The Dream Shake

Tmacology – Like Kremlinology, but without the furry hats, vodka and ominous knocking at the door at 3 am... Part 1

2009-11-20T22:33:39Z

19 days ago: Houston Rockets' Joey Dorsey, left, and Tracy McGrady sits on the bench during a NBA basketball game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009 in Houston. (AP Photo/Bob Levey)

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First read this:

Got that?

Now read this:

It’s a real "He Said/He Said" situation here. We are free to choose what we believe. The Chronicle piece is very much an "All is well. Nothing to see here. Go on home, folks. Nothing to see. Move along" Official Party Line sort of thing. Nothing the least bit disturbing there.

As far as the Wojnarowski Yahoo piece, well, at long last, the national media has the sort of story it likes about Houston. No more boring items about team basketball, deep rosters and non-star guys putting up efficient, if not huge numbers, as the seemingly interchangeable Rockets grind down another D. It makes a welcome respite from tedious advanced stats or Morey worship.

Tmac is back! (Now?) And there is yelling! (No, there isn’t!) There were some locker room dramatics! (Nothing dramatic happened.) There is also a real possibility that Tmac is directly feeding his position to the media! (Who knows?) A hurt guy suits up on his own, rather than management’s proposed date for return, despite not having final medical clearance. (He just wants to play!) He then badgers his coach into a confrontation before game time. (It was just a friendly chat.) Now that, my friends, that’s a STORY. (Or it isn’t.)

(It might even explain the somewhat distracted play Houston evinced at The Target Center. Or it might not. Who’s that grainy figure in the back, wearing a furry hat? He looks familiar.)

If you look deeper, (as the Adrian Wojnarowski Yahoo story, in fact does), there glimmers something beyond the full dose of shouting and histrionics, which may not have occured. There might be interesting financial ramifications. Financial implications that have surely not escaped an MIT MBA like Daryl Morey, or a hugely successful bond trader like Leslie Alexander.

The dueling articles give this an even more Cold War feel. Is the Chronicle Pravda? Is Yahoo the New York Times? Is any of this a fair supposition? Like the Kremlinologists of the Cold War, I am constructing a little cosmos out of a few reported tales, some data, shadows and supposition.

It hinges on the construct so crucial to modern basketball: insurance. A "person with knowledge of NBA insurance policies" stated to the Chronicle that insurance has paid on McGrady’s injury since last year. If that is true, then this is a non story. The Yahoo piece suggests otherwise.

In general, if you think McGrady is a man unjustly maligned for physical breakdowns over which he has zero control, best stop reading now. If the Chronicle’s reassuring piece strikes you as true, stop now. If you think the Yahoo story might be right, that McGrady’s behavior could leave room for legitimate question – please read on. Perhaps we will yet arrive at a something that fits what we do know. But I doubt it.

Here is a question to ponder (assuming Wojnarowski is right):

Isn’t it odd that McGrady staged his bit of theatre in Minnesota on the very day the Rockets insurance payments were due to commence? Isn’t it peculiar that the same date was one announced unilaterally, by McGrady, some weeks ago? A date that was evidently not the one Houston had in mind. Why would he do that?

Like most of us, what McGrady says, and what he does are often different. The timing of this could make one think there is something going on beyond a player simply being eager to rejoin his teammates. There is, after all, some precedent for unilateral action by McGrady before deadlines of great significance to Rockets management.

If McGrady suits up and plays even a game, it would seem (according to the Yahoo article) that the Rockets could not collect insurance until he missed another 1/2 season of games, no matter how hurt he might be. Is that the reason he suited up and demanded to play, when the Rockets had spoken of a 23^rd date for an MRI as being a target?

Who is trying to do what to whom here? A person who believes there is genuine bad blood between the Rockets front office and McGrady, a flinty cynic no doubt, could suppose that McGrady would like nothing more than for the Rockets, rather than an insurance company, to eat his league-high salary.

We have no way of knowing (though perhaps the "person with knowledge of NBA insurance policies" could set us straight), but it could be seen, with the insurance issue (and date) on the table that McGrady was literally trying to force his way into a game, going so far as to suit up (to the surprise of all, evidently) and engage in a shouting match (it never happened) with his coach. Why else do this on this one day, of all days, if not the insurance?

High spirits? Because he really wanted to play the Twolves? Because he thought we couldn’t win without him?

Wouldn’t it be lovely to think so.

Look for Part II – where I wonder if we couldn’t make this all into the "Rashomon" of the NBA.

Poll

Which version of the latest in the Tmac saga do you believe?

McGrady & Adelman Respond to Woj's Article

2009-11-20T19:59:56Z

McGrady & Adelman Respond to Woj's Article

"Adelman said on Friday that when they met, the conversation did not get loud, but that McGrady did not want to wait for next week to make his season debut. McGrady could not have played at the time he put on the uniform on Wednesday because that night's inactive list had already been turned in."

