Yao Ming Mania - Latest Comments in Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

Staff — Sat, 09 May 2009 12:54:51 -0000

Hey Tim, great to hear from you. It was a long night and morning for me in Houston reporting on this one, but now I'm able to get back to you before I get some sleep.

I think the consensus among all media and even Stu Jackson is that Fisher's play was bush league, thus deserving of a suspension. It was like he was a linebacker out there. For Bryant, it's a little more debatable since there really isn't great video of how hard he hit Artest in the throat and where, but that animated photo I have on YMM of Kobe elbowing Battier is enough to come to the conclusion that if he had the nerve to do that (which was bush league), along with kneeing Battier in the head, then popping a player in the neck with an elbow is reasonable to expect, too.

I've been impressed with Artest's calmer demeanor in Houston. And he's also a sound bite machine.

Anyway, good to hear from you. I can give the Lakers props for taking out Utah, the most hated team among Rocket fans, bar none.

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

Tim — Fri, 08 May 2009 19:58:52 -0000

John-

Great follow-up to the game. After game 2 took place I instantly thought to myself, "wow, it's been a while, but I should check the Yao site because I wonder how John's going to react to this game." Seeing by your "impartial" commentary of the events of the game I shouldn't have been as surprised as I was by your posting. But, come on, "Fisher and Bryant’s bush league plays". Really?!

I know I'm a huge Laker fan and fundamentally we'll have our differences, but come on. =P I will admit though, that I lost a little respect of kobe after game 2, and somehow gained more respect towards Artest (who wouldn't be impressed by his soundbite about his friend getting stabbed in the back by a leg of a table when he lived in the hood. hahaha).

At any rate, tonight's game/ "boxing round" should be interesting. I just hope the refs do not ruin the game by calling fouls after fouls and make this into a FT shooting competition. Because even I know if it's a FT competition, NO TEAM can compete with a team so good at the charity line that their 7'13" center is the one shooting their Technical Fouls.

At any rate, hope all is well. Your long time TM friend

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

Adrian — Fri, 08 May 2009 12:01:34 -0000

exactly, thats why adelman should of yanked scola to start the 2nd half and played landry

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

Staff — Fri, 08 May 2009 02:07:15 -0000

I think both have strengths, it doesn't really matter who starts. Just
go with who is playing best game-by-game.

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

Staff — Fri, 08 May 2009 02:00:13 -0000

Very well put.

Regarding Tweet replies, I've learned how to see them. I was thinking
before it was possible for your replies to show up on my stream. I've
since learned that isn't supported. Instead, I have to click on '@
Replies' to see them in my own view.

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

Adrian — Fri, 08 May 2009 01:49:07 -0000

Just like The lakers changed their lineup, the rockets should change theirs 2. Landry or hayes should start at the 4 position, depending what adelman would want, offense or defense, juss as i hoped, hayes is playing phenomenal out there and played great on gasol and bynum, even odom. But Scola isn't athletic or big enough to score inside, he blew an easy layup cause he thought gasol was going to block it, landry scored an amzing 15 or 16 pts in the 2nd quarter, i think adelman should start landry, would u agree?

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

Xiao Chen — Fri, 08 May 2009 00:45:32 -0000

I'm gonna admit it here, John. After Yao, my second most favorite player in the league has always been Kobe. I like basketball players only for their on-court performance, not their off-court and personal lives. I always knew Kobe was an asshole, but his performance on-court has been nothing short of spectacular.
And the fact that he carried himself and represented his country very well last summer in Beijing (notice how he was always nice to the opponents, patting their backs after a good play), it really made me like him more.

When the game started, Kobe showed why he's one of the top two players in the league by scoring at will. I could only hope he cools down because Shane was getting abused while doing everything he could to defend.

Everything changed when I saw the elbow. It really disappointed me more than anything. Now I'm going to say, the elbow didn't look like it was going to the throat of Artest, but it was definitely a shot to the upper-chest. I hear reports on ESPN today that the league had a special angle from one the cameras from ESPN 360 to review the play from the baseline perspective, and it was definitely a shot to the chest, not the throat. I guess I'll take their words for it.

