The Rockets are Good

by UofTOrange on Oct 31, 2008 11:22 AM CDT Comment 10 comments

Last night the Rockets did things to the Mavericks that I can't remember them doing since the 90s.

The ball movement was Hoosier's-esque and we have more than just Jimmy Chitwood to shoot the ball. With the exception of the end of the 2nd quarter the Rockets completely outplayed the Mavericks. And while the defense only showed up in spurts for the first three quarters, it turned the intensity to 11 in the fourth quarter.

My general observations:

Jason Kidd can still be a good player for the Mavericks, though it is clear he will have games where he is no longer effective

Ron Artest is a man amongst boys most of his time on the court. His offensive skill set is as raw and good as it possibly can be. He just does whatever it takes to score. There is not a better defender in the league, period.

While I still think Dirk is the best Euro player, he is a little flopping, whiny baby. He also played that game dirtier than I've ever seen him. His elbow was flared out every time he turned around and you could see even he didn't believe that he was able to get some of the foul calls he did. And remember, I actually really, really like Dirktastic, but some of that was bush league.

Josh Howard is really good, but is one of the most annoying players in the league to go up against. He is like the hot girl who knows she's hot. His play is arrogant and will get the Mavericks in trouble sometime this season. I just see him getting knocked out at some point in his career, I can't really explain it. And I haven't seen anything about it to this point, I have no respect for any American that doesn't understand why they should respect the National Anthem, if not celebrate it.

Josh Howard's jackassery got him a chest bump from Yao. And it also drew a tech from Artest who was just trying to pull Yao away. Of course it's Crazy Pills and he can do nothing calmly. Reasons I love that guy

Aaron Brooks is the fastest guy in the league, taking over the title from TJ Ford. His skills with the ball are so fast that even if you knew what he was going to do, you couldn't stop it.

Luther Head won't see the court again for more than mop up duty. Honestly, he should be on the inactive list and Von Wafer should be activated. And I feel bad, because he seems like a really good guy. Then I realize that he's a multi-millionaire and don't feel so bad anymore.

Rafer Alston is the perfect fit for this team. Matt, you were right

Yao Ming, Yao Ming, Yao Ming, Yao Ming, Yao Ming, he's like good and stuff.

Off topic

Oh, and I watched the 3rd and 4th quarters of the Suns/Hornets game. The Suns are imminently beatable this year, and CP3 already has a squad minus Tyson Chandler humming. This is going to be a hell of a race between the Rockets, Hornets, Lakers and Jazz.

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Too many minutes for Yao

I’m impressed with the way he held up over the game, considering he was too winded to get above the rim for a dunk at the end of the first quarter, but the long term plan cannot be for Yao to play 40 per night. It will be even more important for Luis Landry and Hayes to stay out of foul trouble so that the big guy can catch a breather every once in a while.

by gerstmaster on Oct 31, 2008 12:37 PM CDT reply actions

I agree about Yao

I think he only logged so many minutes because his shot was falling early. If he would have struggled more, I bet he doesn’t get as many minutes.

This team is SO deep that I wouldn’t actually mind if Adelman sat either Yao or Tracy once a week against a lesser team. I mean, if they could win 22 in a row last year without Yao, I have no doubt that they could win if they just sat Yao for an entire game here and there to keep him fresh… of course, if they did that at home and I went to the game, I’d be pissed… but really – would we need Yao in a Wednesday night game against I dunno – OKC – if say on Friday they started a back-to-back against say, Phoenix and the Lakers?

What a start to the year. The Rockets were gassed, coming off an opening back-to-back, and the Mavs were rested and at home…. yet, we smack them around in the fourth and take home a ten-point win. Glorious.

by HoustonDiehards on Oct 31, 2008 12:46 PM CDT reply actions

correction

they only won 10 in a row without Yao last year

by grungedave on Oct 31, 2008 12:56 PM CDT up reply actions

Oh right, he went down during the streak

Still. You know what I’m getting at.

by HoustonDiehards on Oct 31, 2008 1:28 PM CDT up reply actions

I generally agree...

but I don’t think its realistic to cherry pick teams for Yao or Tracy to play against. We could give some of those lesser teams extra motivation by potentially disrespecting them. Also, it puts us in the position of maybe giving away losses in easy games we really should and need to win to keep pace at the top of the Western conference.

More importantly, remember for every 5 less minutes per game, that’s the equivalent of roughly ten less full games over the course of the season. That should really be where Adelman focuses. Ideally, I’d like both to be in the 30-34 minute range.

by oelayat on Oct 31, 2008 4:54 PM CDT up reply actions

Yao played 40 minutes

because he OWNS the Mavs. This is the type of game where we need him to play 40. Against teams that are shutting him down, then we should rest him more.

by goingforthecorner on Oct 31, 2008 1:19 PM CDT reply actions

Disagree with a couple of things

I still think Battier is the best defender in the league. Artest has more ability, but the effort on every play is not there. There have been plays where he doesn’t run back on defense. He gambles a little too much on defense at times and leaves the rest of the defense vulnerable. When he turns it on, you’re not going to score on him, but if we’re only talking about the defensive side of the ball, I’d still prefer Battier to Artest.

And Leandro Barbosa and Monta Ellis would like to have a word with you re who’s the fastest guy in the league.

by forshizzzle on Oct 31, 2008 2:00 PM CDT reply actions

Brooks

I was most impressed with Brook’s play and his ability to penetrate at will. Against slower point guards like J-Kidd, you won’t even need to set a screen, you could almost just run an isolation for Brooks at the perimeter and have him drive to the hoop or dish it out for an open 3.

T-Mac played great tonight. Definitely saw some emotion there and he didn’t settle for contested jump shots but took it straight to the rim. My favourite stats: 3PT: 0-0, FT: 10-11. PLEASE can we have this T-MAC every night and not Tracy McSissy!

by Daniel C on Oct 31, 2008 4:42 PM CDT reply actions

General Comments

Really encouraged by the overall play yesterday. A few follow-on observations/comments:

This team will be scary ~~once~~ if Tracy gets healthy. It looks like they can be an upper-echelon offensive team and an elite/top of the league defensive team.
The stellar play of Brooks last night and in the preseason has to be the most exciting storyline for Rockets fans. He needs to improve his consistency and his defense on bigger guards, but I see no reason why he can’t be our starting PG by the end of the season. I think we’d all agree Alston would be a more than capable backup.
What happens when Battier comes back? I really think it comes down to each match up, but for consistency and for keeping him sane, I would like to keep Artest in the starting lineup leaving us with Alston/Tracy/Artest/Scola/Yao. Depending on who we’re playing, we could see any of Landry, Brooks, Battier, or even Barry as our first guy(s) off the bench with Hayes used exclusively for unique defensive matchups. I think the value of a “scoring” 6th man is a tad overrated. I think we have enough offensive talent in our 1-8 guys (unlike San Antonio) that we don’t need any individual to carry the 2nd-unit offensively.

What are your thoughts?

by oelayat on Oct 31, 2008 4:46 PM CDT reply actions

Great write up

I am really glad that everyone is so impressed with Aaron Brooks. I have been a big fan of his for a few years now and I really want to see him be a success in the NBA.

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by LaMarvelous on Nov 1, 2008 2:02 AM CDT reply actions