You can't stop Luis Landry - you can only hope to contain them. Memphis did no such thing.
Good God, Memphis sucks.
I want to have some idea of how good our team is without Yao, but games against Memphis and Washington just do not help me make that evaluation when our opponents make D-League teams think they have a chance to win.
Short notes from this game:
Rafer Alston started out amazing, then returned to the Rafer we know. Turnovers, more turnovers and a bunch of missed 3s. Yeah, I expect a LOT more of that against better teams.
Luis Landry - 11/13 FG, 30 points, 8 rebounds (rebounds not needed tonight), *6* steals, and 8-9 FTs. I love the free throw and steals stats. That's just me though...
Luther Head is trying really, really hard to get the negative attention we give to Rafer. Bad passes, bad shots, an inability to make post passes OR layups, and some ridiculously awful defense on Lowry and Crittenton... I'm thisclose to starting a "Luther Head sucks, too" tag for game reviews. He was that bad tonight. Fortunately we have 10 guys on our team who do not suck, so we could cover for him.
Our new guy, Bobby Jones - he may be one hell of a golfer and he can also shoot the basketball with ease. Problem is, he doesn't seem to do anything else. Not much defense, not much handle of the basketball, no discernable passing ability. He's only on a 10 day contract, but I had higher expectations...
then again, I've been drinking since 7pm. You be the judge.
Rockets 116, Grizzlies 95. That's 14. Hate to say I told you so, but ... alright!!!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Cue Dan Patrick's line... now
I have urgent and horrifying news!
Go Rockets! We're winning 14 in a row!!!Rafer sucks, but he's not a criminal (officially)
(what, did you expect me to write something nice about Rafer? Unlikely!!)
Angry Yao makes me smile
This clip always makes me smile. Sadly, we have another 7 months before we can see Yao go off on an NBA referee again.
Someone else needs to step up in the "unbridled anger" category for the Rockets now. We know it won't be T-Mac. Maybe it will be Carl Landry (they do call a lot of fouls on him!)?
Go Rockets!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Rockets vs Grizzlies Part 4, The Finale
It's Rodeo time here in Houston and I am on a cookoff team that plans to wreck shop with our ribs. That means I won't have time to do a long preview as I have about 10 minutes to type this up. Luckily for me the Rockets are destroying, I mean taking on, the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night. If I am going to have to miss watching a game, this is the one for me to miss.
Memphis Grizzlies: 14-43 (4-23 on the road) 1-9 in their last 10
Houston Rockets: 37-20 (19-9 at home) 10-0 in their last 10
Memphis has won all of 4 games the entire season on the road, at Seattle by 7, at New Jersey by 7, at Orlando by 4 and at Indiana by 18. They've lost 6 in a row overall and 12 in a row on the road. Basically, they suck, badly. A Rockets loss here is unnaceptable even if Yao AND TMac were out.
The Rockets lost to them early in the season when they had absolutely no identity. In the last two wins over the Grizzlies they won by 13 in a game that wasn't even close to that score throughout and by 20 in a game that was even more of a mismatch.
What's my prediction? 14 in a row on the way to 16 in a row.
Oh and Shane will shut Rudy Gay down...again
We are winning 14 in a row! Book it!
Portland won 13 in a row earlier.
Detroit has a couple streaks beyond 10 games.
But the Rockets will have the longest. And most distinguished.
Am I overlooking Memphis? Uh, yeah. If we can't beat Memphis - our whole "we are making the playoffs!" push will seem rather pointless. Sure, Memphis stole one from the Rockets earlier this season. But that was when they had Pau. Now they don't - he's out banging groupies in Los Angeles as we speak.
Besides, we have "Luis Landry" - a pretty good combination. Which we didn't have last year when Yao went out. From David Thorpe's Rookie Watch on ESPN.com:
"• Luis Scola's consistent production is an important part of the Rockets' success. Chuck Hayes, who used to be the Rockets' starting 4, is a glue guy with no offense, while Scola is just as "gluey" and is a capable scorer. He can play off of franchise guys or get his own shot when needed.
• The Rockets have the luxury of playing Carl Landry behind Scola, making Houston strong at the power forward position. Landry could start for some teams right now and is going to be a relative force in this league. Amazingly, at 24 years of age, he's not even the oldest rookie on the team (Scola turns 28 in April)." 
(images courtesy of ClutchFans)
The Rockets continue streaking....... tomorrow night at home against Memphis.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
We are here to stay - that means PLAYOFFS!
Hey, Stephen A. Smith... up yours, buddy!
On SportsCenter last night, they put SAS on camera. For some unknown reason. Anyway, they asked him about the Rockets and the Yao situation. Considering how tough the West is, whether or not the Rockets can survive is a legitimate question today. That I understand. SAS's answer, however... I do not understand (and I am only slightly paraphrasing here):
MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE THE ROCKETS CAN STILL MAKE THE PLAYOFFS WITHOUT YAO MING. I AM NOT ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE. THE ONLY WAY THEY CAN WIN IS TO GIVE THE BALL TO TRACY McGRADY AND THEN GET OUT OF HIS WAY AND SHUT-UP!
(He then proceeds to give like 3-4 other reasons for how we can win, but hey, who's counting?)
I fail to see how Mr. Cheezy Doodles has any expertise on the Houston Rockets. I'm pretty comfortable saying I have a better feel for the team than he does.
Yes, we still have Tracy McGrady. NO - T-Mac should not be shooting 27 times a game for us to win. The Rockets have played soooooo much better when T-Mac is a distributor and seeks to get his teammates involved. If he wants to actually try a layup or two each night, I would not oppose.
Also, we still have a really good team. T-Mac is the cowardly lion in the 4th Q, but "Luis Landry" is not. Shane Battier is a tough character, too. Rafer sucks, but he's at least not afraid to shoot the ball. Bobby Jackson is a playoff tested veteran. Chuck Hayes didn't get his Chinese shoe contract by sucking. This team can (and will) win basketball games against tough competition.
Granted, the Wi--rds are not a good barometer for our ability. They are from the East, and teams from the East suck. I think this season has made that rather clear.
The Rockets are going to make the playoffs. We are going to win at least 50 games. Including the next one, which will give us a perfect February.
I feel I have to say something
There have been a plethora of articles, blog posts and internet rumblings written about Yao in the last day and a half. It's a shame that this doesn't happen for one of 5 guys in the NBA averaging 20 and 10 without it having to be about an injury. It's even more of a shame that these articles mostly seem to focus on calling China out and insinuating that they are behind him sitting out the rest of the season. And most of the ones that aren't putting blame on China are actually coming from China in forms such as Titan Sports saying the Rockets playing Yao so much is why he is injured. Titan actually tried to say that the Rockets lack of a substitute for Yao is why he is injured. I don't throw the term idiots out very often, but there are a lot of those writing in the last day and a half, a lot.
Here's what really happened: Yao is 7'6 and 300+ pounds. He runs hard, he cuts hard and he jumps high, he puts that weight on a size 18 foot. You know what happens when you do that? You quite probably get a stress fracture. You know who is to blame for this? No one. Not the Rockets for playing him the normal, or in some cases lower than normal, minutes expected of a superstar. Not the Rockets training staff for not finding it sooner. They found it in a few weeks,, players have had stress fractures not found for many months. Not China for making him play for the National team, because that is extremely overrated. Basketball players do not really rest in the off-season, at least not the driven ones like Yao. They play in summer leagues and in the Olympics most days of the off-season. Neither the Rockets nor China are to blame, period, end of story.
You know who else isn't at fault? Yao. He wants what is best for everyone even at the jeopardy of himself, I 100% guarantee you that if the Rockets told him that he could play and it wouldn't get worse and that he could also play in the Olympics he would do it. Asking him to play on this injury is selfish and idiotic, it would effectively end his career. Do we really want him to end up like Bill Walton? On the plus side Yao isn't smoking up to forget his troubles and ruining his career by playing on this anyway. He is wisely shutting it down, not because he doesn't love the Rockets or doesn't want to honor his contract, but because he does not want his career to end this way.
Here is the big picture: The Olympics to me are more important, plain and simple. Your country should come shortly after God and family in my book, and for Yao, as the face of Chinese sports, that is doubly true. Yao is too good of a person and to loyal of a teammate to allow that to cloud his judgement, he is out because he has to be. And even if 51% of him does want to play in the Olympics first and foremost, who is to blame him? I know in this day and age when NBA players repeatedly puss out of representing our country it's easy to overlook how big of an honor the Olympics are. At one point in time these guys took it as an honor and a privilege to play in the summer games, now some would besmirch Yao for doing what is right for him and in the short run his country. I for one will not do that.
Good luck to you Yao, get healed up, come back pissed off and destroy these guys. While I won't be cheering for your team in the Olympics, I will be cheering for you to be there, representing your country with your honor and pride. Here at The Dream Shake, we salute you sir.
Lucky 13!
Last night the Rockets came out like most teams after they lose a big player, trying to prove they still belong in the playoffs. The difference is that this team actually won the game going away and actually might have convinced a few people.
The best part of the night? Tracy McGrady sucked, but he only forced his shot 3 times, which is about 9 less than I expected in this game. He did the little things with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block doing what I've begged all year, if your shot isn't falling, find other ways to get involved. He also played some inspired defense.
Luther Head apparently enjoys playing the Wizards, maybe it's because they simply don't guard him at the arc. He led the Rockets for the second time this season in scoring, both times against the Wizards.
Shane Battier was the player of the game for me with 9 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks. He did everything you could dream of him doing when the Rockets traded for him, proving once again to me that the trade was a damn good one.
No post about a Rockets victory would be complete without a Luis Landry update. They combined for 12-13 shooting for 26 points in 44 minutes. They also pulled down 10 rebounds and had 2 assists and 1 steal. Scola started the game off dominating, showing that he could be a big difference maker down the stretch. I think people forget that he was an MVP overseas and in the Olympics, he is a potential star in this league. Landry was a great Big 10 player and is proving the Rockets Daryl Morey is a GM genius. I love both of these guys.
Next up the Rockets take on the Grizzlies at home Friday at 7:30PM CST. I won't be able to check it out, but will probably put up a preview today or early tomorrow morning. For an early preview: Signs point to 14
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
A message from General Cartman Lee
Dear Rockets fans,
It is with a very heavy heart that I must inform you that your adopted son Yao Ming was [figuratively] killed in battle on the morning of February 26, 2008, at the Toyota Center in Houston. This season has taken something from all of us, and, although your son seems to be the only casualty so far, know that we all share your pain. Your son did not die in vain. I shall persevere and make San Antonio and Utah my slaves. Because I hate those guys. I hate them so very, very much.
Yours,
General Cartman Lee
After some time to reflect
I've now had about 3 hours to digest the Yao Ming news.
A few things I have concluded:
1. The Rockets are going to make the playoffs. Even without Yao.
2. "Luis Landry" is going to step up huge for us.
3. When Yao returns in October 2008, he's going to be very, very angry. This is bad news for the rest of the NBA.
While I am still heartbroken and pissed off and confused and dealing with an entire range of emotions commonly associated with grief and mourning - do not doubt for a second the talent still on this team. The Rockets will compete every night (okay, maybe not Rafer). The Rockets will make the playoffs. And, just for good measure, the Rockets will win tonight.
They still will win 16 in a row. On pure adrenaline if necessary. Scola has an abundance of it.
upcoming schedule:
Washington (sans Agent Zero and Tuff Juice?). Winnable.
Memphis (sans NBA talent at all positions?). Winnable.
Denver (sans team players?). Somewhat winnable - but tougher without Yao.
Indiana (sans Jermaine?). Definitely still winnable.
Each of our next four games are at home. We can do this. As Hollinger stated in his chat today, if the Rockets finish 12-14, they still finish the season with 48 wins. That should be enough to at least limp into the playoffs and avoid the lottery. This will be done.
Yao will be missed. But we will win for him. Go Rockets!
It's Not Over
Yao is a huge part of this team, and in my mind its unquestioned leader. But all is not lost. Let's not forget that Golden State and Denver are just okay, they really aren't better than the Rockets, even without Yao.
I'm sticking with my prediction, 16 in a row. Let's kick some ass tonight
Ear Muffs!
Hey, kids, ear muffs!!
(and now I can say whatever I want... but, no, I will not celebrate it):
FFFFFFFFfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!!!
Yao missing tonight's game with foot injury.
Nonononononononononononono.
edit: now he's out for the whole season? There is no God.
Rockets vs. The Wi--rds Part 2
Another game up for the Rockets tonight against Washington at 7:30PM CST in the Toyota Center. I just realized that when the guys pull off their 16th victory in a row, they will be 20 games over .500, pretty impressive considering that they've had a losing record this season as late as January 4th at 16-17.
Washington Wi--rds:27-29 (11-17 on the road) 3-7 in their last 10
Houston Rockets: 36-20 (18-9 at home) 10-0 in their last 10
Our only other meeting of the season, the Rockets were in the middle of a 5 game winning streak that started the season turnaround. McGrady was still out and Luther Head and Yao carried the load. Rafer even came within 3 rebounds of a triple double. Carl Landry wasn't even playing yet.
The Wizards have played much better at home this season and have beaten the following above .500 teams on the road: Dallas by 2 in November, Boston on Jan 12, New Orleans last night by 3 at the buzzer. Not a huge resume of giant killing, but those are three pretty big names.
Caron Butler is still out the last I've seen and it better stay that. Tough Juice is a bad mofo and I don't want him playing. The Rockets have caught some breaks in this recent run and I'm a big fan of these good fortunes continuing.
Note to Shane Battier, fuck DeShawn Stevenson up tonight.
My prediction? 13 in a row
Check out BulletsForever for more
February Blogger NBA MVP Rankings
Lee and I were invited to participate in an NBA MVP and ROY ranking by other notable NBA bloggers. Here's the most recent rankings and results:
Blogger MVP/ROY Rankings: Round 7
and yes, I feel a little dumb not voting for Carl Landry at the time. But I do believe my "Mitch Kupchak" entry on the MVP ballot was inspired.
Who's the MVP?
Dave and I were asked for a second time to join in on the Bloggers MVP/ROY Rankings. This is the 7th edition and we were honored to participate.
The host of this edition is Celtics Blog and the results can be seen here.
Our ballot was as follows:
1. Chris Paul
2. Kobe Bryant
3. Yao Ming, Yao Ming, Yao Ming, Yao Ming...Yao Ming, Yao Ming
4. LeBron
5. KG
6. Nash
7. Dwight Howard
8. Deron Williams
9. Mitch Kupchak - For starting the best trading deadline in NBA history
10. Dirktastic
Monday, February 25, 2008
Carl Landry: ROY?
I knew Carl Landry was like good and stuff, but...
Wow.
and Holy Shit Wow!
Note to self - do not try to dunk or shoot on Carl Landry. He will hurt you. Even if you are an All Star. Ask David West.
Mr. Landry (for all intents and purposes) was introduced to the NBA on January 11th. The Rockets beat down the Minnesota Timberwolves bad. And I mean really, really bad. Like we were Secretariat and Minnesota was everyone else at Belmont. So, Ricky decided to give Landry some run.
In those 20 minutes of action, all Carl did was score 15 points - without missing a shot - grab 11 rebounds (6 offensive) and serve notice to Chuck Hayes that his days are numbered and that Chuck might want to re-read the terms of his soon-to-expire Chinese shoe contract. Landry was here to stay.
(and, consequently, "Luis Landry" was born.)
Since that fateful day, the Rockets have lost exactly three games. Two because Landry didn't play enough, including the Philly debacle. And the third to Utah, which just so happened to be Carl's only "bad" game so far.
Wages for Wins says that Landry is the best shooting, scoring and rebounding rookie forward (per 48 minutes). Landry also leads in WinScore and WP48. And while I do have a degree in applied mathematics (surprise, surprise), I'm too lazy to break down the formulas today. Just go here.
While Kevin Durant is giving us consistent 7-21 performances (in losing efforts), Mr. Landry is giving a workmanlike 62% FG shooting, a PER of 22.71 - which leads all rookies. He's also Gorilla Dunking on anyone who gets in his way. [edit: Here we go!] Ask Cleveland for verification. For some reason his dunk isn't on YouTube yet. Durant will win the ROY probably, but he'll be watching Luis Landry play in May and hopefully June.
Now, if only I/we/someone could get Scola and Landry to actually make free throws, we'd be absolutely unstoppable. Two non-first round rookies. Having more of an impact than anyone taken in this year's 1st round? Daryl Morey is like a genius or something.
Tough win to type about
Not because it was a tough game, but because I'm dumb and sliced the mess out of my index finger on my dominant right hand. As stated previously, I'm prepping for the Rodeo BBQ cook-off coming up and apparently you are not supposed to grab a knife by the blade. Good to know.
The Rockets won in fantastic team minus Alston fashion. Although Rafer shot 50% he was 3-8 at the three point line and had 6 turnovers. The 3-8 isn't that bad, but how he shot 4 of the 5 he missed are. I need the Rafer of the last 11 games back, I actually miss him. That Rafer wasn't forcing bad shots or throwing dumb passes. Last night's Rafer got a little full of himself, hopefully Tuesday he will come back to earth and realize shooting in traffic from the three is not his game. Don't get me wrong, he's been a huge part of this turnaround, I just hope he can continue that way the rest of the season, he's proved that it is within his game, and that my expectations of him are reasonable.
