The Dream Shake

Clippers Waive Two Players...But not Steve Novak!

2009-01-06T01:03:19Z

Clippers Waive Two Players...But not Steve Novak!

Ah, yes. Finally some respect for the best shooter in the NBA. Paul Davis and Fred Jones? Screw 'em - Steve's staying in town. However, this is somewhat disappointing news, given that to re-acquire him, we would have to make a trade as opposed to a free agent signing. I'm confident that Morey is talking up Luther to Mike Dunleavy.

Via The Hoop Doctors, it's the Yao Ming transformer!

2009-01-06T00:52:11Z

Via The Hoop Doctors, it's the Yao Ming transformer!

State of the Union: Crazy Pills as a Rocket

2009-01-05T17:00:27Z

We are now 35 games into the Ron Artest experiment. The Rockets being a .600 team, right at 21-14. Which is better than last year, but not nearly what was predicted or expected from this team.

(Yeah, I had us at 25-10 in my season predictions for this point... of course I also expected the team to go undefeated in February. Right now I am starting to doubt that possibility.)

But now is as good of a time as any to discuss the results of adding one Ron "Crazy Pills" Artest to the Rockets lineup and locker room. For those that have been in hibernation since August, or are simply Lakers fans, yes, Ron Artest was traded to the Rockets. And so far here are his statistical contributions to the team:

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
2008 - Ron Artest	30	35.8	5.3	14.1	37.3	2.2	5.3	40.9	3.3	4.4	73.7	1.1	4.4	5.5	2.9	2.1	1.8	0.4	2.1	16.0

First, a disclaimer: We all know that Ron Artest cannot and will not be judged on statistics alone. I am going to judge him on three "elements": (1) wins/losses, (2) energy on the court, and (3) his presence in the locker room. That said, yeah, I am disappointed that Ron Ron is shooting a career-worst 37% from the field. I'm also disappointed that he's mimicking T-Mac and is shooting a wholly unnecessary 5.3 three-pointers a game (making 40%, but still). On the flip side, his points, rebounds and assists are right in line with what could be expected... they just have not come in the way I expected back in August. The injury to Battier didn't help. Nor does the fact that Artest is playing through his own severe ankle injury.

But can we consider the Artest trade to be a successful one yet?

In short, I say abso-f--kin'-lutely. Yes!

There is of course a reason why I am willing to say this. The Rockets have been struggling mightily lately. Losing games to bad teams (Indiana, Washington, the Clippers, etc.) while also showing up with no energy in important games (@ Toronto, v. Washington at home, v. Milwaukee at home, etc.). Rafer Alston has been quoted as saying that the team is not on the same page. Yao has expressed frustration in the team's day-to-day effort. Tracy McGrady continues to be a whiny little bitch. The Rockets are mediocre and have been uninspiring for the last 4-6 weeks.

Yet here's Ron Artest proving his value to the team. Today he sums things up perfectly and beautifully (in Feigen's article in the Chronicle):

"It’s going to come down to Mac getting healthy, and then Mac’s got to kind of be more of a dog," Artest said. "Yao is definitely doing his part."

"I think it’s coming along. For some reason, we’re not able to put a good game together. I think right now we look better on paper than what it really is. You see the Big Three people talk about; it’s not turning into wins that people would think it would. We have to get more out of ourselves. Sometimes we play like our life is not on the line. Once we put our life on the line every game, we’ll be OK."

In one simple sound-bite, Artest is both a calming influence and a motivational "light a fire under someone's [McGrady's] ass" presence. You can say what you want about Artest being a weird guy, or crazy, or unpredictable. What you cannot say is that he doesn't "play like [his] life is on the line" in nearly every game. Artest is the only player in the entire locker room not named "Yao Ming" who has the temerity (and ability) to call out Tracy McGrady and get away with it. Yao just won't do it, which is why the Rockets need Artest.

Compare for a moment...

McGrady is hurt. This is nothing new. So McGrady is going to sit out every other game or something like that. And in the games he does play, he's had a tendency to do nothing but stand outside the three point line and pass the ball to guys like Luther Head. Yeah, that's really inspiring stuff, Tracy.

