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@  feelingsuper... : (21 March 2014 - 02:20 AM) Good to see Harden and company take care of business tonight while Dwight is out, solid win.
@  redfaithful : (21 March 2014 - 02:19 AM) 36 assists for Rockets tonight, what's the season high?
@  thenit : (20 March 2014 - 04:21 AM) Wow happy for brooks, he had 27 6 17 playing 47 min tonight
@  MrLobble : (17 March 2014 - 02:37 AM) crazy that last sunday after the indiana and portland win, i was on cloud 9... now, i'm on cloud -9 ha
@  BrentYen : (17 March 2014 - 02:25 AM) IMO, it is good that they peaked once a week ago. Now they can go back sorting things out and be ready for playoff.
@  MrLobble : (17 March 2014 - 02:20 AM) hopefully, we can get back on track tomorrow!
@  MrLobble : (17 March 2014 - 02:12 AM) *nice
@  MrLobble : (17 March 2014 - 02:12 AM) yeah, totally agree... wasn't sure why we went with that rotation... wish we could have saw more of J. Hamilton... his athleticism and size would have been on defense
@  BrentYen : (17 March 2014 - 01:35 AM) If that is true, you should blame McHale putting him on the floor, not Lin. :P
@  MrLobble : (17 March 2014 - 12:19 AM) Jeremy Lin cost us the game... his defense down the stretch was dismal...
@  miketheodio : (16 March 2014 - 11:57 PM) still don't know what the rockets are at this point
@  Dan G : (16 March 2014 - 10:14 PM) This game pisses me off so much. The DoG call, the technical, the illegal screen on James and most of all the absolute poor shot selection by the Rockets at the end let this one slip away.
@  Opasido : (16 March 2014 - 10:11 PM) Overall just lost the game due to a mix of disgusting officiating and an absolute poop offense
@  Opasido : (16 March 2014 - 10:10 PM) 4 technicals on the Rockets. 2 three seconds on Howard, 1 DoG on Howard, 1 Technical on Beverley.
@  miketheodio : (16 March 2014 - 10:07 PM) refs weren't any help, but scoreless in the last 4~ minutes... can't do that.
@  Opasido : (16 March 2014 - 10:04 PM) Hahaha that death stare by McHale. These officials smh
@  Opasido : (16 March 2014 - 10:01 PM) Sigh
@  CanSayNOTC : (16 March 2014 - 07:12 PM) OK, I'm ready for tipoff. HOU vs MIA (PC) and UM vs MSU (laptop). Go Blue!
@  BrentYen : (14 March 2014 - 02:56 PM) I think so too..although it was hard to watch. Lol
@  Sir Thursday : (14 March 2014 - 10:09 AM) @Brent: I don't think it's too big a deal, as long as it's not a regular thing. Harden looked REALLY off tonight...

Photo

Houston Rockets 124, Utah Jazz 86: Rockets rebound


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#1 Red94

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    Posted 18 March 2014 - 03:14 AM

    New post: Houston Rockets 124, Utah Jazz 86: Rockets rebound
    By: Eric Nielsen

    After a brutal stretch of games and their first three game losing streak, the Rockets fed on one of the worst teams in the NBA.  This was one of the first games in a long time that Harden and Parsons got significant rest.  This game was never close.  Houston won every quarter and ended up winning by 38.  Up by 8 after 1Q, 19 at the half, 23 at the end of 3, the Rockets end up winning by 38.  It was a rout and it obviously got under Utah’s skin.

    Even with Howard out, the Rockets had no trouble in the middle.  Did you see Asik smile?  I saw Asik smile.  Omer got the start with Howard out due to an ankle strain.  It was Howard’s first game missed all year and he seems to be the biggest Asik fan on the bench.  Asik went on to notch his first double double since last April.  He scored 12 points and had 11 boards in 28 minutes.  He still looks like he can’t jump and missed multiple two footers, but he gets the job done.  Maybe if he had played like this earlier, he’d be starting somewhere else by now.  But, it’s obvious he’s the best backup center in the league and if he can get going, he will pay off big time in the playoffs.