As for the rest of the team, everyone else played great. We shot 50% overall and 54% from behind the arc, 62% if you cut out Rafer. Seven players were in double digits and seven players had 4 or more rebounds. We shot about as well as a blind one armed child could from the free throw line at 54% but maybe we just wanted all of our shooting in the 50% range, who knows. Landry and Scola have too good of a shooting technique respectively to be shooting 50% or less from the line, by the end of the year I think that is fixed. Mostly I think it is because they are so active and they are just too tired by the time they get to the line, the form is there, the accuracy will get there I believe.
Tracy had pretty much a perfect game with 24 points on 7-13 shooting, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and only 1 turnover and 1 foul. He was driving to the hole, playing with the other guys and seemed to be smiling again. Thank you for coming back man, that's 2 games like that, and it's what I want from here on out. This Tracy doesn't lose games, I like this Tracy.
Yao was flustered for the most part but kicked the ball out well when he got it, he just had a bad game overall. These games happen for any big man, he'll bounce back. Chicago was able to get away with a lot of slapping because they have no one with height guarding him and everything happens down low in traffic. That's just the way it is.
Luis Landry was 9-15 for 23 points, 3 offensive and 6 defensive rebounds, 1 block and only 2 turnovers. They also led the league tonight in most bullshit fouls called against. They both completely deserved 1 each of their fouls, Landry slightly deserved another, and they had 5 others called they were completely phantom. It really was ridiculous, and all 5 were called by the same referee, coincidence? Maybe, but I don't think so. They were penalized for hustle and that's just not right, again, don't call something unless you actually see it.
Bobby Jackson was everything I hoped he could be when the trade was announced. He shot over 50% and had 11 high energy points to go with 2 assists. It was an impressive showing in 19 minutes. He got the team up and down the court efficiently and he drove the lane when it was there. He also doesn't have an ugly tearput in his arsenal. I hope he can keep this up for the next season and a 3rd.
Great game overall, I was proud of the guys. They didn't play extremely well, but led by 7-9 most of the game against a Bulls team that really tried hard. Luckily that team hasn't gelled yet and they are still very young. I was impressed with Noah as usual and Tyrus Thomas showed me more than I thought he would ever have. I would not expect too many more 50+% nights from Larry Hughes though.
That's 12 in a row of 16, kicking ass, and forgetting names.
Next up for the Rockets is the Washington Wi--rds, again, no Agent Zero, no A or Z, Tuesday night at 7:00PM CST at Toyota.
There is only one #25 - it's not Gerald Green
What the hell is this? I'm all for the Gerald Green trade. He's a native Houstonian. He's young and athletic. He can blow out candles and dunk at the same time. All good things.
Except this.
There is only one player who deserves to wear #25 with "Houston" or "Rockets" on the front of the jersey. His name is not Gerald Green. It's this guy:
This is almost as insulting as the Oakland Raiders letting LaMont Jordan wear Bo's #34. Yes, it's true - someone else is wearing #34 for the Silver and Black. It's blasphemy. Just like the Rockets letting someone else wear Robert Horry's number.
I realize that Horry isn't retired yet, and that's why his number hasn't been retired officially by the team. Nevertheless, if we can retire Carroll Dawson's "jersey" (with the number "CD"?) - how we haven't retired all of the numbers from the Championship Team is beyond me. Horry played 4 years for Houston. He's going to contribute more than Gerald Green ever will. Of this I have no doubt.
It's insulting enough that Chauncey Billups is trying to infringe upon Horry's should-be-trademarked nickname of "Big Shot ___". Chauncey has made ONE "Big Shot" in his entire career. And that somehow gives him claim to Horry's nickname? Gerald Green has even less of a claim to Horry's number.
Hey, Rockets equipment manager -- fix this egregious mistake before it's too late!!!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
We win again! And again... and again...
That's 12!!!!!!
Rockets clearly the hottest team in the NBA right now. And with four more home games in a row, the streak could conceivably reach 16. Which would be the longest in the NBA this season, and would also be a franchise record.
Just imagine if we could shoot free throws!
or if Luther Head could learn how to make a post entry pass!
or if they'd stop calling B.S. fouls on our foreign guys!
or if Rafer would stop taking stupid shots and turning the ball over 6 times!
Go Rockets!
So I guess I predicted 16 in a row
With the Rockets winning Friday night, that would push my predicted winning streak to 16 in a row. Tonight the guys take on Chicago and try and live up to at least 12 of those. 16 would be the longest winning streak in club history, but first things first.
Chicago Bulls: 22-32 (10-18 on the road) 4-6 in their last 10
Houston Rockets: 35-20 (17-9 at home) 10-0 in their last 10
The Bulls scored 135 the Friday night against the Nuggets. The Rockets have held 8 of their last 9 opponent under 90 points, something has to give.
With the game coming up in 15 minutes I'll keep this nice and short. The Rockets have won 9 of the last 10 versus the Bulls and the last 4 overall.
My prediction? 12 in a row
For another great NBA blog, check out BlogABull, their preview is here
Rockets... Bulls... and being overlooked
Rockets riding an 11 game winning streak into the matchup with the underachieving Chicago Bulls tonight. This after beating down the New Orleans Hornets and CP3 on Friday night. Oh, and that was in New Orleans. Rockets kicking ass and taking names when they hit the road.
Tonight's mission? Stop Ben Gordon. Ben Wallace is no longer there to f--k up the Bulls' chemistry. Joakim Noah is actually going to get playing time. Fortunately we have the "Luis Landry" combination to match his energy level for 48 minutes.
Yeah, I like our rookies better than Chicago's... just look at this guy!
Scola even dresses up better than Noah. (And we do like Noah here, he just acts like a jackass sometimes!)
Meanwhile, I'd be remiss in overlooking this latest quote from the Fat Ass. Shaq to Yahoo:
“Amare Stoudemire is the best big man in the game right now,” O’Neal said. “I didn’t know he was that good. But talking to him and watching him play … he’s the best big man in the game.”
Yo, Shaq - how many times does Yao have to kick your ass before you show him some respect? It's okay, now that you are in the West again, you'll get to see Yao up close and personal a few more times each year. Next time he's going to run you over.
Ahhhh, forget Shaq. His new team just got blown out today. Again. Giving up wayyyy over 100 points. Again. Yeah, nice D there, Shaq. Time to go for an even dozen there, Yao.
It's like Gary Potter says -- harness in the good energy, block out the bad. Harness. Energy. Block. Bad. It's like a carousel. You put the quarter in, you get on the horse, it goes up and down, and around. Circular, circle. Feel it. Go with the flow. Get thee to the Happy Place, Yao!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
A little help from some "friends"
Not only did the Rockets win last night, but a lot of teams in their way lost:
Portland lost 99-87 to Seattle: The Trailblazers are out of the playoff picture now, but they are a winning team, and a loss is still good to solidify one less team to worry about
Golden State lost 117-110 to Atlanta: Somehow they lost this game at home, that's awful. That's losing to Philly at home awful. Atlanta was previously 6-19 on the road. Wow
Denver lost 135-121 to Chicago: This Chicago team was without any of the awful players it traded for, so maybe that actually helped them. Hey! Look at that! You let your young guys play and get back to letting Ben Gordon be awesome and you win! I still have no clue why they are so lukewarm on Gordon, I love that guy.
Utah lost 114-104 to the LA Clippers: This is my favorite loss of them all. Not only is LA terrible, but I hate the Jazz. The game wasn't even that close as the Jazz were down by 20 at the end of 3. Boozer and D-Will both showed up, but no one else did. Plus that now puts them at 18-4 in the New Year, and the fact that I left them out of the hottest team in the league debate yesterday no longer matters. The Rockets now own that outright at 20-4 in the New Year. And we are both tied at 35-20 on the season.
That's 3 bad losses and one not so good loss (Denver), good night overall for the Rockets!
Friday, February 22, 2008
This one goes to 11!
Dave got on me for not using that earlier, but I didn't want to jinx the guys. Now? Fudge it! Eleven wins in a row, and the greatest win of the entire season!! 100-80 and a completely dominating performance, the game really wasn't that close. I have to say, I'm a little surprised, not that they won, but that they won like that. CP3 was shut down. Scola and Landry were everywhere and completely in David West's head (not saying he didn't play well, but he got distracted at times). Yao dominated Chandler every second they were on the floor together as the Hornets inexplicably guarded him 1 on 1. That's just stupid, no team in the league can do that, a team with an undersized "center" is just stupid to try it.
Tracy McGrady from 3 years ago, welcome back, and thanks for finally showing up. Only Kobe can guard this Tracy, that's it, no one else in the league can do it. 34 points on 14-26 shooting with 6 assists and 3 rebounds and only 2 TOs. Great game Tracy, he drove the lane extremely well, ran the fast break and had exceptional elevation on his jumper. All that on back to back nights, simply fantastic to have you back man.
Yao was his normal dominant bad ass self, scoring 28 on 12-21 shooting with 14 rebounds (5 offensive), 2 assists and a block. And he also only turned it over 2 times. And they weren't calling crap tonight, Yao could have about half of those misses back if the refs had been calling it tighter. Not that it bothered me, just saying that a lot of contact was let go. That style of refereeing helps the Rockets overall if called both ways and it was, and consistency is all you can ask for.
Luis Landry combined for 15 points, 20 rebounds and a steal, I love this PF combination! The energy was there, the dunks and layups were there, the good hands and solid defense were there as well. David West had a really good game with 20 and 10, but Luis Landry was in his head at times, causing him to get a technical and bitch a lot at the refs. It was everything we need from these guys come playoff time.
In the first quarter this game was like a playoff game, and the Rockets responded and there was nothing New Orleans could do about it. We cut off the passing lanes with solid defense. It's really impressive that they only had 9 turnovers. All of that can be attributed to the fact that CP3 is a golden god with the ball and just doesn't make bad passes. Of course while there weren't turnovers there were a lot of bad shots at the end of the clock. The defense was suffocating pretty much from beginning to end.
Great game gentlemen! Next up, the Chicago Bulls on Sunday at 7PM CST on ESPN. I'll be cooking for the Houston Rodeo BBQ cook off, so I can't go and will probably be watching it on tape delay.
Let's go Rockets!!
And to the Bulls, thanks for taking out Denver tonight, great job guys! 7 guys in double figures, impressive! Don't expect to put up 135 on the Rockets though. I'm betting BlogABull is riding high right now.
Could it be 11?
The Rockets take on the New Orleans Hornets tonight at 7PM CST in Louisiana.
New Orleans Hornets: 37-15 (18-8 at home) and 7-3 in their last 10
Houston Rockets: 34-20 ( 17-11 on the road) and 10-0 in their last 10 (Ed Note: F YOU DAVE, you could have just changed it!)
The Hornets have won 5 in a row after a rough 3 game losing streak against Golden State at home, then Sacramento and Utah on the road. They are 17-4 to the Rockets 18-4 in the new year making them the second hottest team in the new year. Tonight both team have the ability to claim hottest overall team and the Rockets have a chance to gain a full game on the first place Hornets.
The Hornets stole a game, or rather they kept playing hard in the 4th and the Rockets forgot to do so at home the last time they played. It was brutal, Dave was there in person and I think he almost cried after the game.
My man crush on David West and CP3 has been documented, both of them are everything that is right about the NBA. They play hard every night and are better than anyone could have imagined. I'm nervous about tonight, but for some reason I think we figure them out.
Check out At The Hive for analysis about the Bonzi, MikeJ and Bobby J trade here
What's my full of myself and the Rockets prediction? 11 in a row, cause why not??
Meant to do this earlier, but I suck and forgot. The Hornets have two great blogs, AtTheHive, already linked above and Hornets 24/7 game preview
A double digit photo essay!
Rockets win ten in a row. 10! TEN!
Lee even called that shit shortly after New Year's Day. Impressive. Of course, when I told him I was going to do a bookend photo essay once we hit the magical ten, he claimed that was his idea, too. I called bullshit.
Anyway, after the Rockets dropped a big dime on the rest of the NBA, I present you a Photo Gallery of a Ten Game Winning Streak!
(Mary Lou Retton... hell yeah! And she's a Houstonian, too!)
The NBA schedule maker sets 'em up... the Rockets knock 'em down.
The 11th Commandment: Thou Shalt Not call Yao "soft".
and how could we ever forget the most important #10 in Houston Rockets history?Sam I Am!
10 wins in a row. 34-20 on the season... moving ever closer to the top of the Western Conference. Go Rockets!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
All knowing, All seeing
That's 10 in a row, not to toot my own horn, but I did predict this. Actually, fuck that, I will toot my car horn, my trumpet, my trombone; I'll even toot some stinky stuff. I predicted that. THAT JUST HAPPENED!!
Luis Scola and Carl Landry combined 30 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Why do we need Bonzi again? Yao was 10-11 for 21 points to go with 9 rebounds and a block. Even Tracy found his way to 23 points after starting out very hot, then when he got cold, instead of jacking up shots he drove the lane and dished his way to 10 assists.
I know it was just the Heat, but they played extremely hard, the Heat were in no way just laying down. We played great defense and they still shot 47 % from the field and 50% from the three point line. Our forcing of turnovers is where we built and kept the lead.
Just a sidenote, but Miami is extremely stupid if they don't sign Marion long term.
The Rockets are now 19-4 in 2008 and 34-20 overall on the season. They are in the seventh spot with no tie, one game out of the six spot and only 4 games out of the first overall spot in the conference. And they have a chance to guarantee a one game swing by winning tomorrow night in New Orleans.
Seriously, 10 games in a row, that's fantastic. I had exactly one other person email me telling me I wasn't crazy. I know that we didn't play a hard schedule, but everyone plays the same teams for the most part, and 10 in a row is 10 in a row. And a 10 game winning streak prediction is bad ass. I think that is number 2342 on my list of most awesome things I've ever done, and there are some pretty bad ass things I've done in my life, so that's not a knock on the prediction.
If we can find a way (maybe ask Bobby Jackson for some pointers) to beat New Orleans in Louisiana tomorrow night, we should have a 16 game winning streak going into the game at Dallas on March 6th. We play: NO on the road then have 5 home games in a row with Chicago, Washington, Memphis, Denver and Indiana. Only NO and Denver should really be games in that schedule.
I'm just going to enjoy 10 in a row for the rest of the night, it's a wonderful thing!
The art of trade negotiations
Somehow the Rockets acquired Gerald Green - a 22 year old native Houstonian dunk champion with lots of talent but a 10 cent head - for Kirk Snyder (whom we never used) and a 2nd round draft pick that will probably be used on some 6'11" awkward white power forward who never makes it to training camp.
All in all, quite the day of wheeling and dealing for young Mr. Morey. We like it.
Of course, his trade partner in the Green deal was none other than Kevin McHale. I can only imagine how that phone call went. Actually, I'm quite certain that it would have been patterned after the Eric Cartman School of Negotiation Tactics:
Morey: (calling McHale) Hello, Kevin - hey, it's Daryl Morey.
McHale: who? I'm pretty busy right now. My fantasy baseball season is about to start and I just realized that this Albert Pujols fella isn't a pitcher. I've got an offer from this moron to give me Randy Johnson for him. Can you believe it - Randy Johnson!!
Morey: [signaling to Rick Adelman and Les Alexander to come in - puts McHale on speakerphone] Wow, Kevin, that's quite a steal you got there. Say, I hear you might be looking to make a few deals for the Minnesota Timberwolves. What are ya gonna offer me?
McHale: Well, I really like Antoine Walker, but he's killing me on the nightly catering. I can't afford to feed him much longer. Can you take him off my hands?
Morey: Ahhh, you're breakin' my balls, Kevin. Breakin' my balls. What am I supposed to do with Antoine?
McHale: Well, what about Marco Jaric? He has this really skinny girl he brings around. I don't know why but the other players keep asking him about her. It's really distracting. Even my buddies ask me about this girl.
Morey: (giggling) Sorry, Kevin, I can't take on that kind of distraction here either. Besides, we've already got a couple foreign guys in Yao and Luis.
McHale: Who?
Morey: Uhhh, Yao Ming. You may have heard of him? No? Uhhh...
Say, Kev', what about Gerald Green. Would you possibly be interested in trading him?
McHale: I guess. What use do I have for a guy who can't even remember to wear shoes when he plays basketball? How 'bout you give me that Yao fella and a 1st round pick and we call it a deal?
Morey: Awww, you're breakin' my balls, Kev'... breakin' my balls here!
McHale: Well, gosh, I gotta do something... what about just a first round pick?
Morey: Awww, you're breakin' my balls Kev'... you're hurting me!
McHale: Jeez, what about a 5th round pick?
Morey: Kevin, our draft only has 2 rounds these days. But since you've been so kind, what about a 2nd round pick. And you know what... I'll even throw in Kirk Snyder to make the salaries match!
McHale: Kyle who? What can he do?
Morey: Wow - Kevin - you're missing out. This Snyder kid can do it all. He can run, jump, play defense... do you know no one has scored on him all year?
[Adelman (whispering): Daryl - that's cause he hasn't played all year!]
McHale: That sounds great! They are really getting on me here about KG. I miss that guy. He even sent me a Thank You card for Christmas this year! Isn't he the nicest guy?
Morey: So... Kirk Snyder and our 2nd round draft pick for Gerald Green? Deal?
McHale: Well, what about that McGrady guy?
Morey: Awwww, you're breakin' my balls, Kev'!!!
McHale: Okay, okay - Deal!!!
Welcome Home Young Mr. Green?
