Before I get started, I want to thank Patrick, OJ ATM, and mitmil22 for writing three straight previews for TDS. All three were of excellent quality and I enjoyed reading all three of them. Thanks guys.
Back when the schedules were released, one of my friends out here in Lubbock said, "The Rockets and Mavericks play a home-and-home this year."
"No they don't," I responded. After all, I had just looked over the schedule and saw that the Rockets played two home-and-homes this year (against OKC early and Denver late). And last I checked, Dallas wasn't OKC or Denver. It's not "Rocky Mountain Cesspool" after all.
I insisted he was wrong, he insisted I was an idiot, and long-story short, we were both wrong.
For the Mavericks, it's a home-and-home. For us, it isn't. While the Mavericks have had two days off and have been sleeping comfortably in their own beds watching the war of attrition being waged in the Western Conference, the Rockets lost* a fast-paced game to a Kings team that just loves playing spoiler against us.
*I wrote this when the Rockets were down 90-82 with ~5:30 left in the game. Then we won, so I figured it should be left up there to make me feel stupid once again.
The Rockets will potentially be without both Goran Dragic and Marcus Camby. The big advantage for the good guys tonight will be on the boards, but without Camby it hurts. Though Camby did say he would play. And no Dragic would be devastating. Oh, to be Rockets fan. You get gritty wins that make you proud of your team, but just when things look all right an ankle twists or a knee pops or shoulder labrally (is that a word?) tears.
Oh, and this is the obligatory "I hate Jason Terry" sentence. As in, I really hate Jason Terry. Like, a lot. I cannot wait for him to retire. It will be a Houston holiday. We'll meet up every year for drinks and whatnot and toast the absence of the player who just kills the Rockets more than any other team. He and Thaddeus Young can never be on the same team because if it wasn't the Rockets I would need extra pairs of pants constantly. They both terrify me more than medical school exams.
For matchups, I'm taking the lazy way out today and linking back to OJ ATM's brilliant Mavs preview and this video of a man defying gravity. And predict a 110-92 Mavericks victory. After all, the Rockets have not defeated the Mavericks since December 31, 2009. I remember because it was my birthday and I was there. Since then, we're 0-5 against them, with the last two losses coming at home in overtime.
Courtney Lee's one-handed putback slam vs. Mavericks (via clutchfansDOTnet)
Tip-off is at 7:30 CST.