    The star of the game was undoubtedly Terrence Jones.  He was the best player on the court tonight.  He ended up with 30 points on 11 for 15 from the field and 3 for 4 from behind the arc.  He was dunking, driving, dribbling, hitting bombs and changing shots.  Remember all that talk at the beginning of the year about who would be out PF?  That’s all out the window and the upside for Jones looks insane.  After only playing in 19 games last year, Jones has solidified himself as one of the youngsters that could bring great glory to the Rockets in years to come.  The Rockets youth could still be troublesome in the playoffs but it sure does lend stability to their front office and future plans.

    Everyone played tonight except Casspi (who had the flu) and Smith who is still out.  Garcia even got in the game in the last two minutes for a shoving match against the frustrated Jazz.  Maybe the Jazz thought the Rockets were pouring it on.  Even when the end of the bench came in for Houston, the lead kept going up and the Rockets didn’t slow down.  They kept making easy, fast break layups and shooting bombs.

    Houston had a total of 12 blocks tonight with seven players getting their hands on shots.  The defense looked solid, holding the Jazz to 41% from the field and 22% from behind the arc.  Of course against a team as woeful as the Jazz, it doesn’t mean too much.

    With the schedule finally tilting Houston’s way, we should be seeing some more of this.  With 15 games left in the season, there are only a few tough ones left.  Mainly one against the Spurs and one against the Clippers.  Hopefully, with this schedule, we can rest some in the 4th quarter, get the backups more time and solidify our playoff seeding.

    This game will help with the confidence of the younger players.  Speaking of confidence, Lin shot 7 for 10 and ended up with 15 points in 29 minutes.  Canaan got to play 8 minutes and Hamilton shot 5 for 7 for 15 points.  The Rockets shot an amazing 58.2% from the field, all of this with Howard’s field goal percentage on the bench.

    The Rockets have now won 45 games, the same as last season, and still have a month of basketball to go.  With the right playoff seeding, the stars could align for Houston.  Realistically, it looks like the Rockets should finish 4th in the West and have home court advantage against a slipping Trailblazers team.  Exiting that last stretch of games was tough, but tonight did a lot to put that in the rear view mirror.

     


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    #2 Alituro

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      Posted 18 March 2014 - 12:24 PM

      I attended last night, woulda been nice had the game been a little closer, just for that reason. I am kinda glad Howard set out though because I got to witness Asik tearing it up, doing what he does best, locking down the paint on D and setting great screens. Beverley and Lin absolutely thrived feasted off his screens. If the team wants to help Lin get his confidence back, they should only allow him in when he can be paired with Asik. Lin is really good off the PnR, but I don't think Howard commits enough in his screens for him to be as effective as he can. Jones was in a zone too. So much so, that it makes me wonder if Howard's dominance down low, offensively is something holding him back. Not saying it would be better for the team otherwise, but last night, fully unleashed, he was unstoppable. He drained a couple 3s early and it just opened up his game all around once the defenders had to close out on him.


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      #3 rocketrick

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        Posted 18 March 2014 - 12:34 PM

        It's horrible. Either the Rockets barely win or lose a game in Miami or they win by just way too many points.

        It is a tough time to be a Rocket player and coach.
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        #4 dbd

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          Posted 18 March 2014 - 12:56 PM

          Before this season start, I was so excited to see our guards do PnR with Dwight but unfortunately they didn't do much; even when they did, it didn't look great.

          Glad to see Asik inching back to his old self.


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          #5 dbd

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            Posted 18 March 2014 - 02:48 PM

            Just re-watched Asik's last night highlights and compared with a few of Dwight. O was very much committed on screen and let guards to play a bit more before rolling. D12 picked the defender and rolled right away most of the  time. Maybe Asik is more defensive minded and Howard is more offensive.

            Not trying to which is right/wrong or better/worse. Again, with a review of small samples.


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            #6 Alituro

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              Posted 18 March 2014 - 03:27 PM

              Just re-watched Asik's last night highlights and compared with a few of Dwight. O was very much committed on screen and let guards to play a bit more before rolling. D12 picked the defender and rolled right away most of the  time. Maybe Asik is more defensive minded and Howard is more offensive.

              Not trying to which is right/wrong or better/worse. Again, with a review of small samples.

              I notice the same. I think the difference is that Dwight WANTS the ball on the roll, Asik does not, he wants the trailing rebound/put back and for his guard to score first. Not saying it's wrong/worse, LAWD knows you could have worse offensive options than Dwight rolling to the basket.  That's the Alley-oop play, Asik wants no part of it..

               

              The thing that impressed me most last night was the balanced attack that we implemented..


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