According the David Aldridge, the Rockets traded Kirk Snyder and a second round pick for Gerald Green. Do I like it? Hell yes, I think Green has a ton of upside and is only 22 years old. He's extremely athletic and can dunk in socks, I hope this is true
Oh, the gentlemen, wait, they aren't gentlemen, the guys over at Hardwood Paroxysm have a great trade thread going. It's where I got the above nugget of info from: Trade Thread
At least the Sports Guy isn't our GM
The Sports Guy is convinced that he could be a good NBA GM. Sometimes his proposed trades and deals do make complete logical sense. Then he throws this one out there:
Houston trades Shane Battier, Kirk Snyder and its 2008 No. 1 pick to Sacramento for Ron Artest and a 2008 No. 2 pick.
Why Sacramento does it: That's a pretty good haul for Artest when he could bolt four months from now -- a valuable supporting guy at a fair price, along with a pick in the low 20s. So what if Battier went to Duke? You can't hold that against him. He didn't know any better when he signed there.
Why Houston does it: The deal knocks them under the luxury tax and makes the Rockets a little more interesting as a title contender -- they could go small with Artest at the 4 and/or run plays for him at crunch time, and he'd give them a fiestiness and an edge they don't quite have right now. The Rockets seem a little soft to me. I'm not saying it's Battier's fault, but he's the best trade chip for them because of his contract and his pedigree. You could always use Shane Battier on your team. I like this deal for both teams, actually.
____________________
The Rockets seem a little SOFT?!?!
Granted, we just traded our one token crazy guy who might actually beat you up after the game. But contrary to popular opinion, Yao is not soft. Ask Chris Kaman, Kevin Garnett... and especially Malik Rose.
T-Mac is soft. So, I'll move on. But it's Yao's team now.
Carl Landry is soft? Yeah, ask the Cavaliers about that. And review Tuesday's Gorilla Dunk in traffic. He got the "T" just to prove a point I bet.
Luis Scola is soft? Hell no. I won't even dignify that thought with a response.
Rafer is soft? Uhhh, maybe, but he's also got gang connections, so I will recuse myself from an opinion here.
Shane Battier is by no means soft. Even if he went to Duke.
Aaron Brooks is not soft... you can't be a midget and get to the NBA if you are soft.
Hell, aside from T-Mac the only "soft" personality associated with the Rockets is our coach. But the players still have a lot of JVG left in 'em, so I'm not worried about Ricky infecting the Rockets with any leftover softness.
That said, I like Crazy Pills. Artest could be a great player. But he might scare McGrady. And T-Mac already has a big enough mental block about playing strong. Artest might have a miscommunication with T-Mac in the locker room and beat his ass. We can't risk that.
Simmons, thank you for the motivation. Yao is getting angrier and angrier. Calling him "soft" a few more times might just turn him into the NBA's Cloverfield Monster.
Whatchoo talkin bout Willis?
I have listened to a decent amount of talk radio this morning and read a decent amount of message boards, and here's the overriding feeling I keep seeing: "I can't believe we traded such a great player for nothing, he's been fantastic this year". To which I have the following to say:
What the fuck are you talking about? Bonzi was alright this year, far from anything special. Far from a good chemistry guy. I wish I knew somewhere that tracked missed lay-ups and ole defense, because I can just about guarantee that he leads the league in both. I can remember all 9 times he played defense, because I made a point to say to whoever I was watching the game with that "Holy crap, Bonzi just played defense". He is averaging 9.2 PPG and 5.1 rebounds, most of which were garnered while Tracy was out. And I know Tracy could go down any minute, but face facts, we are screwed either way if he does, so keeping Bonzi doesn't help us at all. Are you really telling me that Scola and Landry can't make up for his minutes and split up his stats 4.6 PPG each and 2.525 rebounds each per game? I'm betting they can, and so is Daryl Morey.
In his last 20 games he's had one that was great, and 2 that were good, the rest were easily replaceable. And I think the 3 that weren't easily replaceable were still able to be replaced. His "great" game came against Cleveland last week at 13 points and 10 rebounds. That was a game that 3 of his 9 good defensive plays came in. I'd personally rather have Landry and Scola, hell even Head in the game in his place giving more every night than an occasional good night from Bonzi.
I like every single part of this trade. I even like that New Orleans has Bonzi and that we can now take advantage of it. This trade is about now, and Bobby Jackson might be able to help us now, and it he can't, the trade can be about tomorrow as well. Can you imagine having to pay Mike James for two more years? That's insane.
So to recap: It's good because 1. Bobby Jackson might be able to help with instant offense 2. Bonzi can no longer miss lay-ups or not play defense or jack up 30 foot 3 point shots for us or make a costly turnover because he's lazy 3. He will be doing all of that for the number one team in the West 4. Scola and Landry will be our crunch time guys no longer allowing Adelman to live in the past with Bonzi and 5. We are out from under Mike James' contract 6. Bonzi is not a chemistry guy, I truly believe the team tunes him out. They probably like him as he seems like a fun guy, but he's not going to be missed. Especially by Scola or Landry.
It is bad because: 1. It's not at all, even a little bit 2. See number 1
Plus maybe Bobby will get under McGrady's skin and make him drive to the basket more:
Next up, go quickly and sign Nick Fazekas
Out with the crazy, in with the wins!
Trade one former Rick Adelman favorite for another. But I like the one we are getting. For the first time in what seems like forever... we have an actual legitimate 6th man off the bench. I'm okay with Rafer starting so long as Bobby Jackson is the closer. That does kill a lot of playing time for Aaron Brooks, but he'll get over it.
Of course... odds are Bobby will get hurt on the plane flight to Houston. I'm willing to risk it.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Suspend Disbelief, The Rocket could Win 10 in a Row
A while back Dave and I were tossing the idea around of putting up our predictions for the rest of the season. I came up with the idea that the Rockets could win 10 in a row. It seemed preposterous at the time, but just seemed like it could come true so I went with it. Now here we are on the precipice of TheDreamShake history. We could be right TWICE and by we I mean me, Dave said we'd go 7-3 in this streak, but I think he started to believe after win 1, so I'll let him pile on. I know, y'all never thought it could happen, but we might actually know what we are talking about (about some things anyway).
On Thursday night the Rockets take on the Miami Heat, I know they never make it on TV, so just some history. They are from Miami, FL and used to have the "Human Get fouled even without Getting Touched Machine" and the "Big Fouls Every time He Plays Defense or Offense and never gets called for it". Now there is no more Shaq, but they added the Matrix who I won't make fun of because I think he's one of the most underrated players in the league. The game is at 7PM CST at the Toyota Center. I keep thinking about going, but haven't found anyone else that can make it and don't really feel like going by myself.
Miami Heat: 9-42 (4-21 on the road) 1-9 in their last 10, including 9 losses in a row
Houston Rockets: - 33-20, (16-9 at home) and 9-1 in their last 10, including 9 wins in a row
On the road, their 4 wins came against: The Knicks by 3 in November, the Nets by 4 in November, the Clippers by 6 in December and somehow, inexplicably the Suns by 4 in December. Those two wins came on back to back nights on the 9th and 10th, so they haven't won on the road in 71 days. They are 1-21 in January to the Rockets 18-4. With that being said, it's been well documented here that the Rockets are one of their 9 victims, and their first at home all year, so I'm not taking this game for granted at all. But, if the Rockets lose this game, I don't know if I can handle it. If you think I melted down after the two Philly losses, you don't want to see me for about two weeks if we find a way to blow this game.
With both teams on opposite ends of the spectrum one on a 9 game winning streak, and the other on a 9 game losing streak, my choice should be obvious, right? So what's my prediction? 10 in a row, 10 in a row, 10 in a row, 10 in a row, 10 in a row, 10 in a row, 10 in a row, 10 in a row, 10 in a row, 10 in a row. I seriously can't wait for tomorrow night
"Team" is greater than "Individual"
LeBron had a triple double. His 5th on the season.
*Yawn*
Luis Scola had 15 points, 8 rebounds, a lot of flying hair and made all the women in Cleveland swoon. He even made all 3 of his free throws!
Holy hell, even Rafer Alston had 22 points. AND he shot over 50% from the field. But he still can't shoot free throws, so no women swoon for him.
Rockets 2, the LeBrons 0 for 2007-08.
Oh, and that's 9 in a row. One more win and Lee will be unbearable to listen to for a month!
note: Today would have been Kurt Cobain's 41st birthday. Wow. Happy b-day, Kurt!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
That's 9, One more till I say I told you so
The Rockets played a horrendous game for three quarters, then turned it on in the fourth. They overcame one of the worst field goal percentage days of Yao Ming's career. Some of that was done by Yao going a perfect 10-10 from the line and pulling down 14 rebounds. They also survived a triple double from Bron Bron, who basically set out to tell Dave to suck it. He had 11 assists and the rest of his team made 23 shots, so without his help they were only able to make 12 shots. That's just sad. I now agree that his teammates are awful (Except for Gooden, I like that guy) and understand why he is begging for new ones. Of course Dave has a great point, he also begged for Big Z to stay and to get Larry Hughes, so he reaps what he sowed. Maybe they should just tell him to shut up and not let him player evaluate.
There isn't a ton to say about the game, both teams shot horribly, the Rockets just found a way to close it out, they are the better team, plain and simple. That makes the streak 9 in a row on the road, 18-4 in 2008 and 9 in a row overall. The 9 in a row on the road is the longest streak in club history, tying the streak set in the first championship season.
Next game up is against the lowly Miami Heat on Thursday night at 7:00PM CST to make it 10 in a row. Of course I probably shouldn't get too excited as the Rockets are actually one of their NINE wins on the season, so maybe I shouldn't be so cocky, but come on! It's the freaking Heat!
Now we just need GS to lose (Utah would win, again putting me in a dilema) and Boston to take out Denver
This is an injustice!
This here blog has been operational for not quite four months now.
In that time, we've managed to dedicate about 35% of our time to telling you that Rafer Alston sucks (he does. He really, really does. Trust me.). We've also spent another 35-40% of our time telling you how much of a badass Yao Ming is (and in contrast, how much of a coward T-Mac has become).
That leaves about 25-30% of our time - which we dedicated to abstract, obscure and totally off-the wall pop culture references. Like... here. here. here. here. and here.
And yet, I see this completely unoriginal and obvious movie comparison link:
http://www.fannation.com/blogs/post/155059
and then I see that it has been linked by SI.com's "Hot Clicks" today.
Really? Comparing the Houston Rockets to Rush Hour 3? Not even Rush Hour 1 or 2? How obvious and unoriginal does one have to be? Yao is Chinese... ooh, that's new!
What about us?!?!?
Keep it up. Make Yao any angrier and the appropriate movie comparison will be this one:
THERE WILL BE BLOOD.
I smell an Academy Award. And a huge post-season.
On Notice - LeBron James??
Rockets v. Cavaliers tonight in Cleveland. 6pm CST
(that's really early guys - I'm still going to be at work. Can we change this? No??)
Oh, well - anyway, the Rockets are riding an 8 game winning streak and yet would not be in the playoffs if they started today. Fortunately for all of us, the playoffs DO NOT start today - so we can save all the mathematical "what ifs" until early April.
Moving along, over the past year or so, I've noticed something. LeBron James is starting to irritate the #@(&# out of me. His first two years in the league - he was great. I made time to watch him play whenever he was on TV. Now? Let's just say I'm putting him ON NOTICE:
A few caveats before we begin:
1. I firmly believe that LeBron James is the second best player in the NBA, behind Kobe Bryant. (Yao Ming excluded from conversation for obvious bias issues I have.)
2. I realize LeBron is only 23 years old.
3. I have no doubt that LeBron will win at least one championship before he retires.
That said... LeBron, you are coming dangerously close to being categorized among the "Players I Despise" along with Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, Emmitt Smith, Mike Piazza, Donovan McNabb and Hines Ward. Yes, I despise Hines Ward. That f--ker smiles all the time and yet his TD dances/celebrations consist of nothing but imitating someone else's signature dance. Get some originality, asshole.
Why is LeBron pushing the limits?
First, he's been handed the keys to the NBA without ever really doing anything. Yes, he's been to the NBA Finals. Where he lost. Say, Karl Malone can say the same thing - and we all consider him to be a huge choke artist still. Yes, LeBron is a two-time NBA All Star MVP. (Ray Allen should have won it Sunday, btw.) Yes, LeBron is always a threat to achieve a triple-double.
Nonetheless, I have one important question, Bron Bron - have you ever made any of your teammates better? The supposed knock against Kobe is that he never made anyone else play better alongside him. Yet it's pretty clear that his pushing and prodding have made Bynum, Farmar, Derek Fisher, Ronnie Turiaf and even Chris Mihm... play better than they ever have before. LeBron? Name one player who has improved because LeBron is his teammate?
Larry Hughes? All Star for the Wizards, unfortunate namesake of a blog dedicated to futility now.
Big Z? Was an All Star before LeBron. Now reduced to begging for shots and time on the court.
Donyell Marshall? Was a huge contributor for nearly a decade. (Do you realize he co-owns the record for most 3s made in a game... with Kobe?). With LeBron - Donyell is now reduced to forgetting to even put on a jersey before the game.
Damon Jones? Important contributor to a Miami team... comes to Cleveland and immediately becomes a bench scrub.
Drew Gooden? Hahahahahaha... I can't even finish the thought. LeBron didn't even have the decency to tell Gooden to cut that duck tail hair thing off last year.
Hell, even Carlos Boozer may have been held back by LeBron. Boozer is a prick but he's a stud PF for Utah now. Hard to say he made the wrong choice in leaving the Chosen One behind.
Meanwhile, LeBron James has referred to himself as a "Global Icon" - or has at least expressed an interest in this being his true goal in life. Yet when a teammate asks him to take part in a campaign to stop the death and destruction in Darfur, LeBron claims ignorance and wants no part of it.
Hell, even Tracy McGrady is getting involved in the Darfur issue!
Then there is this. There is absolutely no explanation for this:
Yeah, taunt your home fans! Good plan!*cough*Douchebag!*cough*
Go Rockets!
Rockets vs. Cavaliers Round 2
I'll be out of pocket all day, but wanted to toss this up real quick. The Rockets play the Cavaliers tonight at 6:00PM CST in Cleveland.
Cleveland Cavaliers: 29-23 (15-9 at home) and 6-4 in their last 10
Houston Rockets: 32-20 (16-11 on the road) and 9-1 in their last 10
The Cavs are decidedly less hot than they were when they came into Toyota just a few games ago, losing 3 of 5 including games to the Rockets, Nuggetts and Spurs. They beat Atlanta and Orlando.
Can't say much more, need to go.
My prediction? Win number 9 in a row of 10. Let the rest of the season begin!
Monday, February 18, 2008
NBA Tie-Breakers Part Deux
So in my haste to put up the tie-breakers I neglected to find the rules for a three way tie. A tie of which we currently find the Rockets, Warriors and Nuggets in.
(Editors Note: I was wrong and so is ESPN, the Rockets are actually in 9th place right now, or at least they are until tomorrow night.)
According to ESPN, here they are:
In the event two or more teams are tied in the standings, a series of tiebreakers are applied to determine which team receives the higher seeding.
Two-Team Tiebreaker
1. Better record in head-to-head games
2. Higher winning percentage within division (if teams are in the same division)
3. Higher winning percentage in conference games
4. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in own conference
5. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in opposite conference
6. Higher point differential between points scored and points allowed
Three-Team Tiebreaker
1. Best head-to-head winning percentage among all teams tied
2. Highest winning percentage within division (if teams are in the same division)
3. Highest winning percentage in conference games
4. Highest winning percentage against playoff teams in own conference
5. Highest point differential between points scored and points
allowed
Dunk Contest Recap by Kenny Smith
Hey everyone, this is Kenny Smith, here to give you a little review of the NBA dunk contest! For some reason this contest really turned me into Stephen A. Smith and I wanted to scream my joy from the top of Mt. Everest.
I'm just going to skip over Rudy Gay's dunks as they were nice, but made me want to go home so that I didn't have to watch them. Those dunks just weren't going to get it done son.
JAMARIO, JAMARIO, JAMARIO, STARTS US OFF WITH A SENSATIONAL DUNK DOING A 360, THAT'S RIGHT A 360 DUNK THAT HE SELF ALLEY-OOPED OFF THE FLOOR, I WANTED TO GO HOME THINKING THE CONTEST WAS OVER RIGHT THEN AND THERE
THEN D-HO COMES OUT AND MAKES ME SHOUT, I WAS GOING TO GO HOME, PUNCH MY DOG AND THEN MAKE SWEET LOVE TO MY WIFE ON THE KITCHEN COUNTER AFTER HOWARD JUMPS FROM BEHIND THE BASKET BANKS IT OFF THE BACK, AND DUNKS IT WITH HIS HEAD STILL BEHIND THE BASKET LEFT HANDED. THAT'S A 7 FOOTER, IT'S EASY FOR HIM, THAT'S JUST CRAZY, HE'S LIKE A KID OUT THERE.
AFTER THAT GERALD GREEN COMES OUT, PUTS A CUPCAKE ON THE BACK OF THE RIM, BLOWS IT OUT AND DUNKS THE BALL. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? HE DIDN'T DO THAT, THAT'S CRAZY TALK; THE SLAM DUNK CONTEST IS BACK. THAT DUNK CONTEST MADE ME WANT TO GO HOME, EAT SOME CUPCAKES AS I'M NAKED IN A BUBBLE BATH, ALL WHILE GETTING FELLATED BY THREE STRIPPERS. HE BLEW THE CUPCAKE OUT PEOPLE, BLEW IT OUT, THAT IS INCREDIBLE. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING NOT GIVING HIM A 50 ON THAT DUNK??
