Warriors Race Past Rockets

I didn't see the first half of Thursday's Rockets - Warriors game; but, I know the Rockets trailed 59 to 50 at halftime.

I started watching the game during the third quarter; and, Golden State simply ran past the Rockets at will. The Warriors took Yao Ming out of the game with all of their fronting; and, Yao finished the game with only 10 points.

Tracy McGrady scored just 11.

Mike James led the Rockets with 19 points. Bonzi Wells added 13. Fan favorite Steve Francis scored nine points; but, Steve also fouled out of the game in 28 plus minutes of action.

Listening to Bill Worrell and Matt Bullard rationalize (re: make excuses) for the Rockets' piss-poor showing in the second half got on my nerves. The Warriors made shots from outside and inside as the Rockets had no answer for them at all in the second half.

I know the Warriors struggled in a home game against the Detroit Pistons' zone defense a few days ago so, I wonder if the zone would have given the Warriors any trouble versus the Rockets.

Golden State 113, Rockets 94.

Baron Davis led all scorers with 27 points.

Rockets Top Suns in Desert

The Houston Rockets defeated the Phoenix Suns 100 to 94 tonight in Arizona. Steve Francis made two key plays (one on offense and one on defense) in the final minute of the ball game. Francis scored a driving lay-up then he knocked the ball away from Suns' big man Amare Stoudemire as Stoudemire tried to score in the paint.

Question: Rick Adelman, What took you so long to give Steve some minutes on the floor?

Yao Ming finished the game with 31 points and 13 rebounds.

Francis scored nine points and dropped seven dimes.

Tracy McGrady added 18 points; eight rebounds; and six assists; however, since T-Mac struggled from the foul line in tonight's game (3 for 8), he stopped attacking the basket and settled for jump shots in the second half -- which he missed.

Good win for the Rockets. Three straight W's to improve to 9 and 7.

Warriors tomorrow night in Oakland. 9:30 tip.

Coogs Announce 4 Signees

I forgot to post this news yesterday; but, ...

University of Houston head men's basketball coach Tom Penders announced that New Jersey High School star Desmond Wade and junior college sophomores Aubrey Coleman, Sean Coleman and Horace Dixon have signed to play with the Cougars in 2008-09.

Aubrey (Gulf Shores Academy) and Sean (Westbury Christian School) played high school ball in Houston.

I didn't see Aubrey play at Gulf Shores; but, I did see Sean play at WC. From what I remember about him, Sean was a solid (not necessarily spectacular) ball player.

Coogs' Pane Earns Weekly Honor

Houston Cougars' freshman guard Brockeith Pane averaged 23.0 points for the Cougars (5-1) to earn C-USA Player of the Week honors for games through November 25, as selected by a panel of media representatives covering the conference.

Pane becomes the first Houston freshman to win Player of the Week honors and eighth in the history of the league.

I haven't seen the Coogs play, yet, this season -- I don't have ESPNU; and, the other home games I missed were because I was covering Rockets' home games.

I'll probably miss tonight's home game versus Coastal Carolina (7pm tip-off) as well because of a Parish Council meeting at church.

Good to see the Coogs (5-1) are enjoying a good start to the season.

Rockets Rout Nuggets

The Houston Rockets snapped their six game losing streak Saturday with a thorough 109 to 81 thumping of the Denver Nuggets.

The Rockets never trailed in the ball game. After the Nuggets tied the game at two, the Rockets outscored the Nuggets 32 to 11 the rest of the first quarter to take a 34 to 13 lead into the second quarter.

Rockets' forward Chuck Hayes set the tone for the night with eight points (4 for 4 from the field) in the first quarter. Yao Ming added eight points while Tracy McGrady scored 10 points (5 for 8 field goal shooting).

The Nuggets showed brief signs of life in the second quarter and actually outscored the Rockets 27 to 24; however, the Rockets led 58 to 40 at halftime. McGrady scored 21 points in the half.

The closest the Nuggets got to the Rockets in the second half was only 15 points (63 to 48 and 61 to 46); however, the Rockets pushed the lead to 27 points (79 to 52) in a little over four minutes.

Despite a lingering cloud of doubt hanging over the game (six straight losses will do that to you), the Rockets led by as many as 30 points (101 to 71) in the fourth quarter.

Game over.

McGrady finished the game with 35 points. Yao Ming scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Shane Battier pulled down a season-high 12 boards. Steve Francis (Rockets' fans favorite son) scored 10 points (4 for 9); grabbed four boards; dished out three assists; picked up two steals; and blocked one shot.

