<div align="center"> VS</div> Where: Toyota Center Houston,Texas When: November 23,2005 6:30PM(Central Time) TV: ESPN <div align="center"> Phoenix Suns S.NashG/R.Bell:SG/B.Diaw:SF/S.MarionF/K.Thomas:C</div> Steve Nash continues to lead the league in the assist department even without his regular recipients namely Stoudemire(injured), J.Johnson(traded) and Q.Richardson(traded) from last season. Raja Bell proved that he can be a complimentary scorer aside from his defensive game. Phoenix got also a good deal from the Joe Johnson trade with Diaw showing an all around game. Except for Joe Johnson's higher scoring average, they have the same stats. So the Suns practically lose nothing. Shawn Marion has been a tremendous rebounder and has the quickness advantage on the PF spot. Lastly, although Kurt Thomas has slowed a bit and his stats decreased he can still play good defense, score and grab some boards. <div align="center">Houston Rockets D.WesleyG/L.Head:SG/R.Bowen:SF/J.HowardF/Y.Ming:C</div> Due to day to day status of TMac and Alston, last night's starting line-ups has been used in this preview. Wesley has been back in the starting line-up but with a new role as a point guard. He may be shifted again to starting SG position once Alston is back. With the 3 games he played as a point, he handled it adequately well though he might be pressured in ballhandling by pesky defenders. Head had a career night against Dallas. With confidence building in him as well as JVG's blessings he might start to put up good numbers every night . Ryan Bowen continues to hustle on the floor but needs to contribute offensively. Howard has same stats as last season. Though he provides veteran leadership, he needs to make those easy open shots consistently. With TMac on the injured list much of the burden has been on Yao. Recent games showed that he scored well in the first half only to collapse in the second due to fatigue. <div align="center"></div> Phoenix Suns: James Jones has been an adequate Qrich replacement providing threat from the perimeter. Biggest surprise was Barbosa. He provides spark off the bench while Nash is resting. Then there's Eddie House scoring mentality. Jim Jackson has seen his role diminished causing a big dip in his stats. Brian Grant continues to age rapidly but he can still be effective against Yao. Houston Rockets: Derek Anderson has been relegated to the 2nd unit to provide scoring off the bench. Stromile Swift has been an on/off type of player and seems trying to adjust on JVG's play. He's one of the key for the Rockets success but right now he's still far from fullfilling it. Barry had a nice season introduction but after that he went cold. Deke has been turnover prone and can't take simple jumpshots without travelling when given an opportunity. Anyway he still a feared defender and a good rebounder. <div align="center"></div> The Rockets has been a very good defensive team limiting opponents under 90 a game. They played well defensively for most part of the game but when it mattered most they just fell apart especially in the 4th quarter. Giving up offensive rebounds to opposing team has hurt their rally. Opposing guards continues to do damage against them may it be a penetration-drop off pass or a quick pass to an open player in the perimeter. Meanwhile the Suns has tightened up defensively the past few games. They are one of the leaders in assist per game due to their timely passes to an open player. Besides most of them have great shooting range. Yao should regain his touches. He will be facing less physical and undersized defenders. On the other end Shawn Marion will be the key player for the Suns due to his power and quickness. Unless Stromile Swift plays excellent defense, Marion would have a field day on the court. For the Rockets to win they must guard the perimeter as well as limiting guard penetrations. Continued progress in shooting percentage will benefit them. For the Suns to win take advantage on grabbing offensive rebounds and apply their quickness. The Rockets are slow in reacting when an opponent grabs an offensive rebound. Both teams are playing without their top dogs but the Rockets are at a slight disadvantage due additional injuries to Alston and Sura who maybe out for the season. If TMac hopefully shows up it would be an exciting game for the Rockets.
rockets lose... even with tracy... i don't espect them to win this week at all... its just sad that team thatr has players that can make them go to a top 3 contenders are the worst team in the west... they lose by 12...