JAMARIO TRIED TO TOP IT ALL BY PUTTING A PIECE OF TAPE 6 FEET BEHIND THE FREE THROW LINE. If he had actually completed it from where the tape was I'd still be yelling now, I would have had to have left and gone home to eat some beignets probably out of hooker's belly button while pleasuring myself with some Huey Lewis and the News on the stereo and American Psycho on the TV. But he didn't, so I stayed.
I liked, but didn't love Gerald Green's next dunk, McCants held the ball up as Green put his head above the rim and caught the ball and did a windmill dunk. It was nice, but I can't see obviously because I wanted him to actually take the ball out of McCants hands instead of McCants actually throwing it higher and making it a more difficult shot.
DWIGHT HOWARD THEN WINS THE CONTEST, THE BIG FELLA WON, SUPERMAN WAS IN THE BUILDING, IT WAS INCREDIBLE, DID YOU SEE IT, THEY EVEN PLAYED THE MUSIC! CHARLES EVEN WANTED TO KNOW IF THIS IS WHERE ARE YOU KIDDING ME HAPPENS. I'M GLAD I DIDN'T GO HOME THEN, BUT I WANTED TO SO I COULD GO LOOK FOR BIGFOOT, OFFER HIM SOME BEEF JERKY, THEN TAKE IT AWAY. THEN I WOULD GIVE IT BACK TO HIM THEN TAKE IT AWAY. THEN I WOULD INVITE HIM OVER TO HAVE A THREESOME WITH ME AND TYRA BANKS. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EPIC, BUT I COULDN'T GO HOME JUST YET SO THE POOR BIGFOOT BIG FELLA HAD TO WAIT FOR NEXT TIME.
GERALD GREEN MADE ME GLAD I STAYED AS HE GOT A PASS FROM BEHIND THE BACKBOARD, PUT IT BETWEEN HIS LEGS AND DUNKED THE BALL DOWN THROUGH THE RIM AND NET. IT DIDN'T MAKE ME WANT TO GO HOME, BUT IT MADE ME WANT TO GO TO THE HOTEL AND SNORT SOME COKE OFF OF SOME CHICK FROM NEW ORLEANS MAMMARIES.
BIG FELLA, BIG FELLA, BIG FELLA, I CAN'T BELIEVE DWIGHT HOWARD DID HIS NEXT DUNK. I HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THAT IN A VIDEO GAME!!! HE BOUNCED IT OFF THE GROUND, HIT IT WITH HIS LEFT HAND OFF THE BACKBOARD THEN DUNKED IT WITH HIS RIGHT HAND!! I ACTUALLY QUIT MY JOB AND WENT HOME FOR A FEW SECONDS. I THOUGHT THE SUPERMAN WAS TOP 5 ALL TIME, THEN HE WENT AND DID THIS AND NOW HE HAS TWO TOP 5 OF ALL TIME DUNKS!!
I WAS PACKING MY BAGS TO LEAVE WHEN GERALD GREEN DUNKED BAREFOOT, BUT I WAS STILL READY TO GO HOME FROM HOWARD'S DUNK. I WAS READY TO GO DOWN TO BOURBON STREET, DRINK SOME HURRICANE'S, KNOCK UP TWO DIFFERENT CALL GIRLS, EAT SOME MUFFALETTA, THEN DRIVE TO THE AIRPORT, ALL WHILE I WAS TEXTING B FOR DWIGHT HOWARD TO WIN THE WHOLE MAMA-JAMA. I ACTUALLY GAVE DWIGHT MY VOTE FOR MVP OF THE LEAGUE BECAUSE HE WON THE DUNK CONTEST.
THE CRAZY THING IS THAT AFTER ALL THOSE LEGENDARY, AWE-INSPIRING, SPLENDIFEROUS DUNKS, D-HO HAD ONE MORE THAN BLEW MY SOCKS OFF. HE PUT A SMALL BASKET UP THEN PUT A BALL ON IT. HE GRABBED THE BALL FROM UP THERE, DID A WINDMILL AND WON THIS THING GOING AWAY. I MEAN, HE COULD HAVE DONE THIS LAST YEAR, BUT WE MISSED OUT BECAUSE PEOPLE CAN'T COUNT TO 12'6". IF I ACTUALLY TOOK A SECOND TO THINK OF ALL THESE DUNKS AT ONCE WHILE I WAS THERE, I'M PRETTY SURE THAT I WOULD HAVE BEEN ON A PLANE BEFORE I KNEW WHAT WAS HAPPENING, HAVING SEX WITH A STEWARDESS IN FIRST CLASS, WHILE DRINKING FREE FIRST CLASS HURRICANES MADE FROM MIX I BOUGHT AT PAT O'BRIENS, THINKING OF DWIGHT HOWARD INSTEAD OF THE STEWARDESS, EATING BEIGNETS, GETTING READY TO PUNCH MY DOG WHEN I GOT OFF THE PLANE, AND HAVING BIG FOOT SIT NEXT TO ME WATCHING THE WHOLE THING.
While I was away...
Oh, yeah, the All Star game.
I guess I should do a token analysis. We did have a few players there. I can't figure out what Dikembe was doing there though. Other than cheering for every dunk, even the ones that suck. Gotta love the cookie monster.
The Dunk Contest. Yeah, Dwight Howard was impressive. The self-alley-oop off the backboard. The behind-the-backboard left handed dunk. The little basket prop. And the non-dunk Superman Dunk. All insanely impressive.
Gerald Green had two impressive dunks as well. But he showed a complete absence of anything resembling charisma. Except for that "Houston" tattoo he has.
The contest itself was sorely lacking in this though:
Dunking Power Dancers. You can't beat that Dwight.
But you have proven that you can knock them up!
We will not discuss the Rookie Game. Scola has a gold freakin' medal. He has no use for standing around to watch former University of Texas players chuck three-pointers. Boobie shot TWENTY 3s in one game?!?!?
What about the All Star Game itself?
Hmmmm, no Kobe. No KG. And no one would pass the ball to Yao. Boring. I think I only watched about half the game. Ray Allen misses two FTs, but makes the important 3-pointers? Yeah, that makes sense.
Rockets v. Cleveland tomorrow night. Going for 9 in a row. That's what matters!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Q&A with AndOne from Cleveland.com
The first game out of the break for the Rockets is against the Cleveland Cavaliers. It is also know as win number 9 of 10 in a row. Dave and I did a little Q&A with Carolyn aka Q Town Mayor over at the And One blog for Cleveland.com.
Check out our answers to Carolyn's questions here
1. What was the worse free agent decision in the summer of 2005 - Larry Hughes (a bad contract to go with bad shot selection), re-signing Z (even though LeBron wants to run and Z can't run), or Donyell Marshall (who I am still mad at for ruining my NCAA tournament bracket when he was at UConn and lost in round 2)? I think it's gotta be Hughes, but...
Answer: I love my guys and like to think everyone brings their own set of skills to the table. The problem is whether those elements mesh into a cohesive team. I'm worried Larry isn't happy with his situation and that is never productive but I'm not willing to criticize any of them. Also, Larry Hughes may have just needed more time; he's been playing well lately.
2. What is the most important thing the Cavaliers need to do to get back to the NBA Finals (i.e., acquire a player, fire a coach, fire a GM, etc.)?
Answer: Stop falling, tripping, twisting and breaking body parts. What players should be acquired/traded? As opposed to acquiring a new player, I would like to see the Cavs cultivate someone like Devin Brown or Cedric Simmons. Positive criticism, mentoring, a general feeling of belonging go a long way to creating confidence which is the key to success on the court.
3. What do the Cavs need to do to make sure that LeBron doesn't go play for Jay-Z and New Jersey when he's a free agent in 2 years?
Answer: Drop off his mom, Gloria, at Exit 13 on the NJ Turnpike for a day or two. Maybe free tickets to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and one of Akron's famous Hummers would entice The Kidd to Ohio. Also, see my Open Letter to LeBron (http://blog.cleveland.com/andone/2008/02/an_open_letter_to_lebron_james.html).
4. Who is your favorite Cavalier of all time? I've read your background on your injury and getting into the playoffs that year, but did you have a history with the team?
Answer: At the moment, it's Austin Carr. As a former player and now as a commentator, it's clear he cares about the Cavs - their history, their reputation, their future, their health – almost as much as I do. I personally have no history with the Cavs. Grew up in NJ and came to Ohio by way of Iowa, Western New York and Hotlanta. As a kid, I watched a lot of baseball and played soccer and basketball with my older brother. As an adult, I became somewhat sedentary; first due to work obligations and then due to medical complications. Discovering the NBA world and LeBron and the Cavs has done more for my well being than any surgery I've had.
5. I'm a firm believer that LeBron should average 10 assists a game. No player in the league gets more triple teams and no player in the league is allowed to travel more to get through those triple teams. That should lead to more assists. He's averaging over 7 the last time I looked, and that's great, but why isn't he at 10? I know Larry Hughes can't shoot, but Jones and Gibson can.
Answer: Again, I agree with the basic premise. 10 assists per game from a player of LeBron's caliber is not an unreasonable goal. I've seen LB's game evolve over the past two years and I'm sure there is more to come. Additionally, passing the ball depends on the active players at any given moment. There's definitely chemistry between LeBron and Boobie (Gibson) which works when Boobie is on the floor and open for a pass. Our injury rate has painfully reduced passing options which is part of the "healthy team as a necessity for success" argument. My guess is that we'll see more assists per game in the playoffs and future seasons.
6. What's your hope for the rest of the season? I think you need to get healthy as a team and need to have Larry Hughes have more 40 point games like he did before he got there.
Answer: A healthy team is a necessity. One or two injured players is a minor aggravation; five or six makes you want to default or call a do-over. If our injured guys can heal during the All Star break, we have the ability to win 50 games for the third season in a row and be ready to rock the Playoffs.
7. What's your final season prediction?
Answer:
Eastern Conference
1. Detroit Pistons
2. Boston Celtics
3. Cleveland Cavaliers
4. Orlando Magic
5. Toronto Raptors
6. Atlanta Hawks
7. New Jersey Nets
8. Washington Wizards
Western Conference
1. Phoenix Suns
2. Los Angeles Lakers
3. Dallas Mavericks
4. San Antonio Spurs
5. New Orleans Hornets
6. Utah Jazz
7. Denver Nuggets
8. Houston Rockets
That ends the Q&A, thanks again Carolyn!!
It's President's Day!
Wikipedia has a bunch of rankings. Things I believe 1. JFK was a shitty president; any ranking with him in the top ten is bullshit 2. As much as I love Ronnie Ray-Gun and believe he is a top 10 president, I don't want controversy. 3. As much as Bill Clinton the person makes me laugh and I actually like him, he is not a top 20 president
I kind of like the Wall Street Journals list and even though it made number 2 an issue, I said screw it. I don’t agree with it completely, but it’s the closest to what I do believe to be the top 10 in US History. So here it is, the Presidents of the Houston Rockets.
10. Otis Thorpe as Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was nicknamed "Old Hickory" because he was renowned for his toughness. I’m actually a little pissed off that I never called Otis Old Hickory. That would be a perfect nickname for him. They are also in the top 10 of all time in odd categories, Jackson in most bullets left in him from duels, and Thorpe is 10th all time in personal fouls. A few items of note about Otis, taken directly from Wikipedia:18th in games played (1257)
20th in minutes played (39822)
58th in field goals (6872)
14th in field goal percentage (.546)
13th in offensive rebounds (3446)
20th in defensive rebounds (6924)
31st in total rebounds (10370)
25th in turnovers (2774)
10th in personal fouls (4146)
61st in points (17600)
35th in true shooting percentage (.584)
9. Elvin Hayes as James K. Polk
Polk was the 11th president, and in his first stint with the Rockets Hayes wore number 11. Am I stretching it with this comparison? You bet your ass I am. I have to admit, I really don’t know much about Polk or Hayes. They both accomplished what they set their minds to. Polk completed the manifest destiny of the US and Hayes made it to college as the first African American alongside Don Chaney on the Houston Cougars. Considering he didn’t start playing basketball until right before High School, that shows some pretty good will power. I never got to see Elvin play, and he only had 5 or so seasons with the Rockets, but he’s a Hall of Famer and played college ball in Houston as well, so he’s on this list.8. Robert Horry as Dwight D. EIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIsenhower
My favorite non-Hakeem, non-Yao Rocket of all time and my favorite president of all time, pretty fitting. I like Ike and I like Big Shot Rob (Bob is bullshit, his name is Robert). DDE is a Texan and the first Texan born president, Horry started his career in Houston both had extremely successful. Eisenhower tried to get into the Naval Academy and was denied, he then went into the Military Academy at West Point, graduated then managed to kick German ass all over the place after graduation. Horry came to the Rockets as most people wanted Harold Minor, but kicked ass quickly and as a young guy won our first two (and so far only two) championships. Both were appreciated more in history than they were when they were actually around, Horry after he left the Rockets and Eisenhower after he had been out of office for a while. Plus Ike is Al Bundy's favorite President, and Al Bundy knows all.7. Clyde Drexler as Harry Truman
Clyde was only with the Rockets a few years, but his total career and his contribution to the Rockets second championship are enough to make this list. Much like Truman his career accomplishments were much more impressive as you look back on them. He was always a great player, but Jordan overshadowed him his entire career. Truman was a very good president (for a Democrat) but was sandwiched between FDR and Eisenhower. Truman effectively ended World War II with the atomic bomb and was around for the founding of the United Nations, the Marshall plan, the Truman Doctrin, the creation of NATO and the Korean War. Clyde was named one of the 50 greatest of all time, has a top ten nickname (The Glide), played in 10 All Star games, 35th in minutes played even though he is 54th in games, 26th in field goals, 39th in offensive rebounds, 26th in assists, 7th in steals, 26th in points, and 17th in Win Shares.6. Rudy T as Ronald Reagan
My favorite president of my lifetime and my favorite Rockets coach of all time. Both had two different successful careers. Reagan as an actor and politician and Tomjanovich as a player and then a coach. And as Dave put it when I was tossing this idea around, “They are both hugely popular and head shots still can't kill them as Kermit Washington and that Jodie Foster fan proved”. I had written something pretty similar in my notes, but not quite as straightforward. I still think that Reagan’s Alzheimer’s and Rudy’s health problems late in life had to do with these two events. They were both good guys by all accounts and cared about others.5. Tracy McGrady as Teddy Roosevelt
Both were relatively young when they started, Tracy straight out of High School and Roosevelt was only 42 when he took office and is the youngest to ever do so. Tracy was one of the first successful straight to the NBA players, and Roosevelt was the first Vice President to succeed a President in turn elected on his own to office. Both have nicknames that start with a T, TMac and Teddy. Both were successful with different roles, McGrady as a member of the Magic and then the Rockets and Roosevelt as Vice President/President and then Governor of New York. Tracy has been outspoken about Darfur and Teddy was one of the first presidents to appoint African Americans to governmental duties. My favorite ridiculous association is that the Teddy Bear came about because of Roosevelt and lots of kids use them to help them go to sleep, and TMac always looks like he’s sleepy and needs Clutch to help him get a nap.4. Yao Ming as Thomas Jefferson
Jefferson is the author of the Declaration of Independence bringing independence to the United States of America and Yao Ming is the first Chinese born player to contribute and be drafted highly in NBA history. Jefferson was a member of Virginia royalty and Yao was born of Chinese basketball royalty in the form of both his mother and father. Jefferson was in college at the age of 16 and Yao first played professionally on the junior Sharks team at the age of 13. Yao started his basketball career in China and played on the Chinese National team and Jefferson started as a state legislator and then as Governor of Virginia. In Jefferson’s political career and in Yao’s early NBA career they had tough times. Virginia was invaded twice by the British as Jefferson served as Governor and Yao had to start his career on a team that prominently featured Kelvin Cato, Moochie Norris and Cuttino Mobley. The final connection for now comes in the fact that Jefferson first played second fiddle to John Adams as his Vice President and then became President on his own. Yao played second fiddle to Steve Francis and then to Tracy McGrady, but now is the sole All Star on the Rockets, leading the team on a daily basis.3. Calvin Murphy as Franklin D. Roosevelt
The greatest comparison I can make is that FDR created Welfare, and Calvin has about 30 kids by 35 different mothers, or something like that. Calvin shot the ball from about 30 feet half the time and in my mind helped create the idea for the 3 point line, FDR made the US institute a term limit after he was in office for 4 consecutive terms. FDR is from NY and Calvin played college ball at Niagra. Norwalk High School where Calvin attended is at 23 Calvin Murphy Rd and countless High School’s in the US are named after FDR. Calvin was only 5’9 but never let it stop him overcoming his height to become an NBA All Star and Hall of Famer and FDR overcame Guillain-Barré syndrome and paralysis, never letting it stop him and was one of the greatest Presidents of all time.2. Moses Malone as Abraham Lincoln
Moses was the first player to go straight out of High School to the ABA/NBA, Lincoln had little formal education, but self educated his way to becoming a lawyer and legislator. After a successful but not particularly awe inspiring beginning to his career, Lincoln returned to politics with a vengeance, ultimately becoming President. Moses started out his career in the ABA and had a good one, but it wasn’t until he became a Houston Rocket that it really took off, killing the league with his offensive rebounding, his third year in Houston making his first of 12 consecutive All Star teams. Lincoln was in office for 5 years, and Moses was on the Rockets for only 5 years, though the Rockets turned the pick they got for him into Ralph Sampson. I couldn’t come up with a comparison for the Emancipation Proclamation because, well come on, the guy freed America of Slavery, there aren’t many things in history better than that, Moses is African American though, so in the long run, it certainly helped him.1. Hakeem Olajuwon as George Washington
The greatest player in Rockets history and the greatest president in US history, pretty simple really. Olajuwon is a Houston institution, our Nation’s capital is named after Washington. Olajuwon lost the NCAA championship but won the NBA championship twice and Washington lost many battles, but won the ones that counted, helping the US win it’s independence from Great Britain. Hakeem presided over the Rockets only two championship seasons, and the greatest season in Rockets history. Washington presided over the birth of the United States, and creation of the US as a world power. Washington’s face is on the one, was the first president and was originally a British citizen. Hakeem is the face of Houston basketball, won the first championship in Houston history and was originally a citizen of Nigeria.That wraps up this edition of “Houston Rockets as…”.