McGrady unsure whether Rockets want him

2009-11-20T16:12:41Z

McGrady unsure whether Rockets want him

Tracy McGrady and coach Rick Adelman engaged in an emotional and sometimes loud closed-door confrontation about the star’s uncertain status on Wednesday night, sources told Yahoo! Sports.

GameThread for Houston Rockets at Minnesota Timberwolves, Nov 18, 2009 7:00 PM CST

2009-11-19T00:16:58Z

My internet connection has been infuriating. Hopefully I'll have full access during the blood bath that is this game

Fun with interesting statistics

2009-11-18T21:06:11Z

Thank the lord for Roland Beech and 82games.com. Otherwise, I really don't know what I would do with my free time.

I went treasure hunting for some obscure Rockets statistics and found the following three to be particularly compelling.

1. Hayes/Scola tandem has much higher effective field goal percentage than Landry/Scola

Really? We actually produce better on offense with the Chuckwagon instead of Carl Landry? That's odd. Perhaps it's due to usage, but you'd still think that Luis Landry, accompanied by Brooks, Battier, and Ariza, would have a higher eFG than .364.

2. The second-most used unit is significantly worse than all the others.

Maybe we shouldn't play our worst unit so often. Clearly, our defense struggles when Brooks, Hayes, and Ariza are all off of the floor. Also: collectively, Rockets are better defensively with Dave Andersen on floor than Chuck Hayes. Weird...

3. Shane Battier has the worst plus/minus on the team, as well as the third-worst Def rating (opponents points per possession while on the floor).

Well, Battier does play a good chunk of minutes and guards the opponent's best player. But wow - this is pretty stunning. Then again, +/- is a pretty flawed statistic in many, many ways.

There - your Wednesday fun post is finished.

Game 11 Recap: Fourth quarter defense propels Suns to 111-105 victory over Rockets

2009-11-18T04:54:58Z

More photos » by Bill Baptist - NBAE/Getty Images

HOUSTON - NOVEMBER 17: Jason Richardson #23 of the Phoenix Suns attempts a slam dunk versus the Houston Rockets on November 17, 2009 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)

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You knew Jarron Collins was going to blow up at some point. Er, perhaps not.

He didn't exactly "blow up" either. Six points in twelve minutes is hardly a combustible stat line. But on three of three shooting, with six rebounds, two blocks, and the dagger in the final minute, Collins' contribution might have made the sliver of a difference down the stretch for the Phoenix Suns. Alvin Gentry knew he wasn't substituting dead air for Channing Frye to end the game. At least not on this night.

Shoving particulars aside, the Rockets couldn't have started any hotter, nor could they have finished any colder. Trevor Ariza and Aaron Brooks hit four out of the five three pointers that Houston knocked down to start the game. The Rockets controlled the first quarter and much of the second quarter before losing their mojo to finish the first half with a three-point lead. That, and Amare Stoudemire realized that beating 6'6 Chuck Hayes one-on-one wasn't as hard as everyone said it was. For a while I thought that Stoudemire might drop another President Grant on us.

You know what else I was thinking? That this game eerily mirrored the first half of the Dallas game... which ended in us getting blown out. Not exactly the script you want to keep following.

The Suns were quite hot themselves (psych!) to start the second half, but Houston managed to counter Phoenix's offensive onslaught by continuing to move the ball to find easier shots. Compared to only seventeen assists against Dallas, the Rockets piled up twenty-six dimes, thirteen coming from Aaron Brooks. For ninety percent of the game, ball movement was a strength rather than a weakness.

As the third quarter progressed, the Suns shifted focus from Amare to Jason Richardson, who lost all sense of hesitation and began chucking up (and making) shots any time he caught a pass. But he eventually cooled off, and the Rockets had the lead going into the fourth quarter. I wasn't ready for the hair-pulling ending about to ensue.

Steve Nash became relevant again in the fourth, locking down Brooks defensively while facilitating the offense to perfection. He finished with sixteen assists, and while he only shot 2-10 from the field, he was able to make an impact one way or another.

Chase Budinger, as awkward and out of control as he was for much of the game, made two clutch three pointers in the fourth to give the Rockets a chance as the game came down to the final two minutes. It was at this point that the Rockets fell victim to dribble-as-much-as-you-can-through-traffic-eosis and threw away any hope for a miniature comeback. As talented and bubbling with potential as Trevor Ariza is, he clearly can't take anyone off the dribble, not even Stoudemire. Seriously, he couldn't beat 6'10 Amare Stoudemire off the dribble.

Brooks couldn't find any dribbling room either, and nor could Shane Battier. As the Suns locked down defensively, the Rockets couldn't answer. You'd like to think that the "system" could overcome this, but at the end of the day, you create either your own shot or someone else's shot; someone has to create. If passing alone could produce points at all times, you'd never see anyone dribbling. It's still a weakness for Houston, the ability to create offense late in close games.

On a final note, I'd like to nominate Joe Crawford as a candidate to replace Steve Javie as the NBA's worst official. He managed to screw both teams over multiple times with blatantly idiotic foul calls. At least, for tonight, his famous ego didn't show in the process.

Really, though, you would have liked to see the Rockets pull this one out. Kudos to the Suns for playing such determined defense at the end.

Three Up

Carl Landry -- 27 pts, 9 reb. This was clearly Carl's best game of the season, as he single-handedly kept the Rockets close throughout the second half. His jump shot looked much improved from the first ten games, and his dirty work under the rim was impressing the heck out of the Suns broadcasters, who happened to really, really suck.

Aaron Brooks -- 16 points, 13 ast. It wasn't Aaron's best shooting night, but he managed to contribute in the assist category and moved the ball well in the second half to set up good shots for teammates, namely Landry and Scola.

Trevor Ariza -- 19 points, 9 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl. As a whole, Trevor's game was on the mark tonight, as he rebounded well and made several big defensive plays. But his shot selection was much poorer than usual, and it didn't help that he led the team in shots.

Three Down

Luis Scola -- I thought he had a chance to make a bigger impact. Each time he caught the ball on the block, he couldn't do a thing with it. He looked lost at times. The Luis we saw tonight was not the Luis we are accustomed to seeing.

David Andersen -- Started off well offensively, but lost his touch late and kept fouling like he was still in Europe. He really needs to work on playing defense with his body and not with his hands.

Scott Williams, Suns announcer -- I just can't get over how tough it was to watch this game with Scott Williams in my ear. If it wasn't because of the fact that he repeated the same phrase about a billion times, it was his goofy voice in general. Really, just horrible commentating.

Next Game: Tomorrow @ Minnesota. Twin cities, yah. Twin cities.

GameThread: Suns @ Rockets; 7:30 CST

2009-11-18T01:32:55Z

by Matt Slocum - AP

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Apparently, there's some sort of sporting event being played tonight in Toyota Center! Let's converse about it, shall we?

Tuesday Afternoon Dream Links

2009-11-17T21:36:14Z

More photos » by Lori Shepler - AP

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I don't know about y'all, but I'm really excited about tonight's game. We have two teams that relatively few writers and fans thought would be doing much off to great starts facing one another. The total line for tonight is set at 221.5, and that sounds about right. It's going to be a fun game.

John Hollinger has the Rockets and Suns ranked 6th and 7th, respectively (thanks to Rockets4Life for making a fanshot about this). "What?" I hear you all saying. Well, that's true - ESPN's resident stat-dude has the ~~plucky scrappy resilient~~ talented Rockets ranked slightly ahead of the 9-2 Suns. Most of that has to do with scoring margin and opponents' winning percentage. And, indeed, if you look at B-Ref's Simple Rating System (here's a description of the stat), the Rockets are 7th in the league, while the Suns are 14th. And Tas at TBJ has taken the Rockets in their "book-off" tonight. Yes, the plucky little Rockets have come a long way from Barkley's "worst in the league" prediction.

Let's get to some news!

After just three games, the AI Experience is done in Methopotamia. Iverson's agent, however, says he'll play again. I'd like to see it, because I think he can still contribute, but I doubt it's going to happen. Oh, wait,

the Knicks haven't been relegated to the WNBA yet...

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Speaking of the Knicks, the New York Times has noticed that D'Antoni's soul has finally been crushed under the realization that he left Phoenix for one of the worst organizations in the NBA, and that he's banking all of his hopes on the 2010 free agent class. Good job, dude. You truly are a genius.

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Shane Battier: "3/4ths of the world is covered by water; the rest is covered by Chuck Hayes"

(there's also a good Chuck Hayes interview in that link. Chuck discusses a little of how the defense will play against the Suns forwards and Amare)

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Empty The Bench looks at the Pythagorean Theorem (the one for wins, not for triangles) in the NBA. The Rockets are right where you'd expect them to be, but a few teams can expect to move up and down.

The value of a formula that calculates expected winning percentage, when real winning percentage is already known, is in predicting future success. Teams that are doing much better than expected tend to fall down a bit after a while. Teams that aren’t winning as much as expected tend to improve.

The 2006-07 NBA season–regular and playoffs–provides some great examples of how this can work. The Heat were scoring 94.6 ppg, but giving up 95.5. Their expected winning percentage was 47%, but they actually won 54% (44-38). The returning champs got unexpectedly swept 4-0 in the first round of the playoffs.

Similarly, Dallas was scoring 100 ppg and surrendering 92.8 for an expected winning percentage of 74%. They actually won 82% (67-15), and also faced a shocking first round exit. On the other hand, the Spurs won 71% (58-24), but were expected to win 78% (98.5, 90.1). They of course cruised through the playoffs to win the championship.

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The Painted area predicted that Brandon Jennings was going to be good, but they didn't think it would be this early. And they have a couple of lessons learned from his hot start to the season:

1. The Euroleague is a significantly better level of competition than U.S. college basketball. Period.

Anyone who has a rough sense of Euroleague basketball must be wondering why we even have to state something so obvious. Yet a misguided sense of college basketball exceptionalism was an undercurrent of all the incorrect Jennings evaluations.

There's a lot more there, and I encourage (obviously) everyone to read it.

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John Wall is expected to be the first-overall pick in the 2010 draft, and his Kentucky Wildcats won on his game-ending jumper last night, and B-Pro has more:

Wall’s going to be every bit as good as advertised. Certainly the UK fans in Rupp Arena were glad to have him on hand after he answered Kenny Hayes’ game-tying three with eight seconds left with a game-winning 12-footer with three seconds on the clock, giving the home team a 72-70 win.

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Crazy Pills is still crazy.

"I shot 75 percent last year," Artest reassured Jackson.

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Yao Ming is helping to rebuild playgrounds destroyed in Hurricane Ike.

The Houston Rockets standout says Galveston still has not totally recovered from the storm. Yao says people in the area "treat me like family, and I want to give back."

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Yao is also apparently hitting it off with the president.

"Yao Ming is just one signal of our shared love of basketball -- I'm only sorry that I won't be able to see a Shanghai Sharks game while I'm visiting," Obama said, referring to the basketball team that Yao purchased earlier this year.

On Sunday, Yao Ming posted a message to his Twitter and Facebook pages for the president.

"I hear Obama is in Shanghai, my hometown. Welcome to China. Hope you enjoy. Like NYC, the best food is sold on streets (I know u r busy tho)" the seven-foot, six-inch star of the Houston Rockets basketball team wrote.

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As evidenced in his 19-point effort against the Lakers on Sunday, David Andersen is starting to catch on to playing in the NBA.

"He really battled (Andrew) Bynum," Adelman said. "He's got to learn how to play people like that. He's got to hold his own at that end so he can be a factor at the other end. That's what's crucial. You just saw what he did: He stretched them out, and he was always the guy open. It's important that he can compete at that defensive end, though."

I think we need a nickname for Andersen. I propose "100% Crocodile Dundee," because he'll forever rock steadily.

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Last, there really aren't enough Aaron Brooks highlight videos on youtube.

Monday Afternoon Dream Links

2009-11-16T19:42:01Z

More photos » by Lori Shepler - AP

>My face when I'm exasperated.

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The Rockets did good last night: an offensive efficiency of around 1.02, a defensive efficiency of around 0.84. They outrebounded the defending champions by 22 and were +6 on turnover ratio. They boxed out, hustled after every loose ball, and just generally did all the little things that make teams win basketball games. And, oh yeah, they shot well. Go figure. Probably had something to do with Brooks.

I hope to write a more extended post on this subject later, but there seems to be a burgeoning realization among Rockets fans, NBA fans, and analysts that, yeah, this team is actually pretty good. Jason Friedman expresses this pretty well:

Words like "heart," "hustle," and "hard-working" will be tossed Houston's way which, while complimentary (and accurate), often tend to thinly veil the fact that the giver of such bouquets believes the beneficiary is overachieving with a roster of middling talent. Don't be so deceived. These guys can play, as the rest of the league is (hopefully) beginning to learn. What's more: they love to play together.

I also like this line:

"I talked to Carl and Chase and told them we can’t ever have a game like the one we had in Sacramento again," said Lowry.

My sentiments exactly, Kyle.

Kelly Dwyer analyzes the game, and I like what he has to say about Artest and Kobe's games. I think this is something that sometimes goes unmentioned when talking about defense (though it was talked about quite a bit last year in Michael Lewis's Battier article).

Artest, superficially, had a good game. 22 points on 16 shots, but his and Kobe's singular offensive focus made it easy for the Rockets to load up on everyone else. Scorers are meant to be all-around players in this offense, and both Bryant and Artest made it so the teammates' hands were cold, and not ready to contribute.

The ability to isolate the other team's primary offensive player, force him to take shots, and make life difficult for him in general is a key part of team defense. This should be obvious (after all, we always talk about the importance of ball movement), but it often isn't.

Henry Abbot also looks at the Rockets' defense, but he focuses on Ariza and Budinger, who took Shane's place after he went to the bench early with foul trouble:

In place of Battier, Houston coach Rick Adelman played Budinger. Along with some missed wide-open jumpers, Budinger brought the kind of youth that causes problems for veterans like Bryant, Lamar Odom and Ron Artest.

