Rapid Reaction: Houston Rockets 90, New Orleans Hornets 88 (OT)

no Rapid Reaction: Houston Rockets 90, New Orleans Hornets 88 (OT) New Orleans Hornets 88 Final

Recap | Box Score

90 Houston Rockets hou Rapid Reaction: Houston Rockets 90, New Orleans Hornets 88 (OT)
 Rapid Reaction: Houston Rockets 90, New Orleans Hornets 88 (OT) Samuel Dalembert, C 43 MIN | 7-14 FG | 1-1 FT | 17 REB | 2 AST | 15 PTS | +7I cannot for the life of me understand how a game that was almost completely dominated by Houston came down to two overtime putbacks by Samuel Dalembert, but it did. And my, were those offensive rebounds glorious. Against a tiny frontline (or at least one that plays tiny) like the Hornets’, the Bear saw an opportunity to eat up boards, doing so with a game-high nine offensive boards, including those two that gave Houston the game. I’d give him the game ball if I didn’t already think he had it comfortably nestled in his hands. grade aplus Rapid Reaction: Houston Rockets 90, New Orleans Hornets 88 (OT)
 Rapid Reaction: Houston Rockets 90, New Orleans Hornets 88 (OT) Kevin Martin, SG 43 MIN | 12-27 FG | 3-3 FT | 8 REB | 0 AST | 32 PTS | +9Whoa. Where’s this Kevin Martin been all year, and can he retroactively play in all of those early losses? Martin scored from anywhere he wanted Thursday night, most importantly from behind the arc, where his 5-9 mark posted as his second best three-point shooting night of the year. He also saved the game with his off-balance fadeaway in the last two minutes of regulation, which would have made him the game’s savior until the rampaging Dalem-Bear “took over” in OT. grade aminus Rapid Reaction: Houston Rockets 90, New Orleans Hornets 88 (OT)
 Rapid Reaction: Houston Rockets 90, New Orleans Hornets 88 (OT) Kyle Lowry, PG 42 MIN | 4-11 FG | 1-1 FT | 9 REB | 8 AST | 10 PTS | +4As with most games this year, his stat lines will look pretty admirable at the end of this one, but Lowry’s hesitance in the clutch, along with Luis Scola’s, made a Houston offense that was chugging along for the first 3/4 of this game come to a miserable halt. grade c Rapid Reaction: Houston Rockets 90, New Orleans Hornets 88 (OT)
 Rapid Reaction: Houston Rockets 90, New Orleans Hornets 88 (OT) Courtney Lee, SG 26 MIN | 7-12 FG | 1-2 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 17 PTS | -5Despite his semi-disappearance along with the rest of the team’s offense in the fourth quarter, Lee represented a burst of hope back onto Houston’s bench, someone who could score both in transition and off the pass, draining seven of his first 10 attempts. His string of three steals on consecutive Hornets possessions in the third quarter also emphasized his importance to this team. grade bplus Rapid Reaction: Houston Rockets 90, New Orleans Hornets 88 (OT)
 Rapid Reaction: Houston Rockets 90, New Orleans Hornets 88 (OT) Patrick Patterson, PF 17 MIN | 0-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 0 PTS | -6Despite blocking a couple of shots in the third, Patterson really showed exactly how out of place he’s seemed all year in Kevin McHale’s offense, and his size issues on defense have basically placed him out of the rotation. If he expects minutes similar to last year’s, he’ll need to find a way to get points on his own in the simplistic system McHale has in place. grade dplus Rapid Reaction: Houston Rockets 90, New Orleans Hornets 88 (OT)

Five Things We Saw

  1. What a horrific trainwreck the end of that game was. The Horents played like the New Orleans Hornets, while the Rockets caved into to every bad tendency and vacillation that’s made them look timid against this league’s more dynamic outfits. Only through a small miracle (Jason Smith’s missed jumper at the end of regulation), typically awful Hornets offense and some gigantic Sam Dalembert plays (yup, still feels weird to write that) did the Rockets escape this one with their shirts intact. I’d breathe a sigh of relief if I didn’t feel a foreboding sense of doom clouding over Houston called the San Antonio Spurs.
  2. Also a week ago, I complained liberally about Martin’s inability to put together the kind of scoring efficiency that he had in past years, that is, a ton of threes and free throw attempts even without brilliant numbers from the field. Over the last five games, there’s been an uptick in Martin’s attempts from the line of over two a game (up to almost six a game), and the Rockets have, not so surprisingly, won a lot more. In Thursday night’s victory over New Orleans, his three-point shooting returned, if only for one brilliant half. Any true renaissance for these Rockets will involve a return to form for Martin.
  3. In the Morey Era, it’s seemed that every year has brought with it some surprise rookie over which the general Rockets populace could drool at the endless potential (Carl Landry, Chase Budinger, Patrick Patterson, even Ish Smith), and this year’s no different as Chandler Parsons has taken all bystanders by storm. Strangely, though, there does seem to be one real change from past years: Parsons’ numbers really aren’t all that great. Instead, it’s been the giant wing’s instincts that have gained him the fawning of Rockets fans, a shift in attention that can be applauded. The highlight dunks have been genuinely riveting, but his ability to swing the ball to the right spot and overall activity in the transition offense, as well as his exceptionally long limbs that can one day be turned into dangerous defensive weapons, all mark Parsons as more than a passing fancy for Houston followers.
  4. Courtney Lee’s jumper. Oh yes. That’s all there really is to say about tonight’s comeback by Lee. Yeah, he played some minutes the other day, but tonight, Lee swallowed the court, being just about everywhere that the Rockets made a good play, at least until the ultimate collapse that was the Rockets’ fourth quarter. Otherwise, more please.
  5. So, that Chris Kaman fella really doesn’t seem like he should be playing NBA basketball for a living. Maybe as a hobby on one of those NBA2K video games that seem to receive so much acclaim, but certainly not as an occupation. Just a few years ago, Kaman operated as one of the NBA’s most dangerous post presences, a guy who had manifold ways of scoring on this league’s weaker post defenders. Maybe it’s the years of injuries or the disheartening deal that sent Kaman to yet another miserable rebuilding organization; whatever it might be, Kaman doesn’t have the heart for this game anymore, or any of the other requisite body parts apparently.
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