It will be sometime between 12-3pm. I will know the exact time when it gets closer. I’m not sure yet if it will be podcasted or not, but if it is I will post it on here for those that are unable to hear it live.

If you do not live in the Houston area, you can listen to the live stream at any time by visiting the website for Sports Radio 610 and clicking on the “Listen Live” icon in the top right corner.

Mark your calenders! I’ll post a reminder when it gets a little closer.

Aaron Brooks reacts to missing another big shot at the end the game at Detroit Sunday...

Something about this young Rockets team that just kills me sometimes is that they can’t seem to put two good games in a row together. No matter what the competition is.

Saturday night they played at Minnesota and played very well. Luis Scola had a career night on the boards by pulling down 21 to go with 25 points.

“That was a man’s game by Luis,” Rockets Forward Shane Battier said. “He’s been playing great as of late. We told him he’s been sandbagging us. Now that we know he’s capable of giving us 20 and 20, we expect to see it a little more often.”

Aaron Brooks (25) and Kevin Martin (30) also added to the offensive barrage in putting down the Timberwolves easily in a 112-98 rout.

However, last night in Detroit was a different story. The Rockets got off to their usual slow start and had to play catch up for the majority of the first half. Then, another collapse late as they blew an eight point lead with under three minutes left and eventually fell in overtime 110-107.

The most encouraging thing though was the play of rookie Forward Jordan Hill who came over in the Tracy McGrady trade. With the lower back injury to David Anderson, Hill was going to get some minutes finally and he didn’t disappoint. He had the best night of his short career on Sunday with career-highs in scoring, minutes and rebounding, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting with eight rebounds and one assist. You knew Coach Adelman would eventually give him a shot and it would appear that after this game, he has earned his Coach’s trust. I expect to see more of him for the remainder of the season.

The disturbing part is how Aaron Brooks seems to terrific for the first 44 minutes of every game, but plays poorly in the closing four minutes every night. Be it missing free throws, layups or the game deciding shot. I know this is something that will come with age and experience, but I have to wonder why Kevin Martin isn’t the one taking these shots now. Isn’t this why he came here in the first place? Highlights of both games below.

Carl catches up with his former mates.

While in attendance at the game last night, it was a little different atmosphere than I’ve witnessed in a long time. First of all, the attendance was terrible. I haven’t seen so many empty seats since the Steve Francis/Cuttino Mobley era. Then, all the electricity in the crowd was for a player for the other team. But that was expected.

And it wasn’t like that Texans game in Vince Young’s rookie season where 90% of the crowd was pro-Titans. No, nothing that disgusting. he crowd was still pro-Rockets. But people couldn’t help but cheer for Carl Landry in his first visit to Toyota Center since the trade. Not only did he get a minute long standing ovation during player introductions, but the team put togther a tribute video to him during the first timeout chronicling his time in Houston. A tearjerker, to say the least. Did I mention that Carl also had a pretty damn good game, too? Yeah, count me as one of the ones not surprised.

Ready for this? Carl had his best game since being traded to Sacramento. He piled on 22 points to go with 10 rebounds, as well as hitting the clutch free throws that won the game. All with a smile on his face while Chuck Hayes tried to defend him.

So long, Carl...remember Houston when you're a Free Agent in 2012...

“It’s weird walking into the visiting locker room. I had never been in the visiting locker room in three years,” Landry said. “Walking in, seeing my name on a locker, it was weird. But it’s cool. Everything happens for a reason and I’m going to make the best of it. … I’m just excited to have a new beginning, hopefully change the Sacramento program back to the way it used to be. I didn’t think my name was in any type of rumors at all, But Daryl Morey is a great GM, and since I’ve been here, he’s made great decisions on trying to make the team better. … He’s like 10-0 so far. Hopefully everyone will see the trade he made for Kevin Martin will be a bonus for this organization.”

While Carl was obviously the biggest story of the night, the second biggest was Houston getting absolutely bullied on the boards. The Kings had 24 offensive rebounds. So no matter how good of defense Houston played, Sacramento got second, third and sometimes even a fourth chance to score the ball. Again, when your center is 6′6″, it’s going to happen quite a bit.

I do want to say a word for Shane Battier though. Not only did he shut down the high powered Tyreke Evans all night by holding him to just 4-22 shooting, but he also had a career high 7 blocks. I’m sure Shane would have traded it for a win though. Highlights and pictures below.

