they had several horrid stretches
throughout the game to rival many of last season's deepest offensive funks.
The ended the first quarter missing nine consecutive shots, mixing in five
turnovers in a 6 1/2-minute stretch.
In the Grizzlies' fourth-quarter run, the Rockets missed six consecutive
shots and two free throws to turn a five-point lead into a 10-point deficit.
Yao was 7-of-11 for 19 points. But he could not get free, and the Rockets
could not get him the ball consistently enough for Yao to carry the offense.
"You find out a lot of your real problems with your real games (as opposed to)
practices," Yao said. "It wasn't just one thing; it was a lot of problems."
It was a lot of turnovers. Which brings us back to our question.
The answer was, of course, the fourth option: all of the above.
"Dribbling off our foot, throwing passes to guys that weren't there. ... We
just turned the ball over too much," forward Maurice Taylor said. "When
you're turning the ball over on your own and they're causing you to turn it
over a couple times, that's just bad on top of bad.
"We can't be a team that only wins one way. We have to find a way to win when
the shots aren't falling, when the shots are a little raggedy. It wasn't a
pretty game."
It was ugly on top of ugly. But if the Rockets are determined to have a team
capable of winning ugly, they got the ugly part right.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Home again
James Posey always knew he would be in Toyota Center on Saturday. He just
thought he would be driving in from his new Houston-area residence and
playing for the home team.
Instead, Posey signed a four-year, $24 million deal as a restricted free
agent and watched as the Rockets chose not to match the offer.
Posey said he had no bitter feelings, however, and laughed when asked to
compare his reaction to coming back to play the Rockets to last season's
first game against the Nuggets.
"I just want to get a win," Posey said. "At the end of the day, that's it."
Posey did not deny he had wanted to be with the Rockets. After living in Nick
Van Exel's house last season, Posey even bought a house to make Houston home.
"(The Rockets) just made a decision," Posey said. "They made the decision for
me, and I'm happy with it. I'm not even thinking about it now. That's in the
past. I just know it's a business. You can't take it personally. You just go
out and play.
"I'll still live here in the offseason. Nothing will change that."
Odd couple
Written off as a spectacular but wholly unreliable point guard, the Grizzlies'
Jason Williams has gone from error-prone to sure-handed. Much of the credit
for the change has gone to the direction and carping of a 70-year-old
Grizzlies curmudgeon.
"I never thought I had to worry about Jason Williams," Memphis coach Hubie
Brown said. "I said Jason Williams has to worry about me. For any coach who
has had success, that's the way it is."
Williams said he thought it might be a difficult marriage but that it has
gone better than he imagined.
"I thought Hubie was going to put some reins over me a lot stronger than he
did," Williams said. "But he really didn't say anything to me. He didn't say,
`Calm down' or nothing. He just said, `Go out and play your game.' That's
what I've done.
"I never thought we'd get along as good as we do. But we get along as good as
any coach as I've ever been with. I thought that Billy Donovan (Williams'
coach at Florida) held that distinction. But Hubie lets me play my game, and
I try to do what he says, and it's made everything easy."
Williams ranked second in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.76,
leading all starters. In his previous four seasons, Williams had never before
been in the top 20 in that category. He was second in the league with 8.3
assists last season.
"You've got to give him credit," Brown said. "Most people are resistant to
change. He embraced it. When you look at point guards, he's as hard to defend
because he can push, pass, shoot long-range, and he's a much improved defender."
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