Offense across the league is down quite a bit this year. The average team's points per 100 possessions was 107.3 -- this year it's 102.4, which would have tied the Wizards last year for the league's third-worst offense in 2011. So when the Rockets started the game hitting maybe one in every four of their field goal attempts, things were ugly, but perhaps that was to be expected.

Maybe you should look at this game as evidence for the theory that the reduced offense is a result primarily of the tiring schedule (the main alternative explanation being that it's primarily about reduced/absent practice time): Martin was out, and Bud was in. The Rockets were replacing Martin's minutes with Lee, and Lee's minutes with a more mediocre (though still valuable) shooter, and so it wouldn't be a surprise if the Rockets' backcourt put up a significantly worse offensive effort.

Instead, Budinger came off the bench and scored a season-high 21 points (on only 14 shots, good for about 70% true shooting). Maybe that was because he had last played over a week ago (on January 19th against NOLA) and thus was simply rested and ready to play. Maybe it was just because he had "heart" and all that stuff. Maybe it was because the Wizards are ranked 23rd in defense. Whatever it was, Chase Budinger put in his best game of the year. Besides scoring all those points, he also grabbed 8 rebounds and only turned the ball over once.

The turning point in the game, when the Rockets' offense seemed to come back midway through the first half, seemed to be a reverse layup from Budinger off of an Adelman-style backcut. Before that, the Rockets seemed to blow every layup they tried. After that, they seemed to convert or get fouled every time. That gradually opened up the game, as Lowry drove to the basket and dished it out to the open man. Here, Budinger contributed even more, hitting four three-pointers. Only Dragic had another one for the Rockets.

That may have been the turning point, but the Wizards stayed in the game throughout the first half. It wasn't until after halftime, when the Rockets put together a 21-0 run against the Wizards, that the Rockets finally managed to actually put the Wizards away.

A 17-to-24 turnover difference certainly helped, but a lot of that also came from quality bench play (Budinger, Dragic, Patterson), and it also had to do with excellent play from Luis Scola. Luis brilliantly exploited the Wizards' bigs' foul trouble, as well as a huge matchup advantage against the comparatively whispy Jan Vesely. Luis has had a lot of games this year in which he has shot and rebounded poorly, but this was certainly not one of them -- 19 points on .640 TS, along with 8 rebounds. He was really the only starter who shot well, but it was enough to bring the Rockets back and ahead in the second quarter and to put them away in the second half. Luis attacked the basket from his amazing array of post moves (I think I only saw him take a jump shot maybe three or four times tonight), which was perhaps the best thing the Rockets could rely upon tonight.

By the middle of the final quarter, the Rockets had leaped out to a 30-point lead, led by Scola's great play and Budinger's shooting, and we got a glimpse of Terrence Williams, Jonny Flynn, and (amazingly) Hasheem Thabeet. That's when you know you're certain to win the game. Human victory cigars. That was definitely a highlight, but the highlight of the game had to go to Jordan Hill's fast-break crossover on Roger Mason, Jr. That was kind of crazy and definitely a nice way to show up some of the Wizards' highlight plays.

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The Wizards roll into Houston tonight to face the Rockets fresh off their 7 game streak getting snapped. The Wizards enter tonight’s game with a recent change on their squad too. Washington fired Flip Saunders earlier this week amidst their 2-15 start. Washington sits at 3-15 with Randy Whittman winning his debut as the Wizards coach over the Charlotte Bobcats 92-75. Interestingly enough Washington also failed to pick Javale McGee’s option which begs the question as to whether or not Ted Leonsis is going to fully commit to his initial philosophy when he bought the Washington Wizards, that being to go ahead and burn it to the ground and build through the draft. Currently the Wizards employ the BOYD (Bring Out Your Dead) strategy in which they acquire draft picks and eat bad contracts for cap space to turn it around later. Enough about the Wizards, let’s focus on the Rockets. The Rockets have declined options on all of their 09 players and they have subsequently disappeared from the lineup. This is of course after only one game but I am confident in my stance that they have been exiled to Corpus Christi after their options were declined.

