Houston Logo Memphis Logo Houston Rockets vs. Memphis Grizzlies Friday, Nov 5th. 7:30PM EST Probable Starters: Rockets: [pic]Yao Ming [pic]Juwan Howard [pic]Jim Jackson [pic]Tracy McGrady [pic]Charlie Ward Memphis: [pic]Lorenzen Wright [pic]Pau Gasol [pic]James Posey [pic]Mike Miller [pic]Jason Williams Injuries/Suspensions: Rockets: Bob Sura () Memphis Grizzlies: None. Keys to the game: Houston Rockets: - Produce from outside. The Grizzlies were number 1 last year in blocked shots as a team. The Rockets shooters must hit their outside shots or it will be a tough game for them to win. - Contain Gasol. The Grizzlies have plenty decent big bodies up front, however it's obvious that their star is Pau Gasol. Pau has recently started to play tougher on offense and it is imperative that the Rockets contain him. - Take advantage of Tracy McGrady. There is no single player in the Grizzlies that can guard Tmac one on one. The Rockets must take advantage of Tmac's ability to penetrate and score. Tracy should be the only one penetrating and creating for the Rockets. Memphis Grizzlies: - Shut down Tracy McGrady. The Grizzlies will have to find a way to collectively shut down McGrady or at least hold him to 20 points if they want to build a comfortable lead against the Rockets. - Establish paint presence. With so many able big men in the roster, Memphis must take advantage by making smart rotations down low, keep their frontcourt fresh and have them produce to the max. - Swarm Yao. As it is the case with any teams playing Houston, the Grizzlies will have to keep going at Yao and clobber him with their plethora of big man. Prediction: 90 - 80 Grizzlies. The Rockets started the season with a tough matchup against the reigning NBA champions and suffered a disappointing loss on Wednesday against the Toronto Raptors, which didn't even make the Eastern Conference last year. It won't be easy for the Rockets to win this game. They are still not gelling together as a team. Tmac even said so after their loss to Toronto: "I'm waiting for Yao to do his thing in the post. He's waiting for me to attack,'' McGrady said. "Did I think it was going to click right away? Not at all.'' It will be one of the toughest early season for the Rockets. They need to be able to play together as a team, cut down on silly turnovers, and have Yao play free from his elbow injury. Historically however, the Grizzlies have the edge on Houston with pretty much the same roster while Houston has 9 new players in their roster. They will have to play well as a team to have any chance on winning this game. That, or let McGrady go loose and ride on him like when he was back in Orlando. Updated PS: I'm pretty much done with my preview except for the cute things like the pictures or what not.
By "leaving it", do you mean that we should not do anything to it before you add more stuff? I could put in the pictures for you, but are you going to add anymore to it?
Nah, I was just saying that if you are too busy, I can just add in the images and stuff so you'd have less trouble.
And also, the game that you will be doing is on November 5th, this Friday. Tripl3 will be doing the Memphis game on November 9th, refer to the schedule. So all you need to do is keep in mind that your preview is due on Friday and change the date to November the fifth. You don't need to change anything else though because it's the same opponent.
Trip heres my preview for the nov. 9 game vs. memphis...feel free to post after adding pics or so...thanks. ================================ Memphis vs. Houston This marks the second meeting in less than a week behind these two respected divison rivals. Currently the Rockets are riding a two-game winning streak that began with Friday?s 89-81 win against Memphis. The Grizzlies are currently 0-3, looking for their first win tonight on the road in Houston. <u>Point Guard</u> Both teams will go with their normal starters. The Rockets? Charlie Ward has played very well so far in the Rocket?s opening four games. Ward has shot well from 3-point range (8-19) and is proving to be a reliable player at a spot that was questioned coming into the season. Ward?s averages of 9 ppg and 3 apg have provided nice support to T-Mac and Yao?s accomplishments but Ward will have to do a better job containing and closing out on the Grizzlies? Jason Williams. Williams is a streaky perimeter threat who shot 3-8 from downtown in their first meeting. How he shoots and how well he plays on offense often drives the Memphis engine so it is significant that Ward stay in front and force Williams to the middle where he will have to force shots against the likes of Yao Ming and Dikembe Mutombo. <u>Shooting Guard</u> Rockets? guard Tracy McGrady has played very well in his first few games in red and silver. McGrady has averaged 23 points/game but coach Van Gundy must love his 30 free throw attempts so far this season. McGrady has provided a slashing/aggressive attack in the halfcourt offense that the Rockets sorely lacked last season. He also has shown a tendency to pass too much to try and accommodate his teammates, and he is shooting a healthy 42% from 3-point range. The Grizzlies? Bonzi Wells is a lot like McGrady in that he loves to slash and attack, however he lacks the strength, height and athleticism. He is a good scorer though and McGrady must not sleep on defense or else Wells will make him pay. However, this position is too much of an advantage for the Rockets. <u> Small Forward</u> Jim Jackson has been inconsistent in his jump-shooting for the Rockets and has shown an uncharacteristic trait of horrible passing. It seems like he?s trying to do more than he can but I expect Jackson to settle down and knock down his open shots. He did a nice job of guarding the Grizzlies? best perimeter player, James Posey, the last game. He limited Posey to only four shots in 20 minutes. He must do the same because Posey can be the difference in the outcome of a game. His slashing and aggressive defense sparks Memphis and he loves playing against the Rockets after they did not match his restricted contract offer from Memphis two summers ago. This position is pretty much a throw-up as to who decides to show up and play, and it could very well determine who wins and loses as well. <u>Power Forward</u> This is where the Grizzlies shine. Pau Gasol has played very well against the Rockets, and their last meeting was no exception. Gasol posted 21 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks and single-handedly kept them close late in the game. His versatility on offense (great shooting touch, deadly turnaround, nice passing skills) often throws the Rockets big men off guard and he has been a thorn in the Rockets? side for the past season or so. Rockets? starter Maurice Taylor must not only make Gasol play defense (where he is known to pick up easy foolish fouls) by scoring but also make a more concentrated effort to box out Gasol from picking up easy baskets on the offensive end. Taylor does not have the quickness to guard Gasol but he does have the strength and girth and he must use that to his advantage. The Rockets have done a horrible job on the defensive boards this season and Gasol can take advantage of that if Taylor and backup Juwan Howard don?t focus on keeping him out of the paint. <u>Center</u> Well it?s about time, isn?t it? Rockets? phenom Yao Ming finally turned in his first huge game of the season, turning in 33 points and 12 rebounds in their last game versus Sacramento. This is what fans expected all along and hopefully it?s a sign of how the offense will run. The Rockets need Yao to take atleast 20 shots a game. He still is showing a lack of aggressive on offense as he needs to realize that any shot within five feet needs to be a dunk and not a layup or jump hook. But he might be showing signs of turning around, and if so, that?s bad news for Memphis, where they will counter with the athleticism and energy of Lorenzen Wright. Wright is very much undersized against Ming (but then again, who isn?t?) and tried to use his reach and jumping ability to distract shots. He and Gasol did an admirable job against Yao the last game but expect things to be much different this time around. <u> Keys To The Game</u> For Memphis, their strategy is easy. They forced McGrady to beat them the last game and held Yao down with constant double-teams and pressure. The only problem is McGrady did beat them, especially with his heroic third quarter. However, with the resurgence (hopefully) of the new Yao Ming, the Grizzlies might be smart to allow McGrady and Yao to get their numbers and just shut everyone else down. Force Ming to take over, which he has rarely shown, and force McGrady to get a lot of shots up for his points. Negate the 3-point shooters and constantly pressure the ballhandlers. For Houston, they must focus on Pau Gasol and James Posey. They must double-team Gasol at all times and make him get out of rhythm. With Posey, force him to shoot because he can beat you with drives to the basket. The Rockets must also win the rebounding battle. The Grizzlies have a lot of energetic players who attack the boards, particularly offensively, and rebounding is a huge asset to their game plan. Control the boards and you?ll control the Grizzlies. Outcome Rockets 92 Grizzlies 86