It hasn’t even been two weeks yet. It wasn’t supposed to happen this fast. But, you can’t really control how the schedule falls now, can you?

Most of us still haven’t accepted the sight of Carl Landry in Sacramento purple over Rockets red. Some (like my fiance, who was/is Carl’s biggest fan), haven’t even been able to watch The Rockets since the trade. While others, such as myself, have adjusted. But we haven’t really had to see Carl somewhere else yet. Will seeing him play against your Houston Rockets make you regress back into depression over the trade?

Looks like we will find out real soon.

That uniform... it still just looks weird.

However, it doesn’t sound like the players are taking the sentimentality to heart. “You might see a few of us giggling or joking around,” Rockets Forward/Center Chuck Hayes said. “I know one thing; he’s not going to be trying to take a charge, because he doesn’t want to get his tooth knocked out. Even when he was here, we used to trash talk all the time, always told him, ‘Carl, if you can score on me, you can score on anybody.’ Now he’s going to try to do that. And he always used to tell me that I can’t hold him. It should be a lot of fun. Him leaving, we understand it’s part of the business. Your teammate is gone but also your friend. Now the competitive nature kicks in. He’s going to try to go at us, and try to get his buckets so he can trash-talk through the summer. But it will be all fun.”

“Carl will try to play great, just like everybody will in this situation,” Forward Luis Scola said. “But he will probably be laughing and talking. He is such a great character. It’s going to be hard to be really, really serious out there. We always had a lot of fun playing and a lot of fun outside of the basketball court. It’s going to be fun to see him on the other side. It’s going to be weird at the same time.”

“It’s going to be fun,” Landry said of matching up with Chuck Hayes. “It’s going to be like playing against your brothers in the backyard. I don’t know if I’m going to try to elbow Chuck, but I’m going to try to school him and teach him a lesson. The matchup I always waited for in practice every day was me vs. Chuck. A lot of times, we were on the same team, and I didn’t get much of an opportunity. But when I did, I tried to make the best of it. … “

Well, the fiance and I will be in attendance for the game tonight and I expect a full standing ovation for Carl Landry in the introductions. Of that, I am sure. What I’m not sure of is which team my fiance will be cheering for.

For the third straight game, I am going to bring up the stellar play of Kevin Martin (easy, Aaron Brooks fans. I’ll get to him in a minute). In his first three games as a Rocket, Martin was averaging 15.3 points per game while shooting a lousy 31%. In the last three games, he has averaged 31.0 points per game while shooting a blistering 51%. And that isn’t even considering how many free throws he has attempted per game. This play has gotten many of his early detractors to back off just a bit.

Now, Aaron Brooks. What can you say about him? He has become a leader on the floor as well as with the ball this season. The “Pocket Rocket” is shooting 40% from three point land and has bumped his scoring average up to nearly 20 per game.

If the team continues to learn and adjust to Adelman's offense, they will only get better.

But something I noticed last night for maybe the first time since Rick Adelman was named head coach was that the team was actually running his offensive system. And, wow, what a difference it made. For those who don’t know, Adelman runs the “Princeton Offense.” It is a system that consists of emphasizing constant motion, passing, back door cuts and disciplined teamwork. It is a free flowing motion offense. Something that Tracy McGrady was never willing to commit to in being renowned to as being a “ball-stopper.”

But the team was running it and running it well last night. Constant movement. No one was standing still and watching the guy with the ball. It was…refreshing. And it made me salivate thinking of what it will look like with Yao back next season.

But back to that high powered backcourt GM Daryl Morey has created. For as frustrating as it can be for fans watching Aaron Brooks and Kevin Martin on the defensive end, they’re going to give opposing defenses the same level of frustration on the offensive end. They’re going to easily average 45-50 points per night and both are excellent three point shooters. Something that Yao Ming has never had around him since he has been in the league. With those two guys on the perimeter and Yao drawing double teams…yeah. Drool.

Brooks and Martin seem to quickly be developing some chemistry with one another, which was evident by the half court alley opp Brooks lobbed to Martin to begin the third quarter. “We played as a team,” Brooks said. “We pretty much put the game over in the third quarter. That way we didn’t have to worry about the fourth. We played good, especially on the defensive end. I think we all are just getting used to playing with each other.”