One key play occurred with the Lakers clingking lackadaisically to their early lead, up six in the second quarter. As the crowd was still clapping for a Shannon Brown putback, all ten players jogged the length of the court. In transition, the Lakers were pointing at Budinger, who was a step ahead of Bryant as he headed down the left wing. Everyone realized Bryant had to catch up. But he did not. Budinger turned on the jets, Kyle Lowry got him the ball, and before Andrew Bynum could get in position to meet him at the rim, Budinger had swooped to the hoop for a reverse layup, and youth had been served.

Altogether, this was obviously a great game for Houston, and it's nice to see them bounce back from Friday's loss. I think we also need to start thinking of the Rockets as a real matchup problem for the Lakers: the Rockets give the Lakers a lot of trouble in virtually every category. I'll leave it to better analysts than me to figure out why that is, though.

Houston Rockets Tickets: The Dream Shake Discount - Dallas 11/25

2009-11-16T14:33:45Z

More photos » by Andrew D. Bernstein - NBAE/Getty Images

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In what we hope to continue being a great success, The Dream Shake, along with The Houston Rockets ticket office and John Donovan are bringing you another discount night. This time it is to face the first place Dallas Mavericks on the night before Thanksgiving. Many of you will be home for the holiday anyway, might as well take advantage of some great ticket prices!

This game is about revenge. The Rockets had the Mavericks dead to rights, but let them slip away and take them behind the woodshed. Be there live and in person to cheer them on to a revenge victory!

Click here for the deal

NBA Broadband League Pass – Where "WTF!" Happens aka Thoughts on Rockets 101 Lakers 91 (Game 10)

2009-11-16T07:29:03Z

More photos » by Andrew D. Bernstein - NBAE/Getty Images

Another 3-pointer? I couldn't! Well... If you insist... (LA PGs rotated off Brooks all night, presumably to stop the dire threat of Chuck Hayes playing Bynum to a draw again).

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Yet More Bullet Points - The Lazy Man's Friend^TM

When does a "fluke" become a "trend"? Over the last nine games (playoffs plus 09-10 thus far) LA's record against the Rockets is 5-4. One extra bucket last week and it would be 5-4 in our favor. This recent "dominance" has largely been accomplished by a full-strength LA team competing against a Houston team playing 40% of its payroll. At this point, it would be reasonable to hear Laker fans say something like: "Wow, Houston is just a good team. Hats off to you guys. Glad we made it past you last year."

It's a nice dream, anyway. Instead we've largely been subjected to the output of the Los Angeles Excuse Factory, operating at near-full capacity:

"We didn't have Pau Gasol."

Well, boo-freaking-hoo.

"Kobe's wittle gwoin hurted ‘im!"

That IS sad. Maybe he'll have to microfracture it.

"You guys played above your heads. We were: flat/loafing/uninterested/conserving our energy/oddly un- beloved of the refs/pre-occupied-with-callipygian-Armenian-Americans."

Yes, it's amazing how often these freak wins happen, isn't it? So, why did it happen after the Denver Debacle?

"Kiss the ring, mofo! LoLZ! ROCKETS SuXoRz!"

Sigh.

Haven't seen a lot of LA Trolls® on TDS tonight, though. Odd, that.

