In China, games, even preseason ones, have to be played with a requisite level of respect for the NBA’s most important market outside of the United States. The two teams called upon as ambassadors, the Houston Rockets and New Jersey Nets, did not disappoint on that front. And for once, if even in the preseason, if even 7,000 miles from Houston, TX, it all worked. The swarming, lengthy defense, the flashes of the Princeton offense, the big man adjusting to a challenge and eventually imposing his will… this game possessed every possible flash of hope for a Rockets team needing to see one. Things went wrong, and there were certainly moments when it seemed like the tenuous thread that connects this collection of tremendously varied and skilled players would snap, exposing it for the mercurial hodgepodge Houston really is. Except that it didn’t; instead, resiliency and execution won out in favor of a quicksand-like slip into impotence. Though Brook Lopez and Devin Harris brought their perfectly complementary skill sets across the pond, the Rockets stood tall and held serve in the first of this team’s two matchups in the People’s Republic.
Though many expected Yao Ming to play a great deal in this one (and he did put in a steady 19 minutes), giving the crowd a show of sorts from the hero returning home, his presence impacted the game more than anything, allowing the team to run a series of high-post screens that eventually led to the kinds of passes about which Rick Adelman salivates. In the first half of Wednesday morning’s 91-81 victory, aggression poured out of the backcourt, as Kevin Martin was everywhere he needed to be, whether it was going backdoor on determined but overambitious defenders like Terence Williams or getting out in transition for quick dunks. His ability to sneak anywhere he wants on a court thanks to his litheness and speed broke open the offense for the Rockets with Yao on the floor; however, with the implementation of some of Adelman’s offensive principles come the miscues, and they were abundant tonight (today? this morning?). The Rockets handed over the ball 18 times to an athletic, long Nets outfit that simply did things more quickly, mostly thanks to the returning legs of half-gazelle Devin Harris. He continually harassed the Rockets’ starters until he ripped the ball from their hands (5 steals for the recovering former All-Star), usually putting in those of Williams, who abused the Rockets’ transition defense for 20 points (even though he cooled down in the second half considerably) by continually stopping short and hitting open shots close to basket. And all of the Rockets, including the Great Wall, found themselves watching as Brook Lopez found his way around the basket, effortlessly (maybe too effortlessly) moving his feet into 22 points and 7 boards.
Rockets fans can be thankful that the failures of the Rockets were readily apparent, yet consistently overcome by the heap of able, talented bodies Adelman can throw at any team attempting to try any one strategy to stop Houston’s attack. Jared Jeffries, a man who seems to have etched out a very clear position for himself in the Houston rotation, even at the unbelievably deep 4 position, made himself available for open jumpers, nailed and clawed at Lopez’s back to alleviate Yao and generally did all of the small things that allowed him to make the New York Knicks’ defense appear respectable at moments last year. Patrick Patterson couldn’t find his shot from any one place, so he decided to just grab the missed shots from everyone, posting a very impressive 9 rebounds in 19 minutes of a hotly contested game (Yao wasn’t the only star out there; Lopez and Harris each played 36 in this exhibition). Even without Luis Scola and Brad Miller, this team found ways to contribute and occasionally dominate the paint, outworking the Nets for 48 rebounds to New Jersey’s 37.
Flaws abound, but the Rockets showed not just effort, but patience and chemistry throughout this one. Take from it what you will, but know that Houston made sure it was prepared for Yao’s homecoming. Whether it will continue to be in Los Angeles on Opening Night is a question that will soon find an answer.
On to the links…
- Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle made the trip to China alongside the Rockets, and he noticed the warmth and earnestness with which Yao’s fellow countrymen greeted the big man: “As Yao went through his private ritual and waves of photographers rushed to surround him, it seemed every eye in Wukesong Arena focused only on him. Soon the roars would swell as he took his feet, when he took the microphone and most of all when he took his first shot, a dunk off a Chuck Hayes pass inside. Yao was back in Beijing and on the Wukesong Arena stage for the first time since the celebration that was the 2008 Olympics. He never seemed more at home.”
- Where the Rockets saw potential realized and chemistry developed, New Jersey saw its most useful asset (whether it be in a trade or in its future), Derrick Favors, stumble against the litany of big men the Rockets ran out Wednesday morning. The Star-Ledger wondered, as many Nets fans will, about what exactly this year’s number three pick can or will be: “Favors continues to be enigmatic and completely impossible to figure out. He’s all parts explosive, bullish and totally clumsy. Of course, they are the ‘growing pains’ Johnson keeps referring to, but the team isn’t seeing a steady, or comfortable progression. ’He’s an athletic guy, and obviously he hasn’t been making a lot of his shots, but they’re good shots,’ Harris said. ‘I think he’s trying to figure out that whole thing of playing and starting to come off the bench. I think his confidence is fine, he just needs to see the ball go in the hole a little more.’”
- What would have happened in the elusive, never-will-be Bulls/Rockets showdown of the 90′s? Bomani Jones wonders just that for FreeDarko‘s “Dream Week”.
- Bethlehem Shoals unleashes a brilliant, albeit quasi-political, take on David Stern and his approach to the media in today’s “The Works”: “Obama, on the other hand, talked big to his base, but then pursued a tepid strategy intent on trying to involve all parties on a day-to-day level. As much fun as those speeches were, he would do better — well, would have, since he can’t undo the marvel of the 2008 campaign – to stress consensus but then run a more aggressive presidential shop. The players, like Obama’s base, are for the most part smart. They like results. The other side prizes loud noises and sound bites. Give them just enough to rock them to sleep, and then go about the business of governing the country. While, it should be said, the base has had its expectations tempered, rather than inflamed. The dress code surfaced again this week, when it was supposedly revealed that coaches would not be allowed to wear some kind of turtleneck, mock or otherwise. It was, some speculated, aimed directly at outgoing legend/buffoon Don Nelson, as well as the slovenly Stan Van Gundy — whose frequent comparisons to porn star Ron Jeremy are by no means flattering for the league. Of course, coaches should be in suits. After all, they are the authority figures. Except then, when the official rules were announced, nothing had changed. What mattered, though, was the initial leak. The truth was just a correction. Then, the question: why can’t players go as casual as coaches? The answer: they can. David Stern just wants you to believe that they’re all still wearing suits, even if your eyes deceive you every team you turn on the television. After all, pictures are worth more than words and all, but news items in the offseason are worth even more.”