Note:
Mike James played 21 minutes and 34 seconds; however, he attempted the third most shots (12) for the Rockets in the game. McGrady took 23 shots while Yao Ming attempted 18 shots.

Rockets Give Game to Mavs

The Houston Rockets led the Dallas Mavericks 76 to 64 at the end of the three quarters Wednesday night. A friend / colleague asked me if I thought the Rockets would win the game.

I shook my head and told him, "No. When Tracy McGrady sits, the Mavericks will make a run then win the game down the stretch."

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Basically, that is how the fourth quarter unfolded. The Mavs came from behind (or the Rockets came from ahead -- depending on your perspective) and beat the Rockets 100 to 94 before a sold out crowd of 18,143 screaming (and disappointed / upset) fans.

Yao Ming finished the game with 30 points (11 for 18 from the field) and 15 rebounds. Teammate Chuck Hayes scored just two points; but, Hayes pulled down 13 boards and played solid defense on Mavericks' star Dik Nowitzki. Tracy McGrady struggled shooting the ball the entire game (6 for 19 from the field); but, McGrady scored 15 points and dished out 12 assists. Rafer Alston added 18 points (7 for 13 from the field -- 3 for 7 on threes).

Five Mavs scored in double figures -- led by Devin Harris' 22 points. Josh Howard scored 20 points; Nowitzki scored 18 points; Brandon Bass scored 17 off the bench; and, old man Jerry Stackhouse scored 15 points including 11 of the Mavericks final 14 points in the final 69 seconds of the ball game.

The first half was sluggish due to the team's 20 combined turnovers (8 for Dallas and 12 for Houston). The Mavericks led the Rockets 47 to 46 at halftime.

The Rockets tied the game at 49; then, the Rockets outscored the Mavs 25 to 8 over the next nine minutes of the third quarter. However, the Mavericks scored the final five points of the quarter to trail by twelve heading to the fourth.

Avery Johnson, Mavs head coach, went to a small line up much of the fourth quarter. The line up featured Nowtizki at the center spot and Brandon Bass at power forward along with Josh Howard at small forward; Devin Harris at point guard and, either Jason Terry or Jerry Stackhouse at shooting guard. The line up worked right away.

The Mavericks began the quarter with an 8 to 2 run to trim the Rockets' lead to just six points (76 to 70) with 10:27 left in the final quarter. With Nowitzki at center, Yao Ming faced a dilemma on defense because Yao was not quick enough to effective defend Bass or Nowitzki in pick-and-roll situations or any sets which pulled him from the basket.

The Mavs exploited their quickness advantage throughout the fourth period. Bass scored nine points while Devin Harris raced past any Rockets defender and scored 10 points. Harris attacked the basket constantly; and, his speed and quickness simply overwhelmed the Rockets in the fourth quarter.

Nowitzki finally took advantage of his height advantage over 6'6 Chuck Hayes and scored four clutch points to bring the Mavericks within four points (90 to 86) with 2:49 remaining in the game.

In addition to his quickness, Devin Harris assumed the role of tough guy for Dallas as he fouled Tracy McGrady and, late in the game, Yao Ming (flagrant 1 on Yao) at the 1:40 mark of the game. Yao split the two free throws to put the Rockets ahead 91 to 86. The Mavs went to a high pick-and-roll; and, Harris took advantage of poor Rockets' defense to drive to the basket and pass the ball to a wide open Jerry Stackhouse behind the three-point line. Stackhouse calmly swished the three-point shot to trim the Rockets lead to just two points (91 to 89) with 1:09 left in the game.

McGrady turned the ball over with 52.9 seconds; and, Harris raced past Yao Ming (Yao switched onto Harris because of yet another pick-and-roll) and scored a driving layup to tie the game at 91. Harris was fouled by Yao Ming on the play; and, Harris swished the free throw to put Dallas ahead 92 to 91 with only 34.2 seconds remaining.

Time out Rockets.

Houston inbounded the ball; and, McGrady missed an open 22-foot jump shot. (McGrady ran pick-and-roll with Yao Ming; but, Tracy opted for the jump shot instead of attempting a shot closer to the basket.) Stackhouse rebounded the missed shot and was fouled. He sank both free throws to put the Mavs ahead 94 to 91 with 23.2 seconds left.

Time out Rockets.