Thanks for stopping by and again, Happy Presidents Day!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Some All Star Break Analysis
The All Star Break is here and the Rockets have managed to win 8 in a row and get completely into the Playoff picture. I was trying to figure out where they really stand coming out of the break and here is what I came up.
Let me start off with a disclaimer: No one else would have done it exactly how I did. In no way is this even close to perfect. There are a lot of changes that could be made, but I much prefer the 5th grade math version I’ve done. This is not Wages of Wins, only Dave is that good at math on this site. I also reserve the right to change any of this if someone tells me I’m dumb, and then delete their comment and pretend that I thought of it on my own!
A little background: I took the top 10 teams in the West and the top 5 teams in the East and created a chart that showed their winning percentages overall, at home, on the road, against the West and against the East. With this information I built a database that does the following:
Average the road winning percentages of the top 8 teams in the West separately for Home and Away and then do a comparison against where each team stands. I did the same for the East using all 5 teams I included for their averages.
Assigned a points system: 3 points were assigned to a team that was above their conference average and 1 point was assigned if they were below. This information was then applied to each team in the database’s schedule.
If you were playing a team on the road and they were better than their conference average, you received 3 points, if they were below you received 1. Same was applied on the road.
The outcome:
For the Rockets, the good news is that they have a schedule that is the 7th most difficult schedule out of the 10 playoff contenders in the West. This is definitely a good sign to keep this winning streak going. Unfortunately, 10 of the 15 games they play against the top 15 teams are on the road after the break. The reason their overall number is low is that those teams as a whole don’t have above average home records and they play the second least number of games against these teams.
This chart will probably come into play for final seeding:
I found this analysis to be troubling, but only to an extent:
These are the parameters:1. All of these teams automatically win all games against everyone else in the West not listed, and all of the East teams not in the Top 5 of the East. Effectively everyone they have no business losing to.
2. If a home team has a better home winning percentage than the road team has a road winning percentage, that they win, and vice versa.
Given those two items, the Rockets would not make the playoffs. Again, none of these items are the only way to look or even a combination that gets the real answer closer, just things I’ve found interesting. The reason this one is not really indicative is that 1. I want to disavow anything that says the Rockets don’t make the playoffs and 2. The Rockets are penalized because they are one of the most balanced winning teams in the West and only behind Toronto and Boston in the East. They aren’t running away with every possible home win, they are winning at similar clips at home and on the road.
Again, just some fun with numbers, it's not even in the same universe as accurate, just some things I found interesting. It's not going to deter me from my predictions: 10 in a row
Friday, February 15, 2008
Monument to Olajuwon in the Works
As seen here and many other places, the Rockets are going to honor our blogs namesake with a monument on April 11. I think Dave and I may have to be there for that.
"It's a wonderful monument to the greatest player in the history, I think, of Houston sports, and one of the greatest players of all time in the NBA," Rockets owner Leslie Alexander said. Olajuwon led the Rockets to two NBA championships and was the most valuable player of the finals both years. "I am so grateful for their thoughtfulness to honor me," Olajuwon said. "It can't be any higher than that. I feel so humbled. I mean, like, 'Wow ... I mean that much.' "Personally I still believe it should be called the Olajuwon Center, that's how much he means to the history of the Rockets.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Inconceivable! (Rockets/Kings)
The Rockets are slowly trying to kill me. I am starting to think that watching Rockets games is the modern evolved version of "The Machine" from The Princess Bride. Last night's game just sucked one year of my life away.
So allow me to explain... wait, there is too much. Allow me to sum up. The Rockets escaped and got lucky and won their 8th in a row. Barely.
Anyway, sticking with the theme - let's compare some characters from last night's game to the movie itself:
Tracy McGrady? Definitely Prince Humperdinck.
McGrady is the man in charge, with all the power and authority to play the game however he wants. And yet in the end, his cowardice seemingly overwhelms everything. Afraid to take the big shot, afraid to try to take the ball to the basket, afraid to make a decision.
Seriously, you pass the potential game-winner to Novak?!?!
Rick Adelman, definitely Inigo Montoya. Before he sobered up.
Adelman was definitely in the revenge business, trying to get even with the team that fired him two years ago. But leaving Steve Novak in for the entire fourth quarter -- while keeping both Scola AND Landry on the bench? That is his "I know something you don't know - I am not left-handed!" moment. Fortunately, Novak didn't kill him.
Yao... Fezzik. Is there really any other choice?
"Everybody MOVE!" Hell, I could even see Yao doing the rhyming thing on the bench. Anybody want a peanut? Problem is, like Fezzik, Yao was a little too slow in the post and didn't have time to hit anyone in the head with a rock. And yet he still finished with 25 and 14.
Ron Artest? The Count. Though I cannot verify that he has six fingers on his left hand. And yet I *can* be sure that someone is looking for him. The dude is crazy.
Artest's 4th Q last night was the equivalent of torture. Slow, plodding - and yet we could not stop him. I could definitely imagine him saying this to Rick Adelman last night after the Kings took that one point lead:
Crazy Pills: [Adelman stands up after getting stabbed by a knife thrown by Artest] Good heavens. Are you still trying to win? [Adelman falls back against the wall]
Crazy Pills: You've got an overdeveloped sense of vengeance. It's going to get you into trouble someday.
And yet... the Rockets won. Because of?
Steve Novak, the Man in Black.
He looked weak the whole 4th Q, and no one could explain why Inigo, er, Adelman needed him so much and was so stubborn in keeping him in the game. Then at some point, Novak took Miracle Max's pill... and had just enough strength left to sink the game-winning 3-pointer, win the game and save the day.
Rockets now head into the All Star break on an 8 game winning streak.
Yes, I know I left out Rafer from this story. I didn't want to include the kissing parts.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Silver Lining From the Almost Choke Win
With the Denver Nuggets losing to the Magic tonight, the Rockets are finally back in the top 8 teams in the Western Conference. The Rockets are 1-1 against the Nuggets, so the next tiebreaker is winning percentage in conference. The Rockets are 18-13 in the conference and the Nuggets are 17-14. So by tiebreaker number two the Rockets are in the playoffs if the season ended today!!
It's been a long hard run and a 17-4 record in 2008 to get back into the playoff picture. That's right, an .809 winning percentage in 2008. I'm going to pretend that only the win happened tonight, and not the circumstances that led to the near choke.
Tiebreaker recap:
1. Better record in head-to-head games.
2. Higher winning percentage in conference games.
3. Higher winning percentage within division (if teams are in the same division).
4. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in own conference.
5. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in opposite conference.
6. Higher point differential between points scored and points allowed.
Did I just see that right?
The Rockets just beat the Kings on a last few seconds 3 pointer by Steve Novak. Sounds like a close game right? Nope, they led by 17 in the 4th at one point and were outscored 26-10 in the quarter. What happened? Carl Landry nor Luis Scola played in the 4th, that's what happened. Early in the game the two were going crazy getting rebounds and steals and every loose ball, the Rockets built a 19 point lead on their backs. Then inexplicably Adelman decided to go with Steve Novak for the majority of the 4th. That meant there was no one to rebound but Yao. No one with any energy left to go after loose balls.
The lead change happened slowly; Adelman had the entire 4th quarter to make a change, but never did. He let the same guys that blew the lead stay in. Tracy McGrady was playing like a complete and utter wuss. He only played defense okay, the rest of his game was terrible. He was torched by Crazy Pills in the fourth and the only reason I can assume he was guarding him is that for some reason even though we had huge leads, we never really let Shane Battier get any rest and he had to have been exhausted. Shane shut Artest down to the tune of 0 points in the 3d and it seemed he only scored when someone else guarded him. But Tracy was the one trying to play D on him at the end.
I had this column all planned out too. I thought I'd be talking about one of the best games of the season. A game that we led by 15 after 1. A game we were playing like a complete team, running and passing, hitting open layups and dunks. I thought eventually we'd slow it down and pound it with Yao to save legs. Instead we took out our energy guys and never let Yao, Tracy, Rafer or Shane rest. All of them should have seen extended bench stints, only Yao played less than 41 minutes of that crew. There is absolutely no excuse for Carl Landry to only play 13 minutes. He had SIX offensive rebounds and 1 defense one and he had 2 steals to go with those rebounds. Yes he shot 1-6, but he's not in the game to shoot, he's in the game to actually catch passes and help run the offense, and to get the rebound when Tracy launches a stupid shot.
And yes, I know Novak hit the game winner. But if he and Chuck didn't play in the fourth I truly believe we would have won by 12.
We won though, so I guess in the end that's what is important. I'm worried though, this kind of ending can still have detrimental effects on the team, especially with the break coming up. Let's hope the Rockets realize how lucky they were and come out next week and pound the shit out of LeBron and the Cavs.
That's win 8 in a row of 10. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that we almost lost to a so so team, every team blows an occasional lead, I just thought we had turned the corner in that aspect.
Alright, I'm going to sleep, I thought this would be cathartic, but it wasn't as much as I would like it to be.
The answer is Robert Horry - there is no debate
... nonetheless, I figured I'd pump up this story as much as I can. It's a good debate if you like obvious choices:
"Big Shot Bob" v. "Mr. Big Shot"
I think it's quite obvious that Chauncey Billups isn't even in the same ballpark as Robert Horry. Hell, he's not even in the same league. They are not even playing the same sport when it comes to who is more "clutch".
No offense to Pistons fans, but 7 rings is greater than 1 ring. Always.
Besides, Chauncey might have 2 clutch shots... Horry has 5 minutes worth of YouTube highlights:
Yet we traded him for an aging Charles Barkley. Excuse me, I have to go cry again.
Rockets vs. Kings
Not a lot of time today for a preview, however, the Rockets host the Sacramento Kings tonight at 7:30PM CST.
Sacramento Kings: 23-27 (7-17 on the road), 5-5 in their last 10
Houston Rockets: 31-20 (15-9 at home), 9-1 in their last 10
The Kings 7 road wins came against Philly by 8 and was their first on December 28th, New Jersey by 5, Milwaukee by 13, New York by 10, Detroit by 7, Indiana by 6, and Seattle by 2. After starting the season 0-9, they have been 7-7 on the road. Only one of those wins was significant, and they have actually beaten Detroit in both games. I'm chalking that up to a matchup issue, or much like the Rockets against Philly, a sheer fluke.
They have lost 3 of their last 4 with the losses being to Seattle, Golden State and Memphis. Somehow they beat Utah in that stretch.
I really have no idea what to think of this team. Last night they lost by 13 at Memphis and have to fly into Houston today to play the Rockets. 6 Grizzlies scored in double figures as they shot 50% as a team for the game. I obviously didn't watch it so I don't know if Memphis just got hot or if the Kings simply played no defense.
My prediction? Win 8 of 10 in a row. 10 in a row. 10 in a row. 10 in a row...
SactownRoyalty has a Kings perpective. Proving once again, there are some great NBA blogs out there. We are trying to catchup! Maybe by the end of the season we will figure out how to be completely worthwhile and not just partially so.
I do have to tell the guys over there that as far as this:
One trade that I'd have to think would make Geoff Petrie do back flips: Artest for Brooks, the expiring contract of Steve Francis ($2.4 million) and rookie forward Luis Scola ($2.9 million and signed through 2010).
There is not a chance in hell that we would trade Brooks and Scola right now.
He's a threat to Western Civilization!
Hey, Fat Ass, I'm getting sick of your act. I mean, in 1992 when you and Horry were rookies, you were great - a breath of fresh air to the league. An oversized kid. The problem is, it is 16 years later - and you still have not grown up. You are 35 years old, and act like you are 15. It is no longer cute.
Now you are attacking Bill Walton for vocalizing an opinion that most basketball fans share?
[O'Neal: "I would like a little respect"]
What was it that Bill Walton said that was so egregious? As quoted in the article:
"If this works out for Shaquille O'Neal, this will be a terrible indictment of him because he was doing absolutely nothing, saying he couldn't play at all, now he's saying he's going to win a championship?" Walton said on ESPN. "What's up with this? Six weeks ago Shaquille O'Neal was on the verge of the all-time consecutive foul-out rule and (Heat coach) Pat Riley saved him. This is going to be very, very tough for Shaq to work his way through."
Uhhh, Shaq - where is he wrong? You once again showed up to training camp in September/October fat and out of shape - a no-no in Pat Riley's world. You know how much Riley despises out of shape players. And yet you act as if you are above his rules. Once again displaying a complete lack of leadership. Which is partially why Miami started out lethargic and is now stuck in a historically bad season (losing 23 of the last 24).
This is not even the first time you've pulled this act. You routinely showed up out of shape. The last time you were in shape was after you got traded. Before that? Maybe 1995?
Meanwhile, your comments on Bill Walton discredit what he did for the game. Yes, Walton can often be a complete clown as a broadcaster and commentator. But in the late 1970s, he played the center position as well as you can play it. You never reached that point. Walton's feet then gave out on him - and yet he tried for a decade to overcome that. Walton even took on a less desirous bench role with the Celtics - just to play the game he loved so much. The dude can't even walk or stand for long periods of time now because of the sacrifices he made.
If anyone deserves to be shown respect as an athlete, it's him. Not you, Fat Ass.
Oh, and this whole "pecking order" thing of yours where you classify yourself behind Bill Russell, Kareem and Wilt Chamberlain? Uhhhh... nice try. Hakeem was a better player than you, and led much less talented teams to TWO rings. Imagine if Hakeem were 7'1" and 300 lbs.? Scary.
Now, Shaq, while your 2000 MVP season cannot be questioned, Kobe and Dwyane Wade carried your dumb ass to the title in '01, '02 and '06. You were not the main reason those teams won. In fact, if you didn't goof off in the '04 NBA Finals - you might have had another ring - but you underestimated Detroit. Typical of you.
I hope Steve Nash beats the s--t out of you with his hockey stick when you are constantly huffing and puffing up the court and cost the Suns another playoff series.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
That's about right
Basketbawful had a nice take on TMac not wanting to go to the All Star game. I don't completely agree with it, but it's only because I'm selfish. I don't want Tracy injuring himself in the All Star game any more than he does. I also don't blame him for not wanting to go to New Orleans.
In a hyped up Mardi Gras like environment, nothing really good ever happens. Now don't get me wrong, a lot of FUN stuff happens. A lot of debauchery happens. A lot of boobs in your face happens. A lot of drunkeness happens. A lot of sex in alleys happens. Unfortunately a lot of bad stuff happens too. A lot of arrests happen. A lot of "That was a hooker?" happens. A lot of I didn't remember condoms happens. A lot of unplanned children with non-spouses of yours happen.
I think that except for the last one every NBA player would go, but for an NBA star that seems to be a problem.
How many in a row is that?
ya see - even Robert Horry remembers where he came from and is rooting for us!
just 30 more in a row... and I can make the necessary Clerks joke!
37!?!?! In a row?!? ... oh hell yes!
To Paraphrase Sam I Am
After winning his second NBA championship in 2 years, Sam Cassell yelled to the cameras "Two years, two rings, and we might get another one!" to which I steal:
7 Wins, 7 Games, and we are going to win 10!
With Dave and I in attendance the Rockets tried to blow it for us. They trailed by 6 at the end of one and I still have no idea how, but led by one at the half, despite being outscored in the paint roughly 3 or 4 to 1 and were being outrebounded, out blocked and out stolen(??) for the half. We weren't moving the ball, moving without the ball or going hard after rebounds. Well, let me clarify, no one but Luis Scola was. Scola was everywhere as usual. He does not seem prone to energy slumps like most NBA players or for that matter every other Rocket. Even with his energy the Rockets played terribly in the first half, if the Trailblazers had not contributed spurts of poor shot selection it could have been a 10 point Portland lead at half.
At halftime Dave looked up and said "How are we leading?"
My response? "We're leading?"
I had apparently missed this fact in my utter disgust at how poorly we played, we had spend so much of the first half yelling about poor decision making, the team not calling out the double or triple team coming to Yao, Tracy doing nothing but shooting dumb jump shots and playing absolutely no defense, that I had lost track of the fact that Portland had let us back in the game and the Rockets had ended the half on a 13-6 run. The Rockets would never look back from there.
Dave and I came out of halftime relieved we weren't down, the Rockets apparently did too. They outscored Portland 25-19 keyed by Rafer Alston's, yes, that Rafer Alston, 13 point quarter on 5-7 shooting. He was on fire, and was really helping to get the ball moved around. Yao also came alive at the end of the third, contributing 6 straight free throws in the last minute and a half, finally wearing down his defenders.