I can't see any possibility of rocket's win over suns even if the God will cry for them just as tracy's advertisement and also there is no reason for God to cry .however.good luck,rockets
Head can be Gilbert Arenas with a little work and playing time, great pick by Rockets, Great range as a rookie!, he will be more stronger in the next few years and he has potential. I think that the Suns are better then us right now but we will win this one with or without T-mac and Alston.
Nash is to good, but hey anything could happen. They are a very high scoring team, so we will need both good D and good O. Rockets win by 3
The Suns played a very sloppy game last night against the Raptors at home, and allowed Toronto to stay close until deep into the fourth quarter. That alone should bring us some hope. Mike James and Jose Calderon combined to force 8 turnovers on Nash, and I do think that Head and Wesley can do the same thing. Shawn Marion, though, would be hard to guard. We'll probably end up putting Ryan Bowen on him but Marion can outjump Bowen for rebounds every time. Kurt Thomas has been underwhelming all season and Yao should get more PT as he won't have to play hard defense all the time. Trying to look to the optimistic side, I'm picking Houston by 6.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TmacGarnett:</div><div class="quote_post">Shawn Marion is struggling from the field. I see the ROckets pulling this one off.</div> shawn went 13-18 last night.
rockets losing by 10 in half... 2 minutes ago we were only losing by one... rockets are just like last year.. they are know to have a drought at the end of a quarter...
rockets tied the game 63-63 what a grwat play by luther head and also bowen is on fire from 20-15 feet
That was really painful to watch, especially after I saw them tie the game up at 63 to 63. The Rockets cannot defend the three whatsoever. It killed them last year, its no doubtly going to do it to them again this year.
Open 3s killed us. Wow I am embarressed to be a Rocket right now. I still don't give a crap. Homecourt advantage is overrated. If we are a WCF playoff team, we can get there if we are 1st or 8th seed. Still waiting for T-Macs return.
gettin raped.... 10 straight losses will make van gundy's job in the line. The guards are pathetic at givin yao the ball at the post.... when suns bench Jones, Diaw plays better than houston starters you have a problem... I suggest offload these prehistoric guards ... Eddie house is better than the whole rockets guards... rafer Barry, moochie, wesley, bowen. are far too inconsistent to be in a rocket uniform
<font size="5">Rockets’ Downfall Continues as Suns win 100-88</font> By Dennis L. Silva, II. 11.23.05 When Moochie Norris has become your most reliable, stable player, you know you’ve got issues. The Rockets’ struggles only worsened Wednesday afternoon as the explosive Phoenix Suns came to town. Without Tracy McGrady or Rafer Alston yet again, the Rockets again failed to find any rhythm offensively, or defensively, as Houston found themselves on the wrong end of the scoreboard for the fifth straight game, falling to the Suns 88-100 before 18,059 at Toyota Center. Phoenix jumped out to an early 17-7 lead midway through the first quarter and never looked back. Sparked by fourteen transition points, Phoenix abused Houston’s defense due to the speed and unselfishness of Steve Nash (who would finish the half with 10 points and 9 assists) and the athleticism of Shawn Marion (14 points and 8 rebounds in the first half). The Suns held only a 25-19 lead heading into the second quarter as the Rockets’ managed to stave off any threat of a Rockets rally on behalf of two early 3-pointers by Luther Head. The Rockets’ bench was able to close Phoenix’s gap in the second period. Derek Anderson scored four points, Stromile Swift accumulated 8 points and six rebounds, and David Wesley hit a 3-pointer to close to within three points midway through the quarter. Unfortunately, Phoenix snapped back to their racehorse style of play as Marion hit a 3-pointer and Boris Diaw scored four points to jump the Suns’ lead back to ten, 56-46, heading into halftime. A few key statistics were glaring at halftime, and evident of the poor play of the Rockets on both ends of the floor. Phoenix had 20 assists on their 22 baskets, and outscored Houston 15-2 in transition. Yao, who was being guarded by the 6’8” Diaw most of the first half, only finished with 2 points on 0-2 shooting