Like you said, it's not about the elbow, it's about the intent. And there is no way that Kobe didn't mean anything malignant (as he said in the post game) on that play. I'm disappointed because Kobe with his skills and talent alone, is by far one of the greatest players this league has ever seen, but he had to resort to dirty play because of the physical defense. Sure Ron was pushing him down but he wasn't dirty. As a matter of fact, when was the last time you see Ron throwing an elbow? I'm glad the fans in China and all over the US are on the Ron's side on this one. And I do hope the Rockets start giving hard-fouls, just use other people to do it. You know why? Because the league will finally think everything started because Joey Crawford failed to contain the atmosphere of the game by issuing a T to Lamar Odom when he was jawing to Scola early in the game. One thing led to another, Odom and Walton finally got T'ed up, then Fisher delivers the blow that sent the game to another level and led to the wrongful ejection of Ron Artest. So when the series finally gets more physical and more suspensions are handed out, the league will finally realize that Joey Crawford sucks and fire him.

Anyway, enough about that nonsense.

Phil Jackson did a smart line-up change and put Gasol on Yao. That match-up had been effective all season for the Lakers, and Yao's foul trouble didn't help at all. That is a serious problem. Yao cannot guard Gasol at all. And the Lakers have two athletic forward-centers in Odom and Gasol. I'm really worried about seeing the same thing happening again.

The positives was that Ron Artest continued his great game playing and Carl Landry stepping up huge. And also even with Yao only taking 4 shots, we still stayed there right with them. Only if Luis and Shane can step up in their offense, I believe we're okay.

I watched Yao's postgame on NBA TV, one of the Chinese reporters asked him if this loss had dampened the team's spirit or gave them more motivation. Yao said, of course it gave us more motivation. He said the positives are that even though they were down huge, they did not back down and fought hard. He now has confidence in winning at home.

I'm glad to hear Yao speaks with such confidence. I really hope he converts that confidence onto the court.

Thanks again for the recap, John. Btw, you really need to figure out how to see people's replies to your tweets :).

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

YaoFan — Thu, 07 May 2009 23:48:08 -0000

In the east coast and just saw the DVR of this game. What a game up until half time. Wish Rockets could keep the turnovers down! Once I saw the cheapshot Fisher hit on Scola I was pissed. That should have been at least a 2 game suspension. Fisher was looking back and then tried to take his head off. If Scola was a little shorter or didn't put his arms up, it could have really did some serious damage. And Crawford...it's always Crawford!!! If Artest was still in the game, anything could have happenned in terms of winning the game. I really want Rockets to beat the Lakers in this series soooo bad now. Yao needs to step up and get over the fronting already!

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

JAY C — Thu, 07 May 2009 23:32:12 -0000

Hi John, thank you as always for great work. My concern is not the Rox won't fight back in this physical/dirty series - I know they will and I know Artest will come back with more control.

I am only concerned that Yao will not be able to rid himself of quick bigs fronting/doubling him - that he will be taken out just like Portland did to him. When he goes to the bench the picture looks a lot more bleak. I wish I know how he could escape the defense but I don't - it seems mostly that he is a bit too winded to fight through the constant wrstling matches to get good position nowdays. Thx.

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

pryuen — Thu, 07 May 2009 21:18:15 -0000

Well after his dirty plays in Game 1 and Game 2, Kobe Bryant surely lost a lot of respects and fans in China. In a public poll on sina.com yesterday after he elbowed Ron Artest and caused Ron to be ejected, more than 60% of the 90,000 voters that participated in the poll thought that Kobe is sinister, malign and cheap to play dirty, aimed to injure his opponents.

He said it is playoff basketball, and it has to be physical. But personally think, he just confused physical with dirty. To play physical and to play dirty are 2 different concepts. Ron Ron plays physical. Kobe plays dirty.

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

Staff — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:18:28 -0000

That is a great idea!

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

Luckyme — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:54:51 -0000

After witnessing all these elbowings and kneeings on Shane Battier and Ron Artest, and pumping knees with Yao sending him reeling on the floor with excruciating pains, wonder what the Chinese fans of Kobe would do in China. I have one suggestion, boycott his jersey and stop buying anything Lakers. This should send a clear message to Stern what 200 millions Chinese BB fans can do if and when you play dirty!

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

Staff — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:16:58 -0000

Very good comments. Thanks, Jeff.

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

NYCBOBBY — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:16:33 -0000

Shawn, pumped is an understatement! Not just Artest, but Yao needs to take it personal Friday night. How can he be able to dominate Oden and not Gasol is a mystery to me. Oden is far more aggressive then Gasol on the defensive end. You know what it just shows how the league wants to control outcomes and the destiny of teams and players. I am sick to my stomach when I see that. David Stern got credit for grooming the league when he first got to the NBA with players like Jordan, Ewing, Olajuwon shouldering the load. But it is so obvious that he is not only the commissioner of the NBA, but he's the mafia kingpin of the league. He chooses who he wants as the NBA's next biggest stars, he chooses who he wants to be crowned as the champion year in a year out. Don't be a fool and be fooled that these fouls, and suspensions throughout these years are handled by Stu Jackson. Jackson is just the muppet who was handed down the orders from Stern. Instructions that would create more cashflow and fame to the league, and consequently to Stern himself. And that means, give the stars he wants to groom and the contending teams he wants to be at the winners circle the benefit of the doubt. Look what happened to Van Gundy when he was the Rockets coach, when he not only criticized the refs and the league, but almost uncovered the real reeling and dealings of this organized crime runned league. And what did Van Gundy get for that? An unprecidented fine and threatened to be banished from the league. This guy Stern should be investigated and be asked to be trialed by Congress because this type of business he is running is no better then point shaving, and game fixing like organized crime but he is the crime and he runs a Mafia. The fearest league by far is probably MLB where the pitchers pitch, and batters bat. It is no coincidence that you see teams like the Tampa Rays, the Detroit Tigers of the world reach the world series. I'd say we start a petition and have the referees, not just in the NBA, but in all of sports to be governed and runned by the government. John can you please spread the word!! i know this is hot stuff but someones gotta say it!

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

Jeff — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:37:21 -0000

Kobe Bryant is the child who did not win mvp. He is the little wannabe thug that after all his underhand tactics, puts on the fake smile and knows just what to say:

“It was a good physical game. You know, it’s playoff basketball. Intensity is elevated a little bit because there is a lot at stake. I think it was just a good, physical game.”

What a little bitch.

Instead throwing his little pissy fit, trying to be cooler than he is, taunting Shane with "you can't guard me" after every lucky shot, gaining every little advantage through cheap shots in front of biased refs.

The lakers are just afraid of getting embarrassed in front of their home crowd. What was disappointing was instead of playing basketball, they resorted to cheap shots and games. They even have Jack Nicholson off the side talking trash for them to Artest.

When the lakers went on that run in the first period, there was a chain of ridiculously biased calls on Yao and everyone else.
I know the NBA is a business and it is its self benefit to extend this series to a game 7 to maximize ticket sales and TV broadcast, but by giving questionable call after questionable call on Yao, they are pissing off a billion future consumers.
A business is a business, so don't piss off your consumers.

From Kobe stepping and elbowing Shane after Battier forced his turnover, to fisher's elbow takedown on Scola, Artest getting two T's and a personal foul for getting elbowed in his throat, this game two showed NBA fans and the League what kind of players the Lakers are.

Like John said, this will bring out the fire of Houston for the rest of the series and the Lakers will get their asses beat.

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

Staff — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:24:32 -0000

I think an elbow of any kind above the shoulders is very serious and deserves suspension (as even Fisher would say later) because the smallest bump can cause lots of damage. Natasha Richardson died with just an innocent bump of the head.

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

Shawn — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:00:06 -0000

I couldn't believe I was watching basketball, I thought it was WWE I was watching. Because it felt like the game was rigged by officials, and the Lakers were better at throwing elbows, knees and acting than they do playing basketball. Tons of BS call happned that stopped Rocket's momentum ie. artest's 3 pointer downgraded to 2 and his ejection, Landry's should've gotten many and 1 calls beneath the basket, Lowry's charging call that took 3 points away from Rockets, not to mention all the non call on gasol and vujacic and bryant. I just read on espn that league office is looking into the game replays. Ron did the right thing by confronting Kobe, had he not done so, Kobe probably would just get away with the thug play, like how he got away with it in game 1 killing battier.
Seeing how Rockets kept fighting despite the BS calls, despite the dirty plays, despite the fact Lakers shot lights out. I think the Rockets will steamroll the lakers at home before heading to LA 3-1. Lakers exposed alot of their weakness in the two games against the Rockets, they're very slow at adjusting on the court (both players and coaches), half time saved Lakers' ass last night, Rockets had everything going. Lakers is also bad at playing against adversity, they'll punch you in the face, but not defending at the same time, if you can take it and punch back, they wouldn't know what to do, when big leads dissapear or when they're playing from behind, all the triangle, fluid offense bullshit dissapear. one more thing, I can understand how big atheletic guys with D like Oden, Aldridge, Pryz can front Yao, but Gasol??? Yao needs to take that as an insult and kill him. wow I'm pumped