Yao scored a lay up; and, the Rockets quickly fouled Stackhouse on the inbounds play. Once again, Stackhouse sank both free thows.

Mavs 96, Rockets 93.

For some reason, Devin Harris played tight defense on Mike James, too tight apparently, and Harris was whistled for a foul with 12.1 seconds. James split the two free throws. Stackhouse rebounded the missed shot and was fouled. Swish. Swish.

Mavs 98, Rockets 94.

James raced the ball up the court and air balled a 25-foot jump shot. Stackhouse rebounded the missed shot and dribbled up the court and dunked home a meaningless two points.

Game over.

Houston's defense collapsed in the fourth quarter as the Mavs outscored the Rockets 38 to 20. The bottom line is the Rockets failed to execute on both ends of the court and in the fourth period.

"We were up 17 points," said Tracy McGrady after the game. "With our starters out and the bench in, they cut it to six so quick. We had to go back in. It didn't give us a time to rest. Those guys (the Mavericks) go 10, 11 deep. They have fresh legs in the fourth quarter. We're sitting on the bench trying to get a rest. Our bench didn't give us time to rest. Six point lead. We're trying to come back and stop the bleeding. Therefore, we did a great of executing and pushing the lead back up. We ran out of gas after that."

Suns Roll Past Rockets

Saturday night's 115 to 105 loss by the Rockets to the Phoenix Suns wasn't surprising. Without Tracy McGrady in the line up, the Rockets were missing a huge part of offense; however, offense wasn't the problem for the Rockets, lack of defense doomed them versus the supernova Suns.

Phoenix shot 73.0% (27 for 37) in the first half versus the Rockets. That's 73% from the field not the free throw line! Phoenix made 21 of their 25 two point field goals! Each time the Rockets scored a basket, Phoenix raced the ball down the court and scored.

Swish. Swish.

Suns' forward Shawn Marion accounted for four of the Suns 10 misses; and, that's because he launched three bricks from behind the three point line!

Despite shooting such an astounding percentage in the game's opening 24 minutes, Phoenix only led the Rockets by twelve points (69 to 57). The Rockets were in the game thanks to the Suns' 11 first half turnovers.

Steve Francis played in the first half -- much to the delight (and surprise) of his fans. Francis scored six points in the first half on 2 for 6 field goal shooting. After the game Francis told the media he was "...willing to sacrifice..." when he re-signed with the Rockets; but, he didn't believe his playing time would have been non-existent through the Rockets' first 10 games of the regular season.

The Rockets' defense "clamped down" on the Suns in the third quarter -- Phoenix shot just 50% (8 for 16 from the field); but, the Rockets made only 7 of their 27 shots (25.9%) in the quarter and were outscored 25 to 19 in the period. The Rockets trailed the Suns 94 to 76 after three periods.

The Rockets scored the first nine points in the fourth quarter to trim their deficit to nine points (94 to 85); however, after evenly splitting the next four points, the Suns pushed the lead to 15 (102 to 87) in less than two minutes.

The Rockets trailed 112 to 97 with 2:48 left in the game; and, despite Steve Nash's remaining the game, Phoenix scored only three points the rest of the game. The Rockets made the final score respectable by scoring eight points dow the stretch (three points from Kirk Snyder and five points from rookie guard Aaron Brooks).

The Suns finished the game making 62.3% (43 for 69) of their field goal attempts. The Suns' firepower was simply too much for the Rockets. Yao Ming said the Rockets were "...playing their (the Suns') speed..."

Luis Scola was the biggest bright spot for the Rockets. Scola scored 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds; however, after the game, Scola told the media, the Rockets must "...try to get better...".

The 115 to 105 loss is the Rockets' fourth straight loss overall. The Rockets' next opponent is the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, November 21.

Instead of the usual 7:30 start, tip-off is set for 6:30 pm.

Kobe to Detroit?...No Sir.

I received this email two days ago in the "Rumors and Notes" section of a newsletter:

According to radio station 1270 AM in Detroit, the Lakers and Pistons reached an agreement on a deal that would have sent Kobe Bryant to the Motor City for Tayshaun Prince, Rip Hamilton, Amir Johnson and a first round pick. Kobe vetoed the trade.
· Sources also informed ElevationMag about the deal late last night. However, Amir Johnson, who recently signed a new contract as a free agent, would not be eligible to be traded until December.


I didn't believe it for a second; so, I simply ignored it. I didn't write about it nor did I mention it on the radio.

Well, Chris McCosky, Pistons' beat writer for The Detroit News, chose to respond to the rumor:

"Media must stick with facts"

Good for him. Far, far too much today people are willing to sell the sizzle without the steak -- consequences be damned.

Rockets / TMac Update

The big news first: MRI tests performed last night on Houston Rockets guard/forward Tracy McGrady revealed no tendon or ligament damage. McGrady suffered a sprained right elbow and nerve irritation in the second quarter and did not return to the game. The tests were performed at Memorial Hermann's Roger Clemens Institute for Sports Medicine & Human Performance and reviewed by Rockets Team Physician Tom Clanton. McGrady will be listed as day-to-day.


Now, to the last two games...

...Last night's loss to the Lakers (93 to 90) showed me a few things: obviously, the Rockets' offense takes a huge hit with Tracy McGrady out of action.

"Even if Tracy wasn't out, we were all going to have to step up our play. Now, we have to do it (step up); but, we're going to do it collectively. No one guy is going to try to score twenty, twenty-five points. Bonzi had a big night tonight; so, we're going to have to keep him in rhythm. Also, we're going to have to incorporate Shane (Battier) and Mike (James) into the offense as well."

McGrady's absence is huge; however, other problems are appearing for the Rockets (6-3) as well.

"The effort wasn't there," said Rafer Alston Wednesday night after the game. "We gave them everything from the start. From the first two quarters actually. We gave them the sidelines. We gave them the three point shot. We gave them in the paint. We gave them the dunks.

"We did a much better job in the second half," Alston continued. "We limited them from all the easy baskets."

Defense has bogged down for the Rockets these last two games. Tuesday versus Memphis, the Rockets couldn't contain the frontcourt tandem of Pau Gasol and Darko Milicic while versus the Lakers Wednesday night, the Rockets' perimeter defense was a sieve in the first half.

In addition to the porous defense, the perimeter shooting has been bad as well. Shane Battier, Rafer Alston, and Mike James are all in slumps shooting the basketball from the outside.

Adding to those two problems, Yao Ming and Bonzi Wells missed 11 out of 32 free throws versus the Lakers.

Combine those problems with their next three opponents: at San Antonio (11/16); home versus Phoenix (11/17); and home versus Dallas (11/21/07), the Rockets could lose five straight games after starting the season 6 and 1. However, I'm not declaring "gloom and doom". The Rockets have some problems which need to be corrected. The sooner those problems are solved the better.

KG and Yao Named top Players

The Boston Celtics’ Kevin Garnett and the Houston Rockets’ Yao Ming today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Nov. 5 through Sunday, Nov. 11.

Garnett’s 22.7 points, 15.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists helped lead Boston to a 3-0 week. At 5-0, the Celtics are off to their best start since the 1987-88 season (6-0) and are the NBA’s lone remaining undefeated team. In Boston’s three games last week, Garnett tallied a point-rebound double-double in each to go along 2.7 steals and 1.7 blocks. Garnett’s 15.8 rpg for the season leads the NBA.

Yao captured Western Conference Player of the Week honors on the heels of fellow Rocket Tracy McGrady taking home the season’s first award following NBA Opening Week. Averaging 27.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks for the week, Yao helped the Rockets to a 3-1 record, which included wins over San Antonio, Milwaukee and Charlotte. Yao shot .612 from the field and .906 from the foul line, a mark, which includes his current streak of 22 consecutive free throws made.

Yi Impresses but Rockets Win

First things first, Yi Jianlian, Milwaukee Bucks rookie forward, scored 19 points (7 for 12 from the field including 2 for 2 from three). He played well. However, the Houston Rockets woke up from a second half slumber and defeated the Bucks 104 to 88 in front of 18,244 screaming fans at Toyota Center.

Yao Ming led all scorers with 28 points (7 for 16 from the field and a perfect 14 for 14 from the foul line) and; he added a game-high 10 rebounds. Tracy McGrady scored 21 points; dished eight assists; and pulled down eight boards. Bonzi Wells scored 18 points off the bench as well as pulling down seven rebounds.

The Rockets trailed the Bucks 25 to 24 at the end of the first period; however, the Rockets outscored the Bucks 26 to 16 in the second period to take a 50 to 41 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, Yi Jianlian scored 11 points on perfect 4 for 4 shooting from the field and 2 for from the foul line. Both teams shot well in the period -- Milwaukee shot 68.8% (11 for 16) and Houston shot 52.4% (11 for 21).