Ron Artest is also hurt. But he's Crazy Pills and McGrady is not. So Artest plays. Why? Because he feels compelled to. And when Artest plays, does he stand around and do nothing? No. He makes sure his presence is felt. Go back and watch the fourth Q and both overtimes in the Utah game. Ron Ron was simply NOT going to let the Rockets lose that game. Mind over injury. Or something like that.

This is where the statistical stuff can get confusing. Yes, Artest's stats are "down" compared to his career marks, and yet he still finds ways to impact the game. McGrady had a triple-double recently, and yet it had little to no impact on the outcome of the game. Yao goes for 20 and 10 basically every night (he's a machine like that), and sometimes it's huge for us... and sometimes I wake up the next day and wonder where the 20 points/10 rebounds came from. I rarely say "wow, Artest is quiet tonight." So, element (2) of my evaluation (enegy on the court) says Crazy Pills has been beneficial to the Rockets on the court.

The Rockets are also a handful of games better than last year's pace... even though the team has been hurt, sluggish and cover-your-eyes awful at times. With Artest being the only real "new" piece to the puzzle, he's gotta get some of the credit for this, right? So, element (1) (wins/losses) is also in Artest's favor as being beneficial to the team.

And after calling out McGrady while also indicating that the team will be fine (in spite of Alston's recent proclaimations to the contrary)....... Artest has been anything but a cancer in the locker room. He's been a Tru Warier, a beacon of strength and intestinal fortitude. And a guy that refuses to quit. And will not let others *cough*T-Mac*cough* quit on him or his team. Element (3) therefore is a plus, too.

This is why I love what Ron Artest brings to the Rockets. He's the anti-McGrady.

Now, does Artest have flaws? Yeah, he's been prone to being a blackhole on offense. The ball movement has a tendency to stop when he catches it. I have faith that this will change soon. Artest also hasn't been his typical lock-down defensive self. But that may change when his ankle is closer to 100%. And I've already mentioned how Ron Ron shoots WAY too many 3s for a guy who should do more damage near the basket. But these are flaws I can handle/accept. Because I have no doubt Artest will continue to play hard every night. You can tell the game *matters* to him.

So - do I have any regrets about the Artest trade now that I've seen him play for a couple months in Houston? Oh... hell no! (Translation: re-sign Crazy Pills, Mr. Morey!!)

"It’s going to come down to Mac getting healthy, and then Mac’s got to kind of be more of a dog," Ro...

2009-01-05T16:35:08Z

"It’s going to come down to Mac getting healthy, and then Mac’s got to kind of be more of a dog," Ron Artest said. "Yao is definitely doing his part.

Houston Chronicle

McGrady the All-Star Starter? Hardly.

2009-01-05T05:16:07Z

Thought I'd throw in my two cents on #1 before "Bash T-Mac Week" comes to an end. It's on a more general note: the 2009 NBA All-Star game. If the polls ended today, your very own Tracy McGrady would be starting for the Western Conference squad. Even as a Rockets fan (or, better yet, especially as a Rockets fan), it's a travesty. As of January 2nd, the polls read as follows:

Western Conference Guards

Kobe Bryant (LAL) 1,534,020 votes

Tracy McGrady (HOU) 961,852 votes

Chris Paul (NO) 867,889 votes

...

Rafer Alston (HOU) 282,767 votes

Brandon Roy (POR) 210,755 votes

I'll let the Rafer thing speak for itself, but the fact that Tracy McGrady has more votes than both Chris Paul and Brandon Roy is ridiculous. While Roy's snubbing may not be much of a surprise given the lack of media attention he receives outside of Oregon, the fact that Chris Paul, the MVP-runner up last season, isn't even that close to McGrady is astounding. Does anyone watch T-Mac play anymore?

I've heard of fans siding with the stars of yesterday. It happens in every sport - the most popular players get votes over the young rising stars who put up better numbers. But this is more than that. This is a beyond-obvious blunder by the fans. It's like if Maxim were to give their "Sexiest Woman" title to Cloris Leachman.

