<div align="center"><font color="red">Rockets (19-30)</font> vs <font color="blue">Jazz (25-25)</font> Saturday, February, 11th, 2006 7:30 CT; FSNSW and NBATV </div> [div=50%] <font size="3">Projected Starters</font> <div align="center"><font color="red"> <font size="1">(R. Alston, D. Wesley, T.McGrady, J. Howard, M. Yao)</font></font></div> <font size="1">Leading Scorer: Tracy McGrady - 26.1 PPG Leading Rebounder: Yao Ming - 9.4 Assist Man: Rafer Alston - 6.1 APG The 'X' Factor: Keith Bogans (8.7 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 1.2 APG)</font> <font size="3">Backcourt</font> <font size="1">[imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/rafer_alston.jpg[/imgl]<font color="red">Rafer Alston</font> PPG: 11.4, RPG: 4.2, APG: 6.1 The past few games, Alston has done well for the Rockets, and he's been the only Rocket not name McGrady that can zip a catchable pass to Yao. Tonight, look for Alston to be less assertive on offense, as both Yao and McGrady will be looking for a big night to make up for the near dismal performance against the Lakers (though Yao had 13 boards). Defensively, McLeod and Palacio won't give him that much trouble, but the lottery pick Deron Williams might tire Rafer out. </font> <font size="1">[imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/david_wesley.jpg[/imgl]<font color="red">David Wesley</font> PPG: 10.8, RPG: 2.7, APG: 3.1 Wesley has sort of reached a level of consisetency -- not back to where he was last season, but he's working his way there. Against the Lakers, he had to be a bit more hoggish of the ball than all of us would like; he will be back to his normal role today. Whoever Wesley matches up with should not trouble him as much as Kobe did, but if he ever finds himself against AK-47. . well, good luck, Wes. </font> <font size="3">Frontcourt</font> <font size="1">[imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/tracy_mcgrady.jpg[/imgl]<font color="red">Tracy McGrady</font> PPG: 26.1, RPG: 7.0, APG: 5.0 Whether it was McGrady's back, or Kobe's ability, the game against the Lakers was not the most admirable effort from our number 1. His past few games have been well below par, but we all expect him to bounce back big tonight. However well he played against the Jazz last year (that game was insane), he will have his hands full today. AK-47 is back healthy, and he is one of the stellar defenders in the league -- a total complete player. Offensively, Tracy should out-do him, but by how much will be be the determining factor. </font> <font size="1">[imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/yao_ming.jpg[/imgl]<font color="red">Yao Ming</font> PPG: 19.8, RPG: 9.4, APG: 1.3 Quickly approaching the 20-10 season, Yao's haters really need to shut-up now. Against the Lakers, he was hacked just as much as Shaq had been, and he still managed 13 boards. Against Memo, he will have his hands full, as Okur is quick for a big man, and might pull a Raef on us. Yao should be comfortable in this duel however, hopefully he can keep the board streak going too. </font> <font size="1">[imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/juwan_howard.jpg[/imgl]<font color="red">Juwan Howard</font> PPG: 11.2, RPG: 6.6, APG: 1.5 One would expect Juwan to be open a lot during tonight's game, as Boozer, coming back from injury, will be all over Yao. Juwan needs to hit the open shot, and NEEDS to help on weak-side defense. It was sad watching Yao come out for the double team, and Juwan not switching. Swift can atleast make an effort on the ball, Juwan, not so much. On defense, Juwan will have a tough assignment. He's got 2 of the best Rebounding forwards in the game (Kirilenko and Boozer); not to mention Okur who is having a near All-Star season. </font> [/div] <font size="3">Projected Starters</font> <div align="center"><font color="blue"> <font size="1">(K. McLeod, M. Palacio, A. Kirilenko, C. Boozer, M. Okur)</font></font></div> <font size="1">Leading Scorer: Mehmet Okur - 17.9 PPG Leading Rebounder: Mehmet Okur - 9.3 RPG Assist Man: Andrei Kirilenko - 4.7 APG The 'X' Factor: Matt Harpring (12.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 0.9 APG)</font> <font size="3">Backcourt</font> <font size="1">[imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/keith_mcleod.jpg[/imgl]<font color="blue">KEith Mcleod</font> PPG: 6.9, RPG: 1.7, APG: 2.3 Not the type of numbers you'd like to see from your starting guard, McLeod is really gonna have to step it up tonight. Whether him and Palacio, another Point Guard type player will be switching assignments on both sides of the ball, has yet to be seen, but it's definitely in the realm of possibility. Against Rafer, the best he can do is shut down any entry pass, and make Alston hit the open J, which he hasn't been consistently doing (until recently, of course). </font> <font size="1">[imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/milt_palacio.jpg[/imgl]<font