Ah the Lakers. We've played them so often lately, I am becoming supersaturated with Lakeriana. It's much like radiation exposure - it just keeps building, until you're very sick indeed. My exposure level to toxic purple radiation is killingly high right now and I am weary of all things LA.
As it turns out, I think about Portland too much as well, for similar reasons. But guess what? I like Portland. Something about their largely pleasant fans, and mostly jerk-free team, I guess.
On to the game. This wasn't the result I was expecting. Not after LA got bludgeoned in Denver. La Lakers came out with manic energy, taking a big lead in the first, and somehow still found the time to throw Ariza's shoe into the crowd. Get a ring, lose a shoe. The cycle of life.
I must confess, doubt plagued me. I thought the rout was on in the 1^st, and that it was going to be a long and painful night, like so many nights in LA have been. I humbly apologize. The Rockets were coming off a tough loss themselves, and are made of sterner stuff. They turned things around in 2^nd, played close until the end of the 3^rd, where Houston's superior depth (yes, I mean just that), higher energy, and, frankly, will to win, simply overpowered LA.
Aaron Brooks torched Fisher and LA for 33 points on 11-23 shooting, with 5 3pts, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Why they don't start Brown against Houston is beyond me. But by all means, keep Fisher in there, shooting (3-13) and doubling Chuck Hayes off Aaron at the 3pt line.
If I told you that every starter but Brooks would combine to score 20pts on 7 for 27 shooting in LA, you'd be thinking loss, right? What if I sweetened the deal with 4 fouls in 18 game minutes(!?!) for Battier. Big, ugly, loss, right? Not tonight.
Carl Landry came back to his sizzling 15pts in 25 minutes contribution level. Chase added 11 points on a slightly off 5-13 night, but contributed 6 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals in his 26 minutes on the court, and a few of his buckets drew "Oohs" and "Aahs" from the partisan crowd
Staking a nigh-insurmountable claim as Best Australian Rocket, David Andersen introduced himself to the NBA champs this evening. He scored 19 on 9-14 shooting, with a stroke so sweet it had diabetics at Staples reaching for their glucose meters. He also did what we all hoped he could do- he spaced the floor in a uniquely "Euro Center" way - pulling Bynum or Odom way out from underneath the boards to cover Andersen's jumper. Call me a hypocrite - I HATE that when it's done to Yao, but turnabout is fair play.
(Oops!) The Rockets out rebounded LA 60-38 tonight, with 13 offensive boards. Let me repeat that. The Rockets out rebounded LA 60-38. With only 2 seven footers in their starting lineup poor, poor LA was unable to keep Houston off the glass. The Rockets also notched 27 assists - another telltale sign of a lucky win.
Trevor Ariza got a ring tonight, (in a touching gesture of conciliation from #24). He also got to D-up on Kobe most of the night. This is because Shane was banned from the arena tonight on a charge of Attempted Defense, possibly by order of David Stern, (who must be pissed at Michael Lewis, or something). Worryingly, Trevor had the homecoming yips, and shot bricks all night (an ugly, ugly 2-12). Happily, he also made sure Bryant did the same (5-20). Without the "No D on Kobe" whistles and ensuing tissue-soft D, it's debatable whether Kobe would have broken double figures scoring tonight. Double digits are probably inevitable with Bryant, but a nine point night was in the cards tonight, at least. Trevor also blocked 2 of Kobe's shots, and stole the ball from him 3 times. Apparently Kobe's groin hurt a little more with every block and steal. Chase Budinger also played creditable defense on Bryant tonight, largely because he's tall, can jump and Shane was glowering from the bench.

Three UP

1. Aaron Brooks' new career-high 33pts. The PG formerly known as Derek Fisher is still smoldering somewhere in LA County.

2. David Andersen - is it starting to click for him?

3. Ariza's D on Kobe.

Three ~~Down~~

1. 18 minutes and 4 fouls on Battier. I saw 2 fouls. This "No D on Kobe" stuff is getting out of hand. Big 3 pointer by Shane in some the few minutes he saw, though.

2. Ron Artest throws Ariza's shoe into the crowd. I admit it's funny, but it's also kind of cheap. He also continues to take shots within the LA system, and make them with distressing frequency against us. What happened to that Ol'Brickslinger we knew (and once loved)?

3. Sasha Vujacic appears not to have been devoured by weasels.

Silver Screen and Roll's Account

The last time Kobe gave someone a ring that big...

2009-11-16T05:33:31Z

Note from Tom: NBA League Pass is having a meltdown, causing me to have a meltdown because I can't watch the game replay and write a recap. This. Is. So. Frustrating.

Rockets take advantage of karmic gift - come back to beat Lakers by double digits

2009-11-16T05:10:07Z

The Rockets started slow tonight. Real slow. As in, 16 quick points without much resistance for the Lakers.

Then Ron Artest pissed off the basketball gods.

Now, as much as I love you Crazy Pills - when Trevor Ariza lost his shoe and you intentionally threw it into the crowd - that probably wasn't the best idea. Karma is a bitch, dude.

Plus, you now owe Trevor Ariza breakfast, as that was a dick move.

GameThread: Rockets @ Lakers; 8:30 CST

2009-11-16T01:26:43Z

Your Rockets take on the Los Angeles Lakers againt this evening. I have no idea if anyone else is going to post a preview, and I've got a paper to write (I get to quote Steve Kerr's dad!), so I'll make it quick.

The Lakers were blown out at home on Friday, and conventional wisdom (and that feeling in my bones) tells me that they'll come out firing tonight. At the same time, the Rockets lost to the Kings in Sacramento after their offense didn't perform to expectations and their defense blew. Both teams have something to prove. The Rockets need to show that they really are the team that started the season so strong, and the Lakers need to regain their status as the top team in the West.

And if you're a betting man/woman, I'd go with the "over" tonight.

Rockets @ La Lakers Preview-ish

2009-11-16T01:27:21Z

More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

Ariza! Artest! This time, it's basketball! Also, Artest has one more letter in his last name, just think about that.

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Warning: Not a real preview.

9 out of Houston's last 17 games that count (including tonight) have been against La Lakers. I feel I know them far better than I'm happy with, and perhaps La Fans feel the same. Not that I care about them.

So, what's to talk about? A few things.

LA is still without The Grubby Catalan aka Pau Gasol, with one of those "minor" LA injuries that seem to go on for months. When I hear medical reports out of LA I am usually reminded of the Monty Python sketch where the colonial Brit gets his leg eaten by a tiger and is told things like "A mere scratch! In the meantime, favor the other leg, old boy!". Doubtless Rocket fans everywhere are full of sympathy for LA's sad sad plight.