Since when has T-Mac lived up to his title as a "star" in the NBA, at least so far this season? He hasn't put up good numbers at all, his team still hasn't gone to the second round of the playoffs, he's missed a handful of games, and the last time he did anything exciting, aka dunk the ball with any ounce of authority or athleticism, was during the New Orleans game last season, a simple dunk that has been severely overplayed on the Rockets' scoreboard before every home game. Probably 'cause that they really don't have much else to show. It's been a while since 13 in 35.

Can you think of the last time you saw Tracy on SportsCenter's Top Ten Plays, or on NBA.com's Top Ten Plays? I can't - once again, it's been a while. The only reasons that he has received any media attention lately have been A) His failure to produce, or B) The 22-game winning streak, something that garnered more national respect for the Rockets as a whole than for Tracy McGrady. So what is inspiring all of these fans to suddenly vote for T-Mac over Chris Paul? In this case, it's probably due to Chinese voters. Can we do anything about that? Nope, except vote like crazy for Chris. If Dwight Howard can overcome the Yaopalooza in China, then maybe CP3 can as well. But it probably won't happen.

Despite what I said earlier, other sports' All-Star games are indeed beginning to see some improved knowledge of their voters, specifically football. Terrell Owens got passed over for Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald this season, two receivers that have consistently put up TO-like numbers every year but never got much respect. Running backs Thomas Jones and Chris Johnson were chosen over guys like LT and Willie Parker. Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha made it over fan-favorite Champ Bailey. Why doesn't this happen in basketball?

Maybe fantasy football is more popular than fantasy basketball, therefore inspiring stat geeks to vote for players that had legitimate Pro Bowl seasons. But whatever the case, it's wrong, and something needs to change. Like, for instance, Tracy needs to sit out. Hopefully for health reasons, but if not, for moral reasons.

Let me make this clear: even if he is voted a starter, he'll probably sit out due to health concerns. But what if he was healthy enough to play? Should someone who has played this poorly so far this season accept the title that he has been given? It would be unprecedented for Tracy to say, "Hey Chris, start over me. You deserve it." But what if he did it? It would certainly improve his image, if nothing else. But I'll keep that possibility short and sweet, because it ain't happening.

The fact of the matter is that Tracy McGrady will probably not play in the All-Star game because of his injury. But it doesn't change the fact that fans have airballed their chance to vote the league's elite to start in the All-Star game. And Tracy McGrady, I'm saddened to say, is no longer an elite player.

Poll: What to do with McGrady?

2009-01-04T15:07:53Z

We all know that the current plan for McGrady is to sit out every other game when the team has back-to-backs (4 more to go in a row!). But even when T-Mac plays, he's been uninspiring. So, I submit the following... what do you think:

Poll

What should the Rockets do with Tracy McGrady?

I got nothin'

2009-01-04T05:35:44Z

The Rockets are a mediocre basketball team. That's the truth.

And the truth hurts. Yes, I know we played hard tonight... without Artest or Battier and with Von Wafer having cramping issues. Plus Tracy McGrady was a spectator for this game (then again, even when Tracy's been on the court this year he's been mostly a spectator.)

Speaking of Tracy, I always thought centers were the position most likely to all of a sudden just "lose it" - but McGrady is done. We should have done the Kobe trade a year ago. And if that wasn't an option, we should have taken whatever the Chicago Bulls would have offered. In fact, maybe they'll still give us Kirk Hinrich and some spare parts for McGrady (?). Pretty please?

There are exactly two players on the team playing well right now. Yao and Scola. And because Scola is too nice to demand the ball, he's being ignored in the offense. Wafer is up-and-down. Brooks is in a shooting slump. Rafer sucks. Artest is visibly frustrated with his teammates and the referees. Adelman is still asleep (seriously - Carl Landry was PERFECT tonight, and yet Adelman only let him play 18 freakin' minutes. That is inexcusable.)

Sad to say, but the Rockets are once again on pace to limp into the playoffs and be unceremoniously shown the door 6-7 games later.

Show some heart, men. This time last year the team was finding itself and gaining confidence. I see the exact opposite attitude this year. With Rafer bitching about everything and McGrady slowly becoming a cancer... we need someone else to be a jolt of energy and right the ship. Like... now.

