Monday, January 7, 2013

Rockets vs Lakers Game #35 Pre Game Thread

01/08 Rockets vs Lakers 5:00pm PT
01/09 Rockets @ Hornets 5:00pm PT
01/11 Rockets @ Celtics 4:30pm PT


96 comments:

  1. Gotta say, I like our chances. Very excited to see Lin/Nash, although Nash is going to be a bit handcuffed without his bigs; Lin should be able to handle him easily. Let Kobe get his, contain everyone else. Run them into the ground.

    Our win against the Lakers was all bench. I think the starters will have some fire in their bellies. Let the battle begin!

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  2. can' wait for this gameeee. GO ROCKS!

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  3. I am a little worried about this game.

    With the starters injured, the Lakers bench will come out looking to prove themselves. Plus they are much more quickfooted than the plodding battleship starters.

    It'll be fun to see Steve Nash try to school Jeremy Lin.

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    1. I feel the same way. I just hope the Rox won't let the guards down and lose their focus. The team has matured over the past several weeks, hopefully it'll stay that way.

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    2. OKC just lost against the WIZ

      I won't take anything for granted in the NBA. One game at a time

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    3. and Spurs lost against Hornets

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  4. Rockets have a very tough schedule in July. 4 games in 5 days twice. Coach Mchale needs to make rotations to rest his players, else they won't be able to beat any team on the 4th game.

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  5. Replies
    1. Lin's combo block/steal should have been #1!!!! That or Bledsoe!!! Come on nba, how often do you see a pg be that dedicated on defense... And what a terrific play. Stuff like that is what draws me to Lin! Dedicated. Hard worker. Amazing. Unselfish. Transition TEAM basketball.

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    2. Lin should've been #1 by far.

      He not only blocked Josh Smith so hard that you heard the thud of the ball from a distance, he ripped the ball away from Smith and kept the ball in play.

      Plus, it was a smaller man blocking a bigger man. By far Lin's block was the most impressive.

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    3. Took the words right out of my mouth guys! Though I selfishly wish that it had ended with Lin going coast to coast for a dunk, I'm glad Lin involved the team for some beautiful ball movement. #1 was Paul Gasol raising up his arms for the most boring block, wtf?

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  6. I lied to my boss. I told him I had the flu so I can watch this game tomorrow.

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    1. lol, you'd better make sure your boss doesn't get to read your post here.

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    2. So you lied about the flu, Robert. OK no problem, there is still lotta work to be done for you later this weekend. Oh and you will not get a raise or promotion this year.
















      ..lol

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    3. @Rikki M, lol, that's really funny!

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    4. I don't get care about it. I work in an office that is on the verge of closure. Rumors are the office is moving to India. Instead of quitting, I will wait so I can receive unemployment. Dear God, please let Jeremy Lin do well tonight so the sinful lying was well worth it. Oh yeah, please forgive me for lying.

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  7. Hi all jlin fans.. let me be one of u guys! Im also a lin fanatic.. been reading posts from this forum and i simply love it!
    Ive started to watch nba again because of our guy jlin! My wife is very jealous of jlin coz i always search for his name on d web almost everyday to get updates on him! Hehe..
    @via
    Appreciate much on ur posts.. especially the stream and highlights link!

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    1. welcome Jedd Chau! haha..try to make your wife a JLin fan too. I've gotten my hubby interested in a bit of basketball (he's a soccer fan) :)

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    2. welcome to join,
      yea most of us here check the blog on a regular basis. Just have fun and watch the game, both in good and bad times. I don't think it's fair to expect too much from Jeremy, watching him grow is a pleasure in itself. Who would want to start the RPG with level 99 right? ;)

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    3. @Glad you like them @Jedd. :)
      Welcome to the board!

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  8. I'm more looking forward to Nash vs Jeremy. I love Nash, I love Jeremy. both great facilitators and good at finding the open man. it's gonna be my boy's team vs my team. Nash is a better scorer compared to Jeremy. Jeremy's midrange now is inconsistent to blah, but hopefully even if he doesn't have the hot hand this coming game, he can still contribute in scoring and play aggressive. Nash is inconsistent to questionable in defense, and with the way Jeremy is now with man-to-man D, I wanna see how Nash answers to that. with Hill, Gasol, and Howard out, Jamison and Sacre will be seeing a lot of minutes and D'Antoni might go of a lineup of Nash-PG,Morries/Meeks-SG,Kobe-SF,Artest/Jamison-PF,Sacre-C

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  9. You guys should pay attention to the pre-game to see how McHale treats Lin and what he says to him.

