Game 14 Recap: Lowry, Landry lead Rockets to 113-106 bounce-back victory over Kings
by Tom Martin on Nov 21, 2009 10:48 PM CST
in Game Recaps
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PrintYou had to watch this one to really get it. Highlight packages aren't going to do it any justice.
Too many NBA clubs mimic simple transcripts. You can check the game stats, read the recap, and there, you're immediately caught up with whatever it was that you missed. To do the same with the Houston Rockets is to sell yourself short.
You may not know who T.J. Simers is. He's the L.A. Times columnist who called out Phil Jackson after the Rockets wrecked Jackson's Lakers in Game 4 of the '09 playoffs, prompting The Zen Master's infamous response: "Give them some f-----g credit. I mean, for real."
Out of curiosity, I e-mailed Simers shortly after viewing the clip on ESPN. In the e-mail, I basically asked him what he thought the right approach to building a relationship with a coach was. Should a journalist ask easy questions to get on a coach's good side, or ask them the nitty, gritty annoying questions for the betterment of the story?
This is the response that I got from Simers in my inbox the next morning: "We are writers. We are not stenographers."
Of any team in the NBA, none makes it easier to write with expression and color and emotion than the Houston Rockets. It's a worn-out statement, and will continue to be exercised as long as Kyle Lowry, Luis Scola and Carl Landry are around.
It takes a special trust between a coach and his players for Rick Adelman to pull Aaron Brooks, his starting point guard and second-leading scorer, from the scorer's table with two minutes to play in favor of The Bulldog. Lowry delivered with back-to-back assists to Landry, who was dynamite around the rim. Hell, Landry was dynamite just about everywhere.
Shane Battier and Chase Budinger delivered in the effective absence of Brooks, who only scored eight points in 23 minutes. Battier had fourteen points, while Bud Light added twelve.
As we well know, the Kings aren't the same pushover that they have been in past years. This is an impressive win, whether or not anyone cares to notice, especially coming off of the Atlanta loss.
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Win or lose, I'm always impressed by our play
Didn’t catch the game here in the Phils, only the Atlanta game yesterday. We’re still batting 100% against rematches against teams we have lost to :-) Portland, L.A., Sacramento
It’s good Adelman is trusting his bench more in the endgame. We’re really 8-9 man deep.
I was at the game tonight, and you are exactly right
A couple of things that may go unnoticed in the televised broadcasts is how well the team players seem to feed off of each other without much ego, and how good Shane Battier really is in being the floor leader of this team.
The body language and chemistry of this team was excellent.
One thing that I was surprised was that Trevor Ariza tends to slack off of his man whenever the ball goes to the weakside, and the Kings repeatedly rotated the ball quickly enough to punish Trevor’s error. May be the Rockets were a bit tired, with a tail end of a 4 games in 5 nights marathon.
On the other hand, Lowry was sensational, and in the long run I think we are going to be happy to have David Anderson. It was a good win, and Sacramento Kings are an excellent team with a lot of talent. They are fun to watch, and they showed a glimpse of how other teams need to play to if they want to beat this Rockets team.
A good win!
Kari
good thoughts as always, Kari
The Dream Shake ...on Twitter.
"I think girls are probably just better shooters." - Steve Novak
Good thoughts.
It’s easy to see the Yao/Andersen combo being a nightmare for opponents next year, isn’t it? I’d still like to get a big, physical defensive center. Well, no, what I’d really like is a 7ft tall Chuck Hayes. Can’t have everything I suppose.
Go on, try to beat them. Try to score on them. Stay in front of those guards. Try to tap out an offensive rebound on that Lilliputian front line. They're so awful, you're so good ... go on. Beat ‘em. - Kelly Dwyer on The Rockets
Glad we won this.
I had to miss this one, so I’m glad Houston could somehow win without my good vibes. Its reassuring.
Go on, try to beat them. Try to score on them. Stay in front of those guards. Try to tap out an offensive rebound on that Lilliputian front line. They're so awful, you're so good ... go on. Beat ‘em. - Kelly Dwyer on The Rockets
From a Kings perspective
I thought Houston was more active to loose balls, showed how much more of a veteran/older team they are, and showed why they are still a threat to be a playoff team. It’s a mistake to say this team can’t compete without Yao Ming or Tracy McGrady (more so the former IMO), but I do think not having Yao obviously obliterates Houston’s championship dreams (again, duh).
When the Rockets needed to, they got the ball to Landry or Scola, and they scored doing what they do.
I was happy the Kings got a win, but if the Rockets were rested I think they would have blown the Kings out (assuming similar happenings). I just don’t think the Rockets had enough gas to put them away when they had to do so.
it was a good win for the Rockets in a way. But, had the Kings won I believe it would be far & away the best victory of the year for my Baby Royals. Oh well, it wasn’t to be. Congrats.
No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
Oh, hes in the laegue two and Jayson Thomson and that Boggins dude on Milwokee, and Occur for the Jizz. Its a talented laegue.--Kfan in Korea
I would have been happy if the Kings got the win^ (before the Rockets were rested comment)
No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
Oh, hes in the laegue two and Jayson Thomson and that Boggins dude on Milwokee, and Occur for the Jizz. Its a talented laegue.--Kfan in Korea
The Kings are a good team, and the Rockets had to dig deep to put them away!