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

2009-01-03T22:30:05Z

The Match-ups:

Point Guard
Alston - Please stop sucking completely in every way, please
vs.
Bibby - Will probably have his way with Rafer tonight
Edge: Hawks

Shooting Guard
McGrady - I know he's not actually playing, mostly because he's 29 and broken down. A horse would have been put to sleep by now. But I had to vent so I put him here. You are a complete baby Tracy McGrady. I want to write an entire post about what a waste of space you are on the court right now but can't make myself do it because I want you to be good so badly. You make 21 million freaking dollars a year and yet you are a quitter, a whiner and basically a little bitch. You don't like the effort of other players? Say something, don't join them. You don't like not getting the ball? How about you do something other than standing 7 feet outside the 3 point line. You are pathetic, right now I have absolutely no respect for you. 21 million dollars? Seriously? You owe it to my kid that watches the game with me to play like a man. I don't care if you don't want to be a role model, for 21 million dollars that's the job you have.
vs.
Johnson - Better by about 80% than Tracy McGrady right now with only 80% of his talent
Edge: Hawks

Small Forward
Artest - I'm begging you Ron, go Crazy Pills. Yell at every single player not named Yao on the team. Go nuts. Get a tech. Hell get kicked out of the game because the refs keep letting other teams kill you.
vs.
Williams - He's not that good
Edge: Rockets

Power Forward
Scola - One of the few players playing hard still. Unfortuantely no one gets him the ball when he's hot, and no one takes advantage of him being the only player on the team willing to rebound all game.
vs.
Smith - Insane athlete, not insane basketball knowledge
Edge: Rockets

Center
Yao - Dunk on someone, please big man. Get angry, you were getting some primo position and then as you got hit more and more stopped working as hard for it. Still, you work harder than anyone else on the team, so it's hard to get on you.
vs.
Horford - His actual skill is really good, but his motor is better. That's a good combo
Edge: Rockets

Key Reserve
Brooks - START SHOOTING AGAIN AARON. Stop letting a few missed shots get into your head. Unlike Tracy McGrady you are actually a good shooter
vs.
Pachulia - Please piss Yao off tonight. Pretty please?
Edge: Rockets

Injuries
Houston Rockets
OUT - Shane Battier, rest up sir, we are going to need you down the stretch

Atlant
DTD -None

Ugly Raptors Loss Brings Up Old Effortless Memories

2009-01-03T22:00:01Z

There's no way around it: last night's performance was terrible. We were waving white flags the minute we stepped onto the court. We were soft. Aside from Von Wafer, who I will get to later, there wasn't any effort, any intensity, or any focus on trying to win. It was baffling to see a team that talented, a team supposedly "on the ropes" after ugly games against Milwaukee and Washington, play against a struggling team like Toronto and get their asses kicked. It was simply embarrassing.

Now hold up just a second. Hasn't this happened before? Couldn't this quote from Jonathan Feigen be used to describe last night's game?

The offense was stagnant again, but that's nothing new. The defense did not exist, but that has become an increasingly common problem. There was no intensity, no focus, no professionalism. This time, when the Rockets struggled, they also surrendered

Perfect. But that's not what Feigen wrote to describe last night's game. Jump to see what he actually wrote:

From last night's recap:

The Rockets had finally achieved something. They had gained admirable balance.

They were as useless defensively as offensively. In a game in which they seemed determined only to surrender, the Rockets ran their offense with a combination of cluelessness and carelessness.

The two quotes sound about the same, correct? It's precisely my point: the first quote came from the u gly Philadelphia loss last season, and the second came from last night's debacle. So, to state the obvious, we've been there before.

Think about it. In the loss to the Sixers last year, a year after beating them by 50 in our previous visit to Philly, we were down at one point by 31 points. Yao called us "soft", McGrady said we "didn't play hard", and Bill Worrell took a huge shot at us, calling it the worst game he'd ever seen the Rockets play. Was last night any different?

It would be nice if we could just instantly turn things around, but when games like this take place, there is usually a brief period of construction, aka "trying to work the kinks out", before anything good starts to re-emerge. It happened last year, seeing as we lost 4 out of our next 6 games following the Philly game. But, after figuring out what went wrong and what needed to change, we came around and went on a small winning streak before piling up the 22 wins in a row that turned around our season dramatically.

