# NBA Regular Season GAME 3: Orlando Magic @ Houston Rockets



## ThaShark316 (May 7, 2004)

*@*











*MAGIC​*




































SF: Hedo Turkoglu 
PF: Dwight Howard
C: Tony Battie
SG: Deshawn Stevenson 
PG: Steve Francis​
*Rockets​*




































C: Yao Ming 
PF: Juwan Howard 
SF: Derek Anderson
SG: David Wesley 
PG: Rafer Alston​

The Magic and Rockets come into tonight's game needing victories for obvious reasons. Houston wants to prove they can win a game without the services of one Tracy McGrady, while the Magic want to get their first win of the 2005-06 campaign. Steve Francis (CRACKCHISE!!) plays only his 2nd game in Houston since the trade that sent him to the Sunshine state on June 30, 2003 for McGrady. This is also the 2nd time that Francis has played in a game for the Magic against the Rockets and T-Mac hasn't played (both in Houston). The Rockets look to play with more intensity, as they come off a terrible loss to the NO/OKC Hornets, 91-84 on Saturday night.

I think this will come down to the last few possessions...whoever makes their shots at the end will win this one. Rockets win on a Derek Anderson basket with less than 10 seconds left. 

Rockets 91
Magic 89


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## Stat O (Mar 17, 2005)

rockets 98-94


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## zhaizor (Apr 27, 2005)

rockets 86-80


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

It is gonna start soon!!! :banana: 

Rockets 93

Magic 81


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## ThaShark316 (May 7, 2004)

Aight he we go!


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

yes! I guess Bowen will have a big amount of open shots and if he plans to shoot, he has to shoot with confidence.


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

Wow,what a block by Yao!


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

You can tell Yao and Rafer are still unfamiliar with each other. Yao doesn't know where Rafer is on the perimeter and Alston is struggling to feed Yao. Orlando has been using Howard to double Yao every time he shoots and it's resulted in alot of deflections.


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

Mr. Roger's Cardigan said:


> You can tell Yao and Rafer are still unfamiliar with each other. Yao doesn't know where Rafer is on the perimeter and Alston is struggling to feed Yao. Orlando has been using Howard to double Yao every time he shoots and it's resulted in alot of deflections.


yes, D.Howard looks great. He is really giving Yao a hard time.


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## WhoRocks (Feb 24, 2005)

Real sorry guys, but for once I hope the Rox don't win (I couldn't even bring myself to say Rockets lose) :dead:


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

Geez, the starters and 2nd unit are like night and day, the 2nd unit can't score at all.


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

WhoRocks said:


> Real sorry guys, but for once I hope the Rox don't win (I couldn't even bring myself to say Rockets lose) :dead:


I found Francis is playing way more reasonably now.:biggrin:


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

Luther Head is doing a great job running the team, penetrating and dishing. Swift has had an active 2nd quarter, using his long arms to pull down 4 rebounds and knocking down some long jumpers.


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

Mr. Roger's Cardigan said:


> You can tell Yao and Rafer are still unfamiliar with each other. Yao doesn't know where Rafer is on the perimeter and Alston is struggling to feed Yao.


Again


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## WhoRocks (Feb 24, 2005)

Luther Head in the minutes he got was very aggressive but under control, and therefore looked pretty good.


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## Stat O (Mar 17, 2005)

39-38 rox at the half...wow this is gonna be close


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

Even the lakers can manage and function with Kobe out,but what the heck r we playing? The Rockets can't put the ball in the basket without T-Mac.


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

Rafer stepping up big time in the 3rd, knocking down jumper after jumper.

Yao has taken 1 shot in the 3rd quarter. All his shots are literally rolling in and out... Head needs to come in for Wesley or Anderson to provide some penetration.


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

Get Mutombo in! I can't tolerate Yao any more,frankly.


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## WhoRocks (Feb 24, 2005)

Mr. Roger's Cardigan said:


> Rafer stepping up big time in the 3rd, knocking down jumper after jumper.
> 
> Yao has taken 1 shot in the 3rd quarter. All his shots are literally rolling in and out... Head needs to come in for Wesley or Anderson to provide a spark/penetration.


yeah Yao is having some real bad luck at the moment, but if he keeps shooting the ball will fall eventually.


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

How many more open looks can Wesley get? Yeesh, he hasn't even been close.


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

JVG should bench Wesley.Head would have made those shots.


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

Magic lead by 3 going into the 4th quarter. 2 key facts to winning the game:

1. Staying close with Yao on the bench to start the 4th.

2. Feeding Yao the ball down the stretch. I would rather have Yao shooting over double teams than passing out to a wide open Ryan Bowen or David Wesley.


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## zhaizor (Apr 27, 2005)

nice 3 by barry

57-55 rockets

9:22 remaining


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## sherwin (Mar 21, 2005)

God Wesley's shot is just bad.

The whole team is playing like garbage though. I don't think it has much to do with T-Mac.


