The Dream Shake - Complete Coverage: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston RocketsThe best footwork on the Internethttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/34031/32x32.png2014-01-08T21:49:26-06:00http://www.thedreamshake.com/rss/stream/50519932014-01-08T21:49:26-06:002014-01-08T21:49:26-06:00Rockets rock Lakers in 2nd half, win 113-99
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<figcaption>Scott Halleran</figcaption>
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<p>After a pedestrian first half, Houston (read: James Harden) stormed out of the locker room, generated a huge 3rd quarter run, and never looked back. Somewhere, Steve Blake is plotting his revenge game...</p> <p></p>
<p>Daryl Morey stated that his new year's wish for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thedreamshake.com/">Rockets</a> was to value a possession in the first half just as much as a possession in the second half.</p>
<p>Tonight against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/">Lakers</a>, I found myself wishing for the exact same thing as the Rockets sluggishly trotted onto the court after their seemingly endless amounts of rest this past week against a Lakers team on the second night of a back-to-back.</p>
<p>Chandler Parsons was out with a knee injury and was replaced by Ronnie Brewer who received the most minutes this game than he had the remainder of the season, where he was mostly relegated to the position of "chair heating engineer" on the sideline. The results were awful. Ronnie scored not a single point in 23 minutes and was the culprit of a few defensive breakdowns as well.</p>
<p>The Lakers came out of the gate shooting quite well, hitting several long range buckets early in addition to free drives to the rim courtesy of Houston's poor defensive effort on rotations. Pau Gasol and Nick Young led the the Lakers in scoring early scoring 30 combined points in the first half, over 50% of their scoring and shooting at a 64.7% clip. Every single one of Young's pull-up long range two pointers seemed to tickle the twine and Pau Gasol was playing a complete game of basketball himself (15 points on 71% shooting, 6 boards, 1 assist, and 2 blocks in the first half). Pau was also preventing Dwight from getting anything going in the first half, holding him to 8 points and 3 rebounds on 33% shooting. Although the Rockets were clearly trying to feed him the ball numerous times down the court, Gasol was handling our star center quite defensively. In the second quarter, Dwight only scored 1 point.</p>
<p>Harden was the only Rockets player scoring in double figures (15) and the team was shooting below 40% for most of the half until they hit a few late in the 2<sup>nd</sup> quarter. Lin showed us a few flashes on several drives to the basket and netted 9 points by intermission. In the first quarter he looked like the Rockets best player outside of a few looks at Terrence Jones here and there.</p>
<p>The Rockets found themselves trailing the Lakers by between 1 and 3 possessions fairly consistently in the first two quarters on the heels of some poor 3 point shooting and an uninspiring defensive effort (sound at all familiar?). Our defensive rotations on the second level of plays were just plain lazy, our team was getting outrebounded, and, despite keeping our turnovers lower than normal, we were getting beaten in fastbreak points as well.</p>
<p>To be perfectly honest, I was shocked that we were within 5 points by the time those first two quarters were over.</p>
<p>At halftime, Houston trailed 57-52</p>
<p>The second half started off promising with two Laker turnovers and two fastbreak opportunities resulting in a score (Harden) and free throws (Lin) for Houston. D'antoni was visibly frustrated with their effort and was forced to call a timeout after the third open court opportunity by the Rockets shortly thereafter. Terrence Jones proceeded to take back a Rockets lead after an impressive pump fake and drive and an open jumpshot on the next few possessions.</p>
