Rockets run out of fuel

The Rockets fell apart last night against the Golden State Warriors 113-94. Houston just didn’t have enough in the tank to keep up with Baron Davis and the rest of the Warriors. Davis put up a game high 27 points but the scoring didn’t stop there. 4 out of 5 starters for Golden State were in double digits in scoring (27,18,18,19) with the 5th only one point shy with 9 points. The Rockets allowed Golden State to shoot over 50% from the field while shooting just under 45% themselves.

An obvious reason for the collapse was the fact that the Rockets played another extremely high paced offense the night before against the Phoenix Suns. Golden State is arguably a faster team so the Rockets were facing an up hill battle from the start. No excuses though, the Warriors were the better team last night.

Mike James cannot be the top scorer(19pts) for the Houston Rockets. While I’m glad that he was able to contribute something is wrong with James taking as many shots as McGrady from the field. James and Wells combined for more points that McGrady and Ming.

So the winning streak the Rockets put together must now be started over again. It starts with the Sacremento Kings on Saturday night then continues at home against Memphis after a 3 day rest.

Rockets Outshine The Suns

The Houston Rockets extended their winning streak Wednesday night defeating the Phoenix Suns 100-94. Yao Ming had a game high 31 points along with 13 rebounds followed by Steve Nash with 29 points and 6 dimes. Stoudemire (25pts), Marion (18pts), McGrady (18pts,8rebs,6ass), and Alston (15pts) were the other high scorers. It’s a good thing too because Utah, San Antonio, and Dallas all won their games tonight as well. Another team playing tonight is the Golden State Warriors, a team that must play again tomorrow night against the ‘New Offense, Same Defense’ Rockets!

The game ball goes to Steve Francis tonight for being a ‘Jack-of-all-trades’ guard. In 27 minutes of playing time Steve managed to put up 9 points, 7 assists (game high), 3 boards, 2 steals, and 2 blocked shots. One of Francis’ blocks came at a key moment with just over 6 minutes left in the 4th quarter that really encapsulated the Rockets defense the whole night. Here’s a few keys from the stats:

- Houston held Phoenix to 41% from the field and behind the arc while shooting 51% from the field and 50% from behind the arc.
- Steve Nash only had 6 assists when he’s been averaging 11 a game.
- Houston out rebounded Phoenix by 13. (41-28)
- The Rockets bench out scored the Suns bench 24-8.

All in all an impressive and important victory. Now the Rockets have some steam going behind them as they are half way done with this west coast swing. The Rockets will try to continue to win on the road with the Warriors and the Kings coming up before making a one game pit stop at home to face the Grizzlies.

Short & Sweet

Tracy McGrady led all scorers with 36 points in Houston’s victory over the L.A. Clippers Monday night. The Rockets face the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warrior in back-to-back games Wednesday and Thursday. Houston has put together a couple of wins at a time when every team ahead of them in the Western Conference standings has lost. McGrady and Co. have their work cut out for them in the next 7 or so games and need to capitalize at a time when those ahead of them are slipping.

I put tomorrows game on coach Rick Adelman. The Rockets had a full day to prepare for the Suns. They just played each other last week so the Rockets should have a pretty good idea of what the Suns are going to throw at them.

Joy and Pain

Some say that in order to appreciate joy you have to experience pain. The low before the high. After losing to the Miami Heat the night before the Rockets were finally able to get back to what started their season so well. Last night we saw an aggressive Houston Rocket team defeat the Denver Nuggets with the new look offense most fans expected to see from Coach Rick Adelman.

McGrady led all scorers with 35 points, and Yao Ming was second overall adding 22 points and 13 rebounds. The difference though was the energy the Rockets played with, which could be from implementing Adelman’s upbeat style offense. The Rocket guards stepped up and ran the show pretty well. Steve Francis played in his second game of the season and provided a solid 10 points, 4 boards, and 10 dimes in 20 minutes of action. Hayes, James, and Battier all added 8 points a piece however Shane Battier gets the Windex award snagging 12 rebounds, only 1 less than the Great Wall.