“He’s an amazing player back there,” Kevin Martin said of Aaron Brooks. “He runs our offense well. I just love playing in the backcourt with him.” And I think Rockets fans are quickly learning to love it, too. Highlights below.

Every time the team travels to Utah, I usually chalk it up as a mental “L” in my head. Unfortunately, that usually turns out to be true. The team did have a ridiculous shooting night back in November in Utah and notched a win. But this may have been an abomination. Because what we saw Saturday night was a joke. And that was just the first half…

After Kevin Martin, Luis Scola and Aaron Brooks played a high number of minutes Friday night against San Antonio, Coach Adelman decided to let some of his bench guys stretch their legs and actually get out on the floor. Well, they did better than most thought, but the end result was basically the same.

It may have been different uniforms for Utah, but it was still the same result.

Deron Williams, who always seems to feast on The Rockets, put up video game numbers, scoring 35 points and adding 13 assists. But he wasn’t the only one. Utah hit a season high 14 three pointers and had 70 points in the first half en route to a 133-110 routing.

No matter how much Seattle used to dominate Houston in the early 90’s, it is nowhere close to the animosity Houston fans have for Utah. Which, is because they always beat Houston. You don’t usually hate too many of the teams you beat all the time. So, the misery continues…

About the only good news to come out of this game was Kevin Martin’s second straight good game shooting the ball. He led the team with 32 points on 9-13 shooting. Garrett Temple also continued to be serviceable in filling in for the injured Kyle Lowry. But with Temple’s second 10 day contract running out, you have to wonder where his place will be once Lowry gets healthy again. Highlights below.

Probably not, because a majority of Rockets fans revel in panic. But this may have made them stop hanging their heads and glance upward.

It took a couple of games, but Kevin Martin found his niche in the Houston offense with a 33 point night Friday.

Since the Martin trade, Houston has looked, for lack of a better word, defeated. The hustle, grit and determination that were there before the trade was gone. Lackluster play combined with the look of just not wanting to be there made it seem as if the team had just quit. And with San Antonio and Utah on the schedule next, it didn’t appear the blues were going to halt anytime soon.

But the team that came out yesterday looked like a completely new team. Namely, the backcourt tandem of Kevin Martin and Aaron Brooks. Add to that the biggest career game ever for Luis Scola and you get a much needed Rockets at home over San Antonio.

Martin still wasn’t shooting too efficiently by going 9-24, but he finally looked a little more at ease in Rick Adelman’s offense. The trio of Martin, Scola and Brooks not only combined for 94 of Houston’s 109 points, but all three were also perfect from behind the charity stripe at 32-32. Imagine how many free throw attempts the team will get when Kyle Lowry returns.

It still was a close game at the end when San Antonio went on a late run, but Aaron brooks was able to knock down some free throws in the clutch (something he has struggled with in the past) to seal the 109-105 victory. But it doesn’t get any easier tonight in Utah. A place Houston has struggled in the past, even though they did chalk up a victory there earlier this season. Highlights below.

Howard made his first eleven shots, while Kevin Martin missed his first seven. A task that earned the first boos from the home crowd I have heard since the Francis & Mobley years. Then the Orlando lead grew all the way to 27 and the crowd stopped booing as most of them headed for the exits.

While Houston fans are still upset about the trade of Carl Landry, Kevin Martin isn't making it any easier on himself thus far...

Finally, Martin was able to sink a shot. He followed by hitting four of his next five. The team started playing defense and making a little run and with about 5 minutes left, it was an eight point game.

But all it did was get the lulling Magic to wake back up and put the clamps down. They took over and put the game away with a 110-92 final from a gloomy Toyota Center.

We all know this is going to be a work in progress with the new guys and the adjustments that are necessary. But it is just flat out hard to watch such awful performances. I mean, is Trevor Ariza this important? I have a hard time believing that.

I still believe this trade will end up being a beneficial one. I also believe the rest of this season is going to be ugly and Houston will certainly be playing the Lotto by the end. I just wonder how bad attendance is going to be before we get there. Highlights below.

Thanks for coming in, Larry. Let’s begin.

RD: Most casual NBA Fans don’t know much about Kevin Martin. Playing on a rebuilding team and on the West Coast really hurt his visibility to many others. From a guy whose watched him on a night in and night out basis, what can he bring to Houston now and in the future?