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  13. Rox has the longest win streak right now. Let's extend it for a few more games.

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  14. I want to give a big shout of encouragement to my boy J.Lin! Time to play basketball the fun way! I'll be rooting for you all the way kid!

    (THE FANTASTIC JOURNEY)

    Undrafted --> D-League --> NBA Bench Player --> NBA Starter --> NBA Star

    He's accomplished this in 1... ONE YEAR!!! Hahaha

    Every time you step on the court, you shake the world of basketball, and make fools out of "professionals" in the league... hahaha... keep it coming! ;)

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    1. Undrafted --> D-League --> NBA Bench Player --> NBA Starter --> NBA Star --> NBA LEGEND/HOFer

      FIXED!

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    2. Undrafted --> D-League --> NBA Bench Player --> NBA Starter --> NBA Star --> NBA Finals MVP --> NBA LEGEND/HOFer

      FIXED part deux!

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    3. excellent posts, gino gineli and rikki and doggy.

      Lin has been DOMINANT all the way, at every level including right now.

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  15. Out of the last 34 games, Jeremy took less than 10 shots in 16 games and the Rox lost 9 games, won 7 games; In the other 18 games that Jeremy took 10 or more shots, the Rox won 13 games, lost only 5 games (twice to Spurs; once to Jazz, Blazers and Memphis).
    IDK but it seems to me there is a pattern that suggests there is a rather high correlation between the number of shots taken by Jeremy and the outcome of each game after the Dec17 Knicks game. It’d be nice if Jeremy take 12 or more shots and step up to win this game if his teammates are “cold”. Let’s go Jeremy, let’s go Rox.

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    1. Interesting stats. Any NBA player, let alone Lin, will have a very hard time scoring more than 20 points by taking as few number of shots as Lin does. To me, that's not doing enough offensively. Ideally, he should be taking around 15 -- at least 12 -- shots per game.

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    2. Jeremy had double digit dimes in only 3 games that he took less than 10 shots, of these 3, the Rox won only the Raptor game in Nov. The other 2 games, despite 10, 11 assists by Jeremy, the Rox still lost.

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    3. @janelin7

      Nice work. Correlation doesn't equal causation, of course, but perchance have you looked to see if there is a correlation between how many shots he takes and his shooting percentage? And even more interesting, how his shooting percentage in say, the first quarter, affects his shot attempts for the remainder of the game.

      I like your number 12. We're undefeated when Lin has 12 FGA! :)

      Rather than Lin "getting his", I would far prefer he just make the best play. To wit, in the last game (someone correct me, I've been away and basically have jumbled together 4 games worth of highlights all at once) he had a clear layup on the right side in transition (his highest percentage shot, no?) but he dumped it to Harden (who was trailing, and to make matters worse didn't convert). *That's* the kind of shot attempt I would like for him to just take for himself - it's best for the team.

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    4. One of the biggest talent or task of a PG is the quick judgment on when to shoot and when to pass, and I believe CP3 is the best at this task. There is a fine line between being unselfish and hurting your team by not taking available shots and passing to others who often may drop the ball or cannot score. I think Lin is most effective when he looks to score, and then score or make good pass, rather than look to pass and then score when he doesn't have a good shot. Often only Harden and Lin can create shots, so when Lin moves around with the ball looking to score, he will create more openings and angles to pass in 24 seconds.

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    5. Meant to say "rather than look to pass and then pass when he doesn't have a good shot."

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    6. Get Lin two $10+ million big men like Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan if you want to see Lin pass like Chris Paul.

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    7. @janelin7, great observation.

      Lin's FGA definitely has a high correlation with HOU wins. When he is aggressive and is more involved in the offense, there is more ball movement and good things will happen. I see it more as a measure of his aggressiveness in running team plays.

      Another number to pay attention is his USG%, which accounts for his FGA, FTA and TOV compared to the team stats.

      I've been monitoring his USG% (click Advanced Game Log). The game changer definitely is the Game 20 vs. Spurs when he had his 38-pt explosion.

      In the first 19 games, his average USG% was 18.06% and HOU record was 9-10 .
      In the next 15 games starting with the Spurs game, his ave USG% is 21.14% and HOU record is 11-4 .

      In my previous blog on this USG% analysis for the first 8 games, I concluded that his then 16% USG% needs to be raised to at least 22%.

