Official Game Thread: Houston at Sacramento

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VS</div>

When: Thursday, December 8th 9:30 PM Central Time
Where: Arco Arena, Sacramento
TV: TNT


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<div align="center">Houston Rockets</div>

D.WesleyG/T.McGrady:SG/R.Bowen:SF/J.HowardF/Y.Ming:C</div>

Houston Rockets: With signs of improvement shown using this line-up last tuesday against the Celtics, we might expect the same tonight. Wesley has been capable of handling the PG duties though sometimes he's been pressured by opposing guards because of his average ballhandling skills. TMac has continued to get better which is a positive sign for the Rockets. Bowen has been a surprise inclusion in the starting line-up. He's a liability offensively but he makes up for it with his hustles and above average defense. His all over the court presence sparks the awareness of his team mates. Juwan has seen his stats declining but he tries his best to come up with a decent performance. Yao performs well against the Kings so he might have a good scoring game tonight. If he could only make his feet active by running, bending and jumping a little bit more. He's still slow in reacting in receiving bullet pass or no look pass from his team mates. If he could capitalize on this, the Rockets team assist would rise as well as a big boost in their offense.


<div align="center">Sacramento Kings

M.BibbyG/B.Wells:SG/P.Stojakovic:SF/S.Abdur-RahimF/B.Miller:C</div>

Sacramento Kings: Mike Bibby continues to lead the Kings' offense with his slashing moves and quick-release jumpers. Bonzi leads the team in rebounding and has somewhat became a team player with his improved passing skills. Peja's stats has decline and he's not as deadly as before though he can still make you pay if you don't defend him well. Shareef has proved his detractors wrong. He has shown he can still be on top of his game. Brad Miller became a hub in operating the Kings' offenses. He leads the team in assist with his excellent passing skills. With his effective perimeter shooting, he draws opposing centers outside their defensive positions.


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Both teams has performed well below everybody's expectations. JVG and Rick Adelman has been on the hot seat for days with their teams showings. Sometimes abundance in talents and skills does'nt solve it all. It all comes down to team chemistry. Sacramento has somehow had an advantage but if you look clearly these two teams are opposite of each other. The Kings thrives on their offense. They are one of the league leaders in overall points per game as well as assists per game but they don't make the same efforts defensively giving up 98.5 points and 46.5% FG per outing. In contrast the Rockets are one of the last offensively, particularly in team points and assists but their defense are on of the tops. McGrady's absence contributed to the Rockets worst record aside from poor team chemistry.

Expect the Kings to put pressure on Wesley or Head as these two have a hard time bringing up the ball. The Rockets offense might depend on TMac's plays. We're hoping to see him improve his game as the season goes on. Together with Bowen's inspiring game, he and TMac can bring out the awareness of their team mates thereby inspiring them to perform well. These can somehow increase everyone's confidence and team chemistry might start to bud.

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The game would be a close one. As these two have opposing game, the one that dictates the tempo wins the game.

 

sacremento is also one of the disapointed teams like us... i expect it to be low scoring game...

 

im crossing my fingers for a houston win cuz i might actually be watching the game on tnt .. Hopefully it wont be a brickfest Its gonna be hard if they don't get support from their other players. Sactown has many offensive threats

 

I'll be all over this for TNT. Good luck to the Rockets. After a nice win over Boston, out players might have some momentum which hopefully will give us a win over Sacramento. However, they do have one of the best home courts in the league so its definitely going to be tough. We'll need a nice effort from the role players for us to win this one.

 

I think we match up pretty well against this Kings. Yao should have a strong game, since Adelman usually plays him single coverage with Miller despite him not being a good defender. I'd take the Rockets on this one, assuming we can break out of our national tv slump.

 

Im rootin for a win in this game. We really cant afford another lost, hopefully we'll start up a winning streak. The key to us winning is to score early and build up a good lead. Yao needs to get more rebounds and keep his personal fouls in check. Tmac has to do what he always does and we're gonna need the role players and the bench to step up their game. Its easier said than done but if we're gonna do it, its gotta be in this game.

 

I have a feeling offensive rebounds are going to kill us this game.

Hmmmm...A back to back Rockets win? It's bound to happen, and hell I think it will.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Together with Bowen's inspiring game, he and TMac can bring out the awareness of their team mates thereby inspiring them to perform well. These can somehow increase everyone's confidence and team chemistry might start to bud.
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Put down that opium pipe dude....... Bowen hasn't inspired anyone with his 0-4, 2 airballs, 3 pfs, in 10 minutes... I dont know how some people overrate this guy after what hes shown game in game out. He hustles with no skill. He jumps for the ball and passes it right to bibby for an easy two... id rather have nocioni on the team than bowen... I bet hes the worst starter in the nba.

 

2!!

 

Did u even watch the game?? stromile played a solid game today... 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals in only 15 minutes...He provided a spark in the 3rd or 4th. He played with confidence after a dunk off a tmac miss.. He was no bowen....

So save your swift bashing for next game if he doesn't perform

 

lookin gd.,

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">Stromile Swift is terrible. He was brought to the team to help on defense and bring some athleticism to the frontcourt. He's doing nothing, but taken up space on the floor.

Get the damn ball to Yao in the post and ride the horse. Sacramento cannot defend the interior, they have no shotblocker and are terrible rebounding team. Feed Yao and let him just mash inside. Even if he misses their should be weakside opportunities.</div>

Ugh..for today I think you have to take back what you said mr. shapecity. Stromile was part of the 4th quarter comeback when he had a putback dunk and assist and a few more buckets.

BTW Yao ming looks like frankenstein after the scratch by abdur rahim

 

Good job, Rockets!
Yao blooding again, anyway , we win !!!

