Game 35 - Houston Rockets at Atlanta Hawks Saturday 6:00PM CST

Deke’s back, baby.

I love Scola, but I’m one of the bigger Josh Smith fans around – I’d probably give Smith the nod there. But I’m hoping Luis beasts him up tonight. He’s been on the boards over the last few games.

Artest isn’t playing tonight. No Battier, T-Mac, or Artest doesn’t look very good for the Rockets.

Von Wafer starts, though.

should start…he deserves it and is a great player…let him start the next 5 games and let t-mac NOT PLAY

but the fact that the Rockets have reached 100 points without two starters and their sixth man is pretty impressive.

Defense isn’t pretty, though.

need a three

fuck

well, no more 100 point rule.

id say a good game for the rockets…of course u want the W but thinkgs might have changed…wafer playing really well, brooks maybe outta slump…

one thing id like to happen…i really just want adelman to start cursing out the referees…so what u get ejected and u get fined…but he needs to make a point…theses bloody refs can’t handle yao…they cant call to many fouls bcz. that not fair so they just let yao get hacked and only call ones they feel like…just ridiculous

We played like we actually cared for once. ATL was 14-2 at home and a possession made the difference.

- The fact that Wafer was starting today just shows how clueless Adelman is. He has no idea what to do with his rotation. It was so obvious that Wafer should be playing over Head, and he finally figures it out. When Head did play today, he had the worst +/- on the team with a -13. Just wonderful.

- In the last few minutes of the 4th, Adelman predictably puts in Yao, who goes on to be the primary reason why we blew it. Whether it was turning the ball over with no foul calls, or not getting rebounds right in front of his face, I thought he killed us more than anything. Worst part was that Yao was subbed in for Landry, who played well. Seeing how Yao is going to be our #1 option at the end, it’s really concerning to see him play so poorly when it matters the most. If this is his team, and the offense revolves around him, he HAS to figure out how to score without turning the ball over at the end.

- While I’m on Adelman, the decision to not foul on the Hawks’ final possession when we had a foul to give was just plain inexcusable. What else can you say?

- Our defense in general was just pathetic. “Heart and effort” won’t prevent other teams from scoring. We desperately need Battier and Artest to come back healthy. Why is Chuck Hayes getting so little playing time? I severely miss JVG and Tom Thibodeau.

- I love Luis Scola. Even when the going gets tough, you can always count on Scola playing with effort and intensity. Another quiet double double for him. He doesn’t turn up the level of intensity, he always plays at the same level all game.

- Didn’t we sign Brent Barry for end game situations like these? He was there in the last possession, but why not the last few minutes. Our defense was terrible even without him on the court, and Wafer was struggling with cramps. Wafer put up a horrible and unnecessary three pointer. We were better off with Barry’s veteran leadership.

- Gotta give some love to Rafer Alston. He didn’t shoot well again, but you can’t question the man’s effort out there. He gives it his all. Loved his move that got Horford stumbling to the ground LOL! He got some crucial steals while guarding a taller Joe Johnson. He screwed up at the end though. He was so worried about playing help defense that he gave too much room to Mike Bibby. Just a mental blunder.

- Our offense is plenty good enough to produce without McGrady. All we need is some healthy bodies to run a fluid offense. I’m glad Brooks found his shot somewhat. We spaced the floor real well, and primary reasons for that is that they were all 100% healthy and weren’t ball stoppers. I honestly would rather continue to keep T-Mac, Artest, and Battier all out until they can play at least at 80%. If we play the way we played today, we can win games.

shoulda taken the last shot