What I'm saying is that it may take a little while for us to get back in sync, back in rhythm. We can't all of a sudden expect another huge winning streak to unfold as a result of this bad play of late - winning streaks such as last season's seldom take place. But I think we can use this game to motivate ourselves and hopefully find some chemistry. Even if we're not winning every game, if we show up to each one and play with effort, intensity, intangibles, and heart, everything that was absent above the border, I'd be satisfied. Anything to bring this sinking ship afloat.

Wafer Shines

Von Wafer came into the game with 12 minutes left and scored 18 points, therefore saving us from even more humiliation. The same happened in the Philadelphia game last season - the subs came in and scored the majority of our points, bringing us back from 31 points down and keeping the final score from looking even more sickening. So to the inevitable question:

Does Wafer start over McGrady? No, of course not. Does he start over Luther Head? Absolutely.

Adelman should reward Von for last night's solid effort among the other weak efforts. It shouldn't take much for him to replace Head in the starting lineup. Maybe Von can use this game as a building-block and give us some more production, as opposed to the various DNP-CD's that he has piled up of late.

But after all of this, if there is nothing else you can take from this game on the positive end, remember: it's happened before. You can say that certain circumstances were different, but let's be honest - these two games are comparable.

"(Effort) is something we’re obviously not giving right now," said Tracy McGrady. "For whatever r...

2009-01-03T21:18:15Z

"(Effort) is something we’re obviously not giving right now," said Tracy McGrady. "For whatever reason, at both ends of the court — offensively, especially defensively — we’re not executing. We’re missing assignments. It’s all of us."

"I got a little frustrated at times," McGrady said. "It’s kind of hard to get in a groove when you touch the ball once every five minutes. I took four shots in the first half. It’s kind of hard to get in a rhythm. I was frustrated, especially when I know there are some times I feel I could go one-on-one but our spacing isn’t good."

Houston Chronicle

Statistics That Make My Head Hurt

2009-01-03T15:00:08Z

Take a look at these two shot charts (courtesy of NBA.com).

Home

Away

This doesn't make sense. We shoot better on the road than at home...much better, in fact. And yet, we're 11-4 at home and only 10-8 on the road. In addition to that, we score more points at home (98.2) than we do on the road (97.1). Huh?

After some insight, I've found that we can attribute the home ppg to more FT attempts (12 more attempts at home in 3 less games), which does make sense. We shoot the same percentage at home and away, so the makes even out.

Maybe this helps to explain our 21-12 record compared to our 15-17 record at this point last season. We shoot 81 percent from the free throw line this year, compared to 73 percent last year. You can thank our improved FT percentage for that Milwaukee win.

Our defense at home explains the better record as well, seeing as we give up only 91.5 ppg at home compared to 95.8 on the road.

I just found that to be interesting. And to state the obvious, our road 3pt% is ridiculously good.

5 Questions (Okay it's 6) - With TrueBlue Jazz

2009-01-02T14:31:37Z

We originally set this up to be before the game on Saturday, but with the holidays there was a bit of a delay. You can check out our answers to their question here.

1. The Jazz are 7-5 without Deron Williams this year, and 9-6 without Carlos Boozer, how exactly is that possible?

The easy answer is that there is a big drop off from Deron Williams to Brevin Knight. And a small drop off from Boozer to Millsap.

The hard answer is....how exactly do we move Carlos Boozer now he is having knee surgery?

2. With Carlos Boozer stating he is going to opt out, please elaborate on TrueBlueJazz's position that Millsap can take over for him. Who, among the free agents next year, can you get to be Millsap's replacement if he does start? Are you reaping what you sowed by signing the guy that stabbed a blind man in the back to sign with the Jazz?

TBJ is split on this question. We have guys who like Boozer and want him back, and others (like me) who can't wait for the door to hit him in the ass on the way out. Millsap has proven he can play against starters and put up exceptional numbers. However...he is not a back to the basket guy. The Jazz offense needs a post up guy. Millsap is a great fix, but I'm not sure it is a long term fix. I think Okur has proven much more valuable to the team than Boozer has. The key is keeping Okur here.