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

I really wanna screw Wesley :curse:


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## Sweeper (Dec 7, 2004)

Back to the boards!

- I reckon any of us can shoot better than DWes right now
- Stro looks ugly in the post. He just spins on the and forces up a shot
- Get Yao the ball early in the post! 
- Barry to save the day!


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

kisstherim said:


> I really wanna screw Wesley :curse:


:laugh:

I'm worried. Yao has looked like he is intimidated by Howard.


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## Sweeper (Dec 7, 2004)

The way they're playing, I'd rather watch the dancers!

Francis has done alright


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## zhaizor (Apr 27, 2005)

Yao!!!


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## Sweeper (Dec 7, 2004)

Rafer should take more open shots!


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## darknezx (Apr 13, 2004)

With the way this game is going it's hard to watch.. 

But the dancers are hot..


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## sherwin (Mar 21, 2005)

Stupid refs had it right then that greased up ******* had to change it to the wrong call, a 3pter. Idiots.


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

Jameer Nelson... wow. Another young PG kills us down the stretch. I hope we're not about to lose back to back games against the worst 2 teams in the league.


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## sherwin (Mar 21, 2005)

Once again the Rockets suck at the end of the game. No defense and terrible shooting the entire game. Why can't JVG just get his teams ready to go at the beginning?


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

I wonder how we'll do against the elite teams on our upcoming roadtrip. :angel:


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## sherwin (Mar 21, 2005)

Rafer can't even drain the layup. If I was there I'd be booing. Rockets are just playing like CRAP so far this season.


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

We r over. F! :curse:


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## zhaizor (Apr 27, 2005)

we need tmac to give us momentum and then we hit our shots and kick ***...


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

Unbelieveable. Unfrikinbelieveable. This team isn't that bad without McGrady.


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## zhaizor (Apr 27, 2005)

Yao needs the balllllllllllllllllllllllll


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## Stat O (Mar 17, 2005)

**** the rockets...


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

How can you miss a layup like that?


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## zhaizor (Apr 27, 2005)

by doing fancy ****


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## Sweeper (Dec 7, 2004)

Sucked big time.... definitely not looking like title contenders right now. We need T-Mac. With his back, I wonder if he's advised to stay away from bedroom action


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## Pasha The Great (Apr 9, 2005)

What a disappointment, they started out really fast but just couldnt do anything right in the second half.

I'm actually starting to beleive that the Rockets wont win another game until Tmac is back. We flat out suck with out him when it comes to offenese, and its just so damn boring to watch! There wasnt one fast break in the entire game! I feel bad for the people who are paying all this money getting floor seats and get to see nothing happen.


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

houston really needs its act to get toghether soon!


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

So two games in a row,from a WCF contender to a lottery team? R u ****ing kidding me? Does this just prove how much tmac is worth to the team?


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## YoYoYoWasup (Nov 14, 2004)

kisstherim said:


> So two games in a row,from a WCF contender to a lottery team? R u ****ing kidding me? Does this just prove how much tmac is worth to the team?


McGrady carried the Magic to the playoffs for years with Darrell Armstrong as his second best player so yes, T-Mac is very important to your team.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

man this sucks.... JVG's gotta start making some changes to the current line-up, and I don't mean starting Ryan Bowen.

I don't mind losing 2 straight, but losing to NO and ORL back to back? man....

Yao's gotta step it up some more, he's really beginning to disappoint me


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

Alston got 9 assists, but he can't feed Yao well. His passes into the post just aren't good. And like we've all been saying, he can't finish around the rim. 

Wesley should just call it quits. I can't believe how far he has dropped in one offseason. It's like Chris Mullin in the mid-90's. He's not even playing defense. There's absolutely no reason for him to be on the court in this league if he's not knocking down open shots or playing good D. And the energy and enthusiasm that was there last season is just gone. 

I haven't been as enthusiastic about Head as some of you guys, but he did look good today. I mean, at least he has a beating heart.

There's a thread right now in the General forum on Yao, and everyone's been saying he's not soft. But he looked a little soft tonight. He was bad even when they weren't fronting him. Don't tell me he can't hold position against those guys. And he needs to start dunking again (easy to say, but I can only watch his shots rolling out for so long). He wasn't boxing out properly, either. It's like he was just forgetting. When Mutombo was on he boxed out so emphatically that the other guy fell to the ground. Players have bad games, though, so I'm not worried.


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## Demiloy (Nov 4, 2005)

I know this is discouragin, but this is just one game. We shouldn't get all steamed up about. I have faith that the Rockets and Yao will bounce back.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

I heard the fans were booing Francis tonight - I thought Francis had a pretty warm reception last year?


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## Sweeper (Dec 7, 2004)

Demiloy said:


> I know this is discouragin, but this is just one game. We shouldn't get all steamed up about. I have faith that the Rockets and Yao will bounce back.


True... surely we can't play any worse right.... right??? 