<p>Houston seemed to be getting its groove back a bit, grabbing their largest lead of the game halfway through the 3<sup>rd</sup>. Harden and Howard were finding some synergy on offense and the Laker's jump shots finally stopped falling consistently on plays where they could not get to the rim. There were times when it seemed like we forgot that Jordan Hill played for the Lakers when there were rebounds to be had (more embarrassingly, this was not the first game where this was the case).</p>
<p>Throughout the third quarter, <span>James Harden</span> continued being...well...James Harden.</p>
<p>To be fair though, an improved defense and a cooled off Laker squad had a big hand in sparking a 21-3 run that got Houston into its open court offense and got Harden into his most efficient shots; the ones he takes in transition. Harden scored 17 points in the third quarter, which included a pretty disgusting fake-out of Ryan Kelly in transition that had Toyota Center ‘ooo'ing and ‘ahh'ing.</p>
<p>The Rockets lead was pushed to the 20 point mark until LA started to make a little bit of a push in the latter half of the quarter but the effort proved to be too little too late.</p>
<p>Houston turned up its defensive effort and also took care of the ball on offense, committing very few turnovers which allowed for the score to quickly shift the way that it did in the second half. Once the Rockets get that engine revving, it really does start to add up in no time. Houston coasted from there to a 113-99 victory.</p>
<h4>Concluding Thoughts</h4>
<p>Houston closed the game out well, receiving some timely contributions from the bench which was a sight for sore eyes as well. The scoring contribution from Brooks, Garcia, Casspi, and Dmo was not eye-popping but it was sufficient to let the performances of the Houston starters seem more like they were ‘piling it on' rather than ‘carrying the team.'</p>
<p>As always, the W is appreciated, but I cannot help but keep hearing Daryl Morey's nasally voice in my head repeating his new year's wish like a nerdy high school kid used to wish for a graphing calculator for Christmas. This game could have been over by the 3rd quarter if we tightened up that defense in the first half and closed out harder on shooters like we did in the second half.</p>
<p>Our first half effort cannot be this poor against teams that have the talent to sustain their offense into the second half. I don't know how many of those OKC and Indiana games I can take.</p>
<p>I was, however, encouraged by several things, like our bench scoring (still low, but given injuries I was placated) and our ability to take care of the ball in the second half and avoid turnovers. Houston also forced 18 Laker turnovers, which is a weakness of this team this season so I was glad to see us being more proactive about sparking our deadly transition offense</p>
<p>Our three point shooting funk still seems to be holding us back (especially in that first half) as we ended up 7 for 28 (25%) from downtown.</p>
<p>Harden finished with 38 points on twenty three shots, 4 boards, 4 assists, and 5 steals. Terrence Jones and Dwight both nabbed double-doubles. Jeremy Lin couldn't sustain his first quarter spark, finishing with 13 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, and 4 of Houston's 9 turnovers.</p>
<p>I don't know how happy you can be about the team's full-game effort against this odd mixture of players on the Laker's team, but performances like Harden's in the third quarter sure are fun to watch unfold. Even though one 33-15 quarter can win us games like this, but the search committee looking for a full four quarter game from the Rockets is still out there...desperately searching for consistently play from both the team as a whole and several players individually.</p>
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<p>Check out the coverage over at <a href="http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/">Silver Screen and Roll</a> for more.</p>
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https://www.thedreamshake.com/2014/1/8/5290400/houston-hands-lakers-second-half-beating-win-in-a-blowout-113-993ptsTheHardenWay2014-01-08T18:31:02-06:002014-01-08T18:31:02-06:00Lakers-Rockets game thread
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<figcaption>Scott Halleran</figcaption>
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<p>Mike D'Antoni's Lakers have a historically tragic slew of injuries and yet were somehow able to get a win against the Rockets earlier this season. Look for Dwight Howard to set the tone tonight in Houston on both ends of the floor.</p> <table cellpadding="5" width="577" align="center" height="666" border="1" cellspacing="5" class="sbnu-legacy-content-table"><tbody> <tr><th colspan="3" bgcolor="silver" align="center">2013/2014 NBA Season</th></tr> <tr> <td width="240"><center> <img src="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/assets/91798/Los_Angeles_medium.gif" class="photo" alt="Los_angeles_medium"><br>(14-21)</center></td> <th width="20" align="center">@</th> <td width="240"><center><center> <center><img alt="Houston_medium" src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/91861/Houston_medium.gif" class="photo"></center> <center>(22-13)</center> </center></center></td> </tr> <tr><td colspan="3" bgcolor="silver" align="center"><strong>January 8th, 2014</strong></td></tr> <tr><td colspan="3" align="center">Toyota Center, Houston, TX</td></tr> <tr><td colspan="3" align="center"><strong>7:00 PM CST</strong></td></tr> <tr><td colspan="3" align="center"><strong>CSN Houston, 790AM</strong></td></tr> <tr><th colspan="3" bgcolor="silver" align="center"><strong>Starting Lineups</strong></th></tr> <tr> <td width="240" align="right"><span>Kendall Marshall</span></td> <th width="20" align="center">PG</th> <td width="240"><span>Jeremy Lin</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="240" align="right"><span>Jodie Meeks</span></td> <th width="20" align="center">SG</th> <td width="240"><span>James Harden</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="240" align="right"><span>Wesley Johnson</span></td> <th width="20" align="center">SF</th> <td width="240"><span>Ronnie Brewer</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="240" align="right"><span>Pau Gasol</span></td> <th width="20" align="center">PF</th> <td width="240"><span>Terrence Jones</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="240" align="right"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Robert Sacre</span></span></span></span></span></span></td> <th width="20" align="center">C</th> <td width="240"><span>Dwight Howard</span></td> </tr> <tr><th colspan="3" bgcolor="silver" align="center"><strong>2013/14 Advanced Stats</strong></th></tr> <tr> <td width="240" align="right"><span>96.9 (3rd of 30)</span></td> <th width="20" align="center">Pace</th> <td width="240"><span>95.5 (8th of 30)</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="240" align="right"><span>102.9 (22nd of 30)</span></td> <th width="20" align="center">ORtg</th> <td width="240"><span>109.5 (4th of 30)</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="240" align="right"><span>107.7 (24th of 30)</span></td> <th width="20" align="center">DRtg</th> <td width="240"><span>106.3 (18th of 30)</span></td> </tr> <tr><th colspan="3" bgcolor="silver" height="20"><p>Also see: Silver Screen and Roll (Preview, Twitter)</p></th></tr> </tbody></table>
<p><strong>Injuries:</strong></p>
<p><span><span>Omer Asik</span>: bruised right thigh and ego, out indefinitely</span></p>
<p><span><span>Patrick Beverley</span>: broken right hand, mysterious timetable for return, out tonight</span></p>
<p><span><span>Chandler Parsons</span>: sore knee, game time decision, out tonight</span></p>
<p><span>Greg Smith</span>: sprained right knee, out tonight</p>
<p><span><span>Steve Blake</span>: torn ligament in right elbow, out six weeks</span></p>
<p>Kobe Bryant: left tibial plateau fracture, out six weeks</p>
<p><span><span>Jordan Farmar</span>: torn left hamstring, out one month</span></p>
<p><span><span>Xavier Henry</span>: strained right knee, out 1-2 weeks</span></p>
<p><span>Steve Nash</span>: strained back/hamstrings, out indefinitely</p>
<p><span><span>Nick Young</span>: sore back, questionable tonight</span></p>
<p><strong>Tweets:</strong></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"> <p>Beverley says he'll be back ahead of schedule (shocking) & has target date for return that he's "keeping to himself." (Double shocking)</p>— Jason Friedman (@JasonCFriedman) January 8, 2014</blockquote>
<blockquote data-partner="tweetdeck" class="twitter-tweet"> <p>For all the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thedreamshake.com/">Rockets</a> regulars that have missed games, Rockets lost both games (Utah, Phoenix) Parsons missed. Game-time decision tonight.</p>— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) January 8, 2014</blockquote>
<p><script charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"> <p>I reported yesterday he was not going to D-League. RT @chunky37: is D-Mo suppose to be w/ RGV? Saw a report that said he was sent down.</p>— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) January 8, 2014</blockquote>
<p><script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"> <p>Told that <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/">Lakers</a> and Rockets are in a similar situation with injuries, Mike D'Antoni was shocked. "Really? Are Harden and Howard hurt?"</p>— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) January 8, 2014</blockquote>
<p><script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p><strong>Current stats:</strong></p>
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<div class="pane sports_data_widget basketball_team_stats clearfix"><div class="pane-body"><table class="zebra"> <thead class="super-head"><tr> <th class="td-first"></th> <th colspan="2"></th> <th colspan="3">FG</th> <th colspan="3">3PT</th> <th colspan="3">FT</th> <th colspan="3">Rebounds</th> <th colspan="6">Misc</th> </tr></thead> <thead><tr> <th class="td-first"></th> <th>G</th> <th>M</th> <th>M</th> <th>A</th> <th>Pct</th> <th>M</th> <th>A</th> <th>Pct</th> <th>M</th> <th>A</th> <th>Pct</th> <th>Off</th> <th>Def</th> <th>Tot</th> <th>Ast</th> <th>TO</th> <th>Stl</th> <th>Blk</th> <th>PF</th> <th>PPG</th> </tr></thead> <tbody> <tr> <td class="td-name td-first">James Harden</td> <td>29</td> <td>38.7</td> <td>7.3</td> <td>16.4</td> <td>44.5</td> <td>2.1</td> <td>6.4</td> <td>32.3</td> <td>7.7</td> <td>9.1</td> <td>85.2</td> <td>1.1</td> <td>3.8</td> <td>4.9</td> <td>5.2</td> <td>3.9</td> <td>1.2</td> <td>0.5</td> <td>2.6</td> <td class="td-last">24.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="td-name td-first">Dwight Howard</td> <td>35</td> <td>33.9</td> <td>6.4</td> <td>11.0</td> <td>58.0</td> <td>0.0</td> <td>0.1</td> <td>33.3</td> <td>4.9</td> <td>8.9</td> <td>55.3</td> <td>3.5</td> <td>9.4</td> <td>12.9</td> <td>1.8</td> <td>3.3</td> <td>0.8</td> <td>1.8</td> <td>3.5</td> <td class="td-last">17.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="td-name td-first">Chandler Parsons</td> <td>33</td> <td>37.9</td> <td>6.5</td> <td>12.7</td> <td>51.7</td> <td>1.6</td> <td>4.4</td> <td>37.5</td> <td>2.4</td> <td>3.4</td> <td>72.1</td> <td>0.8</td> <td>4.6</td> <td>5.4</td> <td>3.6</td> <td>2.0</td> <td>1.2</td> <td>0.5</td> <td>2.4</td> <td class="td-last">17.2</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="td-name td-first">Jeremy Lin</td> <td>25</td> <td>29.8</td> <td>4.6</td> <td>9.5</td> <td>47.9</td> <td>1.2</td> <td>3.3</td> <td>37.3</td> <td>3.8</td> <td>4.8</td> <td>79.0</td> <td>0.2</td> <td>2.3</td> <td>2.6</td> <td>4.2</td> <td>2.8</td> <td>1.0</td> <td>0.4</td> <td>2.2</td> <td class="td-last">14.1</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="td-name td-first">Terrence Jones</td> <td>32</td> <td>26.1</td> <td>4.2</td> <td>8.3</td> <td>50.6</td> <td>0.5</td> <td>1.6</td> <td>30.8</td> <td>1.3</td> <td>2.1</td> <td>59.7</td> <td>1.8</td> <td>5.1</td> <td>6.8</td> <td>1.2</td> <td>0.9</td> <td>0.5</td> <td>1.4</td> <td>1.8</td> <td class="td-last">10.1</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="td-name td-first">Patrick Beverley</td> <td>25</td> <td>31.5</td> <td>3.5</td> <td>8.3</td> <td>42.0</td> <td>1.4</td> <td>4.2</td> <td>33.3</td> <td>1.3</td> <td>1.6</td> <td>78.0</td> <td>1.5</td> <td>2.4</td> <td>3.9</td> <td>2.2</td> <td>1.2</td> <td>1.3</td> <td>0.4</td> <td>2.6</td> <td class="td-last">9.6</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="td-name td-first"><span>Omri Casspi</span></td> <td>34</td> <td>20.6</td> <td>3.0</td> <td>6.9</td> <td>43.3</td> <td>1.0</td> <td>2.9</td> <td>35.4</td> <td>1.2</td> <td>1.8</td> <td>67.7</td> <td>0.8</td> <td>2.9</td> <td>3.7</td> <td>1.4</td> <td>1.1</td> <td>0.9</td> <td>0.3</td> <td>1.7</td> <td class="td-last">8.2</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="td-name td-first"><span>Aaron Brooks</span></td> <td>30</td> <td>17.3</td> <td>2.7</td> <td>6.8</td> <td>39.9</td> <td>1.2</td> <td>3.0</td> <td>39.6</td> <td>0.9</td> <td>1.1</td> <td>87.5</td> <td>0.6</td> <td>1.0</td> <td>1.6</td> <td>2.1</td> <td>1.2</td> <td>0.7</td> <td>0.1</td> <td>1.9</td> <td class="td-last">7.5</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="td-name td-first"><span>Francisco Garcia</span></td> <td>34</td> <td>20.7</td> <td>2.3</td> <td>5.9</td> <td>39.5</td> <td>1.4</td> <td>4.1</td> <td>34.3</td> <td>0.3</td> <td>0.5</td> <td>58.8</td> <td>0.4</td> <td>2.1</td> <td>2.5</td> <td>1.2</td> <td>0.7</td> <td>0.6</td> <td>0.7</td> <td>2.1</td> <td class="td-last">6.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="td-name td-first">Omer Asik</td> <td>17</td> <td>18.2</td> <td>1.5</td> <td>3.1</td> <td>47.2</td> <td>0.0</td> <td>0.0</td> <td>0.0</td> <td>1.5</td> <td>2.3</td> <td>64.1</td> <td>1.6</td> <td>5.1</td> <td>6.8</td> <td>0.4</td> <td>1.2</td> <td>0.2</td> <td>0.4</td> <td>2.0</td> <td class="td-last">4.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="td-name td-first">Greg Smith</td> <td>9</td> <td>8.4</td> <td>1.7</td> <td>2.7</td> <td>62.5</td> <td>0.0</td> <td>0.0</td> <td>0.0</td> <td>0.0</td> <td>0.1</td> <td>0.0</td> <td>1.1</td> <td>1.4</td> <td>2.6</td> <td>0.0</td> <td>0.4</td> <td>0.1</td> <td>0.1</td> <td>1.6</td> <td class="td-last">3.3</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="td-name td-first"><span>Donatas Motiejunas</span></td> <td>17</td> <td>8.4</td> <td>1.0</td> <td>2.8</td> <td>35.4</td> <td>0.1</td> <td>0.9</td> <td>12.5</td> <td>0.6</td> <td>1.1</td> <td>52.6</td> <td>0.4</td> <td>1.2</td> <td>1.5</td> <td>0.2</td> <td>0.3</td> <td>0.1</td> <td>0.4</td> <td>1.2</td> <td class="td-last">2.7</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="td-name td-first"><span>Isaiah Canaan</span></td> <td>2</td> <td>3.5</td> <td>0.5</td> <td>1.5</td> <td>33.3</td> <td>0.0</td> <td>1.0</td> <td>0.0</td> <td>1.0</td> <td>1.0</td> <td>100.0</td> <td>0.0</td> <td>0.0</td> <td>0.0</td> <td>0.0</td> <td>0.0</td> <td>0.0</td> <td>0.0</td> <td>0.0</td> <td class="td-last">2.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="td-name td-first">Ronnie Brewer</td> <td>16</td> <td>4.9</td> <td>0.1</td> <td>0.5</td> <td>25.0</td> <td>0.1</td> <td>0.3</td> <td>20.0</td> <td>0.0</td> <td>0.1</td> <td>0.0</td> <td>0.1</td> <td>0.4</td> <td>0.4</td> <td>0.6</td> <td>0.1</td> <td>0.3</td> <td>0.0</td> <td>0.1</td> <td class="td-last">0.3</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div></div>
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<p><strong>The conversation starts now.</strong></p>
https://www.thedreamshake.com/2014/1/8/5287920/game-36-los-angeles-lakers-vs-houston-rocketsthomasfenoglio2014-01-08T07:00:12-06:002014-01-08T07:00:12-06:00Rockets-Lakers game preview
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<img alt="In a non-mean way, I'm glad he's hurt tonight. " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/G1kq3fkdB39bnoZP4hS5Tv-jhwM=/202x0:3957x2503/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/26450223/187313644.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>In a non-mean way, I'm glad he's hurt tonight. | Scott Halleran</figcaption>
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<p>The Rockets look to avenge an early-season loss to the Los Angeles Lakers tonight at the Toyota Center. </p> <p>Sometimes you make your own luck. Sometimes it smacks you in the face.</p>
<p>I was sitting at home in Houston on Friday night, minding my own business and studying. My headphones were in and I was reading up on my upcoming surgery rotation. It was almost time for the Rockets-Knicks game to start.</p>
<p>Friday had been a rough day. I'd had a root canal Thursday afternoon and I was a little miserable. My insurance situation was a mess and I had to figure out when I could do the crowning and molding part of the operation. I live in Amarillo (an 11-hour drive from Houston) so I had to scramble to find a dentist in Amarillo who would take my shoddy insurance and see me quickly and twice. Stack that on top of the fact that making appointments is impossible for a medical student who is generally tied up from 7am-5pm on a good day. It's safe to say I was a little stressed.</p>
<p>Well, my brother comes barging into my room, as is his wont. Our new neighbor had been over, with two tickets to the Rockets game. His son had broken his collarbone so they couldn't go to the game. My brothers had invited a friend over to watch the game, so they couldn't go.</p>
<p>And so it was that I came into possession of two 13th row tickets located at center court for the Rockets-Knicks game.</p>
<p>The Summit might be the basketball Mecca of Houston, but the Toyota Center is still a special place for me. I spend 90% of the NBA season in West Texas, so my ability to watch the Rockets up close and personal is nonexistent. Plus, I'm a medical student with a lot of money owed to the government. The only other time I've gotten to sit in the lower bowl was in 2010 when I won two tickets through TDS, which was before I was even writing for the site.</p>
<p>If you watched the game, you'll understand that my luck seemed to seep over to the Rockets. Down 9 at one point late in the fourth quarter, the Rockets received several breaks that helped them pull out a win. J.R. Smith took a dumb shot when the Knicks could have assured themselves overtime, Beno Udrih fouled Aaron Brooks instead of forcing the Rockets to score on the Knicks' defense, and Udrih later missed a floater that tantalizingly took a peek into the basket and then rimmed out.</p>
<p>Xiane <a href="http://www.thedreamshake.com/2013/12/24/5241194/what-it-takes-to-beat-the-rockets" target="_blank">wrote last month</a> about how teams that beat the Rockets basically have to go bonkers from the outside while hoping the Rockets can't hit anything. Essentially, teams that beat the Rockets have some component of luck. The Rockets haven't had much when you think about it. Teams have hit clutch threes against them a handful of times, while the Rockets rarely get a break from the outside.</p>
<p>But sometimes you need a little luck to win games you should have put away early. When good teams have lucky bounces, we say they didn't get lucky but that they were plucky and won a tense game against an inferior opponent that brought their A game that night. I think the Knicks were doing just that: punching above their weight class for a night.</p>
<p>Sitting in the 13th row, I know I certainly was.</p>
<p>So, a HUGE thank you to Tom King for making this guy a very happy man on Friday. It was a perfect birthday gift. I hope to actually meet you one day.</p>
<p>A common theme in today's breakdowns will be the earlier matchup of these teams, which the Lakers won 99-98.</p>
<p><b>Tip off is at 7:00pm CST. It is no longer on national television. </b></p>
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<p>Matchups:</p>
<p><b>Point Guard: <span>Jeremy Lin</span> vs. <span>Kendall Marshall</span></b></p>
<p>Lin finished with 16 points in the first meeting on 5-8 shooting. He was easily the second-best Rocket on the floor behind Harden. He's looking to bounce back after a subpar third quarter against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.postingandtoasting.com/">Knicks</a>.</p>
<p>On the other side, Kendall Marshall is going Marshall Madness on everyone. Through four games with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/">Lakers</a> prior to last night's game against the Mavs, he's averaging 8/7. However, in games against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.slcdunk.com/">Jazz</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.denverstiffs.com/">Nuggets</a>, he finished with 20/15 and 9/17, respectively. He's got Mike D'Antoni coaching him just like Lin did in New York, too.</p>
<p>He's a good shooter, but not a great one. His sample size in that department is too small to draw too many conclusions. Lastly, he's left-handed. I'm a sucker for lefties.</p>
<p>Either way, I'd rather play Marshall than Steve Blake. Always.</p>
<p>Advantage: <b><a href="https://www.thedreamshake.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Rockets</a></b></p>
<p><b>Shooting Guard: <span>James Harden</span> vs. <span>Jodie Meeks</span></b></p>
<p>In the first matchup, Meeks went an unbelievable 5-7 from 3, usually getting the benefit of open looks because of scrambling Rockets defense that was put in a hole due to the presence of both Dwight Howard and <span>Omer Asik</span> on the floor. A lot of people will blame James Harden, but I've discussed my thoughts on his defense ad nauseum in this space so I'll just say that I watched the game and Harden wasn't the biggest issue on the defensive side of the ball. He finished with 4 steals and 2 blocks.</p>
<p>On offense, Harden carried a Rockets squad that couldn't hit a three all game (sound familiar?). His stat line was 35/9 on 14-16 from the free throw line. He finished at +2, and was the only starter in the positive category.</p>
<p>Also, <a href="http://www.thedreamshake.com/2014/1/7/5284056/kill-your-hero-ball" target="_blank">on the subject of the h-word</a>, I agree with BD. The Rockets can run offensive sets at the end of games, but when it comes down to it I still want the ball in Harden's hands.</p>
<p>Advantage: <b>Rockets</b></p>
<p><b>Small Forward: <span>Chandler Parsons</span> vs. <span>Wesley Johnson</span></b></p>
<p>Parsons finished the first meeting with 16 points and as many missed defensive assignments as every other perimeter player. We talk a lot about Parsons was a great defender in his rookie year and is now pretty terrible unless it's a late-game situation. I had a great view of his defense on <span>Carmelo Anthony</span> and he was incredible. It's frustrating to know that Parsons can turn it on whenever he wants, but chooses to sparingly use his defensive prowess.</p>
<p>Johnson matched Parsons' offensive production while grabbing a steal and a couple of blocks.</p>
<p>Advantage:<b> Rockets</b></p>
<p><b>Power Forward: <span>Terrence Jones</span> vs. <span>Pau Gasol</span></b></p>
<p>Jones received a DNP-CD the first time around. Since then, his insertion into the starting lineup has transformed the Rockets' identity. He gives the team a starter that goes 100% all the time, which helps mask his few deficiencies.</p>
<p>As for Pau, it's like someone told him, "Hey, if you keep playing poorly they're going to trade you to Cleveland." The pure terror of that possibility has resuscitated Gasol's numbers, as he scored at least 23 points against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.brewhoop.com/">Bucks</a>, Jazz, and Nuggets. This team depends so much on Gasol, especially when they can't make their jump shots.</p>
<p>If Gasol tries to post him up a ton, the Rockets might switch the matchup here with Howard.</p>
<p>Advantage:<b> Lakers</b></p>
<p><b>Center: <span>Dwight Howard</span> vs. <span>Robert Sacre</span></b></p>
<p>I really like Sacre's game. He's growing better every season and his jump shot at least makes bigs respect his range. He could one day be a backup center for a very good team.</p>
<p>Tonight, he should absolutely get punished by Howard. His only hope is to flop and hope the refs take pity/continue to persecute Howard for being a big player.</p>
<p>Seriously, 25/15 isn't too much to ask from Howard tonight. His fingerprints need to be all over this one. He needs to make sure this game doesn't come down to Hack-A-Howard. He went 5-16 from the line in November and missed both free throws on a late-game trip that helped the Lakers win the game.</p>
<p>Advantage: <b>Rockets</b></p>
<p><b>Bench</b></p>
<p>Rockets: <span>Aaron Brooks</span>, <span>Francisco Garcia</span>, <span>Omri Casspi</span>, <span>Greg Smith</span> (maybe)</p>
<p><span></span>Lakers: <span>Ryan Kelly</span>, <span>Nick Young</span>, <span>Jordan Hill</span></p>
<p>Advantage: <b>Lakers, because Swaggy P forever</b></p>
<p>Prediction: Vindication for Dwight Howard and the Rockets</p>
<p><span>Lakers vs Rockets coverage</span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/">Silver Screen and Roll</a></p>
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https://www.thedreamshake.com/2014/1/8/5285798/houston-rockets-vs-los-angeles-lakers-game-previewArmin Khansari