I think Paul Westphal has instilled a ‘can do’ sense to this team, and they are playing very loose.
Original caption: Sacramento Kings’ Donte Greene (20) loses the ball under pressure from Houston Rockets’ Trevor Ariza (1) during the first half of a basketball game Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009 in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
Ticklish?
The Charles Barkley 2009/10 Ancestors Count: 1 Grandmothers , 0 Mother Alltime: Reg. 24-0 Playoffs 7-0
"There were arms coming from everywhere, and I knew they weren’t going for the ball," Miller said. "I was just trying to get [the shot] up before they called some crap like ‘on the ground.’ "
"What do you want me to do?" Wright asked. "Do you want me to Derek Fisher him?"
"Give them some fucking credit, i mean for real." Jackson said.
"I just fell on my face for no reason," Bryant deadpanned. "I'm a klutz."
"Fucking right i'm preachin' it!" Carlisle replied.
"Rough life, isn't it. It's tough all over, isn't it." Smith chuckled.
Mutombo, Ewing and Yao at the restaurant...
MUTOMBO: "The chicken is the bomb."
EWING: [Rubbing belly] "I gotta go work out tonight. I'm full. You got a treadmill for me?"
YAO: " Leave your car keys here and run home. I'll give you the keys tomorrow."
by DOH on Nov 22, 2009 6:45 AM CST reply actions 1 recs
Apparently McGrady missed the game with a bad back. No kidding.
and people still wonder why the Rockets aren’t rushing to start playing TMac again.
......
I did expect Scola to shoulder much of the responsibility when both T-Mac and Yao were out injured. And he has been doing it tremendously. As always his game both of the offense and the defense has been instrumental for the Rockets to move up the ladder. On top of that, the support he getas both Landry and Lowry are also a plus point for this team success despite playing without their star player. I’ve always its all about teamwork and chemistry, and the Rockets do have that in them.
VAMOS ARGENTINA!!! Please visit my blog @ http://mundoalbiceleste.blogspot.com
No one here is surprised to see Scola step up.
The combo of Scola and Landry is difficult for other teams to handle. Their are different, but equally effective.
Go on, try to beat them. Try to score on them. Stay in front of those guards. Try to tap out an offensive rebound on that Lilliputian front line. They're so awful, you're so good ... go on. Beat ‘em. - Kelly Dwyer on The Rockets
That was a very fun game to watch…
… especially the 4th Quarter.
I am glad they finally get to have a few days off to rest. They’ve played something like 8 games in 12 days or something crazy like that. As much as I enjoy seeing them play so regularly, it is in their best interest to get some rest. The fact that they went 4-4 in those 8 games tells me that had they not played all those games in such a short span of time, they may have done better than 4-4.
Too many back-to-backs, especially considering the fast paced style of play Adelman had them playing…
I had to stop arguing with drunks, Steeler fans, and all other fools.
It was making my brick wall jealous...
how come no one has really addressed araoon brooks statistical struggles of late.
i know hes had one or two monster games sprinkled in. but he has not stayed consistently dominant. I really think has that potential and I want to see him achieve it.
any thoughts on whats going on? changes in offense? lowry? hes jsut struggling? anything?
Well so far
Brooks has played better on the road then at home, kind of opposite to last season, and that pretty much mirrors what TMAC has done here! Maybe its the grown of the crown on a miss/TO that drops his confidence….. the main thing he needs to fix is his dribble to the hoop when the defense collapses, he always seems to loose the ball instead of giving it up early or picking up his dribble and busting through it. This is causing the other team to fast break with no one back. Other then that he’ll be fine.
Would like ariza to shoot 2 or 3 less threes per game too, there is always a couple of shockers each game where he settles for a long three with a man in his face instead of giving it up and slashing to the hoop.
"We obviously didn’t know the scouting report that well on Andersen. We knew he’s a shooter but we didn’t see him play at that level." Phil Jackson on underestimating the aussie
You're right.
I’d actually like to see Brooks “stop and pop” a few times on his way to the basket. That means the defenders can’t commit to going for the block as much. On the other hand, I’ve seen him pass out of his drives to a worse shot than the one he had, which is frustrating too. All in all, though, I think he’s doing a pretty good job stepping up to a larger role.
As for Ariza – yes, he needs to either shoot fewer threes, or set himself better. He’s rushing his shot just a little it seems, and it’s really not necessary for him to do it. He’s tall, few defenders can get to him to disrupt his three in time. He’s not going to get blocked.
Go on, try to beat them. Try to score on them. Stay in front of those guards. Try to tap out an offensive rebound on that Lilliputian front line. They're so awful, you're so good ... go on. Beat ‘em. - Kelly Dwyer on The Rockets
defense too
I’ve felt like ever since the first quarter of the Dallas game, when Brooks went off for 19 or so, defenses have been much more focused on him. Dallas started trapping him out to 30 feet in the second half. Brooks either needs some help with an alternative guy to create some offense or else needs to do a much better job distributing the ball. He’s fun to watch, and I hope he has a Tony Parker ceiling to him, but for now Brooks simply has big weaknesses to go along with his many strengths.
AGREE!!
With last 3 comments, somebody talk to BROOKS/Team, will only hurt the Rockets in the long run!
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