      So the combination of Lin's improved play/health and more balanced playmaking between Harden-Lin by the coaches have put HOU on the right track to reach the playoff.

      Let's see if the HOU coaches will need Lin to raise his USG% in the playoff to reach the 2nd round.

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    8. It would be interesting to see CP3 on Houston and Lin on the Clippers.

      I think Lin would fit in better than people think on the Clips and I feel CP3 could make the Rockets better on offense because he is a better 3 point shooter. But CP3 demands the ball more than Lin so who knows how it would affect Harden. And it is interesting to see if CP3 could adjust his passing style to the offensively clumsy Asik.

      Lin has shown me this year he has the ability to get hot and dominate on offense by drilling multiple shots in a row and just taking over the scoring load. You saw it with the Spurs and the Cavs.

      If Lin was asked to be a 20ppg scorer and little else, I have no doubt now he could do it. In fact, he might be more adept at being a Jason Terry type player who looks to gun and get stats and passes as a only when he can't score the ball or shoot it.

      The thing with Lin is I believe he is a volume shooter right now who often gets hot after hitting a few. He is not yet efficient enough to nail 60-70% of his open looks in games. On the Rox, he won't often get the chance to shoot volume shots, so he has to get the efficient open shot making ability down.

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    9. In the NBA, ALL great scorers are "volume shooters".

      I've long said that in the NBA there is no such thing as a truly "accurate" shooter. Lin's ex teammate Kevin Martin has been one of the most accurate shooters in the NBA this year and he just went 3-12 against the lowly Wizards.

      If guys like Chris Paul can go 3-11, Lin can fire with impunity. As long as he keeps turning his right side toward the rim and letting his follow through extend naturally, Lin can shoot all he wants.

      I really do believe that the Rockets coaching staff is working with Lin on his shot form. He looks GREAT and is getting results.

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    10. Sorry KH, it's all Doc. Remember, Doc totally changed his form two summers ago. It takes time before its ingrained. Please give Doc his just due and stop trying to say its someone else. Thanks.

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    11. Precisely because Rockets don't have $10 million USD big men like Clippers, Lin has to shoot more -- that's my point. Sometimes I see Lin keep on passing to Asik when he clearly is overmatched and cannot score because he's defended well by opposing Centers, i.e., Howard, Randolph, etc. In these situations, Lin has to reduce dumping the ball to Asik.

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    12. when JLinfan#1 speaks here, I listen.

      Kudos to DOC for teaching Lin such a fundametally spund jumpshot, then!

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    13. @Nom,
      The easy layup not taken but instead dumped to Harden by Jeremy got Harden on fire in the 4th quarter of the NOH game. So I have no complaints about that passing though chances are, such “coincidence” doesn’t take place often and the next thing we know is easy buckets become ugly TO ,followed by opponent’s FG. At times, it can be frustrating to see this type of play, and like you say: ” *That's* the kind of shot attempt I would like for him to just take for himself - it's best for the team.”
      Yeah, correlation doesn't equal causation. I didn’t look beyond the FGA and W/L, perhaps we can make better observations by looking at the advanced game log in the link provided by @Psalm234. :)

      @Psalm234
      The Rox making the playoffs can be a sure bet now that Jeremy’s health has improved and coaches are putting more balanced playmaking between Hard-Lin, but to reach the 2nd round, I certainly concur with you on coaches should raise Jeremy’s USG% to make it happen. One question here: do you think by raising Jeremy’s USG%, the run and gun offensive style of the Rox will be any different? Or shall I ask : can the run and gun offensive scheme take the Rox beyond the playoff 1st round?
      BTW, I like your bball statistical analysis. They are very insightful and well backup. Please keep them coming. :)

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    14. I think the unstated premise is that when Lin attempts more shots, defenders are forced to concentrate on Lin more, and this frees up the offense.

      I also think you will also find that there's a correlation that when Lin has more FGA, the variance of FGA by player is much lower, and the number of players that scores in double digits is higher.

      Basically, the only time when you see Lin with higher number of FGA is when you don't have as many ISO plays where other players are trying to pad their stats.

      Another stat I would like to see but am too lazy to calculate is opponent's score when Lin has higher FGA count. The assumption is when the team is playing team ball, you'd find a higher level of defense will be utilized. Whereas, when the team is in ISO stat pad mode, the team will provide minimal effort on the defensive end.