For those that watched the game, how come they didn't give Yao the ball when he "appeared" to be open?? There was at one stretch in the 3rd? where Yao hardly touched the ball on offense or D, just running up and down the court. When he did finally recieve a pass at the freethrow line, he just chucked up a rushed shot! It was like I'd better take a shot cos who knows when I'm getting the ball again.

Question is: Is it Yao thats failing to position himself properly in the post, or the guys just dunno how to pass to him? And yeah, how many times did Skip pass the ball to Yao just beyond the reach of his fingertips ending in TOs


Heat coming up


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## Demiloy (Nov 4, 2005)

Yao certainly wasn't booing Francis. Before the game, they were talking and laughing together. Francis might not like the Rockets, but apparently he still likes Yao.


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## Demiloy (Nov 4, 2005)

> Heat coming up


Before I said that I wished that Shaq would play in this game. Now, I dearly hope that he will sit out.


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

Sweeper said:


> For those that watched the game, how come they didn't give Yao the ball when he "appeared" to be open?? There was at one stretch in the 3rd? where Yao hardly touched the ball on offense or D, just running up and down the court. When he did finally recieve a pass at the freethrow line, he just chucked up a rushed shot! It was like I'd better take a shot cos who knows when I'm getting the ball again.
> 
> Question is: Is it Yao thats failing to position himself properly in the post, or the guys just dunno how to pass to him?


Bit of both. A lot of times, Yao got decent positioning but they weren't looking for him or the pass was just bad or ill-timed. But he just didn't play well. He allowed himself to be pushed around, and, especially when they fronted him, he seemed half-hearted and almost kind of thankful when he didn't get the ball. People always say Yao shouldn't try to play like Shaq, and that he should play his natural game. I think that's wrong. IMO, Yao has usually been most successful when he uses his strength. He's not Shaq, but he could certainly do well to mirror certain aspects of Shaq's game and combine them with his own unique strengths. He has the tools to do that. 

Btw, watching Francis play, I was starting to miss him. But then I realized that if he were on the Rockets I'd just get frustrated again. He's great to watch when he's not on your team. You can cheer for every amazing move, yet still be happy when he turns it over. It's win-win. One of my favourite players, really.


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

Hakeem said:


> There's a thread right now in the General forum on Yao, and everyone's been saying he's not soft. But he looked a little soft tonight. *He was bad even when they weren't fronting him. Don't tell me he can't hold position against those guys*. And he needs to start dunking again (easy to say, but I can only watch his shots rolling out for so long). He wasn't boxing out properly, either. It's like he was just forgetting. When Mutombo was on he boxed out so emphatically that the other guy fell to the ground. Players have bad games, though, so I'm not worried.


Barry was furiously trying to get Yao the ball in the 4th but after his first two baskets close to the basket Yao was content to let his man front him and act like he was in position to receive a lob when he had 2 defenders behind him. That really pissed Barry off. None of the other Rockets have a sense of urgency to get Yao the ball except on the play directly after a TO. 

Yao's shooting has been off the last 2 games. He's missing shots he normally hits with 70% accuracy. As long as he can lean into his shot instead of fading away he will be fine. Positioning is the main concern. Defensively I have no complaints, he has been great. It's possible that after an offseason of strength and conditioning with little play for the first time in his NBA career, he has to adjust the power of his outside shot.


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## Demiloy (Nov 4, 2005)

> Btw, watching Francis play, I was starting to miss him. But then I realized that if he were on the Rockets I'd just get frustrated again. He's great to watch when he's not on your team. You can cheer for every amazing move, yet still be happy when he turns it over. It's win-win. One of my favourite players, really.


A lot of guys are called "good" because they can complete one good crossover for every five times they turn the ball over. I'm not saying that Francis isn't good, but his crossover moves aren't worth the turnovers he creates.


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

Demiloy said:


> I know this is discouragin, but this is just one game. We shouldn't get all steamed up about. I have faith that the Rockets and Yao will bounce back.


True. When I calm down,now i feel there is really no need to press the panic button,we experienced very similar situation last year when the season started (we were like 6-11). 
JVG is still trying to find the right combo. Right now a lot of elite teams are struggling as well, and all of the "pretenders" are playing great, next Feb we will see the real contenders.


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## JT3000 (Nov 3, 2004)

Mr. Roger's Cardigan said:


> Jameer Nelson... wow. Another young PG kills us down the stretch. I hope we're not about to lose back to back games against the worst 2 teams in the league.


Enlighten me, when did we become one of the 2 worst teams in the league? Is it because we have a bad record *with our best player injured*? That must mean you guys suck just as much considering we beat you. And when were done beating NO tomorrow, I can officially proclaim how you are even worse than us. How's that?


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## hitokiri315 (Apr 30, 2004)

I think the rockets need J Fizzle's sermon. I heard on the radio last night and it was rather dissapointing. JVG is going to kill someone if this keeps up. This looks just like the start of last year. Damn you T Mac and your back.

Get Well Soon T Mac.


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