in 11 minutes. In the third period, Yao finally hit his first field goal of the game with 8:15 remaining. An early flurry of points by the Rockets (led by Head’s five points and Ryan Bowen’s six points) enabled Houston to force a tie game at 63-63 due to a 15-3 run on 8-10 shooting from the floor. But the Rockets are a team that can play well in spurts, but not sustain that momentum throughout the course of a full game. James Jones hit consecutive three-pointers, and Phoenix closed with a 12-2 scoring run to secure a 75-65 lead going into the fourth quarter. That lead was never in jeopardy as Phoenix was able to thwart any chance of a late Rockets run. Former Rocket Jim Jackson and Raja Bell each hit 3s late in the quarter to push the lead to as much as fifteen, and eventually ended up winning the game 100-88. Head continued his string of spectacular games by scoring 15 points, grabbing ten rebounds, and dishing for four assists. Anderson finished with 23 points and nine rebounds off the bench, and Swift compiled a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Phoenix’s 14-27 marksmanship from 3-point range was just too much to overcome as the Rockets never could establish consistent scoring on offense, and defensively, they struggled with their rotations and contesting open 3-point shots. The aforementioned Norris only played 9 minutes and accumulated 4 points and an assist, but Van Gundy mentioned how he is their most stable guard and how the offense is more organized when he is in the game. With Alston’s injury unknown, and McGrady said to be out anywhere from a week to 10 days, Houston must find another offensive threat other than a rookie guard. Houston travels to Memphis to play the Grizzlies on Friday night in a contest that surely will not alleviate any of their pains. ROCKETS RECAP · Yao finished with 8 points and 8 rebounds on 3-7 shooting in 27 minutes on the floor. · All five of the Sun’s starting five scored in double figures: Nash (15), Jones (19), Bell (11), Marion (19), and Diaw (17). Nash also contributed 14 assists, and both Marion (12) and Diaw (10) snared double-digit numbers in rebounds. · Houston’s bench outscored Phoenix’s bench 46-19. · After playing only 10 minutes in the first half, Juwan Howard did not see any floor time in the second half. · Phoenix finished with 33 assists on their 38 field goals. http://www.nba.com/games/20051123/PHXHOU/boxscore.html
OMG! Diaw was so good. I said last eyar that we should've traded for him!!! Oh wells, we have to make do with what we have. Wesley's trade value is getting lower and lower.
Should Swift be a starter? I think he has definetely shown some improvement throughout our season, and topped off the last game with 11 points and 12 boards, on 5-8 shooting, too. I think he had like 3 dunks, including a follow up on Head's missed free throw. He hasn't gotten a chance to start yet, maybe he will be explosive from the starting lineup - that's what we need - youth. Look at Head, outplaying arguably every Houston guard (with exception of Derek Anderson from the bench). Derek Anderson is strange, kinda like those Ben Gordon kinds who totally suck when put on the starting lineup but magically and mysteriously do better from the bench. This is pretty embarassing, 3-9 record, 3rd worst in the league I think (behind Hawks and Raptors). Well, it was just like this last year, except that we actually had TMac, so this may not be too bad at all. Yao is totally getting owned, he needs to do some cross country jogging or something, only I think 7 touches damnit get open, take your shots. Ever wonder why whenever Yao takes more than 14 shots he has a shooting percentage similar to Iverson's? Oh yeah, I almost forgot, nice job Ryan Bowen, way to show up offensively, 8 points, thats more than Wesley or Howard, he must have been taking classes.
D.A. finally showed why we went out and got him, Thank God. L.Head looks amazing, and He is the one that is going to make that Mike James deal look bad eventhough nobody could have predicted his play. Swift showed signs of hustle and passion, BUT he is the type of player that can follow that up with avgs. of 4 and 2 the next 3 games. INCONSISTANT. Has yet to show that he can be a productive starter. The O looked smoother than any other game, Yao looked tired though and never got it going. Don't get Frusterated until #1 is healthy. Just got to deal with these role players trying. Its not like effort has'nt been there.