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    15. @janelin7, thanks for the compliment. Unfortunately I haven't had much free time because real work got in the way :)

      Raising Lin's USG% is quite tricky within the current system that he plays. As far we know, the Rox system doesn't encourage midrange game that Jeremy excels at so Lin can't use his midrange jumpers too much to increase his FGA.

      The question is whose FGAs would be reduced to increase Lin's USG%. The Rox's 3PT shooting can be inconsistent so I would think Lin should take more midrange jumpers on the nights 3PT shots don't fall like in the CLE game. (Of course he made his threes so he felt comfortable making 1-2 midrange jumpers)

      At 21%-22%, it might be good enough during regular season. But IMO, the coaches and Lin should run plays for him to "take over" when Harden and 3PT shooters are struggling, even if it means more midrange jumpers to get Lin going.

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  16. Here is a suggestion that if you are feeling down and feel like you cannot accomplish anything or feel like you fail and cannot catch a break in anything you do in life then I suggest you go back and watch the Linsanity games. Everytime I watched those games I feel moved and inspired.

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  17. JLin, Watch out Artest. We don't want you get injured!!!
    Harden should do more defense.(A few others too) Not a hard foul but simply raise your hands. Jlin does that all the time. The successful rate is quite high. HOME COURT SHOULD BE AN ADVANTAGE!!! The Knicks/Bulls/Bucks teams all lost to their ex-players! The reason -- they all were doing well on their previous home court(s). e.g. Delfino did so well against Bucks. Delfino should do those 3's and be careful about ball handlings.

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    1. Oh, Ron Artest is a Jeremy Lin FAN.

      When Linsanity broke out, Artest was watching every game in awe. Artest even said that his entire Lakers team fell off their seats in the locker room when Lin hit that winning 3 pointer in that Toronto game.

      I also didn't read anything into the alleged slap/elbow Artest thre at Lin. Lin grabbed Artest around the waist in midair, causing Artest to flail about wildly to regain his balance. After Lin caught him, Artest gently made hand contact with Lin and showed Lin that Artest was not mad.

      James Harden has much more to fear from Artest than Lin does. I genuinely believe that Artest was so caught up in the moment that he threw that celebratory elbow but totally miscalculated how strong he was and how close Harden was.

      Artest is one of Jeremy Lin's biggest fans. Lin is GOOD with Artest.

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    2. Lol, celebratory elbow??! Hope that's not a growing fad. Sounds very painful, I'll stick to high-fives if that's cool with ya'll.

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  18. Its going to b a good game tonight n on NBAtv n hope JLin come out with a good game from a long needed rest. I can see a good winning streaks if the can get by this game n clippers. Go JLin go houstons n dont forget to vote everyday for your boy JLin....c u tonite!!!!!!!

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  19. Found this on CF:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UeGIGVKOs68#!

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    1. Forgot to mention... videos shows Lin vs. Nash and other guys

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    2. BTW:

      You know there is always a game thread on CF. There were times when the entire game thread only had 50-60 pages.

      Today however - people seem to be very excited. As for now there are already 26 pages :)

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    3. man that vid sure brought back memories

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    4. wow, to think that Lin displayed the same strength to attack the rim and the BBIQ to do PnR that we are seeing now.

      If Coach Smart lived up to his name, he'd have played Lin more after his GSW breakthrough in the Lakers game (13 pts in 18 min). Instead, he was fascinated by Acie Law and ended up in SAC Kings now. I remember all of us were dumbfounded!

      Like KHuang said, Lin is an "IneptCoachKilla"!

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    5. speaking of coach killa, Scott Skilles no longer coaching Bucks now. Dunno if that relevant or not

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    6. well, the Bucks did trade for Monta Ellis and Ekpe Udoh so one of them could also be a "CoachKilla" (in a bad way). And we all know who the chucker is.

      Reports said Scott Skiles hated that team.

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  20. Living on the wrong site of the world. So I will not be able to see the game tonight. Wishing Jeremy Lin and all the supporters overhere a great game. Tomorrow I will watch the highlights.

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  21. Reviewing the last year's 38 points game against Lakers reminded me that Lin has to take more short and mid range shots and turn in at least 18 points and 7 ~ 8 assists performances during playoff if Rockets are to advance out of 1st round playoffs. That much is certain.

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    1. If Jeremy comes out of 1st quarter hitting 1 or 2 of those 3 pointers, the lanes will be wide open before he has to hit anotha.....

