Official Game Thread: Rockets at Raptors

<div align="center"><font color="red">Rockets (12-18)</font> at <font color="blue">Raptors (10-22)</font>
Friday, January 6, 2006
Air Canada Center, Toronto
6:00PM(CT); FSNSW, NBATV

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<font size="3">Projected Starters</font>

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<font size="1">(M.James, J.Graham, M.Peterson, C.Bosh, R.Araujo)</font></font></div>

<font size="3">Backcourt</font>

<font size="1">[imgl]http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3577.jpg[/imgl]<font color="blue">Mike James</font>
James became one of the go to guy for the Raptors with his scoring mentality as well as playmaking abilities. He's the Raptors second leading scorer after Bosh. Right now the Raptors seems to have an edge with the trade as James has played all but one game for the season. Expect to see him drive to the hoop and break down the Rockets defense. He is also deadly from the perimeter if left open and can create shots for himself. Alston/Head must tighten their defense on him to limit his effectivity. On the other end, James is a good defender as he can put pressure on opposing guards with average ball handling capabilities like Head and Wesley.
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<font size="1">[imgl]http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3942.jpg[/imgl]<font color="blue">Joey Graham</font>
Joey Graham's confidence continues to increase as the season goes on. He was inserted into the starting lineup replacing Jalen Rose. He's a good defender also but needs to work more on his offense. He must take advantage of his size over Wesley. If he can reassert himself and establish a good position he'll be a valuable contributor throughout the game.
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<font size="3">Frontcourt</font>

<font size="1">[imgl]http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3420.jpg[/imgl]<font color="blue">Morris Peterson</font>
Morris Peterson had some success guarding TMac the last time in Houston. He limited TMac's offensive production but it remains to be seen if he can repeat it tonight. With Vince Carter's departure it was expected that he will take over the team together with Rose and Bosh but instead his stats remain the same. Nevertheless he's still a deadly scorer and might explode anytime.
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<font size="1">[imgl]http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3707.jpg[/imgl]<font color="blue">Chris Bosh</font>
He's the heart and soul and Toronto's franchise player. Chris Bosh is one of the gifted big men in the league. He possess athleticity, post moves, perimeter shooting that can stretch defenses as well as good rebounding and defensive skills. It maybe a few years before he can develop leadership qualities. Swift and Howard might have hard time guarding him because of his versatility on the court.
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<font size="1">[imgl]http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3825.jpg[/imgl]<font color="blue">Rafael Araujo</font>
Araujo has been given the opportunity to show his wares with Toronto's lack of quality center. So far he has been a dissappointment. He wasn't the same dominant big man back in college where he lead the BYU in stats. He's slow defensively and does not provide any threat to opposing centers. He might be intimidated with Mutombo/Swift's defensive presence.
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<font size="3">Projected Starters</font>

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<font size="1">(R.Alston, D.Wesley, T.McGrady, J.Howard, D.Mutombo)</font></font></div>

<font size="3">Backcourt</font>

<font size="1">[imgl]http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3282.jpg[/imgl]<font color="red">Rafer Alston</font>
The Rockets has surely missed his playmaking abilities. Ever since Rafer came back from missing 19 games due to injury, the Rockets backcourt became stable. He's the only true point guard on the team who can handle the ball exceptionally well without being pressured unlike Wesley and Head. In the past 2 games he played very well which indicates that he finally adjusted to JVG's system. Tonight he'll have the much anticipated matchup against Mike James, the player whom the Rockets traded for him. Rockets' ball movement as well as speed greatly improved with his presence removing the burden from Wesley and TMac. With his ability to drive on the basket he can set up his teammates for a good shot selection.
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<font size="1">[imgl]http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/0919.jpg[/imgl]<font color="red">David Wesley</font>
Wesley has been one of the players that benefited from Alston's return to the lineup. Although his age is catching up he's still a reliable defender as well as a perimeter threat. Without having to handle the ball much he can now position himself comfortably for a good shot. He maybe a liability when guarding taller guards but his experience will make a difference.
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<font size="3">Frontcourt</font>

<font size="1">[imgl]http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3179.jpg[/imgl]<font color="red">Tracy McGrady</font>
TMac has been scoring more than 30 points during the past 4 games. It's clear that he needs to take over and carry the team on his shoulder with Yao Ming's absence. Look for TMac to bounce back this time now that he has a partner in playmaking. Morris Peterson and Joey Graham might have a hard time guarding him tonight especially when he's playing against the team that drafted him years ago.
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<font size="1">[imgl]http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/2628.jpg[/imgl]<font color="red">Juwan Howard</font>
Juwan has seen his stats improved during Yao's absence. He understands that he needs to put up his usual career number in order to keep the Rockets fighting for survival. Aside from Yao he's the only Rocket with a decent shooting percentage. It's good to see that he's getting a fair number rebounds. Although he's slower than Bosh or Charlie he's still effective in the low post and a threat in the perimeter.
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<font size="1">[imgl]http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/0425.jpg[/imgl]<font color="red">Dikembe Mutombo</font>
You may not count on him offensively but he makes up for it with his defensive presence and hustles on the boards. Eventhough he's old already Deke still has the same impact that made opponents think twice about going to the basket.
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<font size="3">In Depth Analysis:</font>

During the last time these two teams met , the Rockets was undermanned. It will be different this time around with Alston and Mutombo's presence. Toronto looks to carry on its momentum in tonights game as they have won four in row while the Rockets have won two. However those victories by the Raptors were from struggling teams. The Raptors will be equally challenged tonight against the recovering Rockets. Expect the Rockets to tighten up their defense against the Raptors mobile big men(Bosh and Villanueva) as well as limiting Mike James drive to the hoop game. Swift must prove that he can match Bosh and Villanueva in terms of consistency.