 

Make that 11 points, 3 blocks, 3 steals for Stro. More importantly, he was involved in some very important plays down the stretch. Head looked good again, DW shot well, DA made up for poor 3 point shooting with plenty of FTs. It's amazing how everyone looks so good after a win.

 

After the Kings shot 60% from the field during the first 3 quarters they got clamped down in the 4th. It's nice to see the Rockets' intensity build up. Head, Anderson and Swift provided the spark off the bench while TMac and Yao leads the way. Did you see those scratches from Yao's face aside from the stitches he had from the Scalabrine incident? The Kings have played physical on him. Poor Yao. At long last the Rockets have won back to back. I can see chemistry building up.

 

I hate Swift Haters. I hate the fact that people are so judgemental/want to be quick to judge this team. People who did that last year feel stupid. We don't need a Denver-like come back. We just need to win the games that we are supposed to be winning.

I think we are fine.

EDIT: I am not in any way directing this comment to shapecity.

 

<font size="5">Late Dynamic Surge Earns Rockets’ 106-95 Victory Over Sacramento</font>

By Dennis L. Silva, II.
12.9.05


The last time the Sacramento Kings had lost four consecutive games at home was during the 1997-98 season. Since then, their worst home record had been last season’s mark of 30-11, still brilliant by NBA standards. But behind the strong play of their bench, as well as the magnificence of Tracy McGrady, the Houston Rockets waltzed into California and, yes, handed Sacramento a 106-95 beating before 17,317 at the reknown Arco Arena.

Very little defense was played early in this game. Sacramento jumped out to a 16-13 lead as Yao Ming got into early foul trouble, committing two fouls just seven minutes into the contest. The lead would experience fourteen lead changes as each team shot exquisitely, particularly Sacramento who ended the period shooting 73% from the field, which would end up being the cause of their 31-29 lead heading into the second quarter.

Houston started the second stanza with an 11-2 run to earn a 40-33 lead just three minutes into the period. McGrady slashed his way, scoring four points early, and Derek Anderson added five points of his own. Houston started the quarter 5-5 from the floor. Unfortunately, as has been the case throughout many of Houston’s contests this season, the Rockets struggled through a brutal dry spell that saw them miss the last 14 of their 16 shots. Sacramento took advantage, going on a 14-5 scoring spree late and claiming a 52-47 lead heading into halftime.

The Rockets had no answers for Sacramento’s pick-and- roll play between Mike Bibby and Brad Miller. The Kings shot an astounding 20-33 (61%) in the first half, and had 13e assists as well. Bibby scored the Rockets for 8 points and four assists, while Miller hit long jumper after long jumper, scoring 12 points on 5-8 shooting. As frustrating as it was, Houston refused to come out and guard Miller on the pick-and-pop, instead having their bigs lay back in the paint and allow Miller uncontested open jump shots, which is his calling card in the NBA.

For the Rockets, McGrady finished the half with 16 points on 7-10 shooting, and Yao finished with 9 points, though did have more turnovers (3) than rebounds (2).

In the third period, the Kings jumped out to an eight-point advantage early as Bonzi Wells scored five early points. The lead reached its maximum of 14 midway through the quarter as the Kings put forth yet another offensive barrage, going on an 11-1 run. The Rockets still had not solved the Kings’ pet pick-and-roll play, and Wells came alive by scoring easy baskets inside, scoring 9 points in the quarter. A strong defensive stand late, as well as a long corner 3-pointer by McGrady to end the period, allowed Houston to close to within six points heading into the final twelve minutes.
The fourth quarter was ALL Rockets as Houston cut Sacramento’s lead to three points with 7:40 remaining. Behind their outstanding bench play, the Rockets stunned the Kings by putting on a dazzling display on both ends of the court. Stromile Swift scored four points (two of which came on a fantastic put-back dunk) and dished to Yao Ming for a pivotal 3-point play opportunity midway through the quarter. The Kings shot 1-11 to start the quarter, and Luther Head hit a few clutch jump shots as Houston pushed its lead all the way to nine late in the fourth. Sacramento went on a mini-run late, closing to within five of Houston, but the damage had already been done. All that was needed were some clutch McGrady free throws and a breakaway dunk by Swift in the closing seconds, and the Rockets had secured a 106-95 victory, their third in their last four games.

Houston ended up outscoring the Kings 33-16 in the fourth quarter, and it was a testament to their character and toughness that they rallied to win. After being down by as much as fourteen points late in the second half, Van Gundy put in his bench squad of Swift (11 points, four rebounds), Anderson (17 points, five rebounds), and Head (9 points, 2-2 from downtown), and proceeded to see the Kings’ lead diminish in a matter of minutes. Houston’s bench outscored Sacramento’s 37-6 in the game, but it was McGrady creating and breaking down the Kings’ defense that proved to be the difference in the contest. McGrady finished with 28 points and four steals, and it was his 3-pointer with 0.1 tenth of a second remaining in the third period that was the boost to Houston’s closing rally.

The Rockets have two days off before playing the second game of their vaunted six-game road trip Sunday against the Portland TrailBlazers.


ROCKETS RECAP

· Bibby and Miller combined for 45 points on 17-32 from the field. Sacramento finished the game shooting 49% from the field, easily the highest percentage Houston has allowed this season.
· There were 16 total lead changes in the game, and 8 ties.
· Yao finished the game with 21 points and 9 rebounds, and yet another scratched face as Shareef Abdur-Rahim scratched him inadvertently in the closing minutes of the game while trying to foul.
· The Rockets had 13 turnovers (6 of which were credited to Yao), while the Kings finished with 15 giveaways.
· The Rockets outscored Sacramento 6-2 in transition points in the second half.


http://www.nba.com/games/20051208/HOUSAC/boxscore.html