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  22. Y'all need to tweet at @ronni2k ,@nba2kinsder, @LD2k to raise Jeremy Lin's ratings on NBA2k13. Ricky Rubio is rated 78 over JLin's 75 having shot a career 35 fg %. I'm tired of missing wideopen layups with Jeremy.

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    1. Lol missing open layups are you kidding me? Lin have Finisher signature skill! How much easier can it get

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  23. Did you guys see this? Since it's on Youtube I think it will be heavily trolled.


    The Joy Dunk Club is a new web-based roundtable talk show about our favorite Asian American NBA superstar–Jeremy Lin. Created and hosted by Terry Park of Hyphen Magazine, each show will feature smart, energetic, “deceptively quick” analysis from basketball/Lin enthusiasts such as Keith Chow of the Asian American comics anthologies Secret Identities and Shattered, Ren Hsieh of the APIA sports podcast Dat Winning, and Joyce Yin of Bulls-centric blog Hard Hat Lunchpail. Guest panelists from the world of Asian American culture will also stop by to share their love and knowledge of all things Lin. We will break down Lin’s performance in a select number of Houston Rockets games, consider his progression over the season, and weigh in on the larger cultural phenomenon of “Linsanity.” JDC will be live-streamed and recorded on CineVue Online’s YouTube channel: Asian CineVision, and followers can ask real-time questions for the panelists via CineVue’s YouTube channel or Twitter (hashtag #joydunkclub).

    Catch our inaugural show on January 8th, 8pm PST/11pm EST, right after the Rockets/Lakers game.

    P.S. No Lin puns allowed.



    http://www.asiancinevision.org/joydunkclub/

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  24. Warning: this is grossly OT.

    The circle is complete.

    My previous favorite player in the NBA bled Rockets red (Game 1 of the 2009 Western Conference Semifinals against the Lakers). Now Lin has done the same, dragon style to boot!

    We must be cautious, however, in how highly we hold our heroes. Nobody is perfect. Lin made that clear with the Dreidel song. Now Battier takes the punishment further.

    Ok, one more random reminisce now that I'm thinking about the playoff game. This link doesn't do it justice because you can't appreciate the pleading in Yao's voice to return to the game. Now there is a heart of a champion.

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    1. I always fantasize about some new medical procedure that would fix Yao's foot and bring him come out of retirement to play at least a few more seasons. A Lin pass to Yao dunk would be a sight to see! Though I don't know if Yao would be able to keep up with the run-n-gun pace.

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    2. @888

      Why not? As long as we're fantasizing:

      Yao Ming, center. A man barely ambulatory. "Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic baller. Yao Ming will be that baller. Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster."

      [I have no idea how many of you are going to get this.]

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    3. Bionic Yao Ming? I would definitely watch that show! Will Ye Li be his Jaime Somers?

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  25. Its going to b a good game tonight n on NBAtv n hope JLin come out with a good game from a long needed rest. I can see a good winning streaks if the can get by this game n clippers. Go JLin go houstons n dont forget to vote everyday for your boy JLin....c u tonite!!!!!!!

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  27. Terrel Harris [cut this weekend by the Heat] will join the Rox' DL.

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  28. [24:18] Slate: Royce White Interview [and Transcript]

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  29. Howard Chen ‏@ho_chenCSN
    Chandler Parsons is back practicin. Says he'll play tonight. Not feelin all the way back, but says it won't affect him. #RedNation
    9:13 AM - 8 Jan 13

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  30. The 5-man lineups that could affect the NBA playoffs:
    Houston Rockets

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    1. Hi via please post a link later where we could watch live streaming thank you in advance looking forward to lin-nash game.......ive seen an ad for this game its kobe vs lin:)

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  31. Called off work to watch JLin tonite !!!!!! Yeah lets go Rockets dont disappoint me......

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  32. anyone have link/stream to tonight's game? i usually can watch it on league pass online but since this nba tv and i'm at work. thanks.

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  33. Called off work to watch JLin tonite !!!!!! Yeah lets go Rockets dont disappoint me......

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  34. It is really sad that the game won't be broadcast on the League Pass Channel which I paid for because it is on NBA TV channel which I don't subscribe to. :-(

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  35. was this ever posted? awesom video...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OrJ6KXV-pKY

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  36. One of these days, we should set up a goggle hangout for game watching, any interest?

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  37. my 2 videos from the back2back wins

    CAVS
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xkts_GEj_M
    Bucks
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY58tf8EmXM

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  38. Nice hands by Nash to steal it from Lin. Can Harden box people out and rebound please?

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