21.11

I’m going to close off the liveblog now.  Still five minutes remaining, but this one is over.  Better luck tomorrow.

21.10

After the high of that 4-game win streak, I’m not really even sure what to make of this team.  That’s why one should always be aware of posting judgment on the basis of a win streak.  The Rockets aren’t nearly as good as they looked out West and aren’t nearly as bad as they’ve looked in these past 3 games.  But they will really need to get to work in the summer on this roster.

21.07

At least we’ll get a chance to watch Marcus Morris.  Hopefully he shows something positive.  It’s been a nightmare for the team’s other former #14 overall pick.

21.04

The Rockets have looked a half step slow since the first quarter.  Just looking extremely sluggish and unable to do anything.

20.58

Dragic returns in the 4th but has looked extremely out of control in these first few possessions.  This game has completely gotten out of hand as Denver races off to a 16 point lead.  The Rockets seem to have absolutely no options offensively.  Scola has been neutralized, and without Camby, Dragic has not had space to operate.  The Nuggets have been scoring in transition off of the Rockets’ mistakes.

20.54

The Rockets completely fall apart in yet another 3rd quarter.  The offense goes to hell, completely stagnating without Camby or Dragic.

20.48

1:52 mark of the 3rd right now and the Rockets look horrendous.  The Nuggets are doubling Scola as soon as he catches it and, predictably, he hasn’t been able to respond.  The Rockets haven’t had any other options with Dragic out of the game.

20.46

Has anyone regressed more this year than Patrick Patterson?  This is extremely troubling.

20.40

The difference in the team’s play right now with/without Dragic (with Lowry in) has been night and day.  Lowry had some great games after immediately returning, but now I’m beginning to wonder how much of that was adrenaline.  He’s looked very rusty tonight.

20.39

At 4:07 in the 3rd, the Nuggets double Scola perfectly, demonstrating what I mentioned a few comments ago.  They play him straight up and apply a very light double team with Afflalo.  Then, when Scola makes his move and fakes left, they double with a second big man.  He is trapped, unable to come back to his strong hand, and throws it away.  If teams scouted properly, they’d do this every time and render him completely ineffective.

20.37

Chase Budinger has single handedly kept the Rockets in this game.  Without his heroics, they’d be chopped liver.

20.36

The Rockets post Scola, he draws the double, the team swings it around and Lee hits the 3.  In theory, this should be a consistent option as it is with most good low post scorers.  The problem is that a) many times, teams do not opt to double Scola and b) he is perhaps one of the single worst post passers in the entire league.  If he’s doubled from a certain angle–at his blind spot–it’s almost always a turnover.

20.34

Dragic picks up his fourth foul and we still are not even halfway through the 3rd.  The Nuggets are on a 13-2 run.  I fear we are entering the danger zone.  Like the other night, this could get completely out of hand if someone in red doesn’t step up soon.

20.32

Without Camby, the Rockets’ offense has stagnated once more.  They’ve ISOed Scola in the post and run other still sets.  They need to go back to the pick and roll offense and get more movement.

20.30

The Rockets offense has looked pretty bad this half so far.

20.25

When I said Patrick Patterson in the post was the team’s lowest efficiency option…I need to amend that.  It’s Dalembert in the post.  The Rockets try it this trip down the court and the Bear bobbles it and loses it out of bounds.

20.22

After going on and on about Camby, he now won’t be returning…has a sore back.

20.07

The talk on Camby surrounds his defensive contributions.  That’s what shows up in the stat sheet – the rebounds and blocks.  But I actually think his biggest impact on this team is on the offensive end.  Without him, with Dalembert on the floor, they don’t really get anything out of that spot.  With Camby, like with Hayes, they can run their offense from the high post.  His passing is extremely underrated.  He has looked extremely comfortable with Dragic on the pick and roll in these past two games, when both have been in.  I actually think that might be the Rockets’ most high percentage play, with Scola flashing to the hoop.

20.04

Afflalo might have one of the ugliest games in the league of any highly regarded backcourt player.  He’s so herky jerky off the dribble and never seems to be in control of himself or his dribble.

20.03

Camby checks in and immediately throws a beautiful feed into Scola over the top, guiding him with his body.