color="blue">Milt Palacio</font> PPG: 6.3, RPG: 2.1, APG: 3.0 One undraftee faces off against another. Palacio, the former Raptor, will be trying to prove his worth and solidify his starting role. Though his stats aren't favorable to Wesley's, that could very well change. Defensively, he has to, much like McLeod, stop any entry passes that come his way, and stop all penetration, whether it's Alston, Wesley, or Head. </font> <font size="3">Frontcourt</font> <font size="1">[imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/andrei_kirilenko.jpg[/imgl]<font color="blue">Andrei Kirilenko</font> PPG: 15.8 RPG: 8.4, APG: 4.2 One of the most complete players the NBA has to offer, Kirilenko is one crazy Euro-man. He has 2 steals and 3 blocks to add to that already respectable stat-line. However, against McGrady, stats can only get you so-far. McGrady has nearly disposed of everyone not named Kobe so far this year, Kirilenko has to be ready for that if the Jazz are gonna take this game. Last year, McGrady had an amazing game, in Utah, he will be looking to rock what usually seems like an empty Toyota Center. </font> <font size="1">[imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/mehmet_okur.jpg[/imgl]<font color="blue">Mehmet Okur</font> PPG: 17.9, RPG: 9.3, BPG: 2.5 Another one of the NBA's stellar internationals, Okur will have to do well on both sides of the ball against Yao. His offense might be lacking, as Yao is a good defender, but defensively, he needs to stop Yao -- which is much harder than it seems. But if he has a good offensive night, that might make up for the lack of defense on Yao. But letting Yao go off for more than 25-26 points could mean trouble for the Jazz. </font> <font size="1">[imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/carlos_boozer.jpg[/imgl]<font color="blue">Carlos Boozer</font> PPG: 2.0, RPG: 0.0, APG: 1.0 Whether he starts or not will be in question, but Boozer is back. What a past two years this guy has had! Karma sucks, doesn't it Carlos? Back to the matchup, he will have to have a solid offensive night to nullify Howard, and defensively, Yao should be the only one giving him any trouble. Boozer is gonna have to attack the basket as much as he can, and draw the Rockets into foul trouble. </font> <font size="3">Keys to the Game</font><ul>[*]<font color="red">Star Players </font> - Yao and Mac haven't been on par the past few games, McGrady in particular. Both of them have to step up tonight, and I think both will. McGrady relishes playing against the Jazz, and Yao is finally dominating the games he plays in.[*]<font color="red">Limit the Front-court</font> - The Rockets have to do a good job against one of the most potent front-courts in the league. On their day, each of them can score 20, and if they do tonight, Yao and McGrady WILL have to have HUGE nights to get us the Win. Rebounding wise, we may see more of Chuck Hayes, and Yao hopefully will get the better of Okur.[*]<font color="red">Team Defense</font> - The Laker game was a not-so-good defensive effort. The Rockets have won 4 out of 5 because of solid team defense, and if they continue the trend here, they will ease through this game. [*]<font color="blue">Limit Yao</font> - It's hard to keep McGrady under-par soley on defense, but for Yao, the Jazz can easily stop. They need to make sure Yao doesn't have a good night and is never comfortable on the ball. Make him put the ball on the floor and keep him out of position.[*]<font color="blue">Front Court</font> - The Jazz need to have a good game from their front court. Even though all 3 (Okur, AK-47, Boozer), can go off for 20, they can just as easily be held to 10. If they do not produce today, the Rockets will win this game relatively easily, especially if McGrady is feelign it.[*]<font color="blue">Keep the Rockets in foul trouble</font> - The longer Yao is out, the more time the Jazz's bigs can have time to play around with the ball. Keep Yao out of the game by getting him into foul trouble. If the Rockets are forced to play with Deke, the Jazz must take advantage. [/list]<font size="3">Prediction</font> This will be a brick fest at first, but look for a big third quarter from either Yao or McGrady. The Rockets will rely on defense toward the end, and should pull this game, though it'll be harder than the scoreline shows. Rockets: 93 , Jazz: 82 <font size="1"> *All pre, and post-game discussion should go in here. Thanks.</font>
Jazz's game is usually no fun to watch. I personally found AK47 is one of the few NBA stars whose plays don't interest me. I found he is somewhat similar to Nowiski, but with 1/3 of his ability..HaHa~ Anyways, it's good to see Rockets against Jazz. And let's see Boozer who just came back from injure can play as good as his pay...
I have a feeling Tracy is gonna break out of his shooting slump tonight....I'm predicted a 50 + point night from Tmac.
