2010 All-Star Headed to Dallas Area

DALLAS, TX -- Yesterday, the NBA announced the 2010 NBA All-Star will be held in Dallas, TX.

The Rookie Challenge and NBA All-Star Saturday Night festivities will take place at American Airlines Center, home of the Mavericks while the 2010 NBA All-Star Game will take place in Arlington, TX, at the home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys. 2010 will mark the first time the All-Star competitions are split between two venues since Houston in 1989 when The Summit hosted All-Star Saturday Night and the Astrodome hosted Sunday's All-Star Game.

Once again, the Dallas area tries to outdo the Houston area.

"Texas-sized treatment in store for 2010 All-Star Game" by NBA.com's Art Garcia.

Rox Pick Up Brooks' Contract Option

HOUSTON, TX -- The Houston Rockets announced they have picked up the option on guard Aaron Brooks. Brooks was drafted by the Rockets in the 2007 NBA Draft (26th overall).

If you saw the Rockets - Grizzlies game last night and witnessed Luther Head running the offense, you saw how important Brooks is to the Rockets' second unit.

Luther Head is not a point guard; and, with Brooks missing last night's game due to a bone bruise, Luther's time at the point bogged down the Rockets' offense.

Brooks wore a boot last night; but, he's playing in tonight's game versus the Dallas Mavericks.

Rockets Beat Griz in Opener

HOUSTON, TX -- The Houston Rockets defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 82 to 71 Wednesday night inside Toyota Center in front of a 17th consecutive sell-out crowd.

The game was a lot closer than Rockets' fans may have hoped; but, the bottom line is the Rockets picked up the win and begin the season 1 and 0.

"It looked like it was the first game of the season," said Rockets guard Luther Head after the game. "We know we can't play like that to beat the really, really good teams. Not to say that Memphis is a bad team; but, we have to play better if we plan on doing what we all feel like we can do."

Ron Artest started the game with two consecutive steals. Artest scored a fast-break lay-up after the first steal; but, he was called for travelling after the second swipe.

Artest's defense set a tone for the Rockets; and, Tracy McGrady continued the mood with another steal seconds later.

The Rockets led 7 - 0 after McGrady drained a three-point shot at the 10:15 mark of the first quarter.

The Rockets led the Grizzlies (0 - 1) 26 to 18 at the end of the first period.

The Rockets shot 10 for 20 (50%) in the first period. Five of the ten made shots came off assists.

Houston's offense bogged down the rest of the game; and, the Rockets managed only six assists over the final three quarters.

"We started off fine," said Rockets head coach Rick Adelman. "But, we got lulled into playing a very slow-paced game with not much activity. Offensively especially, we just had no activity; and, we have to play better ball than that."

The Grizzlies' rookie big men helped control the paint and the tempo of the ball game as both, Marc Gasol (12 points and 12 rebounds) and Darrell Arthur (11 points and 15 rebounds) recorded double-doubles in their NBA debuts. 

Rudy Gay scored 20 points to lead the Grizzlies; however, he made just 9 of his 22 shot attempts. O.J. Mayo scored 10 points on just 5 of 20 shooting.

The Grizzlies out rebounded the Rockets 49 to 44. Both clubs scored 36 points in the paint.

The Rockets' offense bogged down in the second quarter. Houston shot 6 for 21 (28.6%) in the second quarter and 6 for 20 (30%) in the third quarter.

The poor shooting in those quarters helped the Grizzlies stay close in the ball game; and, in fact, the Griz took their first lead of the game (61 to 60) in the fourth quarter with 10:45 on the game clock. The lead went back and forth over the next three minutes; but, Artest made two free throws to give Houston the lead for good at 66 to 65 with 7:43 left in the ball game.

Yao Ming scored 21 points (6 for 14 from the field and 9 for 9 from the foul line) and grabbed 10 rebounds. Luis Scola also produced a double-double with 12 points and 13 boards. Artest and McGrady each scored 16 points.

With 57.1 seconds remaining in the game, Rafer Alston drained his only three-point shot of the game to ice the ball game and give the Rockets a 78 to 71 lead.

Alston added, "I knew the ball was going to come back out at some point, going through to Tracy, Ron or Yao down late. I knew they would come off of me. I just wanted to stay ready and stay on the shot."