The keys to the game were getting the ball to McGrady where he could do something with it instead of create something himself. Yao Ming returned to the low post, where he should stay! And as well as the offense did, the Rockets defense should also be pointed out holding the Nuggets to 35% shooting from the field.

Looking ahead the Rockets will face another team at .500 for the season the 6-6 L.A. Clippers on Monday night. Then it’s back-to-back games in Phoenix (11-2) and Golden State (5-7). Currently the Clipppers are on a 2 game losing streak, however the Suns are on an 8 game streak and the Warriors have put together back-to-back wins. I’ll also point out that division rival Dallas Mavericks have lost their last 2 games however remain at the #3 position in the West. The Rockets currently sit @ 8th in the West.

Rockets Fail to Execute

It’s hard to type the same things over and over again but the Rockets, yet again played a very ‘winable’ game against the Dallas Mavericks last night however fell in the final minutes of the 4th quarter. A loss at this point is a difficult to write about when you’re as emotionally involved with the Rockets as I am.Had we won this game this post would look very different. We had the stats of a solid game played, but in loosing all those stats are thrown out the window. Right now the Houston Rockets are a 1st and 3rd quarter team and I think Dallas is a perfect example of a 2nd and 4th quarter team. In this league you have to be a 2nd and 4th quarter team because being just a 4th quarter team often leaves you too deep in the hole to recover. The Rockets have to find a way to finish down the stretch and they can’t use the excuse of being tired this time because the Rockets had the previous 3 days off to rest and prepare.

Tomorrow brings a struggling Miami Heat (2-9) to the table in Miami with Dwayne Wade making his return from injury just a few games ago. Luckily for Houston Wade has not returned at the same level he left at. Yao Ming will have his work cut out for him facing off against Shaq Diesel. The Rockets fall to 6-6 with last nights loss.

Light at the End of the Tunnel.

The Houston Rockets, once again with out Tracy McGrady, loss their 4th game in a row tonight against a fast and furious Phoenix Suns team. It should be noted that the starters for the Suns posted some impressive points (19,21,18,18,21). I’ll just point out some keys to the loss tonight as well as some things to look forward to as the season continues.

Yao Ming 22 minutes played, 4-17 from the field, 12 pts 6 rebs. Yao only had 1 point at the end of the half… unacceptable. Mike James getting the start in place of T-Mac put up a solid 17 points. Shane Battier 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals. If he can do this when McGrady returns it will really spread our offense out. Chuck Hayes played a little over a total quarter and had only 2 points and more importantly 2 rebounds. Rest up Chuck. Steve Francis making his season debut penetrated the lane well however still needs to find his shooting touch. He’s still rusty but it was good to see him out there making an effort. Luther Head however wouldn’t let the fact that Francis was getting his first playing time this season out do him. In similar minutes, Head 24, Francis 23, Luther doubled Steve’s points and had a third his fouls. Bonzi Wells played 16 minutes and went 0-6 can’t happen again. And then there was Luis Scola! Scola was on the court the longest out of all Rockets tonight with a healthy 37 minutes 36 seconds. 20 points 11 rebounds against a talented Phoenix team is the light at the end of this ‘5 games in 7 days’ tunnel.

Another Tough Loss

Even though the Spurs won tonights game, 84-90, I can guarantee you there are a few Spurs fans that are envious of the Houston Rockets. The reason is a young talent named Luis Scola. Scola was acquired from the San Antonio Spurs this off season in exchange for an unproductive guard. Perhaps someone from the Rockets organization stumbled upon my previous posts, but whatever the reason the Rockets elevated their game tonight. Shane Battier, Mike James, and Luis Scola joined Yao Ming in putting up double digit points. Yao however fell 10 points short of his average in a game where those points would have turned the game. Tony Parker didn’t really show until the 4th quarter but the Spurs rode a strong game from Tim Duncan (25pts) and Manu Ginobili (19pts).It was a tough loss tonight for my Houston Rockets however for not having Tracy McGrady they played pretty well against the defending champs. Now we must keep this fire going against the Phoenix Suns tomorrow night and Yao must have a much better game with T-Mac out. Yao, you’re a superstar buddy and it’s time to do what superstars do and that’s carry a team.

