Game 60 - Houston Rockets @ Minnesota Timberwolves - 6pm CST

by grungedave on Mar 1, 2009 5:44 PM CST in Game Previews Comment 71 comments

Game 60 is tonight.
It is also known as the day after Luther Head Liberation Day.

This time, the Rockets will try to blow a double-digit 4th quarter lead against the Minnesota Timberwolves. I'd do a matchup/analysis, but the Rockets are better at every single position, which means we should be favored by 10 (I haven't looked but I'm sure Vegas has us at -8 or something).

If Aaron Brooks will stop doing his Steve Francis impersonation of pounding the ball into the floor for 20 seconds each possession, and Crazy Pills will actually pass the ball to an open Scola/Yao... this game should be over early. We shall see.

... and to give this some old school flavor, here's a picture of two guys who won't be playing tonight for either team:

Consider this your "open thread" for comments, rants and raves.

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Comments

Minnesota announcers

saying the collapse last night was the largest 4th-quarter collapse in franchise history. Wow.

by Only_A_Lad on Mar 1, 2009 6:12 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

surpassing a 16-point collapse

featuring Jim Petersen.

by Only_A_Lad on Mar 1, 2009 6:27 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

we have been in need for a point guard in years. will we ever get one? clearly brooks is very good as a BACKUP pg
and can artest/brooks stop hogging the ball and chucking up bad shots in crunch time. pass to the open yao. good example last game’s 4th quarter meltdown.

by xsupan0va on Mar 1, 2009 6:22 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I wouldn't even call Brooks a backup point

he’s the adrenaline shot of offense off the bench you use when you can’t score. That’s his best role. For whatever reason Morey thought this guy could all of a sudden start and run an entire offense. Now instead of resurrecting the offense off the bench, he’s now a big part of the offense when it does struggle.

by goingforthecorner on Mar 1, 2009 6:35 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

For whatever reason

evidence. It’s called objective statistical evidence.

by Only_A_Lad on Mar 1, 2009 6:52 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

not in this case

Morey is taking a clear gamble for the future. It’s not like EVERY move he makes is based on his number crunching. Just look at the horrible signing of Francis and then signing Mutombo for lockerroom leadership.

by goingforthecorner on Mar 1, 2009 7:38 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

What exactly was horrible about either move?

He paid Francis jack squat, though if you mean from a contribution stand point he knew he probably wouldn’t make it then I agree. Francis was a gamble, but it was clearly calculated. He got him for about 2 mill less than other teams offered him and if he somehow did come back, Morey had picked up a fan favorite for next to nothing.

And I don’t think you were saying Mutombo was a terrible move, so strike that. But statistically he was phenomenal last year and the team had better stats with him on it, so leadership can be statistically calculated and I’m sure it is

www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer

by UofTOrange on Mar 1, 2009 7:42 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Francis was a horrible move because it cost us a draft pick and money

and give us zero production. You can admit Morey is human. It was a bad move in retrospect, and if he could go back in time we wouldn’t have signed him.

Mutombo wasn’t a bad move, but it proves he doesn’t make moves just based on stats. And I highly doubt he actually has leadership/cheerleading statistics. He was just using common sense there. We needed Deke’s leadership and camaraderie, so it was a no brainer.

by goingforthecorner on Mar 1, 2009 7:59 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I direct you

back to that BDL post about the trade. Lowry > Alston.

by Only_A_Lad on Mar 1, 2009 7:47 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

BDL?

by goingforthecorner on Mar 1, 2009 7:59 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

OK you're talking about Kelly Dwyer's article

it was his opinion that he liked Lowry better. Doesn’t make it fact.

by goingforthecorner on Mar 1, 2009 8:00 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

but

he used some alright stats to demonstrate it.

If you look at the advanced stats, it becomes immediately clear that Lowry is better than Alston, too. Better across the board.

by Only_A_Lad on Mar 1, 2009 8:02 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

It's impossible...

…to convince someone of something, even with statistics, when their sole purpose for being here is to play Devil’s Advocate.

"I think girls are probably just better shooters." - Steve Novak

by Tom Martin on Mar 1, 2009 8:04 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I think

GFTC really believes what he says. I agree with him (mostly, anyways) about McGrady. I don’t think he’s just playing devil’s advocate there. I think he, like Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and so many other media pundits, truly believes Alston is a better player than either Lowry or Brooks. I think he’s very wrong about that, but plenty of rational people believe that.

His opinions on Yao, however, are unjustified, and I think born more of anger against those who irrationally hate on McGrady.