The Grizzlies missed all 13 three-point shots they attempted tonight; and, the lack of perimeter shooting definitely hurt them tonight versus the Rockets.

"We got some good looks," said Grizzlies head coach Marc Iavoroni. " But, 0 and 13 is not going to be typical of what this team is capable of (shooting). If a couple of those threes went in, we could have had a chance to win."

The Rockets acknowledged the game was not pretty; but, a win is a win.

"We have to think about it this way," Yao Ming summarized. "A win is a win; and, now we're going to look for a second one. We know what we need to do better from this game."

Luis Scola added, "It was kind of an ungly game; but, we won and a win is a win. We struggled offensively in the second quarter. I feel like we've got a lot of work to do. We are not thre yet; but, that's a good thing because we're not supposed to be there now. We've got to keep working."

The Rockets don't have a long wait to get back to work. The Rockets face the Dallas Mavericks Thursday night in Dallas.

McGrady's Knee a Worry

HOUSTON, TX --- After today's practice, Tracy McGrady acknowledged he's more concerned about his surgically repaited left knee than the arthritis in his left shoulder. The reason for his concern is somewhat interesting; but, very legitimate: the surgery on his knee was McGrady's first surgery.

"My shoulder is not an issue," McGrady. "Sometimes I forget about it when I'm out there (on the court). When I get bumped sometimes the pain is there; but, I more worried about my knee than my shoulder."

McGrady is not certain his knee will be ready by the season opener on October 29.

"That's what I'm hoping. I never had surgery before; so, it's hard mentally for me to push myself through this. I never had surgery; so, I don't know what to expect. I thought I'd be farther along than where I am right now; but, the doctors told me that it could take up to six months. I'm just up to four right now."

Notes from Rockets Practice

HOUSTON, TX -- The media was allowed to watch the final 30 minutes of Rockets' practice today; and, we saw a rare event occur -- Chuck Hayes dunked the basketball off a fast break!

That's right!

Chuck Hayes finished the break with a slam dunk over Carl Landry!

The media made -- including yours truly -- made a bigger deal out of the dunk than the Rockets; but, Chuck throwing one down OVER Carl was surprising.

Tracy McGrady didn't participate in the 30 minutes of action the media saw; but, there's no need to panic Rockets' fans.

"I did my work earlier," McGrady told the media after practice. "My job is to come out here and do what I can do. I did that earlier. You guys came toward the end of practice and saw me sitting down being a spectator.

"We got a lot of talent out there. It's good to see some of these guys are playing well; but, once we put it all together, we could be scary."

Joey Dorsey swatted a driving lay-up attempt by Aaron Brooks and knocked Brooks to the floor. No foul was called by refs who officiated the scrimmage. Brooks lay on the floor briefly; but, he got up and got back to work. Coach Adelman said he didn't see the play; but, he did say, "I heard it. Brooks is a tough kid; and, he's all right."

Coach Adelman mentioned today's practice was much better than last night's performance by the players.

"Last night wasn't good," Adelman said. "But, today was better which is good because we want the guys to get better each day."


Rafer's Importance to the Rockets

Some fans may disagree; but, Rafer Alston is the most important Rockets' player when it comes to the team's success. Last season, when Rafer played well, the Rockets played well. Rafer's good play was very evident during the Rockets' 22-game winning streak; and, his importance to the club was shown when he missed the first two games and Game 6 of the Rockets' first-round match up versus the Utah Jazz.

"He's our starting point guard," said Tracy McGrady. "He leads us. He's our floor general. He's a guy that had a really good season last year. He's a guy that shot the ball pretty well from the perimeter last year. We know what he does as far as getting us into our sets and just being the head of our offense. He's a fierce competitor on the basketball court. It really starts with him out there because he's our point guard. He generates our offense."

McGrady isn't concerned about the perceived lack of quality depth behind Alston.

"I think you have myself and Brent (Barry) who can play the point as well," added McGrady. "I think, as small as the guy is, Aaron Brooks is ready. He has a lot of talent. He's very athletic at his size. I think he's ready. I think our point guard situation is what it is; but, we can make it work."