Missed a few…

I missed a few games so I’ll recap quickly. Yao vs Yi was quite the stage and I must say that I was happy with Yao’s performance that put the Rockets at 4-1, and since we beat San Antonio that put us at the top of the Western Conference! Tracy McGrady quietly added 21 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists.

Next the Rockets started a short 2 game road trip against the Charlotte Bobcats and stole the game in the final minutes 85-82. It was a struggle for the Rockets but luckily Yao and Tracy combined for 60 points, however no other Rocket scored above 6 points. The Bobcats, on the other hand, had 5 players in double digits. The Rockets faced similar problems in their next match up against the Memphis Grizzlies. Although McGrady put up a season high 41 points and despite an additional 22 by Yao the Rockets fell to the Grizzlies 99-105. Once again Yao and Tracy combined for 60+ points and the other Rockets just couldn’t contribute much else. Mike James did reach double digits… barely.

Last night against the Lakers every Rocket fan (that was watching the game) saw a scary but familiar sight, Tracy McGrady leaving the game due to an injury. This time it was on a play where T-Mac hit his right (shooting) elbow on Luke Walton’s hip near the end of the 2nd quarter chasing a loose ball. How would Houston answer in the second half without the leagues leading scorer in T-Mac and the rest of the team barely able to break into double digits in the previous 2 games? See my previous post about Bonzi Wells! Yao scored 26, a few points above his average, and Bonzi came off the bench and filled in as much as he could for McGrady and put up another double double adding 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 block shots. Fast forward to the last play of the game. Yao Ming on the free throw line shooting his 2nd free throw with less than 2 seconds remaining. Yao placed his free throw perfectly so that it promptly returned right back at him forcing him to tip it out to Rafer Alston behind the arc to force overtime… brick. Rafer is currently only hitting 20% of his 3 point shots and 31.5% from the rest of the field. I’ll say it, Steve Francis I’ve got my eye on you and you better be getting back in game shape because we are hurting in our back court right now. Tracy is expected to miss a week at most at a time when Houston faces the Spurs, Suns, and Mavs.

Houston, meet Bonzi Wells!

I know there was beef last season with Houston Rockets fans and Bonzi Wells. Granted Wells had his own beef with last years coach Jeff Van Gundy which resulted in reduced minutes for Bonzi. In Coach JVG’s defense though Bonzi didn’t exactly show up in shape when he arrived in Houston last year, much like Steve Francis did this year, which didn’t help him earn a spot in the rotation. I’ll be the first to admit to you that I was upset with Bonzi because I saw what he was capable of in that playoff game against San Antonio. Wells was not my favorite Rocket at last seasons end. And then changes began in the off season that pointed towards a way of redemption for Bonzi.

But new season, new slate. Houston Fans, meet the Bonzi Wells we should have met a year ago. What a stellar performance tonight, once more against the Spurs, with 14 points and 15 rebounds, earning his 29th career double double. I hope we can continue to count on Bonzi to come off the bench and produce each game.

Lesson learned and what a difference a day can make. It’s Time!

Alpha

First post! I won’t increase my risk of sounding stupid and just rambling by making a lengthy first post since I only have one shot at this. For the first few posts I will be commenting on my favorite basketball team the Houston Rockets. I wanted to get this blog started in conjunction with the regular season kicking off but I was being laz… I mean researching where to “bust my blogging cherry”.

Couldn’t resist that last line. =) So this is where you will get to know me, kinda. For those random few who happen to stumble upon my page welcome and feel free to comment, or not. I plan on posting after each Rockets game so check back for my insight.