The team defense was spectacular as the Traiblazers were able to pull off a grand total of 3 uncontested shots that I counted up until the last 2 minutes of the game. We were rotating, playing excellent help defense and got a hand up effectively for anything Portland tried to throw up. There were 6 or 7 occasions after a Portland make that Dave and I both talked about how if they can make those kind of shots, good for them, because nothing was coming easy. This was one of the few times this season that we have seen the offense and the defense run in an entire quarter like they can.
The fourth started off where the third ended, the Rockets went on a 10-1 run and the game was effectively over. That led to an eventual 18 point lead with 2:10 left. Adelman emptied the bench and in a flurry of unorganized shenanigan the game was ended.
Overall the second half was great and the first half basically ended in a do over.
That's 7 wins out of ten in a row!!
Next up, the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, February 13th at 7:30PM CST
Go Rockets!
Monday, February 11, 2008
Live and in Person - Rockets vs. Trailblazers
The Trailblazers arrive at the Toyota Center tonight and Dave and I will be there. I love all the ticket deals the Rockets do, though I'm not sure why they don't just lower the overall ticket price to make any game an affordable one. It's not like they are selling out, but I'm sure someone in the marketing group has the dollar maximization down to a science. I was able to obtain 70 dollar seats for 50 each tonight, so we'll be up close and personal with Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge. This is my first foray back into the lions den since the beating at the hands of Philly and the slippery fingers of Rafer Alston/Luther Head. Neither the Rockets nor Rafer/Luther are allowed to repeat those performances or I might just snap.
Portland Trailblazers: 28-22 (8-16 on the road), 4-6 in their last 10
Houston Rockets: 30-20 (14-9 at home), 9-1 in their last 10
The good guys are 2-0 on the season versus Portland. An 89-80 victory at home early on and an 89-79 win at Portland, handing them their first loss to a team in the West at home on January 25. Both 10 point victories came on the heals of hellacious defense by the Rockets. In the first game the Rockets held them to 12 in the first, 19 in the second and 15 in the third. They led by 18 and relaxed in the fourth of that game as did the Trailblazers as both teams mostly traded baskets. In the second game the Rockets took the opposite tactic, letting Portland out to a lead and then clamping down allowing 12 in the third tying the game up and 17 in the fourth to outscore them by 10.
The Trailblazers have struggled after their mid-first half hot streak. They've suffered from some players absences lately, most notably Roy has been out with a death in the family the last two games. I for one am hoping he does not decide that this needs to be a dedication game. Please save that for a home game Brandon. Since a 17-1 streak from December 3rd to January 9th, Portland has struggled to the tune of 6-9.
Portland has 8 road victories on the year: Memphis by 1, Utah by 8, Denver by 11, Minnesota by 11, Chicago by 6 in OT, New Jersey by 26, Miami by 7, and Atlanta by 2 in OT. Only the last two came while outside of the 17-1 streak. Beating Utah and Denver by those margins are great wins on the road, but beating Memphis by 1 (The Rockets actually lost there, so I'm not casting stones) and Atlanta by 2 in OT really evens them out. Utah was also struggling during that stretch and frankly I'm not convinced that Denver is that good (They have a ton of potential but too many wildcards on that team).
The Rockets should win this game. They really should. The Trailblazers only have warm bodies to foul Yao to keep him in check. Luckily for us Yao is an excellent free throw shooter, so that should eliminate any issue there. Portland simply does not match up well with the Rockets. If Roy doesn't make it back or Aldridge doesn't play that will just amplify the issue for them.
What is my prediction? Win number 7 of 10 in a row. With the win against the Hawks the Rockets are finally a better home team than a road team, let's keep it up gentlemen.
Go Rockets!
Dave over at BlazersEdge has a good preview of the game.
Today's Miss Cleo moment
One of these men will foul out. The one who doesn't have "Yao" on his jersey:
Wide open jump shots. Easy money.
Go Rockets!
* "guarantee" is defined for the purposes of this post to mean "not guaranteed at all, but merely a statement of statistical probability and near certainty and not intended for gambling purposes; the individual making any such guarantee disclaims all liability for consequences of said guarantee not being fulfilled"
Don't Mess with the Commish (or Texas)
My second thought was that it is rather magnanimous of David Stern to choose Rasheed over, say, Ray Allen to replace KG in the game. I think Rasheed might be the only guy in the NBA who gets under the Commish's skin more than Mark Cuban. And Stern seems to be the kind of guy who just might hold a grudge.
Rasheed did not want to go to the game.
'Sheed had an exotic weekend vacation get-a-way all planned out. And now he's required to spend three days in New Orleans. Not exactly a relaxing island resort. Rasheed openly campaigned NOT to be selected as a reserve. No one listened. To quote from the Detroit News:
"When told he was hand-picked by commissioner David Stern to replace Garnett, Wallace gave a wry smile and said, 'It's a prestigious honor and a great pleasure.'" Something tells me what Rasheed really wanted to say included a few choice four letter words and maybe a guarantee (we all know how much he likes his guarantees).
The lesson? Don't fuck with David Stern.
Hey, 'Sheed, have fun getting dunked on by Yao next Sunday!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
"we came, we saw... we kicked its ass!"
Now that was an ass-kicking!
That picture is a fairly accurate representation of the Hawks' futility last night in attempting to beat the Rockets. All night the Hawks were off balance, taking bad shots, not passing the ball, not playing as a team... and constantly running right into the Great Wall of Yao.
From the moment of the tip-off, the Rockets were hungry, motivated and seemingly angry. After the first 6 minutes, Luis Scola was on pace for 40 points and 40 rebounds. Fortunately for the Hawks, Ricky held him back a bit in the 2nd Q and he didn't play much afterwards - but Scola still finished with 14 points and 9 rebounds. Imagine if the guy could actually make a free throw!
On the other side.......... not one single starter for the Hawks scored in double figures. "All Star" Joe Johnson finished with 8 points and a few nightmares of Shane Battier constantly being in his face. Josh Smith? One nice dunk and a ticky-tack "and 1" - but only 7 points total. Suck it. Marvin "I can't believe I was drafted before Chris Paul" Williams? 8 points on 12 shots. Complete non-factor. I think Yao ate Al Horford, because I never saw much of him.
Oh yeah, it was also "Aggie Night" at the game - because Acie Law IV was playing. Final tally? 8 ugly shots, 9 points and only 2 assists. Aaron Brooks (drafted 15 spots later)... I'm thinking the Rockets got the better rookie PG here. Even if one is a midget.
The domination was so thorough, Ricky didn't even have the heart to let Carl Landry stay in the game and gorilla dunk every possession. Two was apparently enough. Nice try there, Tyronn Lue...
Rockets up by 30 something after 3 quarters.......... which led to the Steve Novak show. And it was excellent.
That's 6 in a row. Portland and Sacramento before the All Star break. And not for nothing, but we kinda called it. Here. And here. And here. This is what I wrote back in December:
But mostly, I am preaching patience. Just watch. By the All Star break (mid-February), at some point the proverbial light will go on for the Rockets. Maybe by then we will have figured out the point guard situation, how to properly use [Luis] Scola, and also how to properly harness Yao's increasing anger. Then we'll go on a late season run.It's nice to see predictions come true. Lee's 60% of the way to reaching his.
That's Six in a Row, I Can See Ten on the Horizon
Thank you to the Houston Rockets for playing like a team last night again. In fact, that was quite possibly the best game they have played all year. I do not believe that anyone could have beaten the Rockets last night. Passing the ball was held up as the prefecton of offense last night and the Rockets did just that culminating in a season high 32 assists. This is the first time to top 31 assists since we beat New Orleans 123-112 a few games before the end of last season. We're moving the ball around exactly the way we should, a lot of passes, and a lot of open looks because of them.
Yao had another stellar game 12-17 and 4-4 for 28 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal. And he sat out the last 10:24 of the game, playing only 31 minutes. After 3 okay games in a row to start this run, it's been the Great Wall show for the last two games.
Luis Scola is the guy that got the blowout started. In the first quarter he was everywhere, willing this team to a big lead. His final line: 7-9 for 14 points, 9 rebounds and a steal are deceptivly low; he was in the middle of everything and only played 25 minutes. Late in the third he either jammed or dislocated a finger, I can't find anything right now saying for sure. He looked to be fine after the trainer worked on him, but did not return to the game.
Overall it was a thouroughly dominating Halem Globetrotter-esque performance. Nice job playing like a team in a trap game guys. Nice job.
Next up: Portland Trailblazers on Monday night at 7:30PM CST. Dave and I will be there watching win number 7 in a row.
Go Rockets!!!
Saturday, February 9, 2008
An overview of my weekend
Today... headache. Wake up at 10:30am, only to have to drag my ass to the office. And do some real, actual work. On a Saturday. Yup, and I'm gonna need to come in on Sunday, too it looks like (yeah, we didn't lose anyone, but I do need to play a little "catch up" before Monday). Maybe I can play a little Tetris while I am here (??).
Shawn Bradley - he shouldn't have been standing there! Ahhhh, the old Tracy McGrady. The one I hope shows up tonight. Go Rockets!
Rockets vs. Hawks
Tonight at 7:30 CST the Rockets and the Hawks tip off. The Hawks have played pretty well for a young team this year, so they are not the punching bag they have been for the last few years. In that terrible stretch of basketball for the Hawks the Rockets have won 5 in a row overall and 9 in a row at home against them. Tonight should be no different, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is a close game. The Hawks are a pretty athletic and young team, only 4 players on the roster are older than 26. Athletic teams are really the Rockets undoing if they decide to not play as a team, so hopefully they remember that team work is the way to victory every night.
Atlanta Hawks 21-25 (6-15 on the road) and 4-6 in their last 10
Houston Rockets 29-20 (13-9 at home) and 9-1 in their last 10
The Hawks are coming off a loss to the Cavaliers by 5 points at home last night in a game they were down by 11 going into the fourth quarter. After a Larry Hughes turnover they actually led with 4:46 left in the game. They only trailed by 3 with 21 seconds left, for some reason shooting 2 2 point shots instead of trying to tie the game. In the end the Cavs were too much.
Atlanta last won on the road January 25th at Seattle and before that won December 21st against Washington. They've also beaten Miami, Minnesota, Philadelphia (a team the Rockets apparently can't beat) and Orlando on the road. So in those wins they've only beaten one real team in Orlando. I bet ThirdQuarterCollapse was pissed. Yep, they were.
What's my prediction you ask? Win number 6 of 10 in a row. Like a broken record...
Go Rockets!!
I'm late, but we still won!
Some hectic days at work the last few have made it difficult to write on breaks there (because I had none) and my kick ass little 1.5 year old made it difficult at home (cause sorry, he's more fun than even this), so I finally am getting around to writing about the Cleveland game.
Dave keeps trying to tell me we can win a lot in the upcoming games, and here's my response:
10 in a row
He keeps at it:
10 in a row
I'm sticking with it is basically my point.
On Thursday the Rockets beat a pretty hot Cleveland team that had won 8 of it's last 10, matching the Rockets last 10. The good guys pretty much played with them the whole game. Even with Lebron scoring 32 they took him out of his game making him try to take over on the offense end and not getting his teammates as involved. If I was a Cleveland fan I would want him to average 1o assists a game so he could get the guys around him into the flow. When he passed it was incredible, a thing of beauty. The Rockets kept taking 9-12 point leads though and King James decided he had to take over. In my mind that's how you beat them, make Lebron feel like he has to beat you one on five. And at least for this game it worked.
Tracy tried to play valiantly, but he had a terrible overall game. If it wasn't for 5 points in a row late in the game to turn a small lead into a big one he would have probably been better sitting out. I applaud him for trying to play because he looked like shit. He was slumped over on the bench and on the court until he decided he had to make something happen. I love the McGrady that gets a hair up his butt and decides it's time to destroy another team. That McGrady used to be a 3 quarter player, now he's a 5 minute player most games. I'm actually okay with that because usually that means he's passing the ball effectively.
Yao had the best game of any Rocket and his game really equaled Lebron's. Maybe not on the stat sheet, but in actual play. Yao was passing out of the double team effectively and taking his shots within the flow of the offense. He was being the incredible team player he always is and took over at times when he felt it was needed. 22 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block and 4-4 from the line. Great game Yao, welcome to February!
I have to say that the second best game from the Rockets came from Bonzi Wells. He played like the guy we thought was coming to the team two years ago. 6-10 for 13 points, 2 dunks, 2 layups, 10 rebounds and most importantly no missed layups. He was 1-5 from the line, but that's really no different than his normal career. Of his 10 rebounds 5 were offensive, and 2 late kept the ball out of Lebron's hands on the other end making it an easy victory towards the end.
Great game guys! Keep up the good work!
And I finally got in touch with Carolyn and we'll be working up a Q&A to go up before the next game that happens on the 19th right after the All Star break. Also known as win 9 in a row.
The standings right now have the Rockets and Golden State at 29-20 and tied for the last spot in the playoffs.
Here are the tiebreakers just for fun:
1. Better record in head-to-head games.
2. Higher winning percentage in conference games.
3. Higher winning percentage within division (if teams are in the same division).
4. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in own conference.
5. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in opposite conference.
6. Higher point differential between points scored and points allowed.
So right now the Rockets are 1-1 with GS so we move to number 2. And GS is 16-12 in conference while the Rockets are 16-13, so they have it for now.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Spreading the good word
Here's the results over at Hardwood Paroxysm:"Refs suck!"
That just happened?!?!
Rafer Alston...
17 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds. What the hell? This is like the third or fourth time he's borderline flirted with a triple double this year. Yesterday was the first time it actually meant something in the final score though. I'm still confused.
He shot 6-14 (3-7 on 3s)... which isn't special, unless your name is "Rafer Alston" - though I must say, I'm in disbelief. Rafer was....... good?
Ah, I'm not going to put too much stock in this. In a league where Chris Duhon scores 34 last night, Linas Kleiza scores over 40 a few weeks ago and where a 35 year old fat and slow center making $20M is acquired by a running team looking to cut costs - anything is possible.
Look on the bright side? The Rockets have won 5 in a row and 10 of 11. 29-20 on the season.
Go Rockets!
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Rockets vs. Cavs on TNT!
In no way do I have time for this, but I'm going to hammer it out anyway. The Rockets take on the Cavaliers tonight at the Toyota Center at 7PM CST looking for their 5th win in a row, and on their way to 10 in a row.
Cleveland Cavaliers: 27-20 (12-13 on the road) and 8-2 in their last 10
Houston Rockets: 28-20 (12-9 at home) and 8-2 in their last 10
Team Matchups
PG: Larry Hughes vs Rafer Alston: Considering TheDreamShake (partially) and HeyLarryHughes (Completely) where created to lambaste these two, I'm calling it a draw. Some might even say it's in Rafer's favor, they'd be wrong, but they'd argue it. Moving on
SG: Sasha Pavlovic vs. Tracy McGrady: Check mark for the Rockets and I hope no one needs this explained to them
SF: BronBron vs. TheWhitestManAlive: Check mark for the Cavs, again no explanation needed
PF: Gooden vs. Scola/Landry/Hayes: I like our chances here, giving the check mark to the Rockets
C: Big Z vs. Great Wall: Check mark to the Rockets times infinity.
It all adds up to 3-1 in the Rockets favor, though I'm going to make it 3-2 for the Lebron factor.
I'm out of the score predicting business, just going to say put a W in the Rockets column tonight.
Check out the blog Cleveland Cavs site, even if Carolyn never emailed me for the Q&A! We'll get it next time (well next time is soon so email me!)
One more thing, thanks for doing what was best for me Denver, making it close, taking the Jazz to OT but then losing. It is greatly appreciated. With a win tonight the Rockets could be a half game out! If they pair a win with a Chicago win over Golden State they would actually be tied for the 8th spot in the playoffs.
Musical chairs and the Western Conference
The Fat Ass is now a member of the Phoenix Suns. (ha!)
Pau Gasol is now a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Chris Webber is now a member [and starter for!] the Golden State Warriors.
Damon Stoudamire... San Antonio Spurs.
Kyle Korver... Utah Jazz (though the Rockets certainly weren't aware of this trade before the last time they played - how do you leave Ashton open???)
Jason Kidd -- openly lobbying for a trade. To anyone. Anywhere.
you get the idea...
Rafer Alston? Still a Rocket. Fuck!
Nevertheless - what are the Rockets options now that seemingly every team in the Western Conference is loading up on players like there's a clearance sale at Merv's? Jonathan Feigen of the Chronicle thinks the Rockets are looking for continuity and improving from within. Essentially, the argument is that the Rockets do not need to make a headline-level trade. But ask the Chicago Bulls and about 3-4 other teams how that worked out... standing pat does not work in the salary cap era. Plus we have dead money on the cap that is going to waste and can be used in a positive way.
Such as?
Trade Rafer? (please, please, please...) It's not going to happen though. At least not until June/July. Maybe he'll get arrested again in the meantime? Or maybe we can convince Steve Kerr to trade us Steve Nash for him (after the logic of the Shaq trade, anything is possible)?
There are other possibilities though. The Rockets still need help at point guard and at backup center. I'd prefer to not have to use Scola or Landry to guard the Duncans, Shaqs and Andrew Bynums of the world in the playoffs. The Rockets also have a ton of players taking up cap room that we don't exactly use right now.
Bob Sura's Expiring Contract - I love Bobby Sura. I even still have his Rockets jersey in my closet. But he is costing us $3.8M on the salary cap this year - and it's an expiring contract. They tend to be of value to teams looking to dump salary next year.
