<font color="Navy">Memphis Grizzlies</font> at <font color="DarkRed">Houston Rockets</font> @ When: April 13, 8:30 PM ET Where: Toyota Center Local TV: KNWS 51 Starting Lineups- Position by Position Analysis PG- <font color="Navy">Jason Williams</font> vs <font color="DarkRed">Bob Sura</font>- This is probably the only even matchup of this game. Both are nice playmakers for their teams, can score when they need to, and both are nice role players for their teams. Although Sura can easily outrebound Williams, "White Chocolate" can drop more dimes and look better doing it as well. In addition to that, neither really has an athleticism advantage over the other, so I'll predict this matchup to be played through skill and finesse. Even Advantage SG- <font color="Navy">Mike Miller</font> vs <font color="DarkRed">David Wesley</font>- Well, these guys won't really be guarding each other but here it goes. Mike Miller has an obvious height advantage over David Wesley who really should be a point guard. Both of these guys can really shoot, but the difference is, David Wesley has been in a shooting slump for the longest time while Mike Miller has been playing steadily for Memphis. However, David Wesley is a much faster player standing an inch above six foot so watch him try and burn out Miller. Memphis Advantage PG- <font color="Navy">Shane Battier</font> vs <font color="DarkRed">Tracy McGrady</font>- This is one of the more lopsided matchups in this game but keep an eye out for Battier, who might try and change all that. Sure Battier might not have much offensive game compared to McGrady, but he does have the defense to make up for it. Plus, if he gets hot, he can definitely even this matchup a bit. However, McGrady has had some great games over Houston's road trip so watch him continue that trend tonight. He can flat out score and will burn Battier out through the court. So unless Battier can contain McGrady's usual twenty some points, Houston definitely takes this. Houston Advantage PF- <font color="Navy">Pau Gasol</font> vs <font color="DarkRed">Clarence Weatherspoon</font>- One of Memphis' best players against Houston's weakest position, not a matchup for the ages. Paul Gasol is Memphis' double double man and can definitely do damage in the paint. He brings a well balanced game- nice offense and great defense. Plus, he might even give Yao some trouble down low- thats whats going to hurt. Weatherspoon on the other hand will probably just be trying to grab boards for Houston and to take his shots when needed. He's just a role player for Houston so don't expect much from this matchup. Memphis Advantage C- <font color="Navy">Lorenzen Wright</font> vs <font color="DarkRed">Yao Ming</font>- With Yao, everything's unpredictable. One night he's hot, the other night he's cold. Therefore, this matchup basically depends on Yao's performance. If he can stay out of foul trouble and get into his shooting groove, he can definitely score a lot of points and grab a lot of rebounds for Houston. On the other hand, if he is rattled by fouls and gets minimal playing time, Yao won't be thriving and probably will hurt the team more than help. Wright is a monster on the boards, don't underestimate him. He plays great defense and should give Yao some trouble down low. If he disrupts Yao's games, Wright's done his job. Houston Advantage Keys to the Game -Pound the ball down low and be aggressive. With Gasol being a monster on the boards and Wright also bringing some rebounding, Memphis should try and out muscle Houston's weak interior down low. If they can give Yao trouble and put him into foul trouble, they don't have much to worry about offensively and it'll definitely make the game easier. -Good shooting night from the guards. With Williams, Miller, and Battier, Memphis has a flurry of guards that can all knock down jumpers. So if these guys consistently hit the shots tonight, they'll definitely give Houston some trouble since it'll stretch their defense- allowing Memphis to push it down low. -Tough defense. Every role player thats a starter has the potential to hit the outside shot on Houston, so Memphis better watch out. Basically just guard the man tight and don't let him take any easy shots. Just keep and hand in their face and chase them around the court. Memphis will do fine if they meet this requirement and disrupts Houston's offense. -Bench points. Because Memphis has a lot of depth, Houston's role players and bench players are going to need to step up. That means guys like Barry, Sura, James, and Wesley need to find their shot and consistently knock them down. Also, guys like Weatherspoon and Mutumbo need to be monsters on the board or else Memphis will easily grind out a win through their bench support. -Big games from McGrady and Yao. Really, when does this not help us. With McGrady getting hot, I don't think there is a single player in the league that can stop him. If you want proof, see the San Antonio game where the miracle happened- Duncan and Bowen were guarding him. Plus, if Yao steps up his game, he will be a monster in the paint with the obvious advantage over Wright and should give Gasol some trouble as well. -Play tough defense. Memphis has a lot of options when it comes to offense, so if Houston can play good man to man defense, it should stop any offensive surges. Hopefully, Houston won't play zone, which probably won't work well against Memphis' potential three point shooters with Miller and Battier. Prediction - 93 - 98
this is going to be a tough game for us, probably tougher then denver. We always have difficulties against memphis, it seems like their style of play troubled us most of the time. The biggest mismatch is in our PF position. Hopefully Gasol has an off night coz honestly we dont have anyone that can guard him
Nice preview. Once again, this is the Yao and McGrady show. These two have a combined 16 of the 24 first quarter points. The bad thing right now is that only four guys have scored, but the good news is that we're only 2 behind. Once we get Mike James, Barry and Padgett going, we should be fine. Kinda late on the prediction but I'll take the Rockets by 6.
