Collab for April 20th game against Seattle

Okay guys, just a heads up. We'll be doing a collab on the season closer against Seattle, and the game would also most likely be a very important one as we would probably need a win to clinch the sixth spot.

We're gonna divide the preview up into four spots, each of us will pick one.

Matchups by position-C to SF
Matchups by position-SG to Sixth man
Keys to the game for Seattle
Keys to the game for Houston

Besides that I'll need a 3-5 line writeup about your prediction and why you would predict such a score. Dan Le, this would mean you would have do a prediction for the first time

Other than that, thanks for the commitment guys, especially magnomonkey for doing just about every preview when I had computer problems and Aznxballer and Dan Le weren't in yet. It's been a pleasure with you guys and hopefully next season will be even better!

 

Aww man, a prediction? ah you'll be sorry haha, i'll do the Key Points for the seattle win I guess, unless someone else wants to do it then it'll be fine if they want to switch...

 

I'll take matchups by position- C through SF. By the way, how are the previews for the playoffs going to work out?

 

I can take the SG to Sixth Man position, unless someone wants to do that.

Yeah guys, it's been fun working with all three of you, next season will be better, as it seems the Rockets Forum is gaining interest on JBB.

I too have a question about the Playoffs, Are we gonna preview them?

 

I plan on collabs for every playoff game, we'll discuss it after this current preview is done. BTW, season ends next Wednesday and playoffs start in the weekend. Do you guys think it would be worth it doing a preview article between the four of us within those 3 days in between the end of the season and the beginning of playoffs? I'll be all for it if you guys are willing to do this. I could also probably get the article to be posted on the frontpage also.

 

Responses responses responses needed.

Btw, have your parts of the preview in by this coming Monday.

 

Aight, Monday for my part of the preview is fine for me but I'm not sure we have enough time for the preview article. Everyone else is up for it, then count me in.

 

Don't know about you guys, but I normally whip up a 1200-word article in about 2 hours. Time won't be a matter for me, it's just up to you guys.

 

I don't mind too much about the playoff article if someone can go into more detail with it, and another question with the preview should it be alot longer then the ones we have been doing through out the regular season? like should I keep it around the same length or try and make it longer?

 

Doesn't have to be too long, but should be highly informative.

Look here for an example.

 

Ooo ok cheers for that, how did you did up that link anyway? wasn't that like the season opening? or can you see every old thread as team leader?

 

You can still view old threads. Everyone can, even guests. Just go to the top of every page and go to older ones. You'll see how it was back in the days before you joined up. I have great fun doing that at times.

 

Oh ok, I still can't seem to find where "Older ones" are but I haven't been searching that hard, i'll have a better look later, I got to get back to trying to get my Rocket team on ESPN NBA 2K5 to the current record we're in before the playoffs..i'm 1-1 so far (just got xbox so just started) i've got alot of playing to do...why did I mention this..I dunno..

Also do we PM you our part? or post it here?

 

Post it here. To find older pages, go to the Rockets forum, look along the same row as the "New Thread" button, and you should see a list of pages 1-37. Just go to back to the older pages and you'll see history.

 

Alright, I guess I'm the first one with my part in the preview collab. Here it goes-

Matchup Position by Position- C to SF



C- Jerome James vs Yao Ming- Ones a role player, ones a disputable star. However, both of these guys share a job and that is to rebound. James is the junkyward dog for Seattle and can definitely play tough defense downlow. Although Yao has an obvious height advantage over James, watch for Jerome to make it tough for Yao to get rebounds or score. He'll box out, play physical, and get aggressive for rebounds. Meanwhile, look for Yao to abuse him by posting up, and knocking down those jumpers. In addition, if Yao is hot for tonight, you'll see him grab more rebounds and deny the opposition of any open shot- meaning blocks plus more blocks. Houston Advantage



PF- Reggie Evans vs Clarence Weatherspoon- Great hustle players here. Both aren't really going to amaze you with their scoring, but watch these two guys duke it out for positioning to clean off the glass. Evans is a much younger version of Weathersoon who has a lot of potential while Clarence obviously brings a lot of veteranship to the table. However, it doesn't really matter much here- both have limited roles on their team. Although Evans' is more crucial, its basically the same and that is rebound, hustle, and pressure in the paint. Even Advantage



SF- Rashard Lewis vs Tracy McGrady- Incredible shooters and great scorers. Both of these guys can nail jumpers and light you up from the three point arc. In addition, both of these guys aren't exactly defensive specialists. So the difference you ask? McGrady has a much more defined game of driving inside and finishing. He can cross you over, split defenders, and get the two points at the bucket. Perhaps one of the best one on one players in the league, McGrady is unstoppable when he's hot. Lewis meanwhile should be able to keep up with him and if he can get his stroke going, should be a huge factor in this game. Plus, if Houston plays zone defense like they usually do, it should allow for Lewis and his teammates much better shots at the three and therefore- letting him drain them. However, McGrady just has more dimension and explosiveness in his game. Houston Advantage


Prediction

It all depends on shooting here. Obviously, Seattle lives and dies on perimeter shots while part of Houston's offense also lies from the arc. However, the difference is Houston has got huge inside scoring in Yao Ming while Seattle's interior very weak. Plus, Houston's got outside shooters in Wesley, Barry, McGrady, James, and Padgett as well to even things out if the going gets rough. In addition, Houston's bench is much stronger with all those role players so you know who the favorite is. Oh yeah, and don't forget that Houston is playing at home with a probably elevated crowd since playoffs are close.

Prediction- Houston win 105-101.

 

<u>Keys for the sonics</u>
Get Hot - Is simple as it sounds, they need to knock down their shots to win this game, Ray Allen has been considered one of the "hot" guards in the last few weeks, he's been drilling shots from just about everywhere, but no matter how well he shoots he can't lead them to victory by himself, Rashard Lewis, Luke Ridnour and even Damien Wilkins has to get points on the board, this has always been a great shooting team, but once their shots aren't falling everything else goes downhill.

No Sparks - Don't let the rockets get too much confidence, once we get a boost of anything our whole game improves, things like when Ryan Bowen got all those offensive rebounds, when Deke comes in and grabs 10 rebounds on a quarter when Mike James breaks a run by hitting a three, all these things are confidence boosters, they're sparks off the bench, even if its something very minor our game improves just that little bit, and that can go a long way.

<u>Grab them rebounds</u> - This is a great rebounding team, with players like Danny Fortson, Nick Collison and Reggie Evans they're bound to get many rebounds, and they really need to for every defensive rebound they grab they stop us from getting a second shot, for every offensive rebound they get..they get a second chance shot, most of the games we've played against these guys was close, so every single point will count.

Foul Trouble - They need to stay out of this, yes the main reason this is a key point for them is because of Danny Fortson, he's always been a great rebounder, but whether it's these fouls are because they're dirty plays, he's known as a fouler so calls don't go his way or just because thats the way he plays, he needs to calm down, I know this isn't going to change in just this game, but if he can stay in longer he'll be a big rebounding threat to us, and obviously everyone else needs to stay out of foul trouble but thats the same with every team.

Heres mine, I normally don't go into much depth with the other teams key points, I hope this ok...

 

Prediction...

 

O yeah I forgot...Stop looking at me I really did forget...

<u>Prediction</u>
I think we'll win this match simple because of how well we've been playing, we beat Denver, a team that was on a 10 game winning streak by 28 points! if that doesn't boost our confidence level what will? we've played well against them this whole season, no one on the team can guard Yao...My only concern is that we might purposley drop this game to get to 6th seed so we don't have to play the Mavs in the first round of the playoffs, either way it's a win-win situation for me! Now that i've written this prediction we'll probably lose...seems to always happen when I do them..

Rockets - 112
Sonics - 92

 

Matchup by Position - Shooting Guard to Sixth Man

VS.

SG - David Wesley has rediscovered his shot, but Ray Allen is an MVP candidate. He can drive inside, shoot it straight up, and create shots for his teammates. As good a defender as Wesley is, Ray will win this. But watch Wes' defense around the perimeter, he should be able to shut a dimension of Ray's game down. With Ray Allen possibly doubling McGrady whenever he touches the ball, Wesley will have open shots, and will make them. Keep in mind Wesley's performance the last time these two teams met, as it could easily dictate what Allen does in this game.
Advantage: Sonics

VS.

PG - Sura is a big point guard, that should bump the younger Ridnour around. But Ridnour has really discovered his role as the starting point guard on the team, and will take it to Sura on many occasions. His shot isn't too shabby, and his play-making skills are better than many point guards, including Sura. But this battle will be won on the defensive end. We know Sura will step up, but will Ridnour?
Advantage: Even

VS.

Sixth Man- Though Mike James may not be the Rockets' Sixth Man, he matches up with Daniels better than Dikembe Mutumbo. Daniels is a physical point guard who will body-up Mike. MJ, however, is an experienced point guard, who can shoot lights out against anyone, as well as defend players bigger than him. Mike was a big part of our success throughout the season, and should come up big in this matchup.
Advantage: Rockets


Prediction

If the Rockets play as well as they did in the two teams' recent matchup, then they should win this game. Seattle has nothing really to play for, while the Rockets do. If the Rockets want to clinch the Fifth Seed, then they will come out with a W. Look for Seattle to try frustrating Houston, but we'll step up in front of a vamped up home crowd. This is the final game of the season for the Rockets, and they sure wanna end it on a high note. The Rockets will take it to Seattle, and the fans will be going crazy, as the fan favorite 'Turbo' returns to Houston for one Final Performance.

Rockets 109
Seattle 98

 

Posted. Now I'll want parts for our first playoff game against Dallas by Friday if possible. I guess we could all stick to the same parts for this preview. And I guess the guys making the matchups by position could just submit one for the whole series, unless someone gets injured. Keys might have to change though, depending on how previous games go.