 

Hopefully this is a free win for the Rockets...
We need every win we can get until Yao gets back.

 

This is gonna be a hard fought match, but we have 3 players we didn't have in the last match in Jon Barry, Rafer Alston, and Mutumbo.

 

Juwan Howard got ejected over a run-in with Mike James. He pushed the ball in James' face after being taunted over an and-1 play by Mike. I guess this means more minutes for Bowen.

Raps lead 48-44 at the half, and closed out the second quarter on a 7-0 run. TMac is on fire again but Alston has been a big letdown. Mutombo is also doing a great job rebounding the ball.

 

Raptors had too many good one on one scorers, and we had too many poor one on one defenders. It looked to me like this was a situation where we just got beat by a better team with a better game plan. We had no answers for their offense.

 

Just dont understand the game and players. They seem to be habitually inconsistent.

 

McGrady seemed very nonchalant this game. He didn't seem disappointed or angry when he turns the ball over, or take a bad shot and miss it, or when his man beats him off the dribble. Basically, it seemd to me like he didn't care about winning or losing. Is that the kind of guy that we want leading our team?

Stromile Swift was absolutely horrible this game. He let Charlie Villanueva, a ROOKIE with not much of a post game besides a hook, score at will against him. He didn't challenge floaters in the lane, didn't make his free throws, and basically didn't play like he was the previous four games. Big letdown, especially with Howard ejected.

David Wesley really impressed me tonight. He hustled, made his threes, and played some good defense on Jalen Rose. Alston, meanwhile, sucked.

 

*Sorry guys for not putting the players' stats above. I ran out of time and have to sleep for tonight's work.*

<font size="3">After Game Analysis</font>

Good game by the Raptors and they deserve the win. As expected Mike James was aggressive and proved to the Rockets that he can make plays aside from his scoring mentality. I always knew since that trade happened that Mike James gonna take it hard on the Rockets and make them pay for it. In this game Howard's action triggered James.

Like shapecity had said Alston's mouth proved costly for the Rockets. It motivated the Raptors and made the game one sided. He's not the the Vince Carter type who can back up his words and still play aggressively on his former team. The Rockets tight second half defense was absent and nowhere to be seen. Although they try to make a comeback the Raptors countered it with their hot shooting night. It was the first time that the Rockets allowed an opponent to make 50% of their shots. Before that they were the only team in the NBA who limits their opponents under 50%FG shooting. Anyway their defensive stats don't matter anymore if they continue to lose games.

TMac had a good game but didn't have the will to lead his team tonight. Wesley and Mutombo played very well. It's just a pity that Deke doesn't have the speed anymore to chase the Raptors mobile big men. He might be good defending players who are posting up but for the ones that take it to the hoop with speed he's been left behind. Yao's presence could have change the ball game. Head continues to be anemic on the offense. If he could just drive to the hoop and limit those catch and shoot thing. He's a good slasher and has the ability to use pick and roll. Head should work out on his crossover dribble and if he perfects that he could be a Gilbert Arenas or Baron Davis type of guard in the future. As for Swift he was clearly embarassed by Bosh and Villanueva. It's useless to post up when you don't have the move for it. Everytime he does that it's either taking a bad shot or a turnover. Swift is not suitable for half court games. He thrives best on the fast attack offense. He's good on help defense but worse on one on one situations. Lastly Howard's ejection might have change the tempo. Eventhough he started bad he has the ability to attract the frontcourt's defense outside because of his ability to make long range shots. Besides he has step up his game to make up for Yao's absence. Swift, Deke and Bowen won't provide that threat.

Well it's time again for the Rockets to regroup. Good to see Barry back. Let's just hope that the Rockets can still hold on and minimize the losses until Yao comes back in 2-3 weeks from now. Anderson will probably be back next week. While Sura will still be a month away from returning. It remains to be seen if he can play this season.

 

we've seen that swift can thrive in a half court offence but it depends on the situation now we just need to teach swift more about one on one defence and get him to learn more post moves. I believe he will be our guy soon and i think even though what howard did was wrong i dunt blame him for it. He called hey juwan ur a ho and then juwan said b-i-t-c-h who do you think you are talking to and then they started the pushing thing. hopefully the rockets can find a pf that is kind of liek CV or CB because that would make us even greater. today i think the rockets defence just was not good because rockets win by defence and they let the raptors score 112points

 

How do you know what was said during the altercations. On both NBATV, and the game on RaptorsTV, none of the analysts or commentators knew what was said, so I find it pretty surprising that you do.