omg.. eventhough we're down by 2 after 1st, t-mac and yao really showed a perfect combination, they seem in a perfect sync. It's a good sign of hope to see them exploding next season
Rockets win 100-92! McGrady and Yao had 23 and 28 respectively and Tmac flirted with a triple double with 8 boards and assists as well. Mike James, Sura and Wesley provided the rest of the offense. Definitely good to go into the key matchup against Denver riding on a four game winning streak. However, Denver is blowing out New Orleans right now, so it'll be a clash of two hot teams.
t-mac has proven himself of his unselfishness and passing ability. Yao ming is pretty much helped by t-mac getting that 28 points. Good job by mike james also who hit all his three pointers. Again, memphis' run late in the 3rd quarter kinda scared me.. we led by as many as 16 but they cut it to within 1. Against denver trully will be the key matchup for the 6th spot. But denver will play back to back game playing against memphis the day before, so hopefully we have a slight advantage from it. And also i just checked the standings, kings is just half game away from us! to maintain our position in the 6th spot is really a tough job to do...
Good win by the rockets. 16 point leadd slipped but we held on. Nice job by mike james. Best case scenario for rockets i think is losing to denver, who goes undefeated, and sacremento loosing 2, to the suns probably. Denver would get 5, and the rockets 6th.
Thing about Denver is, they could be third if they win all their remaining games and Seattle loses all of theirs. Would we want to gearing up for a series against the hottest team since the All-Star break? Hopefully Seattle can clinch their division title and Denver loses some motivation for winning, and thus losing a few games. I'd like us to stay at sixth though, if that's what it'll take for a meeting with Seattle.
I was at the game tonight, and Mike Miller was going OFF. It seemed like he was the only memphis player that could score.
Nice preview Aznxballer. Great win by the Rockets tonight. TMac's play saved the Rockets. He dished out two great passes to Yao and another pass to Mike James for the icing on the cake with a rainbow shot. I thought Mike Miller wouldn't miss because he's hitting shot after shot. Good thing our defense stepped-up in the last minute forcing Gasol and Miller to miss their last chance shots. So the 5th,6th and 7th spot is still highly contested with the Rockets and Nuggets win. Like Whatever said we have a slight advantage over the Nuggets because they are playing the Grizzlies the night before. Their energies might be drained because it's gonna be a down to the wire game against the Grizzlies who will play their best to get the coveted win and a playoff ticket. Assuming we get the 6th spot with a Nuggets(hope so) loss it would make the Sonics clinched the 3rd spot and the division title even without winning their las few games. As of the moment the Sonics loss again to Dallas. If the Rockets continues to win the last few games and the Sonics win at least one of their remaining games which is probably against the Hornets(that's the easiest challenge they will have), we will be tied at 51 wins. But due to our quotient superiority "if we win the last game against the Sonics", we will have the homecourt advantage in the playoffs. The rule says whoever wins the most between the top spot team and the lower spot team gains homecourt advantage. Identical records would be taken care of by first the head to head match-up results followed by their conference record if they do split the season. I know the Rockets are good road team but gaining some homecourt advantage will be a bonus. Just in case. BTW I forgot to mention the possibility of getting the 5th spot which we're all trying to avoid. Sacramento has tendency to slide. I liked the scenario that Bplld has mentioned: Denver getting the 5th, Rockets the 6th and Kings the 7th. The season finale would be full of surprises. It's hard to judge from our stand point for the moment. It will be either a down to the wire or a give away for these 3 teams to take advantage of the best position.
Very precise and close preview, Azxnballer. TMAC and Yao have done an excellent job tonite, and even were faced with the booming Memphis, they didn't show any hesitation for a win. More likelihood that Rockets go further this year.
