Who: Houston (19-14) at Detroit (22-13) Where: The Palace of Auburn Hills When: Wednesday, January 7th Time: 6:30 CST Coaches vs. Jeff Van Gundy/Larry Brown Probable Starters vs. Jim Jackson/Tayshaun Prince vs. Kevlin Cato/Ben Wallace vs. Yao Ming/Elden Campbell vs. Steve Francis/Chauncey Billups vs. Cuttino Mobley/Richard Hamilton Rockets Outlook Offensively Can you say Yao Ming??? Really though, his guy was absolutely amazing the last time these two teams played. Yao went for 22 points and 20 as he had his first 20-20 game of his NBA career. Tonight we need another big dose of Yao if the Rockets want to win. The Pistons are a very good defensive team so everyone on the Rockets will have to step it up tonight. Yao Ming will be doubled and triple teamed tonight every time he gets the ball. He has to be strong tonight or else Ben Wallace will eat him alive in the paint. The Rockets also need to get Steve Francis going tonight on offense. He has had a few "off" games as of late and he can really redeem himself tonight with some strong play. Look for him to look for his shot a bit more than usual tonight. Maurice Taylor also needs to have a strong night. He played one of his best games on Monday against the Warriors. We could really use his offensive "punch" coming off the bench tonight. Offensive Keys to the Game: 1. Get Yao Ming the ball A LOT. 2. Limit the turnovers 3. Good ball movement 4. Have Francis and Mobley drive the paint then dish off to a low post man when the defense comes to help. Rockets Outlook Defensively Defensively the Rockets need to focus on containing two player, Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups. The Rockets did one heck of a job against these two when they played earlier this year. Jim Jackson must do a good job of containing Hamilton. He loves to shoot off of screens so the Rockets need to do a good job of talking on defense. Jim needs to fight through every screen tonight and contest every shot Hamilton tries to make. This is really the only way to guard this guy. Francis against Billups should be a good match-up tonight as well Look for Billups to take it to the paint a lot tonight in hopes of getting Yao in foul trouble. Yao must be very careful tonight of what shots he jumps for. This is one game where we need him to stay out of foul trouble. Mehmet Okur dropped 21 on the Rockets earlier this year. I do not expect him to get anywhere near that figure tonight. Defensive Keys to the Game: 1. Contest all jumpshots 2. Fight through all screens 3. Keep Yao out of foul trouble 4. REBOUND!!!!! Game Prediction This game will be a defensive dogfight from start to finish. Both teams are ranked very low in PPG however they are both ranked high in limiting their opponet's PPG. Houston posted an 86-80 victory over Detroit in the first meeting between the teams on December 6. The Rockets have lost 6 of their last 7 games in the Palace. I think if the Rockets can execute on offense and not let Billups or Hamilton go crazy, then they will have a chance to win this game. Rockets 87 Pistons 85
Nice analysis of our keys to winning, but I don't think the Rockets will prevail. Pistons by 4 in a low-scoring one.
Well, the Pistons won. Good game guys, thanks for letting Darko get in there. That makes Piston fans very happy. I thought the Pistons would win but only by a few points, not by a 19 points margin.
The Rockets lost in a blowout to the Pistons. Mo Taylor had his first bad game in a pretty long stretch. I could not see the game and only saw the box score on rockets.com. Dexter, I'm waiting for you report. I need to see if it was the Pistons' defense that held Yao to only 5 shots.
I couldn't be more disappointed of the rockets performance in the Rockets and Pistons game. I mean, Yao with 4 points and 3 boards? and Rockets just scoring 66 points the whole game? Rockets need a change fast.
I'm stunned... We're not good enough against the better teams of the NBA.. what's up with Yao ?!?! Van gundy needs to trade somebody...Francis to free up cap space? Francis can't carry this team and he's the highest paid player..
I don't know, when the season started. I thought Houston would be the best teams behind the superpowers in the West. You aren't playing bad, just ha a bad game. Van Gundy is having some issues with some players and Yao Ming is having problems. Today however, it was more the Pistons defense than foul trouble that hurt Yao. After the first quarter, Detroit really buckled down and kept Yao out of the paint completely, he had to try get to the basket but couldn't. Some times you guys have good games (At Lakers) and sometimes you fall apart (At Detroit). We had the same problems at the beginning of the year with consistency but we have improved. I'm sure your team will too when they understand what Van Gundy wants them to do in the game.
I'm not about to get all analytical just because of ONE bad game out of the last four or five...it was just an off night, that simple...When Ming gets outscored by Wallace and Taylor shoots 2-12, then yes, its a bad game...i'm sure they'll respond tomorrow against NY, but every team has 1 or 2 games like these a month, so I'm not looking too much into it...just a bad nite...
Getting out scored by Ben Wallace can happen, but Yao got beaten by Darko! Darko outplayed Yao today, the Darko Era has begun. I know it was just a bad game for Houston, but you have been inconsistent the whole season, like we were. We snapped out of it after a few rotation changes, so that may be all that the Rockets need.
Yeah, inconsistency is freakin annoying lol...I am frustrated by Yao's weak attempts and rebounds and scoring inside...While I still have no doubt we'll make the playoffs, I think we're a star PF and backup PG away from being serious, top 4 Western contenders...
I agree with you Hoopa. If you guys were a bit deeper and had somebody better than Cato then you would be one of the elite teams. (Assuming Yao played agressive) Inconsistency is horrible, especially when you are losing to AI-less 76ers, there was no excuse for that Pistons! Or for losing to Atlanta! The Pistons got out of it, and the Rockets will too. Yao needs more shots, and you need a bigger presence in the paint.
Yeah, I think we're one star PF away and a reliable backup PG away from being legit contenders for the West title. And the east, to me, is all Indy and Detroit. Milicic is gonna be quite a nice player too, I think it would be wise if more teams followed yall's blueprint more often.
The Rockets this year have been a "streaky" team. At times they show glimpses of something great then at other times(like last night) they lack the effort. The Rockets had a bad game pure and simple last night. I have to give credit to Larry Brown and his team. They did an absolute terrific job last night executing on defense. Their gameplan was to eliminate Yao from the equation and they accomplished that. Since Yao was taken out, the Rockets started to rely on the permiter players to step up. Sadly, that didn't happen like we would have wanted to as the Rockets shot 33% from the floor (24-72). When Yao Ming is taken out of a game and the Rockets perimeter players can't hit the bright side of a barn, we lose the game. That is what happened last night. Key Players - Detroit Richard Hamilton - 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting the ball. (This guy can shoot the rock) Chauncey Billups - 9 points, 5 assists Ben Wallace - 9 points, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks Tayshaun Prince - 13 points, 10 rebounds Mehmet Okur - 10 points, 5 rebounds Chucky Akins - 11 points Key Players - Rockets Steve Francis - 15 points(6-16), 6 assists Cuttino Mobley - 8 points(2-12) Jim Jackson - 15 points, 7 rebounds Kelvin Cato - 3 points, 6 boards Yao Ming - 4 points(2-5), 5 rebounds, 4 turnovers Maurice Taylor - 6 points(2-12), 9 rebounds Key Stats Shooting Percentage - Houson(24-72) 33%, Detroit(31-78) 39.1% Free Throws - Houston(11-19) 57.9%, Detroit(17-23) 73.9% Turnover - Houston 15, Detroit 9 Points in the Paint - Houston 20, Detroit 32 Total Assits - Houston 10, Detroit 22
Nothing about the game worries me more than the 10 assists we garnered. The Rockets have to step up in that department.