What free agents would we get? Ha. How about anyone who we can overpay enough to come and live in SLC...only to find out it's a great place to live and play NBA basketball.

Are we reaping what we sowed? Yes. Yes we are. Add stabbing a man dying from Diabetes to that list of Carlos' victims.

3. How much longer does Jerry Sloan coach the Jazz?

You guys are big J-Slo fans I know. He's here as long as he wants. I think he and Deron get along well so there is nobody to force him out.

My personal guess is that he will be done by the 2010 season.

4. Where do you see the Jazz in the Western Conference standings when April gets here? Does anyone foresee another Utah/Houston Round 1 matchup?

This depends on whether the Jazz ever get healthy. I would guess the Jazz can hold on to a 5-7 seed. I think a first round match-up with the rockets is very possible. I want to see one because I'm curious to see how long it takes Houston police to talk T-Mac off of the edge of a bridge.

5. Does Utah make any trade deadline deals this year? Might that include Boozer?

Pre-surgery announcement? Yes. Post-surgery announcement? No. The only person I think the Jazz would even be interested in moving is Boozer.

The Jazz traditionally don't move players during the season. The Korver trade was the result of the cancer that is Gordon Giricek. I think the team you see today is the team you see kick your asses in the first round come playoff time.

6. Which current Utah player/representative should I hate the most:

Carlos Boozer, Jerry Sloan, Matt Harpring and/or Ashton Korver??

(Deron is cool...)

Great Question. I'll give you a reason to like them and a reason to hate them and you can come up with your own verdict.

Boozer: Love him because he's a beast on the boards and a consistent 20-10 guy. Hate him because he has no soul. You can trust Carlos about as much as you can trust a used condom lying in the gutter in downtown Houston.

Sloan: Love him because he is such a hard ass and has proven that his system is timeless. Hate him because he'll talk for 10 minute about how good the opponent is and not give a single compliment to his own team.

Harpring: Love him because if he was in a Rockets uni, the flops wouldn't be so obvious. Hate him because he misses anything inside of 10 feet and outside of 13 feet.

Korver: Love him because he's a good person and great role model who can shoot lights out when he gets his rhythm. Hate him because chances are your wife or girlfriend is only watching the game with you to see him swipe his beautiful bangs off to the side revealing his piercing eyes and statuesque jaw line and his Abercrombie and Fitch poster boy lips

and...*sigh*

Game 34 - Houston Rockets at Toronto Raptors, Friday 6:05 PM CST

2009-01-02T14:30:05Z

The Match-ups: I just realized this is the first of 3 back to backs. Thanks NBA schedule makers, you're fantastic! 6 games in 10 nights too, 3 of which Tracy McGrady is expected to sit out.

On a side note, the Rockets are 21-12, with the 8th best record in the NBA, with a win they'd be around 6th. Why are we so disappointed? I think it's because of the way they have lost when they did lose those 12 games. More to come on that next week.

I'm not high on this Raptors team at all. I think they are overloaded with good but not great players and they don't have their hearts in it this year.

Point Guard
Alston - Rafer is keeping his starting job with defense. It's been very solid and I like that he's playing it hard.
vs.
Calderon - Not nearly as good as they thought he would be this year. I'd venture to say that Raptors fans miss a certain former Longhorn.
Edge: Raptors - He's still better than Rafer

Shooting Guard
McGrady - I'm not going to vent here. I want to, but I'm not going to. I'm assuming he plays tonight but not tomorrow against the Hawks. That's probably good, means he won't have to run as much.
vs.
Kapono - Sat out the last game with a thigh bruise but should play tonight. I like the guy, but I'm not sure he's a starter on too many other teams that aren't deep and just need a shooter which he is very good at. For example, he would rule on the Rockets.
Edge: Rockets

Small Forward
Artest - He's becoming more and more disappointed with this team. Frankly I hope he has an outburst. One of the things I liked about him coming here is his passion. You can see it in his eyes that he is upset, now it's time to unleash the fury.
vs.
Moon - I'm not really sure why people were so excited about him last year. He's a decent player with insane athleticism. Those guys are on every pick up court in America.
Edge: Rockets

