Utah at Houston Round 3 Who: Utah Jazz at Houston Rockets Where: Toyota Center When: January 3, 2004 Time: 7:30 CST <u>Previous Games</u> December 3rd - Houston won 107-101 November 26th - Utah won 83-76 Coaches vs. Jerry Sloan/Jeff Van Gundy Probable Starters vs. Matt Harpring/Jim Jackson vs. Andrei Kirlenko/Kelvin Cato vs. Greg Ostertag/Yao Ming vs. Carlos Arroyo/Steve Francis vs. DeShawn Stevenson/Cuttino Mobley Rockets Offensive Outlook Offensively, the Rockets must get the ball to Yao Ming and in the past against he Jazz they have done that. He took over 12 shots in both previous meetings with the Jazz as he ended with 20 points in both of those games. The Rockets need to look to him even more tomorrow because the Jazz's front line is very banged up. Yao should have a huge night offensively in this game and he will as long as he gets the ball. Cuttino Mobley has played some great basket this year. He had one of his best games the last time the Jazz were in town. He dropped 36 in that game. Needless to say, I don't think he will get 36 in this game however I do expect him and Francis to each get 20. Francis has not had his best games against Utah this year however he can redeem himself with his play in this game. It will be critical for these two to get to the basket and create wide open shots for our other players. We cannot afford to just jack up three's all night. Rockets Outlook Defensively Defensively the Rockets need to stop two people, Andrei Kirilenko and Matt Harpring. Andrei is a defensive nightmare for Cato due to his versatilty on the offensive end. Maurice Taylor saw some serious minutes in the Rockets last game with the Jazz; expect the same in tomorrow's game. Matt Harpring is another player we need to look out for. This guy will get his points however we need to make him shoot contested shots. In the last game he took 19 shots and he only made 7 of them. If I were the Rockets I would make this kid prove he can shoot the rock from deep before smothering him on the perimeter. The Jazz front line is weak, very weak. This provides a real advantage for the Rockets. Starting two centers allows us to grab everything on the defensive glass, however in the past we have let other teams get quite a few offensive rebounds. There should be no excuse tomorrow for the Rockets to be out-rebounded on the glass. Rockets Key's To Victory 1. Yao Ming - When he get's involved we win games. He needs to shoot 15+ shots tonight. Utah has a weak front so the Rockets should capitalize on it. 2. Contan Andrie Kirilenko - This guy is all over the court. He rebounds, blocks shots, gets in the passing lane etc. He will get his points, however we should limit his production in the other areas. If we can do that I think we have a serious shot of winning this game. 3. Limit the turnovers - The Rockets have had over 17+ turnovers in the past few games. We should strive to have under 16. 4. Make open jump shots - This is crucial for every team but especially us. When we make jump shots we can play with anyone, however when we don't shoot the rock well we can get beat by anyone. Lets hope they can shoot the ball well tonight. My magic shooting percentage number for this game is 41%. My Prediction The home team this year has won all the games between these two teams this year. With the recent injuries to the Jazz front line, Houston has a major advantage down low. Yao should have a monster game tonight against a weak Jazz front line. I think the Rockets will win tonight by a considerable margin. Rockets 102 Jazz 88
Yao's play should factor majorly in this game. Maurice Taylor should have another good game. Rockets by 11.
I say Rockets will win this by 3. Yao better come to play if he wants 20+ points over Andrei Kirilenko
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Phi_Slamma_Jamma:</div><div class="quote_post">so hows the game coming along</div> Harpring isn't playing, and the rockets are up 59-48 with 3:18 left in the 3rd.
finally there's 5 players played well in a game together..beating the jazz is almost better than beating the lakers
Um yeah, this sucked. Thats pretty much all I have to say about this game. I wasn't home for the game, so when I went to NBA.com and saw the final score I was pretty much shocked. Then I saw that Harp didn't play so I was less shocked. Then I was the Jazz FT% and really wasn't shocked at all that the Jazz lost. Every single person on the Jazz played absolutely horrible. This just shows they can't win on the road very well to begin with and without Harp it is pretty much impossible. Well with that note, GO Jazz. I do believe they will beat Dallas at home on Monday
yeah yao ming was cool, and yeah well they didnt get the free throws in so thats what they have to pay for Jazz
<font size="3"><u>Dexter's Game Recap</u></font> The Rockets blew out the Utah Jazz 84-63 last night. The Rockets did everything that I listed under my keys to the game tonight. Yao didn't take 15 shots though, but I will live with his shooting tonight(8-12). They did a phenominal job on defense tonight, holding Kirilenko to only 10 points. In fact Utah only had two players in double digits(the other being Stevenson with 11). They shot 45.8% from the field and committed only 15 turnovers. The Rockets went on a 12-0 run with 5:33 left in the 2nd half to send the score to 33-20. That was pretty much the game from then on. The Jazz were just never able to get back in it. Just a few notes. Matt Harpring sat out with a strained right knee and the newly aquired Clarence Weatherspoon dressed out but didn't play. Jazz Player Stats Carlos Arroyo - 8 points, 9 assists, 3 steals DeShawn Stevenson - 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists Andrei Kirilenko - 10 points, 2 rebounds, 0 assists Aleksandar Pavlovic - 7 points, 1 rebound Greg Ostertag - 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks Paul Grant - 6 points, 6 rebounds Jarron Collins - 5 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists Raja Bell - 4 points, 3 rebounds Rockets Player Stats Cuttino Mobley - 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals Steve Francis - 17 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists Jim Jackson - 3 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 turnovers Kelvin Cato - 11 points, 15 rebounds, 4 blocks Yao Ming - 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks Maurice Taylor - 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals Eric Piatkowski - 6 points Key Stats Total Rebounds - Utah 31, Houston 44 Offensive Rebounds - Utah 10, Houston 12 Field Goals - Utah 24-68 (35.3%), Houston 33-72(45.8%) Points in the Paint - Utah 24, Houston 28 Turnovers - Utah 12, Houston 15 Free Throws - Utah 14-24 (58.3%), Houston 15-17 (88.2%) The Rockets next game is Monday at home against the Golden State Warriors. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 CST.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Phi_Slamma_Jamma:</div><div class="quote_post">nice post game recap dexter</div> Thanks, its good to have you back posting again. I would love to see you hang around the Rockets forum some. :mrgreen:
The rebounding was so bad from Utah in that game, they deserved to only get 63 points with that. They normally get more rebounds than their opposition, but just struggled to get any against Houston which is why Houston won so easily.
The win put a smile on my face but I would just like to see Yao have a 20-10 night. He seems to be even less productive than last year but he's been consistent most of the time, but I'd like to see him put up consistent 20-10 nights, not 15-8 ones.