LA was taken out behind the Pepsi Center and beaten by Denver on Friday - then they started playing basketball and it went downhill from there for La Lakers. Truly, a beatdown of epic, legendary proportion. It wasn't as close as the scoreboard indicated. What does that mean for us? Well, either LA is pissed, and loaded for bear, or they're sitting around feeling sorry for themselves. If it was a few years ago, I'd pick the latter. These days? Probably the former.

Trevor Ariza's "homecoming". The way this is built up, you'd think they named a freeway or something for him. Its not like he's a legend out there. I think he was overexcited about the matchup last week, and played into Artest's hands to some extent. Hopefully he'll be icy this week, and display some deadly shooting, and the high basketball IQ he's known for.

We played a bad game against a team that is, let's say, finding its identity in Sacramento and lost. It was still a winnable game despite the Rockets generally looking ugly. I hope we're ready to put that behind us, and no better way than beating LA at home. Realistically though, La Lakers by 6. At home, angry, Phil has been salting their wounds for almost 48 hours. I haven't see the refs for this one, but let's just say I expect to be appalled.

Poll

I would most like to see:

Weekend Dream Links: Could Be Worse

2009-11-14T22:22:23Z

More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

6 days ago: New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul (3) is carried from the court by New Orleans Hornets forward Sean Marks (4) and Darius Songaila, left, in the second half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Friday, Nov. 13, 2009. Portland defeated the Hornets 86-78. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

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Yes, my friends, it could be a lot worse.

In Jeff Bower's first game as head coach, the Hornets played an ugly contest (as I recall, the scoring was in the 30s for each time at the end of the first half) against the Blazers. And, from the 2/3 or so that I saw, it was clear that Hornets just weren't in this one. But fate didn't stop there in its continued onslaught against New Orleans, leaving Chris Paul with an ankle sprain (he'll be out for at least a week). To make it even worse, Bower didn't seem to be doing much as head coach. Chris Paul was the often the only one speaking during time outs, and he was clearly pissed at his teammates (though, to be fair, I remember a lot of that during the Byron Scott era, too). So, it could be worse: we could have our star player injured (wait...).

The Lakers were destroyed at home (on national television) by the Denver Nuggets, who held LA to just 23 points after the first half. Holy crap. Yes, much worse losses than ours were to be found around the league Friday evening.

Game 9 Recap: Stop Making Sense

2009-11-14T06:26:05Z

More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

This post was originally going to be called "Thank You For Sending Me An Angel," but Battier's 4th Quarter surge just wasn't enough.

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Following the loss to the Mavericks, I criticized the prevailing wisdom about the Rockets (can't create, so they have to be "scrappy," and so they'll fail against teams with superior "talent"). Fortunately (I guess), that wisdom probably won't be deployed following this loss.

The Rockets were the more talented team coming into this game. On paper, they were the superior defensive and offensive team. Yeah, the Kings had played well over their past few games, but anything can happen in three games. So what happened tonight?

I think many will look at the boxscore, see that Tyreke Evans had another good game, and be tempted to place this game at the feet of an emerging rookie/hopeful star. Really though, the difference in this game was Beno Udrih. He shot extraordinarily well tonight (and he's having a hot start to the season, as well), dropping 4 threes and 22 points on the Rockets. Nocioni hit some tough shots, the Kings got to line more, and Jason Thompson continued his drive towards an all-star career. The good parts of the Kings produced like they should have, and the bad parts contributed far more than they typically do.

For the Rockets, the bench was practically dead. The trio of players that they have come to rely upon - Lowry, Landry, and Budinger - did virtually nothing through three quarters, and only Lowry began to get anything going in the 4th. Just a pathetic output from what has thus far been an offensive dynamo (if I were a superstitious man, I'd blame Xiane for jinxing Landry on Wednesday. Oh, wait! I am a superstitious man. WTF, Xiane?!).

To put it simply, the defense was just bad. The Rockets failed to box out (Jason Thompson had nine [9!] offensive rebounds) for most of the game, and I don't know if that was the result of just great play by the Kings or an attempt by the Houston players to get back on the fast break prematurely. Sure, the defense generated nineteen turnovers, but a -19 rebounding deficit is no way to win a basketball game. The offensive output of Udrih, Nocioni, Udoka, etc. could also be seen as part of a general defensive collapse, though I'm inclined to put those in the "luck" category. Shit happens, after all.

This is the type of game the Rockets must win. They can play the great teams fairly even, but they have to beat the bad teams if they want to play in the postseason. And the Kings are a bad team. Now, I'm sure that statement is going to piss off some Kings fans reading this, but I really don't care. The Kings are not a good team, and this should have been a win (easy or not) for the boys in red, but their failure to play to the offensive level we've come to expect this season cost them the game. As Morey "tweeted' (Christ, I loathe that word) post-game:

Good teams don't win close [games],they avoid them. Had to build a lead in the 1st half when they had 12 TOs to survive their wild makes late.