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

johnl — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:25:27 -0000

joey crawford think he is can do whatever he wanted... when he ejected artest.. he keep waving his hand.. telling artest to go go go.. he think he is god...

fuck joey crawford....

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

scottdi — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:09:55 -0000

rockets all the way. got to say i agree with everything your guys said here. wish Yao was a little more tough be more aggressiveness!!!. rockets all the way!!! btw love your posting john, thanks for yours perspective...

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

NYCBOBBY — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:05:13 -0000

I didn't watch the second half cause it was getting way too late in the east coast. But If what I saw in the highlights and what you say are true, then yea I just hate it when the refs have to bail out the supposed contenders time after time again. Besides Kobe, there is no one in that time that can beat us. But now that our sufficating defense is frustrating Kobe & Company, the sneaky get sneakier. Regardless of the outcome of this series, I'm still proud of these Rockets already. Our group puts it out full force, 100% effort every night. We have a clan of fighters. Finally, we get the respect of Barkley. I knew Kenny Smith always admired his former Rockets, but he's finally out of the closet on that full force now too. I truly think that if we beat the Lakers, we can beat Denver and we can take on Lebron and Company. But no no, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. I'm gonna savor this moment, where we're gonna slowly roast and tough, and grind out these Lakers. We need James White out there for a couple of minutes Friday night to send Kobe a message. Knock him to the floor hard and White would be suspended, but well worth it. Gasol is overrated. Once you bring the toughness to him like Garnett did last year and Chuck Hayes is doing now, he'll fade away. I can't wait for game 3!!

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

Wendy — Thu, 07 May 2009 10:59:55 -0000

Kobe has a history for throwing ellbows etc. and making it look un-intentional. He got suspended once for it several years ago, remember?

My respect for Kobe has gone. Before the playoff seedings were clear, I even hoped that Kobe will get a ring ahead of LeBron. But now, I just hope the Rockets will kick their butts.

If you follow some boards, you will see that almost all non-Laker fans are with the Rockets. As John said, we are the beloved underdog of the nation.

Go Rockets.

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

Ree — Thu, 07 May 2009 10:54:12 -0000

Yao really needs to fight harder for positions. I think mentally he just gives up a bit when he sees a fronting defense. He just stands there and gets an arm out, he needs to move without the ball and keeps the defender guessing.

And you are so right about the outside jumpshots. It's UNFORGIVABLE that he took only 4 shots, no matter how many fouls he had.

Btw, your AIG line was somewhat funny if not for the fact that that stock has shot up almost ten folds for this year. It's up to the 2 dollars range now and I'm kicking myself for not buying them when they were in the pennies...

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

Ree — Thu, 07 May 2009 10:49:26 -0000

I personally didn't think the Elbow itself was such a big deal, but to eject Artest for talking in such an important and close game??? That was outrageous.

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

Staff — Thu, 07 May 2009 10:47:36 -0000

Good job.

Re: Shenanigans in Game 2 could embolden Rockets rest of series

Vince — Thu, 07 May 2009 10:30:32 -0000

The entire Faker team showed they had no class whatsoever last night. Their entire team embarrassed themselves when things got desperate and they could not put the Rockets away at the half. All the Faker players showed their true selves last night trying to claw their way to a win PLUS having Joey Crawford (the Anti-Rocket) protect the Golden Boy of the NBA, by allowing him to take cheap shots without ramifications. Throughout all this, the Rockets remained calmed and kept their dignity and composure, and were not sucked in to the dirty tactics the Fakers had to employ to to try so desperately to get a win, preventing them a 0-2 disaster at Staples. I applaud Ron for what he did, he expected a Technical for standing up to Kobe, but due to his history they ejected him immediately to try and "balance" out Fisher's ejection.