Power Forward
Scola - Filling his role extremely well. With Battier out, more offense is needed from him though.
vs.
Bosh - I thought he could carry a team, but I'm not seeing it. Maybe his best bet really is to join Lebron in New York or Brooklyn.
Edge: Raptors

Center
Yao - He needs 19 rebounds and 20 points tonight to be a 20/10 guy again. Can he do it? It will really depend on how badly the Raptors shoot, but if he gets 13-14 tonight, he'll surpass 10 per game in the Hawks game
vs.
O'Neal - Once a dominant player, now a shell of his former self. Do you think Kobe prays every night thanking God for not sending him to the Celtics for Odom and Bynum after all?
Edge: Rockets

Key Reserve
Brooks - Needs to start shooting the ball better, plain and simple
vs.
Bargnani - This guy sucks, don't pass to him! The second straight number one pick that Yao will get to destroy
Edge: Rockets

Injuries
Houston Rockets
OUT - Shane Battier, rest up sir, we are going to need you down the stretch

Toronto Raptors
DTD - O'Neal and Kapono will likely play tonight

Battier To Miss 6 Games

2009-01-01T03:48:47Z

Battier To Miss 6 Games

Via Jonathan Feigen of the Chronicle.

Open Thread: Rockets - Bucks

2009-01-01T02:05:52Z

It's very late, but as this game gets close, I figured everyone watching needed somewhere to vent. COMMENT.

Rafer's advice for New Year's Eve

2008-12-31T14:02:58Z

Hey, kids --

Happy New Year everyone! Make it a safe one.

The Jazz like it rough

2008-12-31T03:42:04Z

Well, Kyle Korver does at least

Reggie Evans Gets a Tech for Spanking Kyle Korver (via NESWsports)

A tip of the hat AND a wag of the finger!

2008-12-30T20:03:07Z

Guess who's back... back again...

the finger wag is back! Tell a friend!

Dikembe is back with the Rockets for the rest of the season.

It's about time!
(Yeah, it is about time!)

Blogger MVP/ROY rankings (last of 2008!)

2008-12-30T19:56:14Z

Raptors HQ was kind enough to host this week's Blogger MVP/ROY rankings...

you can see the results here. And, surprise surprise - a Rocket finally got a vote! One Yao Ming is an "honorable mention" candidate. Finally. Oh, and if you are wondering, yes, the one vote for ROY for Joey Dorsey is from me. Come on, I had to keep his name relevant after his D-League demotion!

We also voted LeBron #1 (and OJ Mayo). We also had Brandon Roy at #2 in the MVP race... yes, ahead of CP3 and Kobe. Really.

I'm just happy Yao is getting some much-needed attention.

Time for me to take a deep breath, relax, and remind myself it could be worse

2008-12-30T17:42:47Z

Yes, I am annoyed that the Rockets blew last night's game and are "only" 20-12 this year, which is no longer good enough for first place in the Southwest Division.

Southwest Standings

	W	L	PCT	GB	STRK
San Antonio	20	10	.666	0	Won 5
Houston	20	12	.625	1	Lost 1
New Orleans	18	9	.666	0.5	Won 2
Dallas	18	12	.600	2	Won 1
Memphis	10	21	.322	10.5	Lost 2

(updated 12.30.2008 at 11:36 AM CST)

That said... it could be worse. For instance - remember last year?

At this time last year, the Rockets were coming off a defeat to the Celtics (no shame there), and had a robust record of 15-17. So, yes, this year is an improvement. It may not seem like it, but it is. Five games better is still five games better...

And there is a bright side. Just look at our schedule in February! Those are 10 easily winnable games. And the "other" game is against Cleveland, a team we normally match up well against (and Yao wants revenge now, too). By the first of March, the Rockets should be healthy (Big 3), wealthy (big winning streak!) and wise (learn from the Washington debacle. Please!).

Aside from health, the only "resolution" the Rockets should make is to stop taking lesser teams for granted. We've somehow lost to Washington, Indiana, Memphis and the Clippers. I cannot explain that.