HOUSTON ROCKETS (24-17) VS. INDIANA PACERS (33-11) ==================================================== Storyline: Two of the NBA?s hottest teams meet in a battle of strong defenses. The Indiana Pacers have regained the title of being the class of the Eastern Conference, having won twelve of their last thirteen games. With All-Star forward Jermaine O?Neal anchoring the middle, the Pacers play a methodical, set style offensively with a strong, bruising defense. What?s perhaps even more impressive about this Pacers squad is that they are not merely fattening their record against Eastern Conference fodder. The Pacers hold a 10-5 record so far against the West, including an admirable 6-0 at home. With consistent offensive powerhouses like Jermaine O?Neal, Al Harrington and Ron Artest, the Pacers manage to play halfcourt basketball that is based on a defense that allows only 84 points a game, while holding their opponents to 42% shooting. The Rockets are also playing great basketball, coming off a nationally televised 86-71 thrashing of the NBA?s new darlings, the New York Knicks. The Rockets have won eight of their last eleven games. With a rejuvenated Yao Ming, the Rockets have scored at will in the halfcourt sets, while continuing their reputation as stifling defenders. Ming has averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds in his last five games, four of which have been victories. The Rockets also don?t allow easy baskets, allowing only 83 points a game, which is good for third in the NBA. Offensively, the Rockets are playing sound and more consistent, with five Rockets among double figures in scoring, including sixth-man extraordinaire Maurice Taylor, who is averaging 12 points and 5 rebounds off the bench. The Rockets are 13-4 so far against the East, including a respectable 8-2 on the road. PROBABLE STARTERS =============================================== Indiana Pacers: G: Jamaal Tinsley- Averaging 6.9 points/game and 4.7 assists/game, it seems the Pacers are at their best offensively with Tinsley running the show. He does a great job of knowing where his guys are and pushes the ball quickly. He is also an improved long range shooter, hitting 34% of his triples, opposed to last year?s mark of 27%. He will be a huge factor in how he will be able to test the Rockets? transition defense. G: Reggie Miller- Still the most deadly 3-point marksman in the league. Miller has connected on 40% of his 3s this season, and is a perfect complement to Jermaine O?Neal?s post-up game, and Ron Artest?s slashing ability. In his last five games, Miller has been simply on fire, hitting 16-28 from downtown, and scoring over 20 points twice in those five games. F: Ron Artest- Is there a better perimeter defender in the NBA? It?s highly unlikely, as Artest is not only putting together an All-Star season defensively, but offensively as well. Artest has emerged as a consistent offensive force, averaging 17.8 points/game. As a result, he is being more aggressive on offense, averaging 15 shots per game, compared to 12 shots a game last year. He is one of the most versatile players in the league, averaging 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals a game, and hitting 50 3-pointers on the season so far. How he plays offensively will be a factor for the Pacers. F: Jermaine O?Neal- Arguably the best big man in the East, O?Neal is putting together another fine season, averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds a game. He has double-doubles in his past six contests, capped off with a 28 point/15 rebound performance against a strong defensive Detroit Piston ballclub. His baseline fadeaway jump shot is becoming near unstoppable, and he also is a nice passer for a player his size, averaging 2 assists a game. Simply put, if you stop O?Neal, you stop the Pacers. C: Jeff Foster- Foster is very much like Kelvin Cato. He is a strong interior defender, but weak offensively. Foster averages 7 rebounds a game and does a great job hustling for loose balls. The Rockets must make it a essential that they keep Foster off the offensive glass. =================================================== Houston Rockets G: Steve Francis- With the focus of the Rockets being on Yao, Francis has quietly done an admirable job running the point guard position. In his last two games, he has 11 assists to only three turnovers. He?s also being aggressive attacking the basket, averaging 7 foul shots over his last four games. What?s scary about Francis is that he can go off at any time, so teams always must be aware of him. While his averages of 17.8 points/5.8 rebounds/5.8 assists are not up to his standards, he has become a more complete player in running a demanding system. G: Cuttino Mobley- Mobley has been a rock of consistency for the Rockets this season, averaging 15 points and 5 rebounds a game. He has also been their best sharpshooter, hitting 38% of his 3s while also maintaining his aggressiveness in splitting defenses. He is not afraid to hoist it up, and when he?s hitting, the Rockets are hard to beat. F: Jim Jackson- Another pillar of consistency for Houston, Jackson is easily the Rockets? best perimeter defender. Averaging 11.4 points/5.9 rebounds and shooting 40% from 3-point range, Jackson has been a reliable ballhandler and leader as well. He spends a lot of minutes at point forward and does a great job of maintaining his composure when times are strenuous. No matter what he gives you offensively, Jeff Van Gundy can also count on Jackson to be alert defensively. F: Kelvin Cato- We all know what to expect from Cato. A solid 6 points and 8 rebounds a game, along with a few blocked shots. He is their interior anchor defensively, and does a great job using his body for defensive positioning. Expect him to see a lot of minutes on O?Neal. C: Yao Ming- Along with the aforementioned five-game stretch, Yao is the reason the Rockets are playing great basketball. There is simply no one to match up with his size and his assortment of skills. However, Yao does have a tendency to retreat from physical play, and you can bet that O?Neal and Foster will push and shove Yao to make him uncomfortable. Yao must continue to be aggressive in looking for his shots, just as he did against New York, when he hit 12-15 in only 29 minutes. ==================================================== Keys To Winning: Houston: To win, Houston must do what they have been doing. They have to pound the ball inside, get Yao established early and often. The Pacers have little depth at the post position, so if you get Foster or O?Neal in foul trouble early, the Pacers are forced to play a perimeter game. I feel a huge key to this game will be Jamaal Tinsley. The Rockets are not good when they play a running, transition team., and that is Tinsley?s forte. The Rockets must force Indiana to play halfcourt basketball. Even though the Pacers are effective in halfcourt sets, they do not want to play against a set Rockets defense. Defensively, double-team the ball in the post and rotate off Tinsley. Make him prove he?s an outside shooter. Offensively, Yao needs 15-20 touches tonight, and Francis and/or Mobley need to score 17+ to make the Pacers? perimeter defenders honest. This game may come down to battle of the sixth men, as Al Harrington and Maurice Taylor provide points in bunches. Indiana: Indiana needs to swarm Yao and be aggressive. He cowers against physical play. Force the Rockets to use 18-20 seconds of the shot clock. Allow Francis to go one-on-one, because if he?s shooting, that means Yao isn?t. Offensively, the Pacers need to establish O?Neal in the post early and get Yao and/or Cato in foul trouble. Also, have Harrington go right at Taylor, who has a penchant for committing stupid fouls. The one big key is RUN, RUN, RUN! The Rockets are mediocre in transition, defensively, so push the ball at all costs and get some easy baskets. The Rockets want you to play a grind out game, so push the ball and set up Miller for some early 3s so that he is constantly on the Rockets? minds. My Prediction: Rockets 82 Pacers 78
I swear, I was gonna scream if Houston had gotten another turnover. But anyway, I'm definitely glad they won that one.
It was just the way I expected - no, exactly the opposite It was such a nice game to watch yeah and im glad they won. They played rough but much more exciting basketball than before. I believe thy get into the playoffs like that although theyre not as consistent as Pacers YET of course
Good win Rockets, but I'm dissapointed. You didn't give Jermaine a career ending injury! What the hell were you guys thinking? After the Pistons got cheated you were supposed to crumple the Pacers team forever! That would have been the only thing that could make up for being cheated with that horrible call!
Yao played a good game and Pacers nearly stole the victory. Great game by both teams keeping the games anticipating.
This was a great game...Rockets did what they needed to do...prohibited fast break baskets...let O'Neal run rampant but shut down Reggie, Harrington and forced Artest into being a shooter...great game plan by JVG, and I am loving the addition of Mark Jackson game by game...
Good Game by the Rockets. Yao Ming showed up when needed as well as the rest of the rockets. But there were to many mistakes their in the fourth. Thank God Reggie miised that three on the fast break or that would've really got them going. All in all good game by the Rockets
Good game. Nice performance by Yao and the team. Almost lost it at the end, but fair play to them. Good win.
First off, great job on the preview HoustonHoopa33. It was a great read and you do them far better and more in depth than me. I think everyone really enjoyed reading your preview. Many thanks. :mrgreen: On to the game. What a exciting game to watch. The game was close all the way to the end as no team had more than a 7 point lead at any part of the game. The Rockets now become the first western confrence team to win in Conseco Fieldhouse this year. That is a great accomplishement considering that the Pacers have beaten the Spurs, Timberwolves, and Nuggets all at their place. I thought the Rockets did a good job tonight on both sides of the basketball. Yao getting 12 shot attempts was good to see. Even though he only made 50% of his shots, its good to see him at least make the defense respect him for his shooting ability. I thought the Rockets did a good job of getting everyone shots as well. All of the starters and Maurice Taylor got 8 shot attempts tonight. Steve Francis led the Rockets with 19 points and Yao added 17. One stat that I didn't like offensively was the 17 assists to 20 turnovers. Defensively, the Rockets gave up far too many points to Jermaine O'Neal. Allowing him to get 31 points is unnacceptable. However, when they needed to shut him down they did. I thought Van Gundy's plan to double team Jermaine when he got the ball with 29 seconds left was great. That call really surprised the Pacers and could easily be called the difference point in the game. One good thing though was that the Rockets completely shut down the other players for the Pacers. No one else on the team besides O'Neal broke double digits. The Rockets got in some massive foul trouble last night too. Yao Ming and Maurice Taylor fouled out and Kelvin Cato only played 17 minutes due to foul trouble. Credit the Pacers offense for really taking it to the Rockets and getting them in foul trouble. As a result of being in foul trouble Clarence Weatherspoon had his first game in a Rockets jersey in which he got significant minutes. The Rockets win wasn't pretty but it was a good win to get. I really like the fact that Yao is starting to become a presence on offense. This is a great sign for Rockets fans.
Great win for us. Yao is finally showing some consistency on offense and on the boards. If he can have a 18-11 game every night for the rest of the season. He would've more than made up for his lacklustre performance earlier in the season.
It was a great win, I could have swore that the Pacers were goning to win at the end with all those steals and all, it was a great game anyways.