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I did a pre-recorded spot with David Nuno that will air at 6:30PM CST on The Drive.

You can listen live here

We talked Rockets vs. Bucks, contract extension denials, free agency, great moments in Daryl Morey history, Kyle Lowry and Samuel Dalembert vs. Pau Gasol.

Hope you get a chance to listen. You should be listening to @davidnuno every day on your way home or out anyway.

I even got a dig at my least favorite Rocket of all time. (And it's not Buck Johnson (2nd) or Scottie Pippen (because THAT NEVER HAPPENED)

The deadline for taking up team options on contracts was today (1/25/12) and the Houston Rockets decided not to entertain bringing back any of the 2009 draft collections they have amassed. The Rockets state that the reason for doing so is to acquire as much cap space as possible this summer. It seems like the Rockets are going all in on free agency and we’ve been through this song and dance before. This works out since I was going to do a "State of the Rockets Address." Not trying to cut in on OAL’s article but why not have multiple views, eh? After the jump we’ll look at the implications in this move but what you need to know will be above the jump:

Jordan Hill, Hasheem Thabeet, Johnny Flynn, and Terrence Williams will become Unrestricted Free Agents, Courtney Lee will be a Restricted Free Agent. The Rockets will acquire 16 million dollars in additional cap space bringing their total cap bill to 42 million dollars. If they don’t bring back Courtney Lee that number expands to 39 million for 19 million in savings. After the jump, for confirmation via Twitter, click the link.

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The Rockets have decided that they prefer cap space to having any of their '09 Lottery acquisitions' services next year. The Chronicle's Jonathon Feigen has more:

The Rockets have told each of their four lottery picks from the 2009 NBA Draft – Hasheem Thabeet, Jonny Flynn, Terrence Williams and Jordan Hill – they won’t be picking up the fourth-year option on their rookie contracts, a person with knowledge of the talks said.

As I said earlier this week, this should be unsurprising. Flynn, Thabeet, and Williams all seem unlikely to live up to their 2013 options, while Hill's rebounding was not so spectacular (or scarce). More importantly, this move likely gives them enough room to make a max-contract offer to one of this summer's free agents (Dwight Howard or Deron Williams). Both Feigen and Fox26's Mark Berman report that this is likely the Rockets' thinking:

"I was a little surprised," Bradbury said of the Rockets' decision. "His body of work this year in my opinion would merit picking up his option, but at the same time the way (Rockets general manager) Daryl (Morey) explained it, they're trying to clear all of the cap space they can to go after a max contract.

"The disallowing of that trade (with Lakers, Hornets) hurt them and they're trying to figure out a way to do what's best for the Rockets."

Remember that cap space is also a massive boon when attempting to trade for a free agent, since teams under the cap can simply absorb contracts (up to the cap level, of course). Maximizing cap flexibility seems like a decidedly better move than keeping Jordan Hill around for another year, regardless of if he can solidify his gains in rebounding and iron out his offensive problems.

Does this mean the Rockets will get Dwight Howard (or, ugh, Deron Williams)? Of course not. But it does mean that the Rockets can make an offer, which is more than most other teams (the Lakers, for instance) can do. And even if they swing and miss on Howard (or, ugh, Deron Williams), cap flexibility is probably better than paying Jordan Hill $3.6 million next year.

The Rockets have a favorable schedule coming up. They've got four home games between now and Monday. So, why not go support them?

Houston hosts Brandon Jennings' Milwaukee Bucks, John Wall's Washington Wizards, Melo's New York Knicks and Kevin Love's Timberwolves. The Wizards game might be a bit of a blowout, but at least you'll see a win. The others, however, should prove very competitive (though if the Rockets lose at home to an awful road team in the Bucks, I'll be concerned).

In addition to our own specific deals with the Rockets, SB Nation partners with TiqIQ. They can help you find the very best deals available. Here's a graphic for ticket averages on the upcoming homestand:

All the best deals on Rockets tickets can be found within the blog, here. Make sure to keep an eye on the sidebar button as well. Check back here for more deals throughout the year.