 

umm i read it on real gm

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting tinyballer:</div><div class="quote_post">umm i read it on real gm</div>

At least get it right "Tinywannabeballer" when James drove the lane he ran into Juwan, he screamed and the whistle blew, he put up a prayer and when he saw it go in he yelled at Juwan while his back was turned "AND ONE HOE!!!" Loud!! I mean LOUD!! Juwan from what I can see didn't say anything, but he was bitting his lips and walked over to James and SHOVED the ball in his face!!(Wich when you see it in slow motion looks HILARIOUS!!!!) How do I know all this?? I tape all the Rockets games,and on my surround sound youi can hear everything, I mean EVERYTHING!!

 

That's just Mike James talking trash. I thought players do that all the time. Maybe he figured he could get away with it since he's still friends with many of the Rockets players. I don't think he meant it to be taken personally.

It was a stupid, unnecessary reaction from Howard that might have cost us the game.

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Locke:</div><div class="quote_post">McGrady seemed very nonchalant this game. He didn't seem disappointed or angry when he turns the ball over, or take a bad shot and miss it, or when his man beats him off the dribble. Basically, it seemd to me like he didn't care about winning or losing. Is that the kind of guy that we want leading our team?
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I didn't really notice that. He seemed pretty angry and fired up early in the game when the refs wouldn't call the fouls against him. In the second half, I just felt that the Rockets were being beaten by a team that was on fire offensively. I can only imagine how draining it would be for players when the opposing team hits like 10 jumpers in a row with a man in their face. Toronto was moving the ball really well, and it looked like we just didn't have the energy (or ability) to handle it appropriately.

This wasn't so much a game where we played really poorly compared to the last few games, in my view. Toronto just whooped us.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post">That's just Mike James talking trash. I thought players do that all the time. Maybe he figured he could get away with it since he's still friends with many of the Rockets players. I don't think he meant it to be taken personally.

It was a stupid, unnecessary reaction from Howard that might have cost us the game.



I didn't really notice that. He seemed pretty angry and fired up early in the game when the refs wouldn't call the fouls against him. In the second half, I just felt that the Rockets were being beaten by a team that was on fire offensively. I can only imagine how draining it would be for players when the opposing team hits like 10 jumpers in a row with a man in their face. Toronto was moving the ball really well, and it looked like we just didn't have the energy (or ability) to handle it appropriately.

This wasn't so much a game where we played really poorly compared to the last few games, in my view. Toronto just whooped us.</div>
Granted, McGrady was the only one who kept us within striking range in the third quarter, but I felt that once he knew he wasn't going to get calls his way, he stopped going to the basket and just kept taking outside shots. Although a fair share of those shots were falling, it just seemed to me that he was just taking them to fill up the stat sheet and not to mean something. With Kobe Bryant, you see a different fire when his team is down like that.

Today, there was an article about Rafer in the Toronto Star. Apparently, Alston missed both the team buses to the arena and took a cab to the game just an hour and a half before the game, with red eyes. I've heard that he's a drug user, so I guess we should know where the red eyes are from.

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">
Asked to assess Rafer Alston's value as an athlete and a gentleman, Jeff Van Gundy, Alston's coach with the Houston Rockets, answered haltingly but skilfully last night.

"If you're looking for me to make a pronouncement that Rafer is really a good guy and it was Sam's screw-up, or, you know, Rafer's an ass---- and Sam was right, you're not getting it from me," said Van Gundy. "You guys can do all the other soap opera."

The Skip-and-Sam Freak Show, off the air since Alston was traded to the Rockets for Mike James on the first day of training camp, wasn't without its moments of drama when it returned to the NBA spotlight last night. Though a season removed from the serialized feud that climaxed on a zany night in Cleveland on which Alston left a game at halftime in tears after a locker room confrontation with coach Sam Mitchell, the former Raptor had helpfully propelled the plot by dredging up the grudge in some newspaper spewings earlier this week.

And the first cliff-hanger of the newest episode came long before game time, when it wasn't clear if Alston would even show up for his only Toronto date this season. He wasn't aboard either one of the two buses that ferried the Rockets from the Four Seasons to the Air Canada Centre, but he finally did appear, rolling into the locker room dishevelled and red-eyed an hour and 15 minutes before tipoff while teammates shook their heads in the wings.

Alston told a reporter he "didn't get the memo" that the Rockets had changed their pre-game departure plans, so in the thick of Toronto's rush hour the New York City playground legend known as Skip to My Lou became Sprint to That Cab.

And his excuse must have checked out with Van Gundy, who's a military-esque stickler, because he found himself in the starting lineup.</div>Link

 

How bad watching James in Raptors uniform and Alston doing nothing with the Rockets. Worst trade of the year.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">How bad watching James in Raptors uniform and Alston doing nothing with the Rockets. Worst trade of the year.</div>
Yeah because he was injured for the most part. He showed some glimmers of promise coming back against Cleveland though so who knows.

 

Well, James is 30, Alston 29; injured or not I still have to understand why this trade was made after a superbe last season by MJ.

 

Why? Because James is a year older?