KK: Kevin is known as a hard worker and a gym rat. He seems to really enjoy basketball and has a reputation for being the first one in the gym and the last to leave. For those reasons, we were always hopeful that he would become a leader, but it’s hard to lead with a constantly rebuilt roster. It is his fifth season now and he has been forced to play under five different coaches and was the only remaining player on the roster from his rookie season. I think given a stable environment, we will see Kevin take on more of a leadership role, even if he isn’t the most vocal player out there. He certainly leads by example and was always at the gym working on his game.

Martin shot at a 45% clip for the Kings in five years in Sacramento.

On the floor, you are going to find one of the most efficient scorers in the NBA as he has a knack for piling up points with very few attempts with his ability to get to the line. His shot looks awkward, but is silky smooth and deadly accurate. Even with his ability to drain it from the outside, he still takes it to the basket with regularity and is able to draw a ton of fouls. He also has a knack for hitting off balance shots after drawing contact.

RD: What are your thoughts on trading Martin? Were you for it, against it? Also, are you happy with Carl Landry being the centerpiece of the deal?

KK: There is a lot of moving parts to this deal, so I was initially very conflicted. I really like watching Martin and there is a feeling in the community that this was “our” guy. He wasn’t a known commodity when he was drafted and there wasn’t much expected out of him when he came into the league out of Western Carolina. He has worked hard to make himself one of the elite scorers in the league and has blossomed as an NBA player and we got to see that happen first hand. It was very sad to see him go as he is a guy that you can root for and in a sense, we have watched him grow up here in Sacramento.

I understand the business side of things though as well as the rebuilding project that is in full effect in Sacramento. This frees up a ton of flexibility in the future as Carl Landry has one of the friendliest contracts in the NBA, so how the Kings spend the money saved in this deal will go a long way toward making any type of final judgments. It’s not very often that you can trade a guard for a power position and also save some $38 million in total contracts between the two players, so it is pretty easy to get excited about that aspect. I’ve seen Landry play enough to be very excited about what he brings to the table and I think Kings fans will really enjoy him in Sacramento. We have lacked a consistent back-to-the-basket type of scorer and have lost many close games this year. It is my understanding that Landry excels in this area and the Kings desperately need that.

RD: Do you think being reunited with Rick Adelman will help Martin develop into a more complete player?

McGrady never really bought into Rick Adelman's system. Perhaps Kevin Martin will be a better fit for it.

KK: As I mentioned above, Martin was working with his fifth coach in five seasons as well as an evolving door of personnel. Stability goes a long way for any team or player to be successful and reuniting him with a coach that helped bring him along early is definitely going to benefit Kevin. I think it is also encouraging for Houston to get a player that the coach is very familiar with in this deal. He knows how to use Kevin and that will benefit both parties.

RD: Many people have questioned Kevin Martin’s durability and injury history. Is this justified? Or has it just been freak injuries?

KK: This is the million dollar question. Many of his injuries have been of a freakish nature, but when you are 6-7 and favorably listed at 185 pounds, willing to take the ball to the hoop like Martin is, injuries will happen. Like many young players in the NBA, you learn what your body can and can’t do on a regular basis and I think Martin will start to get a handle on his injuries. Look at a guy like Dwyane Wade for example that has suffered a long list of injuries through his style of play. Wade has learned to reign it in a little and has stayed on the floor more as a result. I really expected Martin to take a similar approach this year before the wrist injury. The injuries aren’t the debilitating kind like a micro-fracture or other knee injury that limits a players’ explosiveness. Those are the types of injuries that really limit guys as they try to come back and Martin hasn’t had those type of injuries.

One thing that I would like to point out is that Martin is tougher than people give him credit for. I’ve seen him take numerous falls going to the basket and get up and shake it off as if nothing happened. When he broke his wrist, he actually played through it that night on his way to 29 points and 11 rebounds. When it was revealed that he had a fracture, he was considering trying to play through it, but had to opt for surgery instead and could not. He is much tougher than his reputation, but you can’t change your body style and Kevin isn’t built to sustain a great deal of pounding and the NBA is a physical game.

RD: Kevin Martin has a reputation for not playing defense at all. In your opinion, is this true?

