Last Nights Victory First let me say the Rockets performed marvelousely last night in a 102-85 victory over the Denver Nuggets in the season opener. Yao ming was plaqued by foul trouble only night which allowed him to only play a measly 20 minutes. In those twenty minutes he managed to rack up 19 points however. The Rockets executed their offensie gamplan pretty well in the game. When Yao was in, nearly everytime down the court he got a touch. This is great news for a franchise last year that made a habit of going one-on-one almost every time down the field. Cuttino Mobley led the Rockets tonight as he scored 21 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Francis had 17 points and 6 assists. Calvin Cato, Jim Jackson and Mo Taylor all added 10 points a piece. I was really impressed with the play of Torraye Braggs, a '98 graduate out of Xavier. He played extremely well in his 16 minutes of play due to Yao being out with foul trouble. Jim Jackson also deserves recognition for his defense on Carmelo Anthony as he held him to 5-14 shooting and allowed him to only get 2 assists. The MVP of tonights game for the Rockets has to be the big fellow, Calvin Cato. He played supurbly in Yao's absense and really set the tone on defense. He added 13 boards to go along with his 10 points. I can truly say that for the first time in a long time, this Rocket's win was a team win and not a win just by a few individuals. It is great to see that sense of teamwork restored in the Rockets organization. The Rockets are off tonight for Halloween. They play at home tomorrow night against the Memphis Grizzlies. The game tip-off is scheduled for 7:30.
