Guess who is in first place? That's right!

by grungedave on Nov 3, 2009 8:58 AM CST in Random Commentary Comment 21 comments

Things I never thought I would be able to say after Opening Day:

Guess who is in first place!!!??

The Houston Rockets!!!!!

Southwest Standings

	W	L	PCT	GB	STRK
Houston	3	1	.750	0	Won 3
Dallas	2	1	.666	0.5	Won 2
San Antonio	2	1	.666	0.5	Won 1
New Orleans	1	3	.250	2	Lost 2
Memphis	1	3	.250	2	Lost 2

(updated 11.3.2009 at 8:56 AM CST)

........... these guys amaze me every single game. I've never been so happy to be so wrong about a team.

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Good job coach Sleepy.

Rockets are fun to watch as well, 8 players in double figures. Wonder when the last time the Rockets have done that.

You are banned from Music City Miracles.
Happy Now Tits?
You are banned from Blogging The Boys.

by CFHTim on Nov 3, 2009 9:03 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Its still way too early to judge,

but I dont care, I’m kind of enjoying it!

by Rockets4LIFE on Nov 3, 2009 9:27 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Remember, something like six weeks ago,

When you guys were somehow envious of us for having a team to write about in season?

I’ll always be envious of you because in-season or out, your GM will always make things exciting, interesting, and worth watching. Us, at TCB, we have about three years before we get to get excited like you guys. sigh

To Dork Elvis and his band of miscreants!!

The Crawfishboxes
A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.

by DyingQuail on Nov 3, 2009 9:35 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

fair enough

I still think Wade should have kept me as manager… not this bench coach guy.

Ed Wade is an awful, awful GM.

by grungedave on Nov 3, 2009 10:04 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I like where Wade is going honestly

This isn’t so much on him as it is Drayton. He’s willing to spend, just not wisely

www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer

by UofTOrange on Nov 4, 2009 4:35 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I never ........

counted them out, this is a good lttle team, they play well together, another Morey success!

BTW…they not once let the REFS take them out of their game!! GO ROCKETS!!!

by kmbrly429 on Nov 3, 2009 10:44 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

The true test comes next game…

… against those Lakers.

I had to stop arguing with drunks, Steeler fans, and all other fools.
It was making my brick wall jealous...

by steeler-hater on Nov 3, 2009 12:45 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

BTW, who would have thought…

… the Hornets would be 1-3 & tied for last place?

I had to stop arguing with drunks, Steeler fans, and all other fools.
It was making my brick wall jealous...

by steeler-hater on Nov 3, 2009 12:59 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

ooh ooh me I did

Naw, I just thought they’d be bad in general. Poor Chris Paul.

by Only_A_Lad on Nov 3, 2009 3:35 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I am salivating at what this means for his future

www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer

by UofTOrange on Nov 4, 2009 4:36 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The Hornets ...

Otherwise known as Chris Paul and the Janitors

I support the Tornado Release [See: Joakim Noah]

by Prevenge on Nov 3, 2009 3:43 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

and CP3

WANTS OUT OF THAT SITUATION

"It's who we are," Battier said. "I don't think we're going to get the love of the six foot blonde bombshell. That's what the Lakers are here for. It's alright, I like our demographic."

by DREAM34 on Nov 3, 2009 11:48 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

check out this link

ESPN is linking to this tidbit. Does anyone else find it impossible to believe that the best defender on the rockets last year was Luis Scola? I don’t think there’s any way he would make the list of the top five defenders on the team.

http://www.basketballgeek.com/2009/10/30/individual-defensive-efficiency-ratings-extracted-from-play-by-play-data/

by Metalate on Nov 3, 2009 1:22 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Not impossible, but surprising. I was looking at their formula and trying to figure out how they might overrate Scola and underrate Battier/Artest/Yao. Here are the factors in their formula and why Scola might have come out ahead:

1) Made shots: Since they don’t know who was contesting a shot, all made shots are attributed 20% to the players on the court. If Scola was mostly on the court with the first team, he wouldn’t appear much different from any other player.

2) Free throws made following a foul: though Scola fouled much more (3.5 a game vs. 2.3 for Artest and 1.8 for Battier) he was probably fouling PF and C players, who are less likely to make their free throws. My guess is that this was still Scola’s weakest category vs Battier/Artest.

3) Turnovers: the only way to get credit for forcing a turnover in this system is to get a steal (and Scola had as many as Battier last year), take a charge (a Scola trademark!), or be on the court during a bad pass.

4) Rebounds/Blocks: This is probably where Scola pulls away. Almost all of the top defenders on basketballgeek list are interior players. They basically say that if you get a defensive rebound you get credit for a stop proportional to the other team’s expected FG% and probability of getting an offensive rebound. But still, Scola gets a lot more rebounds than Battier gets steals.

Sorry I wrote so much about a little article noone will click on, but I love me some crazy statistical analysis. Especially when I can poke holes in it.

by Moondebah on Nov 3, 2009 2:00 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I've been out of the loop...

So why is Ariza wearing #1 and T-Mac #3? I noticed that recently and have no clue why.

I play real sports...Not try to be the best at exercising.

by wescox10 on Nov 3, 2009 3:26 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

McGrady decided to switch to #3 at the end of last season

He’s promoting his Darfur charity/advocacy group/documentary. So Ariza chose #1 when he signed.

by Only_A_Lad on Nov 3, 2009 3:38 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

because...

Ariza is held in higher esteem than T-Mac among the decision-makers on the Rockets. And Trevor gets what Trevor wants.

by grungedave on Nov 3, 2009 4:16 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

no so.....

surprising, yes it is early and thought we’d be at .500 or so, but where we lack in size we more than make up for it in talent. abz is the next great pg in the league, and it doesnt hurt at all to have a true pg in lowry that has great floor vision, but its pick your medicine with those two. i knew ariza could come in and provide offense, i didnt think it would come this early, but knew he would slide right into the role (does look to attack the basket, and his handles will come, still adjusting to the scorers role). scola, lowry, battier we all know what they can bring to the table, and its still early. they will continue to show up as the season comes along. i dont worry about hayes, i know he’s gonna give it his all when he’s on that floor. andersen has some good post moves, needs to learn to defend a little more, but ill cut him some slack being his first year in the NBA. waiting to see pops get into the mix a little bit more, but other than that, this is a well put together team that looks like they are going to work out well together. big test coming to our house tomorrow, and i dont think we’ll do as bad as ppl are anitcipating, really waiting to see ariza go against his former team. hope to put artest in his place and make him realize he should have thought twice about leaving us. (glad we got ariza when artest freed up space)

"Waiting for the return of the Mac"
"Let VY loose, give him the chance to play his heart out. for himself, for the titans...and for mcnair"
"Titans & Texans fan, dont bug me w/your petty b.s., life's confusing enough."

by kg_2005 on Nov 3, 2009 3:56 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Lets not get carried away...

I really hope that the things we’ve seen in the last few week stays, but lets not get carried away! Its been only 3 games…

by jamesjen25 on Nov 3, 2009 3:57 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

absolutely.

I’m pretty close to convinced at this point that they won’t be awful, and that I’m excited to see the season develop. But they won’t shoot 50% from behind the arc for the season, and it remains to be seen how well the Rockets can function on nights when the shooting is off. And besides, we haven’t seen any injuries yet this season. You know they’re coming… :)

by Metalate on Nov 3, 2009 5:42 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs