GAME: Houston Rockets(30-22) vs. Washington Wizards(16-34) LOCATION: Toyota Center, Houston TIME: 7:30PM PROBABLE STARTERS SF Jim Jackson/Jerry Stackhouse PF Kelvin Cato/Kwame Brown C Yao Ming/Brendan Haywood PG Steve Francis/Brevin knight SG Cuttino Mobley/Gilbert Arenas TEAM LEADERS Rockets: Steve Francis-16.9 points per game Yao Ming-9.0 rebounds per game Steve Francis-5.9 assists per game Wizards: Gilbert Arenas-18 points per game Kwame Brown-7.1 rebounds per game Gilbert Arenas-4.8 assists per game KEYS TO THE GAME <u>Rockets</u> 1: Make Use of Backcourt-The Wizards' backcourt, consists of the 5-10 Brevin Knight and the 6-3 Gilbert Arenas, which the Rockets' backcourt of Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley must take full advantage of. Both these players had 21-point games against the Lakers and will probably look to do so again tonight. 2:Yao Dominates-Yao Ming had 29 points against Shaquille O'Neal in our recent win against the Lakers. With the Wizards having no big men capable of containing Yao, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets 40 points for a new career high tonight. The Rockets have got to get him the ball down low a lot of times. 3:Make Use Of Home Court-The Rockets have had some erratic games at home this season. Losing to a Washington team with a 5-20 road record will not make it. We have to make use of the support we get from the fans and push to a big lead to start the game. If that happens, expect a blowout. If the game still remains tied in the dying seconds, we'll still have an advantage as our fans will most likely stick with us. <u>Wizards</u> 1:Compete-The Wiz look lost sometimes during games. They can put up a fight if they want to and their star players aren't exactly scrubs. If their leaders in Arenas and Stackhouse take some leadership responsibilities and give their all, I think they have a chance of surprising. If not, expect an ugly one. 2:Give Kwame The Minutes-Kwame Brown has finally shown some glimpses of greatness and on a big man-challenged team like the Wizards, Brown can become the star. He is an athletic scorer, powering shot blocker and an excellent rebounder. The only thing he lacks is minutes. Eddie Jordan must let the youngster play 30+ minutes if he wants to get the full production from Kwame. 3:Stack Stacks Up Points-Jerry Stackhouse has returned from an injury and is averaging 17.8 points per game. This is below par for him, and part of the reason is his failure to adjust to the team. He can put up 30 points on any given night and a lot of people would be thrilled if he does tonight. If he gets his touches this game, I wouldn't be surprised. GAME OUTLOOK The Rockets come in after the All-Star break with a huge win against the Los Angeles Lakers last Thursday. We must not be complacent tonight. The effort has to be there and our star players have to play like their normal selves. Yao Ming had an excellent all-star game and his confidence will be greatly boosted. We need to stay focused and lock down on Jerry Stackhouse in order to win. The Wizards are capable of surprising, but I think it just won't happen tonight. GAME PREDICTION Rockets-94 Wizards-86
Nice Preview. The Rockets can and probably will win this game. If Yao plays like he did against us they will blow Washington out if he plays his regular game. I think Yao will play his regular game along with steve and mobley. Rockets by 7.
Good preview! Rockets should be able to win this one as long as Yao plays well. He has been playing excellent in the past few games and should continue his streak. Francis will also have a good game. Rockets by 6.
That's definitely stretching it, Ming. The Rockets are an offensively challenged squad, whereas the Wizards were a high scoring team without both Stackhouse and Arenas. Even though Hughes and Hayes are hurt, I think Washington will steal this one in a high scoring frenzy. Wizards by 5.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Crossover:</div><div class="quote_post">That's definitely stretching it, Ming. The Rockets are an offensively challenged squad, whereas the Wizards were a high scoring team without both Stackhouse and Arenas. Even though Hughes and Hayes are hurt, I think Washington will steal this one in a high scoring frenzy. Wizards by 5.</div> Sure, the Rockets are offensively challenged, but they have the second-best defense in the league. So what if Washington is high-scoring, it's not like they limit opponents to under 90 points. If you're saying that the Wizards will score, it doesn't mean that the Rockets won't.
Of course they'll score. Just, it'll be five points less than the Wizards. And I kinda like that phrase. "Offensively challenged."
The Rockets killed the Wizards last night. Yao had a decent 16 point, 4 block game, athough his 6 rebounds were disappointing. We got balanced scoring from almost everyone else as we rout the Wizards after a fantastic 12-16 first quarter.
The Rockets really played well last night. Looking back at the stats the one thing that jumps out to me is how well the Rockets shot the ball as a team. They shot 54% from the field which is nothing short of amazing considering how poorly NBA teams shoot. In addition we shot 47% from the three-point line. You have to play really really bad to lose a game if you shoot those kind of numbers. I really liked the balance scoring effort by the Rockets who had 6 people in double figures including all five starters. Kelvin Cato had a big night with 15 points and 10 boards. The Rockets did a good job of getting the ball into the post as evident by the shot totals of the big men. Yao had 11 attempts, Cato had 10, Weatherspoon had 8 and Taylor had 7. I like what I am seeing out of the Rockets right now. I hope they can keep it up.
Hey thanks Dexter for finally posting in my previews. Weatherspoon is looking like the player we traded for now. He'll give us some added inside strength. Dex, do you think anything big'll happen tomorrow?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting franchise3:</div><div class="quote_post">Hey thanks Dexter for finally posting in my previews. Weatherspoon is looking like the player we traded for now. He'll give us some added inside strength. Dex, do you think anything big'll happen tomorrow?</div> There have been a few deals made so far with the Rasheed one being the biggest. I do not expect anything from the Rockets front at all. I think they are content and set with the team they have right now.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting dexter:</div><div class="quote_post">There have been a few deals made so far with the Rasheed one being the biggest. I do not expect anything from the Rockets front at all. I think they are content and set with the team they have right now.</div> It's evident now. I'm glad that Steve Francis stayed but also a tad disappointed since Mobley wasn't traded. This team would not improve nor take a step back, but this backcourt would have to go, sometime.