KK: It’s tough to say. Like Mike Bibby once said of his renewed defense in the Olympics under Larry Brown, “you play defense when it is expected of you.” Well, Martin has played for a lot of coaches now that didn’t really have a clue on what to do on the defensive end from an individual or team defensive perspective. Martin will always be somewhat of a liability because of his lack of bulk but Houston has a few defensive options that will help cover up those shortcomings with plus defenders like Trevor Ariza and Shane Battier. Kevin Martin won’t be expected to shut down the leading scorer from the other team on most nights as a result and the Rockets may be able to do a better job of covering up any liabilities he may have on the defensive side. So, to answer your question, yes, Martin’s defense was suspect at times, but it’s tough to single him out when the entire Kings squad struggled in that area. He is quick and a hard worker, so in the right setting he should be an adequate defender. Houston might be that setting, especially if Yao Ming returns to full health to protect the basket. He makes a lot of guys look like better defenders. The Kings haven’t had a shot blocker, since…well maybe never.

RD: Awesome. Thanks for coming in, Larry. You can keep up with how Carl Landry is doing in Sacto by checking out Larry’s site at Kings Kingdom. Thanks again, Larry. You guys take care of our boy Carl Landry, now.

KK: I think you will like Martin in Houston. He can carry a team when he gets in rhythm and drop 50 on any given night. I really think this benefits both clubs. You guys get those draft picks as well and we free up our financial situation. If New York doesn’t sign anyone, or max out Amar’e or Boozer, they come out of this looking really bad.

RD: Which is good for us.

There you have it, Rockets fans. Feel better about Kevin Martin? Worse? Fire away in the comments below.

I still believe this and I have never questioned his player rotations. But I don’t know about anyone else that watched their loss to New Orleans last night and wasn’t a bit frustrated.

This isn’t a gripe about the loss or the trade or anything like that. What is frustrating me is that when you are having a rough time scoring the ball, why take your scorers out of the game consistently? Chase Budinger was having a career performance last night. He was hot and hitting everything. Yet he gets pulled for the struggling Trevor Ariza. Yeah, the same Ariza that couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat this season. Add this to the fact that he keeps rolling out a rotation that has Chuck Hayes, Shane Battier and the aforementioned Trevor Ariza at the same time. That is three guys who are defense first and offense wayyyyy last.

The play of Chase Budinger was one of the few redeeming qualities in the loss...

The thing is that I am a defensive guy. I believe that defense does indeed win championships. But if you don’t have anyone on the floor that can put the ball in the basket, it is all for not.

Another problem I have is that it appears that Rick doesn’t want to play Kevin Martin and Aaron Brooks at the same time. Now this I have a HUGE problem with if it is true. If Brooks is your PG, why the hell are going to make such a risky trade for a guy like Kevin Martin to play so little minutes? I just don’t get it.

But this loss wasn’t entirely on Rick Adelman. Aaron Brooks got abused on defense for the second game in a row by an average PG. Darren Collison, much like T.J. Ford the night before, did pretty much whatever he wanted all night with Aaron guarding him. He finished with a very Chris Paul-like 26 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds and 4 steals. Boy, does this team ever miss Kyle Lowry who is still out with the ankle injury.

About the only things that went well last night was Chase Budinger, who had one of the best highlights I’ve seen all season with a behind the back dribble followed by a buzzer beating three pointer. Jared Jeffries played surprisingly well, too. I didn’t even expect to see the guy get time in a Rockets uniform. But he got his head busted open, went to the locker room and came back to play 27 minutes. Maybe it is just because he is actually taller than the 6′6″ Chuck Hayes that he looked good out there (I mean no offense by that. I love The Chuck Wagon!), but he did well. He did miss a wide open layup once, but did finish with 11 points, a block and 9 rebounds. I think a Jeffries/Hayes combo will be in effect for the rest of the season.

I’m not as frustrated by the loss as I am about the distribution of minutes. Martin needs to start and Chase needs to get more minutes. Shane and Trever need to NEVER be on the floor at the same time unless they are doubling Kobe or LeBron.

There are going to be growing pains in the adjustment this team is facing for the remaining games this season. Kevin Martin is going to shoot better than the 8-28 he has thus far as a Rocket. You shouldn’t be worried about that. We just have to be patient and realize that this team is just going to continue to develop and learn each others tendencies in anticipation of next season and beyond. Highlights below.