Who: Houston Rockets(21-16) at Memphis Grizzlies(21-18) Where: The Pyramid When: January 19th, 2004 Time: 6:30 P.M. CST Coaches vs. Jeff Van Gundy/Hubie Brown Probable Starters vs. Jim Jackson/Mike Miller vs. Kelvin Cato/Pau Gasol vs. Yao Ming/Lorenzen Wright vs. Steve Francis/Jason Williams vs. Cuttino Mobley/James Posey Rockets Keys to The Game Offensively Offensively the Rockets must do several things. The first and most important is to have Yao be a force down low. He has done a great job recently down there and we are winning. What a coincidence? I want Yao to get at least 12 shots tonight from within 15 feet. If he can get 12-15 shots, I will be happy. Another thing the Rockets need to have tonight is "patience". I am sick of seeing an outside jump shot off of one pass. If they swing the ball around, someone will be open and get a good shot. The Rockets must also hold on to the dahm ball. Steve Francis should be dubbed "King of Turnovers" as recently he has turned the ball over 6+ times a game. This is unacceptable for anyone, much less an all-star. Rockets Keys to the Game Defensively Against the Wolves the Rockets did a fantastic job of playing help-side defense. They need to use the same strategy tonight on Gasol as they did on KG. As soon as he puts the ball on the floor he should be swarmed. I would much rather see Gasol shoot 17 footers all night rather than 4 foor jump shots. I think if we can control Gasol tonight, we have a great chance of picking up the victory. The Rockets need to be careful of Lorenzen Wright tonight as well. Last game he exploded for 21 points on 10 of 17 shooting.With the way Yao has been playing recently, I don't expect this to be a huge problem. The Rockets as always need to stay out of foul trouble and control the defensive glass. We cannot afford to have Cato and Yao sitting on the bench for extended periods of time due to foul trouble. We need them in the game so that we can control the boards. I would really like to see Taylor be a bigger force in the paint on defense. Lately he has only been getting 3-5 rebounds per game. It would be nice to see him get 7-9. Game prediction I think the Rockets have a great chance to win this game. The last time these two teams played the Grizzlies won 79-71. I think tonight will be a different story though. If Yao Ming can be a force like he has been recently and the Rockets defense can contain Gasol, expect for the Rockets to come out on top tonight. Rockets 86 Grizzlies 79
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting dexter:</div><div class="quote_post"> Game prediction I think the Rockets have a great chance to win this game. The last time these two teams played the Grizzlies won 79-71. I think tonight will be a different story though. If Yao Ming can be a force like he has been recently and the Rockets defense can contain Gasol, expect for the Rockets to come out on top tonight. Rockets 86 Grizzlies 79</div> Did the Grizzlies have Bonzi Wells the last time they beat the Rockets? If I remember correctly they beat them in Houston too. The Grizzlies are tough to beat at home this season. They might lose, but I doubt they'd lose by seven points. They're on a four game winning streak and are three games over fifty percent (franchise best). This game will be the third annual Martin Luther King Day game. Usually the commishioner and the original black players make the trip to Memphis, which always makes it fun to watch. I expect a packed house tonight. MLK Day Event Info
Sure the Grizzlies might be on a 4 - game winning streak however the Rockets are coming off an absolute blow out on the Minnesota Timberwolves. Their confidence cannot get any higher right now and I think JVG will do a good job of preparing them for this game. Sure you might have Bonzi Wells however I do not think he will be the X-Factor in the game. If you check the score card for the last time we played you, you will notice that the Rockets only had two players in double figures Now typically we have 5. Yao Ming is on a tear recently and I think if he can play tonight like he has the past two games then the Rockets will win by 7.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting dexter:</div><div class="quote_post">Sure the Grizzlies might be on a 4 - game winning streak however the Rockets are coming off an absolute blow out on the Minnesota Timberwolves. Their confidence cannot get any higher right now and I think JVG will do a good job of preparing them for this game. Sure you might have Bonzi Wells however I do not think he will be the X-Factor in the game. If you check the score card for the last time we played you, you will notice that the Rockets only had two players in double figures Now typically we have 5. Yao Ming is on a tear recently and I think if he can play tonight like he has the past two games then the Rockets will win by 7.</div> Great keys to the game Dex. Hey Wave, face it, we're gonna kick your sorry butts tonight man. Rockets by 10.