The Rockets allowed Milwaukee's zone defense to disrupt their offense until the middle of the fourth quarter. The Bucks were able to pull within two points (84 to 82); then, the Rockets went to work. Wells scored a reverse lay-up; and Tracy McGrady splashed in a three-point shot in transition to force a time out by the Bucks. Wells added four more points and helped the Rockets score 14 straight points to lead 98 to 82 and blow the game open.

Rockets Beat Spurs

After a tough loss to the Dallas Mavericks Monday night in Dallas, many people doubted the Rockets would be able to bounce back Tuesday night and defeat the San Antonio Spurs. The Rockets proved the doubters (including yours truly) wrong.

Rockets 89, Spurs 81.

The Spurs were without forward Robert Horry (personal reasons) and back up point guard Jacque Vaughn (strained right calf); but, the Rockets' defense caused the Spurs problems most of the ball game.

Tim Duncan, the Big Fundamental, made just five of his 15 field goal attempts. Duncan scored only 14 points; and, he committed five turnovers. Tony Parker scored 21 points; but, he turned the ball over four times. Manu Ginobli scored 23 points off the bench; but, the rest of the Spurs were lifeless and unproductive.

Bonzi Wells came off the bench to score 14 points and pull down a team-high 15 rebounds. Wells' strength and activity caused problems for the Spurs throughout the game.

Yao Ming led the Rockets with 28 points. Tracy McGrady had an off night from the field (4 for 14) and scored only 14 points; but, T-Mac grabbed nine rebounds and handed out six assists.

The biggest negative for the Rockets were 18, mostly unforced, turnovers.

Rick Adelman's post-game press conference: "...Bonzi was terrific..."

Good win by the Rockets.

Rockets vs Blazers

Updated: 11/3/07, 11:12pm--
The Rockets defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 89 to 80. Houston never trailed and led by as much as 22 points. The Rockets led 25 to 12 at the end of the first quarter and 46 to 31 at halftime. The Blazers got open looks in the first half; but, they shot a miserable 29.7% (11 for 37). Tracy McGrady (15 points) and Yao Ming (13 points) dominated the opening 24 minutes; however, both players struggled in the second half as the entire Rockets' offense went stagnant. The Rockets made just 15 of their 41 shots in the second half.

McGrady finished the game with 20 points while Yao ended the game with a team-high 21 points. Mike James scored 17 points off the bench for the Rockets.

Brandon Roy scored 23 points (9 for 18) to lead all scorers and LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 points and eight rebounds. (When Aldridge was being guarded by Yao Ming, Roy and Aldridge ran the pick-and-roll and gave Yao fits.)

The second half wasn't pretty; but, a win is a win. The Rockets (3 - 0) play the Dallas Mavericks Monday night, November 5, at 7:30 pm, in Dallas before returning to Houston for a home game versus the NBA Champions -- the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, November 6. That game also has a 7:30 pm tip-off.

Rick Adelman's press conference.


Posted: 11/3/07, 7:31pm --
The Rockets tip-off the home part of their schedule in just a few minutes versus the Portland Trail Blazers. This game is definitely one the Rockets should win. After two road wins, the Rockets (2-0) face the 0 and 2 Blazers who played last night and got spanked by the New Orleans Hornets 113 to 93 in Nawlins.

Time for me to head to my seat...

On The Game

No, not the television show.

I'm scheduled to appear on The Game (1560 AM) w/ David Nuno tomorrow, November 3, from 2:15 pm to 2:30 pm. We'll be discussing the Rockets; the NBA; hoops; etc. (Ironically, I'll be calling from Reed Arena in College Station, TX, getting ready to cover a women's college basketball game between Texas A&M and the Chinese National Team.)

This will be my first appearance on 1560; but, I'm no stranger to Houston sports talk shows. In the past, I've appeared as a basketball analyst on KSEV 700 AM W/ Matt Thomas and Daron Jones; KTRH 740 AM Sports Beat (and Sports Beat Saturday) with Carl Dukes; Tom Franklin; Tony Ortiz; Andre Franklin and Kris O'Donnell; 610 AM w/ Kenny Hand and Adam Wexler; Matt Jackson; Rob Costa; Jeremy Foster; and Danny Vara; and, of course, on KCOH 1430 AM Sports Rap w/ Ralph Cooper.

If you're wondering, ...

...I'm not under any contract; so, I appear on shows when I'm asked.