Houston Rockets

[yoshirou]

Von Wafer is proving to be consistent, has been 8 games now that he's been scoring in double figures.

[kamote_kid]

Houston 115, Denver 113


That's how you must stop a 31 point man in a night


Yao: You hit threes all day but there's no way you can hit from here


Dahntay Jones: Shane, that's not the ball, that's my head!

[kamote_kid]

Houston wins again!!!

Houston: 108

Rafer Alston: 23 points, 8 assists, 5/7 3-point shooting
Von Wafer: 21 points
Yao Ming: 19 points, 12 rebounds, 9/9 FTs
Luis Scola: 19 points, 9 rebounds
Carl Landry: 10 points, 7 rebounds
Brent Barry: 9 points, 3/4 3-point shooting

Utah: 99

Deron Williams: 32 points, 11 assists, 10/17 FGs, 10/12 FTs
Ronnie Brewer: 23 points
Paul Millsap: 20 points, 12 rebounds

The Wafer-Rafer connection and ScoLandry does it for the Rockets! No McGrady, no Artest for Houston and no Boozer, no Kirilenko for Utah, it was a fair and sqaure game.

Von Wafer's stats in his last 5 games: 18.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.6 steals, 0.2 blocks in 34.6 minutes a game. Those are Tracy McGrady or Ron Artest type of numbers! Wafer is owning. Houston is 4-1 in those 5 games.

How about a run for the Most Improved Player?

[pleeep123]

daog contra jazz!...

[kamote_kid]

Indiana 50, Houston 40 (Halftime). The Rockets were outscored 29-16 in the second quarter. Danny Granger is bound to have a big night scoring 13 points in the first half.

[kamote_kid]

Injury bug continues to hit Houston.. at the same pattern as before. When McGrady gets back, Yao goes out and when Yao gets back, T-Mac is out.

Both McGrady and Ron Artest returned to the Rockets' line-up against Detroit. Luis Scola started at center for the injured Yao. Good thing though, Houston won!!

Houston: 108

Ron Artest: 24 points, 9 rebounds
Luis Scola: 21 points, 9/11 FGs
Tracy McGrady: 15 points
Rafer Alston: 14 points, 10 assists
Shane Battier: 14 points, 4/5 3-point FGs, 2 blocks

Detroit: 105

Richard Hamilton: 27 points
Rasheed Wallace: 22 points, 11 rebounds
Allen Iverson: 17 points, 8 assists
Rodney Stuckey: 14 points, 8 assists

Still, despite McGrady's presence, Von Wafer finished with 10 points in less than 15 minutes of play hitting 4 of his 7 FG attempts.

[kamote_kid]

Tsk. Houston lost to New York. . Why the heck did the Rockets throw a lot of threes in the fourth quarter when the game is on the line?

New York: 104

Nate Robinson: 19 points
Wilson Chandler: 18 points
David Lee: 17 points, 12 rebounds
Al Harrington: 13 points
Chris Duhon: 12 points, 11 assists

Houston: 98

Tracy McGrady: 20 points
Luis Scola: 16 points, 14 rebounds
Carl Landry: 16 points
Aaron Brooks: 13 points

New York entered the game 0-21 when they trail after the third quarter. Houston led 80-74 after three quarters. New York is now 1-21 when entering the fourth quarter.

[kamikaze426]

another typical season for the rockets... yaos injury is right on cue.. no rocket season is complete without yao being injured.

[kamote_kid]

Houston's got a complete line-up but fell to Philadelphia. Tracy McGrady's game is somewhat back but I think the Rockets is playing with less intensity with him. Two straight losses for the Rockets so far and Houston is 1-2 since T-Mac came back. I hope that the Rockets as a team can bounce back and T-Mac to catch up with them.

[kamote_kid]

Ask a handful of NBA scouts about Houston's Tracy McGrady and you will still hear phrases like "more skilled than Kobe" and "as smooth a shot as Ray Allen." But you will also hear the same old qualifiers -- questions about McGrady's heart and effort level.

Privately, some of his teammates have expressed frustration that McGrady hasn't been able to stay on the floor. He played 47, 71 and 66 games the previous three seasons. And after having surgery last May to clear loose tissue from his left shoulder and left knee, McGrady already has missed 16 games this season. No question, his injuries are legitimate: His 6-foot-8, 230-pound body is a mess. It's just that some teammates wonder if he should be trying harder to fight through it.

It's frustrating for McGrady. After reinjuring his knee in November, a despondent T-Mac talked about being back at "square one," and he has openly pined for the day he can be pain-free again. It's frustrating for his teammates, too. With a healthy Yao Ming and the addition of Ron Artest to round out a new Big Three, the Rockets entered 2008-09 with lofty expectations after four first-round playoff exits and one 34-48 season in the last five years.

But it's been a challenging season so far. Artest has been almost as banged up as McGrady; both players returned from extended absences in last Sunday's victory at Detroit. The usually reliable Shane Battier has been sidelined for 22 games. The injuries have led to 15 starting lineups in 46 games and kept the Rockets from building chemistry, though they still have managed to stay in contention for a top-four seed in the Western Conference.

How much time do the Rockets need to jell to contend for conference supremacy? Coach Rick Adelman said there is not a specific date when McGrady, Yao and Artest have to be on the floor together for a consistent stretch of games. But March 1 is probably it. That would give Houston a month and a half to come together before the playoffs and give general manager Daryl Morey a chance to see if Artest (who will be a free agent at the end of the season) can coexist with Yao and McGrady in the long term.

The stretch run will also be a chance for Houston to evaluate McGrady. There are rumblings around the league that McGrady is already available; another playoff disappointment for the Rockets would certainly put the seven-time All-Star (who is owed $23.3 million next season in the final year of his contract) squarely on the trading block. Morey is not the type of GM who would have a second thought about pulling the trigger on a deal for his once-franchise player if he thought a McGrady-led Rockets team was maxed out.

Is it? Point guard Rafer Alston calls Houston's potential the "million-dollar question." But the answer is inextricably linked to McGrady. If he can stay healthy, play unselfishly and dominate the fourth quarter like few players can, the Rockets have the makings of a deep championship contender.

If he can't, the Rockets will fail. And McGrady will probably be wearing a different uniform next season.

Tracy McGrady holds key to Houston Rockets' title hopes - Chris Mannix - SI.com

McGrady was given a 5% chance of being traded by ESPN because of his very fragile situation. Houston might come to a point of losing T-Mac without getting somebody in return through the free agency. Well, if they end up just like the Phoenix Suns after reacquiring Steve Nash then it won't be bad after all.

T-Mac and Yao, just please let the Rockets make it at least to the second round this season. That would be enough.