They are doing hot right nw, leading 73-67 tht was a great timeout (once after they were 10 something points behind. They'll win this by yeah around 6 i think
The Grizzlies won in the end by five points; 88-83. The game was a rollercoaster ride. The Grizzlies were once up by more than ten, and the Rockets were once up by six or more. In the end it was a dog fight though. It was anybody's game with about three minutes left when James Posey hit a three pointer to put the Grizzlies up big. Posey would make yet another game changing play when Steve Francis stole the ball only to have it stripped away by Jason Williams. The ball ended up in Poseys hand after four of five players went diving on the ground for it, and Posey hit two consecutive free-throw to put the Rockets away. This extends the Grizzlies' winning streak to five games and put them four games over fifty percent. Boxscore
The grizzlies won ugly..that win meant nothing. J Will's stupid bricks bounced all the way to the 3 pt line all the time which gave memphis a bunch of offensive rebounds which cost us the match. We were totally unlucky, the refs were all wearing griZZZlie jerseys tonight..
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting drm2dnk:</div><div class="quote_post">The grizzlies won ugly..that win meant nothing. J Will's stupid bricks bounced all the way to the 3 pt line all the time which gave memphis a bunch of offensive rebounds which cost us the match. We were totally unlucky, the refs were all wearing griZZZlie jerseys tonight..</div> Wow, how incredibly biased. I have had to say this before and I'll say it again. It's sad when people make excuses for their team's losses, especially when they blame it on the officials. There were no questionable plays in this game, except when the Rockets drew those charges, but that was in their favor. The officials see more than you see sitting at home watching it on t.v., so don't act like you could have done any better. Why does that win mean nothing? That almost puts the Grizzlies ahead of the Rockets in the standings. You're acting like the Rockets are a better team, but the Grizzlies have a 2-0 series lead, which includes a win at Houston.
C'mon face it, Jwill's bricks came to an advantage this time. Mike Wilks should be released, he just runs around the court creating nothing. We really should give his minutes to Mark Jackson. p.s is Bonzi (E.T) related to (Pau)?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting drm2dnk:</div><div class="quote_post">C'mon face it, Jwill's bricks came to an advantage this time. Mike Wilks should be released, he just runs around the court creating nothing. We really should give his minutes to Mark Jackson.</div> Sometimes teams get lucky like that, but you could also look at it and say that the Rockets just had poor rebounding position. Even though the Grizzlies got those offensive boards by some luck, they didn't just luck into the baskets they scored after them. Also, Jason Williams only bricked two or three shots that the Grizzlies rebounded. You can't blame a five point win on two or three plays.
The Rockets are the only ones to blame for this one...they played sloppy and lackadasicle for 3 1/2 quarters before deciding to turn it on, which wont work against a quality opponent like Memphis...Yao...dammit...be aggressive! the man is 7'6" and has a 6'10" guy guarding him...He should've had another 25/15 tonite...Mobley was MIA the whole nite, except for that hot stretch where he hit 2 3s to bring the Rockets back...Cato better realize that if he's not rebounding or blocking shots, then he's not helping...he needs to bust his tail every defensive possession...and JVG...how can you use up all your timeouts in such a close game with 2 minutes left? Talk about mental errors...And to allow 20 offensive rebounds when you're team has more height is uncalled for...bottom line: the Rockets had no business winning tonite...the Grizzlies had more fire, passion and hustle and simply WANTED IT MORE, which is sad...never should you lose by your opponent simply outworking you...now its back to square one, which is learning how to win the games you're supposed to and gain a "killer" mentality...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting HoustonHoopa33:</div><div class="quote_post">the man is 7'6" and has a 6'10" guy guarding him... now its back to square one, which is learning how to win the games you're supposed to and gain a "killer" mentality...</div> Not only is Wright only 6-10, but Stromile Swift, who was guarding him most of the game; is only a skinny 6-9. Also, I would not say that the Rockets were supposed to win this game. The Grizzlies had approximately the same record and were on a four game winning streak; they had momentum on their side. The Grizzlies are no longer the dormat of the league. They'll be the sixth, seventh, or eigth seed in the playoffs this season.
Yeah, ROckets should have won but ... Yeah, if you lose a game there's noone else to blame but yourself (except Soccer World Cup Korea, when Korea played gainst Spain and Italy ... )
That was a tough one to lose for the Rockets. They rallied in the second half but still fell short. Memphis did a great job of containing Yao and James Posey just came up big with the 3s and the steal. The Grizz turned out to be too much for the Rockets to handle down the stretch.