I predict the rockets are going to win. They have no one to contain yao ming in the middle. and hopefully our new accusation and david wesley can hit some open Js. But i predict mcgrady to continue his lackluster performance even though i want him to breakout but he is going up against a great defender in ak 47
Watch out for AK47.... He may out do T-mac if hes off... Boozer wont be effective bcoz he just came back from his injury and wont get enough minutes.. Yao needs to do up Okur.. Yao will also need to hold Okur outside cuz he can hit it from ne where.. But at the end we'll win if we dont mess up in the fourth quarter.....
This is gonna be a good defensive match so it'll be fun... question: why in hte prediction did you put Grizzlies? just thought I point that out...great preview though I love reading these previews.....I see Yao dominating Okur...but Okur's outside shooting will cause Yao trouble....so we'll see......T-Mac is gonna have to play AK-47 by sending him through a WALL of screens.....after he gets past AK-47 he can work his magic, but stil has to watch for AK-47's help defense
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting DynastYWarrioR6:</div><div class="quote_post">This is gonna be a good defensive match so it'll be fun... question: why in hte prediction did you put Grizzlies? just thought I point that out...great preview though I love reading these previews.....I see Yao dominating Okur...but Okur's outside shooting will cause Yao trouble....so we'll see......T-Mac is gonna have to play AK-47 by sending him through a WALL of screens.....after he gets past AK-47 he can work his magic, but stil has to watch for AK-47's help defense</div> Ahh, because I'm incredibly dumb. Thanks for the tip . If the Rockets can keep the Jazz's bigs off the whole game, this will be an easy win, but something tells me Memo and the blind-man cheater are gonna have good nights. Here's hoping Yao and Mac come up big.
Right now, it seems like we have complete control of the game, 40-25, Rafer already with 7 assists, Keith Bogans with 4 pts, McGrady seemingly better and Yao doing well too. Looks a great defensive effort.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting JuLiO-R-:</div><div class="quote_post">Stromile Swift is not playing tonight. He missed another practice.</div> I saw Chuck Hayes getting minutes tonight and thought JVG finally came to his senses. I'm kind of dissapointed that it took a Swift suspension for it to happen. I guess Swift will get his minutes back the next game, and Hayes will be benched as a reward for his excellent play.
Dang it! I wonder if it was accidental or intentional? Well we're doing pretty good without him, we had an 18 point lead and then choked a little bit when we let Palacio have 3 consecutive layups. Still pretty good, 47-35 at the break, doing a pretty good defensive job, Yao dominant again, looks bright so far. On a side note, our old friend Stephen Graham has 4 points in 4 minutes, he just made a slam dunk and also has 1 steal, 1 block, and an offensive board. I thought he was a good kid, but oh well I guess. He has 3 fouls though.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting JuLiO-R-:</div><div class="quote_post">Stromile Swift is not playing tonight. He missed another practice.</div> Oops let me fix what I said. What I meant was: <div class="quote_poster">Quoting JuLiO-R-:</div><div class="quote_post">Stromile Swift is not playing tonight. He WAS LATE to another practice.</div> So he did attend practice, he just showed up late.
As predicted, Yao dominated; Alston was dishing the ball well, Wesley's shot was on, and Chuck Hayes did a good job off the bench. I'm starting to get really pissed at Stro. I was knocking on him for his laziness and he's living that rep up. If you don't want to work, get suspended.
Julio so which is it? Which bird told you this? So he missed another practice and got suspended or he came late? I hope he misses more practices but if he does go in the dog house it's gonna be hard to get his trade value up
Swift i guess has never been punished before by a coach on his tardiness is dat why he is finding it so hard to adjust to van gundy?? Whatever is wrong with his habbits he need to change. So anyone actually get to watch the game how did keith bogans look??
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting drm2dnk:</div><div class="quote_post">Julio so which is it? Which bird told you this? So he missed another practice and got suspended or he came late? I hope he misses more practices but if he does go in the dog house it's gonna be hard to get his trade value up</div> He arrived late to a practice so Van Gundy suspended him for 1 game. It was a bird named Bill Worrell that told me while I was watching the game.
Man Stro is a bum, straight up.........but it's good to see Yao dominating again, and it's nice to see Tracy get his touch back.....hopefully Bogans and Hayes will continue to get more minutes.
Man, what team was that at the opening of the game. They came out quick offensively, crisp passing, and they actually looked like they knew what they wanted to do on O without just giving the ball to TMac. This was the first game in a long while where TMac didn't force anything. Skip set him up with a couple good looks, and T drove the lane, attracted the D and dished. Good complete game by TMac. Bogans is a good finisher around the rim. His first play, he took the ball straight to Ostertag's chest, absorbed the contact and finished. I just hope he doesn't fall in love with the open 3's he will see because he is not a good 3pt shooter. He's still playing with a brace on his leg, but his size and ability to play 2 and 3 will provide good help