Steve Francis - Francis may be done for the season, which would ruin this idea. Just in case the report is wrong though, Francis is costing us $2.4M and he isn't exactly contributing anymore. Another expiring contract.
Jackie Butler - he's on the Rockets' books for $2.3M this season and $2.5M next season, too. What the hell?!?! Unlikely we can pawn him off until next year. The dude isn't even on the roster and he's costing us. Ugh.
The others? Bonzi Wells ($2.2M), Chuck Hayes ($1.7M), Dikembe ($1.2M) and John Lucas ($770k) all are in the last year of their contracts. Once again - expiring contracts are to NBA general managers what coke binges are to Amy Winehouse. F'n irresistable.
Bonzi is killing the Rockets right now. Not much hustle. No defense. Still can't make layups. And he's clogging the rotation. Chuck has been surpassed by Scola and Landry (rightly so). Dikembe is on the roster for comic relief at best. John Lucas is MIA. There has to be a way to put a package of these guys together to "sell" $8-10M of these expriring deals to a team looking to dump a player who may not be a fit for their team (hint, hint - JJ Redick! Kirk Hinrich! others!!). Standing still is not the answer.
The Rockets will make the playoffs. Of this I have no doubt. But the goal is to WIN in the playoffs. Not just be happy to get there. Come on Daryl Morey, do something!!
Yao > LeBron. There's your math lesson for the day.
Rockets v. the LeBrons tonight. Also known as "one of four nights each year when T-Mac actually tries to play defense!" T-Mac really only makes a concerted effort to play D when he's facing Kobe or LeBron. Factoring in his yearly, um, "vacations" and that's about 3-4 times each year T-Mac faces those guys.
Of note: the game is on TNT - which means there should be some good halftime commentary by Charles Barkley about Yao, T-Mac and LeBron. Remember when Chuck said Yao wouldn't score 20 in one game? I love Chuck, but...... it's funny how one man (Yao) has proved us all so very, very wrong. And will continue to do so. Yao is a badass. And he's almost made me forget about that Horry/Cassell for Barkley trade. Almost.
Speaking of which, after scanning last night's box scores, it looks like Mr. Horry is getting ready for his annual playoff run... that's bad news for the rest of the league. As usual.
Uhhhh, back to the Rockets. Game is in Houston, so I expect a good showing by T-Mac and Yao. LeBron is really good, but he's only one man. T-Mac can at least stay with him and negate his influence on the game. And since I do not expect Larry Hughes or Damon Jones to win a game by themselves, I say the final is Rockets 97, Cavaliers 88.
Go Rockets!
edit: For those inevitable comments about LeBron being the MVP so far (and thus somehow better than Yao), check this out: the LeBrons are 27-20. The Rockets are 28-20. Problem is, the LeBrons play in the Eastern Conference. And are somehow only 13-12 in their own weak conference. The Rockets are 16-13 in the West - a much, much stronger conference with much, much better teams. And with T-Mac out for significant time, the Rockets just kept winning. Imagine Yao and T-Mac in the East. It wouldn't even be fair.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Good News! Arts and crafts time has been extended by 4 hours!
On a daily basis I go over to Hardwood Paroxysm and check it out, but the thing I look forward to the most is their daily post about the games of that day. We need to discuss with them that the Rockets kick ass a little more and should be reviewed a bit higher, but I digress. Today I went to check it out and saw this:
8. There Ain't Room Enough In This Division For Both Of Us: Utah at Denver. This
is going to get downright NASTY. The Jazz are pissed that no one is paying any
attention to them and have been destroying teams. Denver meanwhile has been
pacing itself. These two are rearing to go. The biggest thing is that both teams
have been showing a lot of bully mentality lately. The Jazz were positively
thuggish in the beatdown of the Hornets this week. Everyone was popping jerseys,
pumping fists, and glaring. Meanwhile, Denver has Carmelo Anthony and JR Smith.
Consider this your brawl-pick of the night.
That completely sucks, I now have to cheer for the Jazz, and that is just not cool man. I feel like I was just told I'd be quilting for 4 more hours. The only problem is that my fingers already hurt and I can't say anything because I don't want to pull landscaping duty. Back pain is way worse than finger pain as you well know. And the truth of the matter is that all I really want is a warm glass of milk to help put me to sleep, but all I get is a warm glass of shut the hell up.
Why didn't I know this already? Well, mostly because I'm lazy and didn't look at the schedule before I saw it over at HP.
So Go Ja... Fuck! I can't do it. Go Denver, pull a hammy, don't kick some ass!
Other game(s) of note tonight for the Rockets playoff hopes:
The Bulls go into Portland to win. Not because the Trailblazers aren't a much better team, just because they seem to like to lose to teams from the East at home. Of course, if Hinrich and Gordon are both out, scratch that completely. Though with Noah on board, you never know, that guy is due for a 26 point, 17 rebound 5 steal game. It's in his future i just know it
Houston Press Blog
As much as I want you to only read one Rockets blog, THIS ONE YOU ARE READING NOW, Jason Friedman over at the Houston Press writes a good blog about the Rockets mostly, and I ran across this article from him :
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: New York’s Super Win Gives Rockets Hope
In it he ponders "What If?" and wonders if the Rockets can do the same thing the Giants did; win it all after a really slow start. It's a nice dream to have, and one I share. What if the Rockets can turn it around completely?
I've been saying since the beginning of the season that the guys would need until after the All Star break to really gel. They've done a great job of late, winning 13 of their last 16, and 8 of their last 9 but have done so mostly against lesser competition, though they have beaten the Warriors, Spurs and Trailblazers in the last 8. Can this team really get much better after the break? By my calculations they will be sitting at 32-20 going into the break. Just for reference, last year they were 33-19 at the break, one game better than that pace. After that they went 19-11 to finish at 52-30. This team would need to go, wait...carry the one, add that up, oh ya, 20-10 to equal that pace. My prediction actually has them doing one worse than that, so 19-11, the same record they had last year after the All Star break, a .633 winning percentage, or 17% better than I expect them to have done at the break. It all sounds reasonable to me.
Let's go Rockets, it's time to kick in the afterburners!
Phoenix to trade for Shaq (and a bag of peyote)?
The Phoenix Suns... rumored to be trading FOR the Fat Ass. And giving up Marion in the process. There's really only one thing I can say in response:
/on behalf of the Miami Heat, Shaq's agent, Dwyane Wade, people who do not like the Phoenix Suns, and (oh yeah) me!
Worst. Trade. Idea. Ever.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Finally! Other people get it!
I was perusing Truehoop and catching up on my NBA outside of the Rockets. Of course I still view the Rockets stuff a little closer and I saw this:
Yao is badass from the Howeva Files
It's about time people start seeing it. We even have a tag for it here.
Yes, it was a win. No, I am not happy with it.
Re: Last night's game against Minnesota
Hey, what the hell happened last night? You let the Minnesota Timberwolves stick around and actually take a lead for a little while in the 4th quarter? Look, we know that Al Jefferson is kinda good. But he's not an all-star (yet). Sebastian Telfair is the poster child for bad point guard play. The idiot Minnesota coach only gave Corey Brewer 8 minutes of run, too! And yet you let Minnesota think they were actually "in" the game with you?!? Even Antoine Walker was playing hard - we haven't seen that in many a year!
Also, Carl Landry, we love ya here, but beating Minnesota is not exactly cause for a big celebration. Calm down rook, and just keep playin' hard like you have been.
Anyway, Rockets, the last time you won by 31 and the game was over in the 2nd quarter. This time you almost made me have to retract an entire "scrimmage" based post from yesterday. Not cool. I was not impressed.
Put it another way: if you play like this on Thursday, the LeBrons will have a field day.
Rockets "beat" the Timberwolves
Dave called the game last night a scrimmage and they treated it more like a pick-up game. Luckily they decided to play in the last minute and win the game. Tracy McGrady seems more comfortable with his shot and his knee right now and that is most certainly a good thing for the rest of the season. TMac also had 7 turnovers because in pick up games you try stuff you wouldn't do in a real game. He was openly daring Minnesota to try and steal the ball, and they managed to do just that, but his shooting really made up for those turnovers.
This is the third game in a row that the early season Rockets would have lost. They led the entire game, sometimes by double digits and managed to blow the lead just like during our losing streak. Unlike the early season Rockets though, this team found a way to win a game they should have lost. With 1:38 left the T-Wolves took their first lead of the fourth quarter, a quarter that the Rockets once led by 10 with 7:09 left. After that lead change, McGrady took over shooting a 17 footer in traffic and then pulling up for a 25 foot 3 pointer that closed out the game. The Rockets outscored the T-Wolves 7-0 over the last minute and a half to finish them off.
I have to take a minute to personally apologize to Al Jefferson. It appears that he just had an off night against the Rockets last go round, those definitely happen. He played incredibly well last night, even scoring the basket that put Minnesota ahead. He was 14-26 and 5-5 from the line, scoring 33 points. He also pulled down 16 boards, had 2 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks. It was a man's game. I was extremely impressed. I even learned that he leads the league in 20 and 10 games, while Yao is 3rd. A lot of that is due to his teammates sucking, but kudos to him for recognizing that and going after the boards and the points. He has an offensive array of moves now, and I think he's only going to get better. He looked like Tim Duncan out there, but was having to play out of position. If he was being guarded by someone other than Yao he might have scored 50 last night. Great game Al, great game. Unfortunately it was much like a KG game of old, valiant effort from him, awful game from everyone else leading to a loss. The difference is that this Minnesota team has some players that just need to get some experience under their belt, they could be dangerous next year and contending for a playoff spot in two years.
Next up the Rockets take on Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers Thursday, February 7th, at the Toyota Center at 7PM CST. That is unless they change the game time on us again like they did last night. Cleveland will play Boston at home tonight and then have a day off before facing a rested Rockets team.
Prediction update: The Rockets have now won 4 games in a row in route to a 10 game winning streak. On Thursday they will get halfway there.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Tonight's scrimmage vs. Minnesota
Wait -- what? You're telling me it's a real game tonight? No way. When did the NBA start a cross-promotion of having its teams start playing real games against NBDL teams? What's that? Minnesota has not been relegated to the NBDL? Coulda fooled me!
Last time the Rockets faced the T-Wolves (also known as the Grand Entrance of Carl Landry to the NBA) we won by 31 points. And we played awful. I should know. I was there in person witnessing the event. The Rockets didn't even have - or need - the services of one Tracy McGrady. And the scrubs received by the Wolves when they traded KG offered no resistance. Scola and Bonzi and Yao abused Minny. We could have won by 50.
(neither of these guys were in the last game. McGrady probably plays tonight, but, as usual, it's unlikely we'll see him actually driving it to the basket.) Carl Landry had 15 points and 11 rebounds the last time in his first game that wasn't merely a cameo appearance. He hasn't had a DNP-CD since. It only took two months for Ricky to wake-up, I guess.
I don't see much different this time around. The Wolves still suck [ed. note -- badly!], and the Rockets are once again playing well and winning games. This could be the lineup in the 4th Q:
C: Landry
PF: Scola
SF: Novak
SG: Mike James
PG: Brooks
translation: we probably won't need Yao after the first 36 minutes. And now that I've properly jinxed the team - Go Rockets!
Once again, for emphasis... Elisha?!?
I feel compelled to re-state what I did two weeks ago. Last night is exactly why I do NOT bet on the NFL. We now live in a world where Elisha Manning beats Tom Brady in the biggest game of the season.
The Manning Faces have won back-to-back Super Bowls now.
The Patriots... not undefeated.
The 1972 Miami Dolphins, free to remain elderly a-holes for at least another year.
Randy Moss - still ringless (this kinda sucks).
Elisha... wow. Elisha?!?! That's it - I'm rushing off to buy a Citizen Eco-Drive watch today. Those guys clearly knew something I did not. Eli Manning is truly unstoppable.
Eli Manning, the Joe Namath for the new millennium. Now we just need him to rush off, get drunk, and try to kiss Rachel Nichols during halftime of the Pro Bowl.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Blog Wars
Dave and I have tried lately to be diligent about linking to the best blogs we can find that have to do with the teams we are playing next. We are trying to get even better about it and hope to bring some more Q&A to you in the future when we actually get ahead of the game and not just caught up. So I was looking at Timberwolves blogs and realized that in our last 3 games, including the T-Wolves game, we have run into a few of the finest blogs out there. The crazy part? The dedication that is out there for three teams that really don't have much to look forward to this year. Every team goes through it, so I'm sure these guys will be back in the playoffs in the upcoming years. I just wanted to say thanks for the dedication and inspiration:
IndyCornrows
BrewHoop
TWolvesBlog
And as a side note I haven't looked at the upcoming games and you already know how much we like BlazersEdge
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Congrats to Yao
And how on earth did Dave and I miss this? Yao and Lebron were named the NBA players of the month for January. Seriously, do they just not announce this or something? I didn't see anything about it anywhere until I heard something before the game tonight. Congrats Yao, now let's put the two February games behind you and kick some Minnesota ass.
Even with two poor by Yao standards games, he has 7 double doubles in a row.
NBA.com Link
Rockets vs. Bucks, a Win is a Win
The Rockets took on the Bucks tonight, winning 91-83, mostly because Tracy McGrady could only miss when he spotted up. In the flow of the game his jumper was unstoppable. He was 14-27 for 33 points and he added 11 rebounds and 6 assists. Solid game for Tracy, his jumper was on fire. I do fear that his next game it won't be and he'll keep shooting it though. Note to Tracy, if you miss your first 2-3 shots on Monday, please drive to the hoop, otherwise keep shooting until the fire goes out. I'm not sure if anyone else really had a good game. I guess Bonzi did, he had 10 points and 7 rebounds, and all of them seemed to come at necessary points in the game.
For the Bucks, Andrew Bogut played fantatically. I still don't like him though, he has to gain edges by hooking and flopping which I hate, but he did both to perfection tonight. He played decent defense on Yao, but it was more Yao having an off night than Bogut shutting him down. But I'll give credit where credit is due, he played better D on Yao than anyone has all season, so that's a pretty good deal.
The Rockets won by 8 and had the Bucks not cut there turnovers from an average of 15 down to 5 it may have been worse. We didn't play particularly well, but with Micheal Redd sitting we really didn't have to. Even with one of Yao's worst games of the season (still a triple double) the Rockets kept building 8-10 point leads, letting the Bucks back and then building it back up. They closed the game out pretty well, it would have been more like a 12 point win if Bobby Simmons didn't decide to catch fire from behind the line hitting 3 of 3 with in the last 44 seconds of the game.
Good game Tracy, and the rest of the Rockets, thanks for not playing terrible.
Next up: Minnesota Timberwolves at 7PM CST Monday February 4th. The Wolves are now 10-36 on the season, but have won 5 of their last 7. In the last meeting the Rockets cruised to a 31 point victory with Dave and I in attendance. I'm not going to Minnesota in February, so they'll have to do it without us this time. Since that game the T-Wolves have beaten Golden State, Phoenix, New Jersey, Chicago and the LA Clippers. Of note for the game: Al Jefferson has taken my shit talking seriously (I like to believe I'm thaht important) and is averaging 25 ppints, 13 rebounds and 1.6 blocks a game.
Rockets are at 3 wins now of 10 in a row, let's keep it going gentlemen!
Oh hell ya!
Recap and Preview All Wrapped in One
Last night the Rockets won a no Effin Way game. And while Simmons may be the first guy that put that concept in print (that I know of), that concept has been around since the first Madden. The Pacers couldn't miss at times last night, even when the Rockets played lock down defense on about 9 possessions last night they still seemed to score. Most of that damage came from the three point line where the Pacers shot a season high 12-24. Career .369 three point shooter Shawne Williams was 3-3. Only Mike Dunleavy, 1-4, shot less than 50% from the behind the line. Luckily for the Rockets, he's the guy that heaved the final three pointer of the game that ended it without overtime and with a Rockets win. I don't really have too much more about the game, but it sure was nice for the Rockets to pull out a game that earlier in the season they would have blown and lost by double digits. Yep, that was nice.
Here is IndyCornrows' Recap
And to answer his "question"
Was it just me, or did Tracy McGrady seem to float through most of the game? He had a few spurts here and there, but considering the Pacers troubles stopping dribble penetration I figured T-Mac would be taking it to the hole, setting up open jumpers for himself all night. He didn't appear interested in putting out that much effort. Maybe he was still sick.
No it wasn't just you, Tracy has just decided to loaf when he doesn't feel like playing, it's really sad to see.
Up next the good guys take on the Milwaukee Bucks at 7:30PM CST. Did you know that Milwaukee is an Indian name? In fact, it's pronounced "mill-e-wah-que" which is Algonquin for "the good land." I saw Wayne's World and learned that from Alice Cooper. I'm pretty sure that makes me an expert on Milwaukee and Aurora, IL for that matter too. The Bucks have one great player that gets no real recognition in Micheal Redd, a great defender (cause he's a Longhorn) in Royal Ivey, a guy that is ridiculously overpaid in Bobby Simmons, a guy that shouldn't have been drafted over Chris Paul or Deron Williams in Andrew Bogut, oh, and Yi Jianlian, a guy Yao has said he thinks will be better than him one day, luckily today is not that day. What does that add up to? Not much really except the occasional 35-40 point game from Redd.
Milwaukee: 18-29 (13-7 At Home) They are 5-5 in their last ten at home after starting out at 8-2 and settling down.
Houston: 26-20 (14-11 On the Road) The Rockets have won 6 in a row on the road and 8-2 on the road in their last ten.