19.57

Patterson posts again with yet another hideous result.  He fakes and then clanks off the rim.  I understand the sentiment, but if they want him to develop, save it for the summer league.  Now is not the time to test out low efficiency options.

19.56

The Rockets feed Patrick Patterson in the post against Galinari.  The result, predictably, is a flat turnaround.  Patrick Patterson in the post should not be a part of the Rockets’ playbook.  Just take it out.

19.55

Scola is working over Kenneth Faried tonight.  Al Harrington had much more success.

19.54

I’ve been hard on Dalembert.  To his credit, he had 7 boards and a few blocks during that short stint.  My comments still stand though.  The disparity in offensive skillset and IQ between him and Camby is easily discernible.

19.48

9:14 in the 1st: We see the difference between Camby and Dalembert, as does Bullard.  Dragic comes off a Dalembert pick and bounce passes it to Dalembert.  Dalembert bobbles it, looks inside to Patterson, and then shoots it.  He hits the shot.  Bullard remarks, “he was supposed to swing the ball to Chandler on that play, but I guess if you make that shot, it’s ok….”  He won’t always make that shot though and botched that play despite the result.

19.46

Seeing the difference in the team’s play between when they have Camby at center and Dalembert at center, and also when they have neither in the game, it makes you realize how potent the club would be with Dwight Howard.

19.42

The team is 5-1 in games this year when Budinger scores more than 17 points.  Already has 11.

19.41

The Rockets are 8-1 in games when Chase Budinger has more than 3 3 pointers.

19.37

Budinger comes off the bench for a quick 8 points.  It’s so important for this team to have Chase clicking, with their lack of individual creators.  I’d be interested in knowing the team’s record in games when he hit a certain percentage of his shots.  Will look up afterwards.

19.33

The Rockets run completely different sets with Lowry/Dalembert in the game than the ones they do when it’s Dragic/Camby.  I know this shouldn’t come as too interesting, but it is as conventional wisdom would hold that the two duos are similar.

19.30

After looking crisp at the start, the Rockets’ offense has completely bogged down.  The only change in the lineup has been Dalembert.

19.24

The change in the team’s offense with Dalembert is really interesting.  Rather than keeping him at the high post after the pick, as they do with Camby, they have him roll to the hoop.  Obviously, this is because he isn’t nearly as lethal of a passer as is Camby.

19.21

6:44 mark of the 1st, Dalembert checks in.  Will be interesting to see how this affects the offense.  As I’ve been saying, they run PnR exclusively with Camby.  Not so much with Dalembert.

19.19

Rockets completely in sync right now.  On the previous possession, Galinaro ISOed on Parsons and waited for a Faried pick.  Parsons stepped back and allowed for the switch while Camby drew the charge.

19.16

10:00 minute mark of the 1st, the Rockets run a very interesting play setting up double picks on both elbows, one with Camby and one with Scola.  Dragic fakes towards Camby’s pick and then goes over Scola’s, steps back, and hits the jumper.

19.14

The first two plays of the game, they milk Scola, just like the other night.  First, they bring him across the lane, and next, they feed him inside.  On the first play, it’s Marcus Camby from the high post with the feed.  I actually think you can make the argument that Camby has just as much value offensively as he does on defense.

19.02

Still a 2 game cushion in the loss column over the Suns (3 over the Jazz), so you can’t technically call this a must-win.  But if the team drops both, we’re in the danger zone.

18.54

Graphic on the Rockets broadcast right now: Marcus Camby is 3rd in the league since March 30th in rebounds per game.  Incredible with the old man has been able to do since coming over.  People wondered if he could have a Mutombo-esque impact, but it’s been even greater.

18.44

Was it just me or did the team seem completely out of sync the other night with both Lowry-Dragic in together?  It seemed the unfamiliarity put a damper on things.  Over the past few weeks, they had grown accustomed to their roles with the ball exclusively in Dragic’s hands.  With that said, they played their best ball with both Dragic-Lowry together, early in the year, so hopefully it is just a matter of getting re-acclimated and knowing when to not step on each others’ toes.

11.14

test

11.13

We’ll get underway right before tipoff, at about 6:57CST