And that's exactly it. The interaction here between luck, defense, and offense is tough to see. I can't tell you what was ultimately most to blame for tonight's loss, only that all of these played a part. Offense was not up to par, particularly against a team that came into the game ranked 25th in defensive efficiency. Defense was awful, roughly 0.1 pts/possession worse than the Rockets' average. And the Kings just hit all of their shots. But, had any of those things changed, I think the Rockets could have pulled this one out. That's not the point, however. As Morey says, a good team makes sure that they don't need that one thing to turn around for them: they make sure that they're in a position to win.

Just a bad game all around. Regroup, adjust, and come back strong.

Three Up:

Shane Battier - Took over in the 4th quarter, and we haven't seen this type of scoring output out of the NSAS since the Mother's Day Miracle. 23 pts on 11 shots.

Luis Scola - It's tough to write good things about anyone on the frontcourt, given the rebounding deficit, but Scola turned in a pretty good performance: 20 pts and 9 rebounds. For a while he was just abusing people in the post, too.

Trevor Ariza - Went cold after the first half (that has seemed to happen a lot, actually), but 28 pts, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals is a wonderful contribution. As the steal numbers suggest, he was super active in the passing lanes. And he garnered more comparisons to a "young, healthy" T-Mac from the Kings' announcers (totally unwarranted, if you ask me, though it's a nice sentiment).

Three Down:

The Bench Troika - Let's just throw Lowry/Landry/Bud in here together. Not a pretty game for any of them. Whatever; it's bound to happen sometimes. Let's pray it never happens all at once like that ever again.

Everyone - BOX. OUT. I was watching the Hornets game before this, and Emeka Okafor gave a nice preview of the rebounding strategy I'd see used against the Kings: lightly place your arm near the opposing player, as if to say, "Please don't try to force your way past me or anything, my delicate sensibilities might not be able to handle it!")

Fate - I know Durga was just punishing me for hubris when I kept calling Udrih a "shit player" and he kept raining threes.

GameThread for Houston Rockets at Sacramento Kings, Nov 13, 2009 9:00 PM CST

2009-11-14T01:00:31Z

GameThread for Houston Rockets at Sacramento Kings, Nov 13, 2009 9:00 PM CST

Game 9 Preview: Houston Rockets at Sacramento Kings, Nov 13, 2009 9:00 PM CST

2009-11-14T00:32:41Z

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

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The Match-ups:

Point Guard
Brooks vs. Udrih - Udrih is a guy that hasn't lived up to Sacramento's plan. That said, he's not a liability, just a bit overpaid. He's shooting fantastically this season. I'm wondering what extended time without Martin is going to do to his game. Brooks needs to destroy him tonight.
Edge: Rockets

Shooting Guard
Battier vs. Evans - Evans has had a good start to his rookie season. That will not continue tonight with either Ariza or Battier guarding him. He has a strong future in the league. It's interesting how many guys you can say that about on this roster.
Edge: Rockets

Small Forward
Ariza vs. Nocioni - One of the guys I didn't want on the Rockets vs. a guy I dreamed of having. It might have turned out that I didn't know what I was talking about on this one. However, Nocioni is a good player that was being completely misused in Chicago. Ariza has been hit or miss from the field this season, but that was absolutely expected. He's going to take some time to develop as a number 1, if that's even possible. I'd be extremely happy if he developed into a great number two.
Edge: Rockets

Power Forward
Scola vs. Thompson - Thompson was considered a reach by many last year for the Kings, he proved that thinking completely wrong. With Martin out he is going to be relied upon a lot more for scoring, and he's stepped his game up even more lately. This should be the best match-up of the night.
Edge: Even

Center
Hayes vs. Hawes - Hawes is pretty much the perfect "I need a center that's respectable" guy. He seems to play hard. While his game is likely at his peak, it's a level that will give him an extremely long, stable career. Hayes is at his best matched up against players with Hawes center skill set.
Edge: Even

Injuries/Suspensions
Houston Rockets
OUT - Tracy McGrady
Sacramento Kings
OUT - Kevin Martin

My Prediction: Tight game throughout. Both of these teams were underrated coming into the season. I think the Rockets are the better team, clearly so even, however on the road on the west coast, this will be a fight. Rockets take an 8 point lead in the 3rd, the Kings whittle it, Rockets build it back up at the end of the 4th. Rockets by 6

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Pops, we hardly knew ye

2009-11-13T23:07:07Z

Pops, we hardly knew ye

Via Jason Friedman's twitter. Pops Mensah-Bonsu has been waived for "roster flexibility" purposes. Thoughts, predictions, and wild-ass guesses go below.