The Bucks last 5 wins at home were against Washington by 3 in OT, Indiana by 12, Atlanta by 7, Miami by 6, and Charlotte by 4. There was one good team in that mix and they had to win in OT after blowing an 11 point lead in the last minute and 32 seconds. The last 5 losses were to Phoenix by 9, Golden State by 20, Washington by 24, New Jersey by 2, and Sacramento by 13. That basically boils down to complete schizophrenia and a very slim chance of beating a good team, hell a slim chance at not getting blown out by one.
The last game between them the Rockets won 104-88 on November 9th back when they were 5-1.
I'm not very good apparently at predicting scores or big games from anyone, so I'll just keep to my prediction sheet and say this will be the 3rd win of 10 in a row for the Rockets.
Here is Brewhoop.com's Preview
Tracy, seriously, just shut up and play
T-Mac, I like you. I really do. I know it seems like a love-hate relationship because I get annoyed when you shoot too many 3s and not drive the ball to the hoop in the 4th Q. I know I've told you to stop sulking... and I mean it. But now you run the risk of completely losing credibility. You blame your shooting woes on the stadium now?!? I don't see Carl Landry or Yao or Luis Scola bitching about their 50+% shooting...
From USAToday - through the AOL Fanhouse - McGrady blames rims at the Toyota Center for the Rockets' shooting woes.
McGrady says the rims are not shooter-friendly - and hurt his team as much as they do opponents. Houston is shooting 43.4% from the field at home and 45.2% on the road."I really feel a lot of guys are not comfortable playing in this arena," McGrady told the Houston Chronicle. "It's not a good shooting arena for whatever reason."It's not just our guys. It's guys around the league. They hate our arena. Who was the last player to score 40 in our arena?"Basketball Reference shows that no player has dropped 40 in the Toyota Center this year, but who cares? The game is about Ws and Ls, not about who scores 40 points by themselves.
Maybe if you'd stop shooting from 28 feet away when the other team is inviting you to try to dunk the ball, your shooting percentage would be better. Just a thought. I know it seems strange, but dunks are mathematically higher percentage shots than 3-point attempts. Look it up, it's true!
Just play ball, Tracy. Stop making excuses and go play. And try to have some fun while you're doing it.oh, and to answer your trivia question, the last guy to score 40+ in the Toyota Center? Carlos Boozer during the playoffs last year. 41 points in Game 2. But the Rockets won that game. So, tell me again why scoring 40 is important??
A win is a win, I'll take it!
I just have one thing to say:
Carl Landry = Beast!
106-103, Rockets win again. Though they probably stole this one. And what the hell - no Pacers fouled out of this game?!? I declare Shenanigans on that! I better go get my broom!
Rockets are 26-20. Up next? The Milwaukee Bucks. Someone make sure to stay with Michael Redd, please!
Friday, February 1, 2008
Rockets vs. Pacers
Tonight the Rockets take on the Indiana Pacers at 6PM CST. Basically meaning I will not see this game live. Note to self: Remember to call home and get Mrs. UofTOrange the DVR (Actually I'll call now so I don't forget). Okay, I'm back from making that important phone call, damn glad I remembered to do that. Luckily Grey's Anatomy and Lost aren't on tonight so I didn't have to get divorced for asking for her to tape the game. So back to your regularly scheduled program:
The Rockets take on the Pacers in Indiana.
Indiana Pacers: 19-27 (9-11 at Home)
9th in the Eastern Conference
Houston Rockets: 25-20 (13-11 on the Road)
10th in the Western Conference
That's right, 5 games over gets you 10th in the West, in the East there are currently two teams in the playoffs under .500, Atlanta at 6 games under and New Jersey at 7 games under. Not really a revelation, but something I cannot help but point out.
What do I have to say about the Pacers other than I love Reggie Miller? Surprisingly little, though Tom from IndyCornrows did a good job below of answering some of our questions. I really do like Danny Granger, and I thought he was the third best guy in the 2005 draft not named CP3 or DWill, but since he's on the Pacers I haven't been able to see him much. But Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy went to two of my most hated schools, so that evens out to ambivalence. I liked when the Pacers mattered, after this game I hope they find a groove.
I found, via IndyCornrows, that there is a good preview here of the game: http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/preview_080201.html
And I agree with most of that preview, Yao is going to dominate. But the part in bold below I found funny:
"I was watching video before practice and they were playing San Antonio and San Antonio was guarding him with two men and he still scored," O'Brien said. "So he's a pretty big load and they've surrounded him with guys that can shoot the three. We had not a little bit of difficulty guarding Rasheed Wallace; Yao is probably the premier low-post presence so we're going to have to figure something out before 7 o'clock (Friday) night to make sure he doesn't single-handedly beat us."
They did? Other than Steve Novak when did that happen? It can if they take my plea from below and trade for Redick though!!
Oh, and I'm sorry Jim, but Yao is going to be huge tonight. This is win 2 of 10 in a row, coming to you live on regional television at 6PM CST.
Lakers get Gasol! Gasol gets negroplasty...
Lakers trade the remains of Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton and some draft pick fodder and acquire Pau Gasol. Wow. Nice trade.
When Andrew Bynum returns, the Lakers will be scary good with Derek Fisher, Kobe, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol and Bynum as the starting five. Wow.
Meanwhile, using my skills of perception and logic through information acquired on the ESPN report of the trade, it looks like Pau Gasol knew this was coming. He already went out and got himself a negroplasty!
Kyle Broflovski... such a trend setter.
Yes please, send him my way
Let it be known that I hate Duke, I hate Duke more than I hate the Utah Jazz and the Tennessee Titans, they fit right in between there and the three things I hate more than Duke, OU, the Yankees and Notre Dame. There are exactly three players in Duke history that I have not hated or at least disliked, Shane Battier, Grant Hill and this guy:
I have a special place in my heart for JJ Redick. He's the guy that everyone, even some Duke fans it seemed, hated at Duke. Since I refuse to conform, I decided to like him. He's a stone cold killer behind the arc and has amazing form. I would trade Luther Head for him in about 2 milliseconds. His defense isn't fantastic, but it's not horrible like Luther Head's or Mike James' defense is. I wonder if Orlando is that dumb? He's asked for a trade and he should get it, but only to the Rockets.
I want him on the Rockets, now Daryl Morey make that shit happen!
Ha ha! Suck it, Fat Ass!
Shaquille O'Neal. Not an All Star. Haha!!
The streak is over, bitch! It is no longer 1993.
Yao is King. Shaq is merely a pawn in Yao's world now.
Suck it, Fat Ass!
(When you properly thank Kobe, Horry and the 2006 NBA referees for your rings, then maybe I'll stop laughing at you)
Guess who's back, back again
And no, it's not Eminem, but that mofo should stop fattening himself up and release another album, preferably one that does not suck. And I listen to Talib Kweli, The Roots, Mos Def, etc, so no bashing of my hip hop taste; I just like it when a white guy can lay down some tracks.
Anyway, what was I talking about? Oh, it's been a while since I wrote. The last time I had a gap it was because I was so pissed off about the Philly game, but I'm over that now. This time, fittingly, it's because I had to go to Philly for work. I got back yesterday, but had no time to write up anything. That time off gave me a bit of writer's block, but I figured I'd just start typing and see what came out. I apologize in advance.
In my absence Dave has become rather prolific in his writing. I figured I should weigh in a bit on some of them:
First he put up a Jordan vs. Hakeem thread, but what he really meant was who wins Houston's title's if Jordan was still playing. To which I say, fuck you if you think the Bulls would have won the second one because I don't care what you say, Michael was back. If he is so great (and he is the best player in NBA history so he is) a layoff wouldn't mean anything. He didn't need to get back in game shape, he's Michael Freaking Jordan. Bottom line is that the Bulls didn't have it that year, so get off your high horse they didn't make it and they weren't going to no matter how many games Jordan played that year. For the first one, Dave has documented it pretty well. The Rockets would have won. I ran a what if scenario and Hakeem averaged 44 PPG and 15 Rebounds and the Rockets win 4-2. I gave them homecourt advantage because they won 58 games in 93-94 to the Bulls 57 in 92-93. Anyway, I'm sure you can run the scenarios and get a different output, but still, I'm sticking by the one I got.
Next up Dave tried to call out one of my two liked Chronicle sports writers (There are a few guys I'm indifferent to) in Jerome Solomon. I have personally read him call for Rafer's head in round about ways before, but this is the first I can remember him just flat out saying it. Props to you Mr. Solomon, good job.
I did not get to see the Rockets games with the Warriors, apparently no NBA game was worthy of air time in Philadelphia on Tuesday night. I did box score watch though and was not too excited to see a 20 point lead lost completely, but I was excited to see us close it out at the end. Great game by Yao it seems from the stats and what Dave told me.
Scola is going to the young guy's challenge. And if he and K Smoove get hot, they could actually win this thing. Here are the rosters:
Rooks: Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Al Horford, Mike Conley, Juan Carlos Navarro, Yi Jianlian, Sean Williams and Jamario Moon
Sophomores: Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rajon Rondo, Daniel Gibson, Jordan Farmar, Rudy Gay, Andrea Bargnani, Ronnie Brewer and Paul Millsap.
No one is going to play defense, so Roy and Gay could both score 40. But if neither takes it seriously, which is more likely in Gay's case, then it could happen. Who am I kidding, Roy takes everything seriously, there really isn't much of a chance for the rookies.
Next up Dave tackled the All Star backups. First I'd like to say, I really like TMac, but no one thought he was getting in as a backup, so that's not really news man. Since the team has already been announced, let me give you my snubs, and I'll put who they should replace:
East:
Snub - Jose Calderon is a guy I would have on there, he's played extremely well on a young team
Who he replaces - Jason Kidd. He's a great player, but come on, do you really think he's had an All Star year?
That's it for the East, I just don't see too many guys out there having great years.
West:
Snub - Deron Williams
Who he replaces - No one, it just sucks that he can't make it as bad ass as he is. He's having a better year than any guard in the East, but is the fifth best in the West. Well, actually I think he's better than Iverson, but that's more because I'm not an AI guy than it is necessarily true. I don't like AI enough to look at the stats.
Snub - Manu Ginobli
Who he replaces - Again, no one, there isn't anyone that got in that shouldn't have.
That's it for the West as well. I'd put Al Jefferson on there if I hadn't seen him play against the Rockets and was just going on stats. Josh Howard is also a great player that could have made it, but I just can't find a way to get him in.
In Dave's most recent post, I actually got in on some questions to Tom over at Indy Cornrows. Good answers all around and I really miss Reggie Miller.
So today I'm back in the game. I'll get up a preview a little later this afternoon or maybe this morning if I'm feeling saucy.
Speaking with the Enemy
[note, the first five questions are mine, Lee piled on with four more last night]
1. It's been nearly a year since the "whitewash" trade that brought Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Troy Murphy to Indiana, while shipping out Captain Jack and depleting possible salacious story lines for the media covering the Pacers. What's your take on the trade - was it good for the Pacers? Did it cripple your present and future? Are you genuinely happy that Stephen Jackson is finding success in Oakland?
The trade had definite pros and cons, but I really think the impact of the trade was over hyped. Stephen Jackson had worn out his welcome in Indy and he was frustrated playing in Rick Carlisle's controlling system. His nightly effort had deteriorated. I hated to see Al Harrington leave town, but for some reason he and Jermaine O'Neal never meshed on the court very well. They were great friends off the court, but their on court games just didn't compliment each other. On the other hand, Dunleavy has been incredible this season, Murphy has played well at times and not so well a lot of times. Ike Diogu was injured early in the year and has had problems since he returned. So, would the Pacers be much different today if the trade wasn't made? A little, assuming O'B was brought in. Offensively they wouldn't be any different, but defensively is where the difference would be felt. But, that's assuming Jack was happy and healthy. No one involved in the trade is worthy of a leading role on a team. Their success depends on supporting better players around them. I'm real happy Jack has found an environment to thrive in out with the Warriors. He thrives on the edge of chaos, so runnin' and gunnin' with Nellie Ball is a perfect fit for Jack.
2. Seriously, I thought Mike Dunleavy Jr. sucked. When did he become the Eli of the NBA?
Two things stick out in Dunleavy's improved play. For one, the system Jim O'Brien implemented is perfect for him. A glaring weakness in Dun's game is taking a defender off the dribble and finishing at the hoop. In Nellie Ball, if the ball doesn't go up on a shot or fast break layup, someone has to drive to the hole and finish or kick out for a shot (oversimplified, I know). So Dun was either had to launch up a shot that may be contested or try to take it to the rack. Yikes. O'B also employs a running game but when the ball is in the half-court the team runs a motion offense (at least they should). When Dun is scoring for the Pacers, there's plenty of ball and player movement. He moves extremely well without the ball, and seems to shoot much better when catching and shooting within the flow of the offense. Which brings me to Dun's second area of improvement -- shooting confidence. He came to town last year with an inconsistent stroke and I was advocating that he give up trying 3-balls. There seemed to be a yip in his follow through some nights. It wasn't pretty. This year he's been shooting with a ton of confidence and a consistent stroke. I think knowing where he's going to get his shots and being able to move into shots to develop some rhythm has helped that confidence.
3. What is the one thing the Pacers need to do to be competitive with Detroit and Boston in the East by the end of the 2009 season?
Honestly, they need to take a lead pipe to the knees of Rasheed, Billups, Tayshaun, KG, Pierce, and Ray Allen. If J.O. is healthy, that ought to even things up. If the Pacers skip the assault plan, they need to solidify their front court and point guard position, which will require a trade or two, excellent draft choices and a little luck.
4. Since we all believe Jermaine O'Neal will not be a Pacer by November of '08, what kind of package of players do you expect to get in return for him? And how much do Pacer fans regret the team not pulling the trigger on an O'Neal for Lamar Odom and spare parts trade with the Lakers this past summer?
J.O. is going to be awfully hard to move and I don't see him leaving $45 million on the table by opting out. I don't think he'll ever live up to that salary again, but I'd just be happy if he was healthy and productive again. The Pacers really miss his defensive presence. He believes he is heading into his prime years and is making sure his knee is healthy for those years, but it is hard not to think his best days are past. At this point, Kwame Brown and Javaris Crittenton or Jordan Farmar would be a great deal. The Pacers need to start over but until J.O.'s situation is resolved, it ain't happening.
5. Who guards Yao on Friday? And at what point in the third quarter can I expect that person to foul out?
I'm sure Jeff Foster will probably start out on Yao. He may foul out, but I can almost guarantee that David Harrison will probably have to play Yao at some point and he will most certainly foul out.
6. If O'Neal could have come out like Kobe did and put the past behind him and just played, in your opinion would it have made a difference? I'm under the impression that it would have, but it's possible that you just have too many front court players for it to have mattered.I think J.O.'s attitude was fine heading into the season. The problem was he just wasn't healthy. He and the team wanted to believe his knee was 100% but it wasn't. He's maybe played five games this year where he had a bounce in his step and some lift in his jump. It is not hard to tell when J.O. is playing hurt and as valiant as that might sound, his production is awful when he's not at full strength.
7. Living in Indiana how big of a following do the Pacers have? (ed. note - my parents are actually from Indiana. And you wonder why I am such a basketball junkie? - David) It's obviously basketball country, but sometimes things don't translate to the pro game. In the mid 90s I got to go see a Pacers/Knicks game at Indiana and was impressed, but how much of that was the team playing well and how much was it blind obsession? Do the Pacers still have the hearts of the state even with the Colts being a great team? Are they equally loved?
Make no mistake, this is a basketball state but the Pacers have turned off a lot of fans with all of the off-court problems. You juxapose those problems with the Colts squeaky clean image and the Pacers appear in complete disarray. In reality, the Colts have had more off-field problems over the past few years, but never with the high profile players. Plus, the offending players for the Colts usually end up off the roster before long. When you only have 12 players suiting up they're all high profile and salary rules make it real hard to move troubled players in the NBA. There are plenty of Pacer fans that will return when they feel the team is worth rooting for and/or starts winning. Right now IU, Purdue and Butler offer great alternatives for the hoop fans around here, so there is a lot of competition in this small NBA market. They've always had that competition. In fact, in 1977, the year after the Pacers went from the ABA to the NBA, then coach, Slick Leonard, and his wife hosted a "Save the Pacers" telethon to drum up enough ticket sales to keep the team in Indy.
8. Who is your favorite non-Reggie Miller Pacer of all time and why?
I could go a few directions here, but I'd have to say Mark Jackson. He played the game with style and gave the Pacers a swagger that impacted 1-12 on the roster. Plus, in running the show he set up Reggie for plenty of big shots.
9. I firmly believe Reggie is a Hall of Famer. And considering that he is Dave's favorite NBA player of all time (ed. note - yes, this is all true) not named Robert Horry, he agrees (Dave owns a Reggie Miller jersey, I think it's the only non-Houston or SMU based jersey he has). If you were giving a speech for his nomination, what would be the first story of his game that came to mind?
Closer. Reggie was a closer for the best Pacer teams. We've all lost track of the number of times everyone knew he would shoot the game deciding shot, we all moved to the edge of our seats, he freed himself for an open shot through sheer will, now we're standing, he received a pass, rose to launch a jumper as everone raised their arms, release, odd rotation, splash. Delirium! Take a bow. Enjoy the goose bumps, Dave.
We would like to thank Tom for taking the time out to answer our completely random and off-the-wall questions. We'd also like to thank his Pacers in advance to letting the Rockets get to 26-20 tonight! Go Rockets!
