Houston Rockets 112, Sacramento Kings 102: The Power Forward saga continues.

By Paul McGuire | April 4, 2013 at 6:45 am

Your Houston Rockets possess one of the best shooting guards, a decent point guard, a good shooting forward, and one of the best defensive centers in the NBA, yet no one believes that the Rockets will be contending for a title this season. What prevents this young team from battling for the ultimate crown, aside from the fact that Harden is not Lebron James and Lin is not Chris Paul, is a massively inconsistent bench and a glaring gap at the power forward slot.  Aside from a certain rookie who is too busy tilting at the windmills of protocol and mental awareness, Coach McHale has tried every possible player to figure out this problem, from Patterson at the beginning of the season to Morris during Patterson’s brief injury to small ball with Delfino/Parsons to starting Motiejunas and lately, Greg Smith.  Tonight in Sacramento, another chapter in the search to fix this problem was written with the arrival of Terrence Jones.

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The Daily Blast – April 3, 2013

By John Eby | April 3, 2013 at 9:23 am

Voluminous Beardage – Harden Week continues at Hickory-High, and it continues to be the Amazon River of James Harden fact and opinion.

First off, our own Forrest Walker chronicles the emotional journey of Houston fans from the fall of Yao to the messianic arrival of James.

Houston had been spoiled. We’d seen the glow of the Olajuwon era give way to a decade of Yao Ming. We were treated to a win streak that’s only just been surpassed. And we were spoiled by Daryl Morey, who made us think brilliance was an everyday occurrence. When a group of role players pushed the Lakers to the brink, we knew that the winner of that series would win it all. And they did. But we thought it would be the guys in red. All we could remember was a team that excelled despite. Everything. We remembered that a sixth seed once won it all. And as the red turned to gray for three years, the memories turned it all to bitter ash.

This is the narrative equivalent of “I’m afraid the deflector shield will be quite operational when your friends arrive.” So you know things are about to get better:

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Houston Rockets @ Sacramento Kings on 4/3/2013

By Rob Dover | April 3, 2013 at 8:00 am

Form:

You wouldn’t know it from looking at their position in the standings and their 27-47, but the Sacramento Kings are quietly having a late-season renaissance. As this Truehoop article points out, they have had the second best offense in the league since the trade-deadline, as the arrival of Patrick Patterson and his floor-spreading ways has coincided nicely with hot shooting streaks from Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Thornton to turbo-charge their game with the ball in hand. In years gone by the Kings have tried to give meaning to otherwise meaningless late season games by doing their best to trip up anyone fighting for playoff position who happened to cross their path, and it seems they’ll be looking to do the same this year having recently recorded good wins against the Bulls, Clippers and Warriors.

Sacramento hold the distinction of being one of the few teams in the league that Houston has not beaten so far this year, and they stick out like a sore thumb in the company of the other members of that group – Miami, Indiana and Denver. The Rockets have two games left against them to correct that and avenge their loss earlier in the season.  The goal of playoff qualification is inching ever closer, and with one eye the team must be looking to overhauling the Golden State Warriors for the number 6 spot in the West. Winning despite missing Harden in their past two games has been very helpful in that regard, but they are still a game back and need wins on nights like tonight to keep their challenge alive. Read More »

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On the NBA: Let’s Get Physical?

By John Wilmes | April 2, 2013 at 1:26 pm

The recent debate about physicality in the NBA, raging forth at surprising pace, illustrates a number of important phenomena in the state of the league.

 The first is that as fans, blogsters, reporters, talking heads, and even players and staffers, we’re all bound to a certain superstar monomania—whether we like it or not. How much more evident could it be when this discourse, probably long overdue, only gains real traction when King James pipes up about it. And, subsequently, when his opining results in an upgrade of a Taj Gibson foul from Shooting to Flagrant. You can say that LeBron’s statements—and the fact that he’s the most important player in the league—had nothing to do with the decision. You just won’t convince me. Just as it takes a national tragedy likeSandy Hookto start a conversation about Gun Control, it takes the presence of LeBron to garner voices about many an NBA issue—and to inspire league action, on a select few.

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The Daily Blast – April 2, 2013

By John Eby | April 2, 2013 at 9:57 am

Harden Week Rolls On – As mentioned in yesterday’s Blast, Hickory-High is celebrating Harden Week. What follows is a pu-pu platter of their offerings on the Rockets bearded (but currently de-activated) savior. First, Kyle Soppe with the numbers:

If you look at the data, James Harden is the only player to have a direct relationship between points scored and team success. The Rockets probability of winning is tied to the scoring output of The Beard, making his ability to put points on the board as “valuable” as any elite scorer in the NBA.

Also, read this and consider your mind blown:

Over his last 12 games (as of March 26), Harden is averaging 25.8 points and has not attempted 20+ field goals once. J.R. Smith, off the bench mind you, is averaging 22.4 points and has attempted 20+ shots five times in his last 12 games.

Next up, poet Kris Fenrich goes freeform on James. Grab your beret and bongos. Here’s how it starts:

Styles stumbling stoically with
Purpose: A
Whistle: A
Trip to the line
James signs James on a line to
Arizona State to
Herb Sendek to
Shoot free throws and threes

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