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