Houston Rockets vs New Jersey Nets Game Recap

So that was fun. Although it was a little more tightly contested than it probably should have been, tonight's victory made for excellent entertainment as well as a win in the standings, a rare but always enjoyable combination. We're now two games above .500 and have an exciting week coming up with games against a banged-up Denver, erratic Memphis and floundering Celtics team, and I honestly think we can go 3-0. The Nuggets are always a tough out, but I am very confident about our chances against the Grizzlies and Celtics. Anyways, we'll cross those (cross)roads when we get there, right now let's review tonight's game.

The obvious story was Luis Scola. He dropped 44 points on 25 shots, shooting an absurd 80 percent from the field. Anytime a player gets 40 with only four made free throws and zero three pointers it's a story, and that was certainly the case tonight. Scola whirled and twirled his way to the basket and essentially scored at will, rendering the Nets' efforts absolutely futile. If there's one criticism of Scola it's that he's not much of a passer, but you can't expect perfection, only hope for it. Scola is averaging 23.7 points and 14 rebounds on 58 percent shooting from the field and 89 percent from the line in March. So yeah, I guess you could say he's been playing alright without Landry. We're going to have to work out some kinks when Yao comes back, but if they can coexist, I could see Yao putting up 20-9 complemented by 17-10 from Scola, which would make for an excellent frontcourt. Like comparable to the Lakers' excellent. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. 

Courtney Lee played quite well for the Nets. He's been up and down this season, but March has been mostly up and he's starting to show some signs that he could potentially be more than a glorified role player. I don't think he's anywhere near as good as he was made out to be in Orlando, but I think he could develop into a 17-point a night guy with excellent defense who shoots threes, and there's not a single team in the league who wouldn't want a player like that. 

Trevor Ariza was back in the starting lineup tonight, which was not really much of a surprise. Just wanted to reiterate in case anyone missed it. This is our starting lineup, and I'm fine with it. I feel much safer with Battier coming off the bench than Ariza, mainly because I'm not that confident in Ariza's temperament, so I'd rather avoid any issues by bringing the consummate team-player off the pine rather than the possible malcontent. 

We had a 43-31 rebounding advantage tonight including seven more offensive rebounds that led to six extra possessions (they had one less turnover), and in a game in which both teams are shooting  over 50 percent from the field, six chances at scoring could be the difference.

Brooks and Martin added their usual 18 and 20, respectively, and both have become virtual locks for close to 20 points per night. Ariza was also efficient by his standards, pouring in 15 points on 11 shots and grabbing 10 rebounds while dishing out 6 assists for good measure. Our starters (other than Chuck) were clicking tonight, and I'd love to see more of it. 

It was a 99 possession game, which means we put up about 117 points per 100 possessions. For comparison's sake, Phoenix leads the league at 111.6. So yeah, that was good. Especially when you consider that we only went 5-17 from three, which gave us fifteen points on seventeen shots. Take those out and we were at a blistering 123 per 100, thanks in no small part to Scola putting up 44 on 25 attempts. I know I've already mentioned that last stat, but I just wanted to reiterate how crucial he was tonight. 

All in all it was a good game to watch, we played with intensity and effort, and although it was against the Nets, it was nevertheless a great and much-needed (second) win (in a row). We've got a tough week coming up, so here's hoping we can regain some of our early season form and come away with two or three wins. And, as always, go Rockets. 

Houston Rockets vs New Jersey Nets Game Preview

Forgive me in advance, for this preview won't nearly as lengthy or extensive as you are accustomed to. The reasoning behind this reduction is simple: the Rockets are undeniably better than the New Jersey Nets, although I'll concede that the Nets have played well, by their meager standards, as of late, staying competitive against the Thunder, Mavericks and Grizzlies while even managing to notch their seventh win of the year against New York in blowout fashion. Now go back and re-read the second clause of that sentence. There's no way to qualify losing to these guys, as even an exponential improvement upon their play from the primordial parts of the season still leaves them struggling to attain mediocrity. Us, on the other hand, are grasping frantically to escape the clasping reach of commonness, trying desperately to remain above .500. As you can see, playing well for the New Jersey Nets puts them where playing poorly leaves us. We should not lose to a team like this. We cannot, in fact, if we want to retain any semblance of hope of making the playoffs.

Tonight is Clutch's birthday, so if you see him remember to wish him. He's one of the better mascots in the leagues, and has done an admirable job filling the void Turbo's departure left in my heart. 

Devin Harris has begun to look like himself as of late, and his matchup against Brooks will be critical. Harris might be the only player in the league quicker than Brooks, and the winner of the point guard battle could very well lead their team to victory.

Stopping Brook Lopez will be another essential. He's a borderline 20-10 player and an All-Star if the Nets weren't incompetency incarnate, and what's worst for us is that he's an adroit low-post defender, meaning that if we're not careful and thoughtful with our finishes then tonight could turn into a party of the block variety. 

The Nets allow the seventh best three-point percentage in the league, and seeing as we take the third most in the NBA, that should work in our favor. If we hit our threes early on we should be able to turn this game into a romp sooner rather than later.

Look for Jordan Hill to guard Brook Lopez for parts of the game, which naturally would mean more playing time for the former. Hill has been producing as of late and there's no reason that shouldn't continue. Once again, New York proves to be utterly incapable of properly running a franchise.
 

 Give him a hand, the man (bear) (-pig) deserves it

We only beat the Nets by five the last time we played them, but that was also in New Jersey (so it was, for all intents and purposes, at a neutral site) and without Kevin Martin. Hopefully the game goes a little more in our favor tonight. Expect the Rockets to win by between 12-15 points, maybe a little more if the Nets are feeling overly Nets-y. And, as per the usual, go Rockets. 

Houston Rockets: 32-31, 96.3 possessions per game (7th), 103.7 points scored per 100 possessions (20th), 104.0 points allowed per 100 possessions (T-14th)

New Jersey Nets: 7=58, 94.0 possessions per game (22nd), 96.6 points scored per 100 possessions (30th) (!), 107.9 points allowed per 100 possessions (27th)  

All stats from hoopdata.com 

Houston Rockets vs. Sacramento Kings Game Preview

The concept of a triumphant return has long been one of the more easily digestible and reportable stories for a reader and writer, respectively. The preceding sentence is even more applicative for a vindictive homecoming. I'm hoping Landry's return is neither of the two, since the former would mean a victory for the Kings and the latter would mean that Landry is unhappy with us for trading him. Either way, that would really suck.

In case you haven't caught on, today is Carl Landry's return to Houston, and, admittedly, it's going to be difficult to watch. He grew from raw but talented to shows glimpses of untapped potential to efficient, deadly scorer in three years and was a fan favorite in every sense of the (two) word(s). I wish him all the best with the Kings, but just not tonight. 

-Trevor Ariza most likely won't play again tonight, and at this point I'm guessing we're only sitting him out as a precaution. He's still day-to-day, so, as one would expect, he could be back any game now.  Lowry's also still out, and his injury is looking a lot more serious than Trevor's.

-In his last three games with the Rockets, Kevin Martin has scored 93 points on 53 shots, which, if you were wondering, is pretty damn good. He's also opened up the floor for Brooks, who's been dazzling in his own right.  Hopefully that can continue.

-Joey Dorsey is back in town. I feel like this qualifies as newsworthy. So's Donte Greene, who may have set the record two summers ago for the quickest anyone has had an entire city's opinion of them change, as we all went from praising him as a potential 20-point scorer in the NBA after he dropped forty in the D-League to utterly expendable once we learned he was included in the Ron Artest trade. 

-Also, now that I think of it, we seem to trade with the Kings quite a bit. Clearly Morey must have some sort of liking for messing with the Maloofs.

-A key matchup tonight will be Tyreke Evans vs. Aaron Brooks, as we will see two dynamic young point guards with greatly contrasting styles going head-to-head. Evans prefers to use his size and physicality to dominate, while Brooks creates shots with his quickness and ball-handling. It's going to be interesting to watch, and the winner of the dual's team could very well be the one that comes away from the Toyota Center with a victory. 

 

The Maloofs, seen here hard at work to improve their franchise. 

-We're currently four games behind the Blazers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West, so any win is going to go a long way. Our schedule over the next week-and-a-half looks more than bearable, and this could be a prime opportunity to make up some ground in the race for the post-season. 



-Just to give you a little actual analysis, the Kings take the eighth most shots at the rim in the NBA at 28.3 per game, with Tyreke Evans accounting for a league-leading 8.2 of those, so keeping them out of the paint will be paramount tonight. This could be a little more difficult than advertised with our less than intimidating front-court, but hopefully we can keep Tyreke and Co. from running amok near the basket.


Tonight should, assuming everything goes according to plan, hopefully end in a win for the Rockets. We're clearly a better team than the Kings and are starting to regain some of the confidence we had lost over this last month. It could be a little closer than desired, but expect the Rockets to end up with the win. And, as always, go Rockets (and Carl Landry). But mostly Rockets. 


Houston Rockets: 30-29, 96.3 possessions per game (7th), 103.7 points scored per 100 possessions (17th), 104.7 points allowed per 100 possessions (17th)  

Sacramento Kings: 20-40, 97.2 possessions per game (6th), 102.8 points scored per 100 possessions (21st), 107.3 points allowed per 100 possessions (24th)  

All stats from hoopdata.com