None of those things is playing devil’s advocate.

by Only_A_Lad on Mar 1, 2009 8:08 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

What about those who rationally hate on Tracy McGrady?

by Xiane on Mar 1, 2009 8:49 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Why is everyone forgetting the key part of last night's game?

We played EXTREMELY well for the majority of the game, and while the collapse was obviously devastating and inexcusable, you can’t just say we suck now. That would be insane. I still think Brooks/Lowry is a formidable combination.

"I think girls are probably just better shooters." - Steve Novak

by Tom Martin on Mar 1, 2009 6:38 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

It's not how you start, it's how you finish

and we’ve CONSISTENTLY been unable to demonstrate a killer instinct in the 4th quarter, even in games we were fortunate to hold a lead. This is a HUGE concern.

by goingforthecorner on Mar 1, 2009 6:40 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

finish ain't shit

if you don’t start well. It’s not the start or the finish. It’s the whole game.

by Only_A_Lad on Mar 1, 2009 6:50 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I didn't see the game

But I don’t understand why Lowry didn’t play more late. We needed a better defender on Rose than Brooks

www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer

by UofTOrange on Mar 1, 2009 6:42 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Rather, I didn't see all of it

www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer

by UofTOrange on Mar 1, 2009 6:42 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I agree

In fact I would rather start Lowry so we can at least get back to starting a good defensive PG. Brooks is still much better off being a true scoring guard off the bench.

by goingforthecorner on Mar 1, 2009 6:46 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I think that might happen eventually

www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer

by UofTOrange on Mar 1, 2009 6:47 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I still think that's

what Morey was implying would happen in the trade press conference. Of course, as he said, he doesn’t make the lineup decisions.

On the other hand, the Rockets might not have the offensive power they need from the starters w/o Brooks.

by Only_A_Lad on Mar 1, 2009 6:51 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Lowry can still drive and dish

then you have Yao, the great Scola, Artest, and a shooter in Battier. That’s enough offense.

by goingforthecorner on Mar 1, 2009 7:39 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Nobody was going to defend anything...

as long as they let Noah pick off our defenders by running into them at full speed with his arms out like a freaking tight end. Those were the most horrific moving screens I’ve seen in a long time.

by Xiane on Mar 1, 2009 8:50 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

phantom call

"I think girls are probably just better shooters." - Steve Novak

by Tom Martin on Mar 1, 2009 6:45 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

The Rockets will win this game by 15+

Mark it down

www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer

by UofTOrange on Mar 1, 2009 6:46 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I would love for that to be the case

And it would be at home. But we’re so inconsistent on the road that while I see us winning this game, I don’t see it being by a huge margin.

"I think girls are probably just better shooters." - Steve Novak

by Tom Martin on Mar 1, 2009 6:57 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

haha

that’s funny, Lee.
but it would be inconsistent with our ability to lose to last place teams.

by grungedave on Mar 1, 2009 7:06 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

My team's on the court

www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer

by UofTOrange on Mar 1, 2009 7:07 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

shit

with the way the Rockets seem unable to pass to yao in the 4th, they might as well be playing with four players.

by Only_A_Lad on Mar 1, 2009 7:08 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

yea

our best offensive weapon is yao. hes always fighting to get position but the players miss him when hes open. the only one who really could get passes to yao was alston. this inability was illustrated in the 4th qtr meltdown and also in this game too. why can we get a good pg =[

by xsupan0va on Mar 1, 2009 9:41 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

They're talking about Rafer on the NBA League Pass halftime

some bitch says “It’s not a downgrade from Jameer because of lack of talent; it’s only a downgrade because he hasn’t been there a full season.” What the fuck is it with Jameer? Nobody buys how good he really is. He was (before he went out) probably the best PG in the East, and now everyone thinks he’s as good as Rafer. I know that the media overestimates Rafer’s abilities, but goddamn!

by Only_A_Lad on Mar 1, 2009 7:12 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

but...

Jameer can’t make up for the street cred Skip brings!!!
that’s enough to trump Jameer’s actual basketball skillz.

by grungedave on Mar 1, 2009 7:17 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

the speculation...

….made by the media of Alston taking Jameer’s starting spot sickens me.

by misterterrific on Mar 1, 2009 7:22 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

for next season i mean

by misterterrific on Mar 1, 2009 7:23 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

yeah

it’s pretty bullshit. Nelson’s development as an outside shooter (along with Dwight Howard continuing to develop) is why the Magic are contenders. This is like suggesting Dikembe was going to take Yao’s starting role away from him last year.

by Only_A_Lad on Mar 1, 2009 7:25 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs