Blast to the 'Ship - A Houston Rockets Story

[Rizzo]

[color="Red"]Royce White's Mental Health Update[/color]

In the month of November, there were three out-of-state road trips that the Rockets made and fortunately for the organization and Royce, in particular, he was able to make all of the trips. His mental health rating, which started at an arbitrary 45, will now raise up to a 48. So, the numbers 1-48 on the generator will allow White to travel with the squad. Numbers 49-100 say he stays home.



Looking at the standings quickly, the Rockets are 5-11 on the young season. That is good for 4th in the Southwest, above only the 2-12 New Orleans Hornets. The Grizzlies lead the division at 9-6. The Mavericks are right behind them with an 8-6 record while the Spurs lurk with a 7-7 record.

The top-3 spots in the West all belong to the Pacific Division as the Clippers (11-4), Lakers (9-4) and Warriors (10-5) are off to great starts. The Oklahoma City Thunder round out the top-4 with a 10-6 mark.

In the East, Miami is in pole position at 13-2 but the old and feisty Celtics are right behind them at 13-3. Philadelphia is 3rd so far with an 11-4 record and the Knicks sit 4th with ten wins and five losses.

[Rizzo]

December 2, 2012

San Antonio Spurs (8-7) vs. Houston Rockets (5-11)

The in-state rival Spurs come to visit and leave with a 102-89 loss. After getting specific instruction from Coach McHale to stop settling for jumpers, Chandler Parsons leads the way with a huge 31 point, eight rebound, three steal performance for Player of the Game Honors.

Jeremy Lin puts together another one of his class stat lines: 24 points, seven boards, seven assists and six turnovers. James Harden only played 15 minutes in this one, scoring six points and only having two fouls. We will need an explanation from Kevin McHale as to why. In his place, Carlos Delfino logged 40 minutes and poured in 16 points off the bench.

December 3, 2012

Houston Rockets (6-11) vs. Denver Nuggets (7-10)

For the first time of the season, both Royce White and the doctors have decided it wasn’t in the best interest of the player to make the trip to Denver. Luckily it is only for one game so let him get his mind right in Houston.

The Denver air was no good for the Rockets as we lost 110-96. Wilson Chandler scored a game-high 21 points. Ty Lawson dished out 13 assists. Javale McGee and Kenneth Faried combined for 31 points and 20 boards while McGee had five blocks himself.

Harden has another off shooting night, missing on ten of his 15 attempts and only scoring 11 points. Lin matched with 11 points but also had four rebounds and eight assists. Omer Asik needed 18 shots for his 12 points but did rip down a career-high 19 rebounds. Patrick Patterson had a solid game with 15 points and eight boards while Chandler Parsons scored 13 points on 17 shots. After seeing those numbers, there’s no surprise we only shot 36% from the field.

[Rizzo]

December 6, 2012

Los Angeles Clippers (11-6) vs. Houston Rockets (6-12)

James Harden goes off for 41 points on 16 of 34 shooting, including five triples. That would have been good enough for Player of the Game honors if the Rockets had not lost 115-96. Blake Griffin did work in the paint with 28 points, 12 boards and three blocked shots. Outside of Harden, only Omer Asik had double-digit points with ten. DeAndre Jordan had 21 and 15 while CP3 did his thing with 20 points, eight boards and six assists.

December 9, 2012

Golden State Warriors (11-7) vs. Houston Rockets (6-13)

An up-and-down affair with the Warriors ends in another loss, 119-111. David Lee led the way with 24 and 17. Stephen Curry had 21 points, five boards and six assists. Andrew Bogut had 19 and 7 with three steals and three blocks.

The Rockets had five players in double figures: James Harden (39), Chandler Parsons (19), Omer Asik (14), Patrick Patterson (10) and Carlos Delfino (10). Royce White had six points and four boards and seems to be playing as well as you would expect a mid-first round rookie to play.

December 11, 2012

Houston Rockets (6-14) vs. Memphis Grizzlies (11-9)

For the second road trip in a row, Royce White will not be traveling with the team. To make up for this loss on the depth chart, the Rockets have decided to recall rookie forward Terrence Jones from the Los Angeles Sea Dogs and send Scott Machado down.

Jones has played great in four games of action in the D-League. He averaged 19.25 points, on 52% shooting, 7.25 rebounds and 1.75 blocks. Unfortunately, he needs to cut down on his 4+ turnovers a game. Hopefully on the Rockets, he won’t be asked to handle the ball as much.

As for the game against the Grizz, we lose 98-75 as we scored just 32 points in the first half. Between Memphis having a very good defense and knowing that our team struggles to score in morning shoot around, it was a recipe for disaster.

Harden had 23 points on 33% shooting. Patrick Patterson was the only other player in double-figures for us with 10 points and nine boards. Terrence Jones played 23 minutes and recorded six points and two rebounds in his first action in the NBA.

Rudy Gay had his way with Chandler Parsons to the tune of 23 points and nine boards. Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, perhaps the most skilled duo in the league, combined for 36 points and 22 boards on 14 of 23 shooting.

To top it all off, Omer Asik suffered a sprained ankle and will be ailing for the next week or so. We are going to shelf him so that he can come back promptly rather than let this one linger on. That means that Kurt Thomas will slide into the starting spot and second year man Greg Smith will see his first action.

December 12, 2012

Atlanta Hawks (7-12) vs. Houston Rockets (6-15)

Without our best big man, Al Horford went to work for 36 points as he led the Hawks to a 118-94 win in Houston. Fellow starters Devin Harris, Lou Williams, Ivan Johnson and Anthony Morrow all scored 12 points each while Kyle Korver had 13 off the bench.

Harden scored 19, Lin added 12 while Delfino added 13 off the bench along with rookie Terrence Jones scoring ten with four boards, three assists and two steals. Royce White added six and six, so look for the rookies to continue to play if the Rockets season struggles go on for much longer.

[Rizzo]

December 15, 2012

Royce White's anxiety has flaired up yet again and will be missing his third straight road trip for the Rockets. Hopefully he can get this under control. At first it seemed to have been getting better, but it's getting worse now just as fast.

Houston Rockets (6-16) vs. Golden State Warriors (14-8)

The Rockets pulled out a much needed road win 114-104. Harden was the leading scorer by far with 38 points on 17/32 shooting. Jeremy Lin had 19 points with ten assists. Patrick Patterson had a double-double of 12 and ten while Chandler Parsons had an efficient 16 points to go along with his nine boards.

The game was won in the paint as our 58 paint points and 23 second chance points helped us tremendously. The Warriors had seven players in double figures and still lost. You don't see that very often.

Carlos Delfino, unfortunately, suffered a sprained wrist. The doctors said that it's looking like a two week injury, so expect to see Daquan Cook enter the rotation in limited minutes.

December 16, 2012

Houston Rockets (7-16) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (14-8)

The Rockets go as James Harden goes and right now he is on fire! Against the Clippers, Harden explodes for another 41 points and seven boards as he leads the Rockets to a 114-97 win. Jeremy Lin also had a big night with 25 points, six boards and nine assists against Chris Paul.

The rest of the crew was led by Patrick Patterson's 15 points and nine boards. Chandler Parsons tossed in 12 points while Kurt Thomas hauled in ten rebounds.

The Rockets were able to hold the Clippers to just 35% shooting from the floor while they also missed 15 of their 40 free throws. Paint points were also a killer as the Rockets won that battle decisively 56-36.

December 19, 2012

Denver Nuggets (14-10) vs. Houston Rockets (8-16)

As we return home, not only do we add Royce White back to the depth chart but also welcome back Omer Asik from his injured ankle. While it started off disastrous without him in the lineup, Kurt Thomas held his own as started while Greg smith was serviceable off the bench. With that said, it's great to have the starting center back.

The Nuggets out-rebound us by 12, shoot the same percentage as us and get big nights from JaVale McGee and Kenneth Faried and yet we still pull out a 112-99 win. How you may ask? We forced them into 27 turnovers, that's how! The defense has been playing much better as of late and it shows in the win column.

Player of the game honors goes to Jeremy Lin for his 26 point perfromance. James Harden was in foul trouble and managed 15 points on only nine shots. The return of Omer Asik was big as he went for 18 and eight along with three steals and three blocks. Patterson, Parsons and Terrence Jones all added ten points each.

December 22, 2012

Sacramento Kings (5-21) vs. Houston Rockets (9-16)

A late 4th quarter surge by the Rockets comes up just short as we fall 105-104 after being down by 22 at halftime. Some big performances for the Rockets were Harden's 30 points, Asik's 25 point, 14 board, eight block and four steals as well as Jeremy Lin's ten points and 15 assists. We killed them on paint points, 60-38 but got eaten up on the glass to even it off. Isaiah Thomas led the way with 22 points, six assists and four boards for the visiting Kings.

In even worse news, James Harden has a bruised bicep that could linger for weeks. His 25 points per game is too valuable to deactivate, so we'll monitor his status and minutes game-by-game.

[Rizzo]

December 23, 2012

With a big four game road trip, Royce White and the doctors decide he is mentally ready to travel again. The team loves having him around on the road as well as on the floor, so this is a positive for sure.

Houston Rockets (9-17) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (13-12)

Our first of four games on the road and we get whooped 115-97 by Minnesota. James Harden is clearly not himself, shooting 3/15 for just eight points. We may need to seriously consider letting this one heal rather than play through it. Jeremy Lin had a double-double with ten points and 12 assists. Asik (16), Parsons (15) and Patterson (12) scored double figures as well.

We got killed inside the paint as the Timberwolves scored 76 points in their to our 48. Kevin Love was dominant with 30 points and 15 rebounds for player of the game honors. Six other players for Minnesota joined him in scoring double-digits as they shot 50% as a team.

December 25, 2012

The NBA scheduled us for the matinee game on Christmas to showcase our newest acquisition, James Harden. Unfortunately, we decided to try to let him play this one out to see how he would respond. His performance got worse as he shot two for 18 for just six points. He will not play again until fully healthy.

The Nets rolled to a 101-87 victory behind Deron Williams' Christmas Day triple-double of 31 points, 11 assists and ten boards. Brook Lopez, who came off the bench, had a monster 25 and 15 double-double. The entire team struggled, shooting just 33% from the floor. An ugly national television loss doesn't do wonders for this team at all.

[Rizzo]

December 26, 2012

Houston Rockets (9-19) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (13-14)

Kyrie Irving flirted with a triple-double (28, 8 and 8) as he leads the Cavs to a 119-109 home win over the undermanned Rockets. Anderson Varejao had 18 and 14 to help on the inside.

The leading man for the Houston Rockets: Terrence Jones. He had 26 big points off the bench on 13 of 16 shooting to go along with four boards, four assists, three steals and three blocks. Monster game for the young rookie. Jeremy Lin had 20 points, 12 assists, seven boards five steals but also seven turnovers. Chandler Parsons chipped in with 21 points and not much else.

The game was won on the free throw line and on the glass. The Cavs were a plus-12 at both the charity stripe and in the rebounding battle. Omer Asik only played 14 minutes as he was in foul trouble from the opening tip.

Late in the game, Chandler Parsons went down holding his face and went to the locker room for the remainder of the game. We have learned that he has a broken nose and will be dealing with that for the next two months. The Rockets may give him a few days off to let the swelling go down and experiment with a mask to have him play through it.

December 29, 2012

Houston Rockets (9-20) vs. New Orleans Hornets (6-19)

No James Harden. No Chandler Parsons. No chance at winning on the road. Trailing by 23 at one point early in the third quarter and 18 going into the 4th, the Rockets fought to get it down to ten, but that’s as close as they could get as they fell 104-94.

Jeremy Lin had a double-double to forget of 28 points and ten turnovers. The only other Rockets to score ten-plus points were Terrence Jones (11) and Carlos Delfino (10). Omer Asik had a near double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds.

Eric Gordon led the way with 24 points. Anthony Davis, the rookie sensation, had 12 points, five rebounds and five blocks.

December 30, 2012

Utah Jazz (18-13) vs. Houston Rockets (9-21)

We return home to lose to Utah 100-85. Big Al Jefferson had a huge game with 29 points 18 boards, four assists and three blocks. Paul Millsap had 22 points, 11 boards, five steals and two blocks to totally dominate the interior for Utah.

Jeremy Lin scored 26 points. Terrence Jones had 14. Royce White had ten. Those were our only big scorers for the night. As a team, we shot 38% on the night and got eaten up inside. We need to get healthy and FAST!

With the month of December coming to a close, we reevaluate Royce White’s mental health attribute. He stayed home for the first three road trips but made it to the last one, so he will lose two points on his rating. It started at 45, got up to 48 but has come back down to 46. What should be even more alarming for him is the fact that fellow rookie Terrence Jones has surpassed him on the depth chart.

Another month in the books and the Rockets have just about fallen out of contention for their division race as they trail both Memphis and San Antonio by 9.5 games and Dallas by 8.5. We are percentage points ahead of New Orleans at the moment.

Leading Scorers: James Harden (23.8), Jeremy Lin (15.9), Chandler Parsons (13.0), Terrence Jones (10.3), Omer Asik (10.1)

Leading Rebounders: Omer Asik (8.8), Patrick Patterson (7.2), James Harden (4.6)

Leading Assists: Jeremy Lin (8.3), Toney Douglas (2.4)

January 1, 2013

Washington Wizards (10-18) vs. Houston Rockets (9-22)

A new year brings a new result as the Rockets win 110-99 at home against the Wizards. Jeremy Lin played great (27 points, seven assists, five boards, five steals) but needs to cut down on his turnovers (7). Omer Asik scored the ball well, shooting 11 of 17 en route to his 22 points. Terrence Jones also got in the action with 12 points and six boards. Patrick Patterson struggled from the field, scoring nine points on eight shots but hauled in 12 rebounds to make up for it.

January 3, 2013

Milwaukee Bucks (9-23) vs. Houston Rockets (10-22)

After a feel-good win over the Wizards we get come back and get absolutely blasted by Milwaukee 113-74. The lead ballooned up to 44 at one point. Brandon Jennings had himself a night with 23 points, 11 helpers and six boards. Ersan Ilyasova ate us up on the inside with 21 points and 16 rebounds.

The Bucks scored SEVENTY points in the paint to our 26. Wow, that is pathetic.

We shot 33% as a team and only Delfino (12) and Douglas (10) hit the double-digit mark. We didn’t compete tonight and it shows all over. Just a horrible game that needs to be forgotten immediately.

January 5, 2013

We hit the road for a five-game East Coast swing and luckily Royce White will be making the trip with us. With Parsons and Harden still on the mend, we need all the live bodies we can get.

Houston Rockets (10-23) vs. Toronto Raptors (5-27)

After losing 108-93, it is becoming apparent that without two starters in the lineup, everyone else struggles to score with any efficiency. Sure, Patrick Patterson scored 21 on nine shots, but the rest of the team shot the ball horribly.

The Raptors hit 46% of their shots with DeMar DeRozan scoring 22 and grabbing 14 boards. Every other Toronto starter, plus Amir Johnson off the bench, registered at least ten points.

January 6, 2013

Houston Rockets (10-24) vs. Atlanta Hawks (13-19)

When you let Kelenna Azubuike score 22 points on you, do you have any chance at winning? The Hawks thumped us 128-109 as Azubuike and Al Horford both had 22 points on the night. Those totals were tied for second highest on the team behind Lou Williams’ 31 points. Although we shot 46%, which is pretty good for us, we allowed Atlanta to shoot a blistering 64% from the floor.

Terrence Jones led the way with 20 points on 21 attempts. Delfino, Patterson and White all had 13. James Harden played in just six minutes off the bench and registered 14 points, hitting all five of his shots, including a three and three free throws. What a welcomed addition he will be.

January 9, 2013

Houston Rockets (10-25) vs. Philadelphia 76ers (20-13)

It must be the end of the world as the Rockets should 51% from the floor and win 115-103. The return of James Harden must have worked wonders tonight. He scored 24 to match Jeremy Lin while Lin added nine boards and ten assists. Omer Asik had 14, 11 and two blocks. Terrence Jones chipped in 11 while Delfino and Royce White both added nine points.

Andrew Bynum had 22 points on 19 shots and 10 of 12 from the line. Jrue Holiday had 21 on 18 shots. The inefficiency of their top-two scorers is what held Philly back from winning this game.

January 10, 2013

Houston Rockets (11-25) vs. Boston Celtics (26-10)

James Harden led the game in scoring with 36 points, but Paul Pierce’s 35 allowed the Celtics to edge out the Rockets 119-113 in an up-and-down affair. Kevin Garnett had 29 points and utterly dominated the front line of the Rockets.

Jeremy Lin contributed 20 points, 11 assists, eight boards and six steals as well as five turnovers. Terrence Jones was in double-figures again with 13 points while Patrick Patterson had a double-double with 11 points and ten boards. Carlos Delfino was the only reliable scorer off the bench tonight with 16 big points, but it wasn’t good enough to steal another road win.

January 12, 2013

Houston Rockets (11-26) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (22-14)

Kevin Durant scores a new season-high against us as he goes for 52 and ten rebounds, but somehow the Rockets end up 105-100 winners. The Thunder turned it over 24 times and gave up 18 offensive rebounds.

Harden paced the offense with 27 points. Lin had himself 18 with Jones and Patterson scoring 14 and 13, respectively. That is a huge win to end a five-game road trip for this ball club.

[SirMichaelJordan]

Cool! Nice to see that you're back at it. I enjoyed the Celtics dynasty before it got corrupted.

[Rizzo]

Cool! Nice to see that you're back at it. I enjoyed the Celtics dynasty before it got corrupted.

Thanks and I remember that one. Didn't last too long because I couldn't get past the first draft. I remember agreeing to trade away both Brandon Bass and Jeff Green en route to blowing it all up. Probably would have gone horribly wrong lol.

Right now, I need to find the right pieces to put together and mold this team because right now we aren't looking too good.

[Rizzo]

January 13, 2013

New York Knicks (21-13) vs. Houston Rockets (12-26)

Our defense finally hit a new low tonight as we allow 146 points to the Knicks as we lose by 47. Carmelo went for 44, which is believable but when Tyson Chandler drops 32 on you (on top of his 20 rebounds), you know you got embarrassed! Nick Young had 15 off the bench and Amar'e tossed in 13 with JR Smith doing the same.

James Harden had 29 on 16 shots, Lin with 17 & 9 and Asik had 15. Our numbers don't really matter when you allow the Knicks to shoot 60% from the floor as well as 38 trips to the line. This is a new low...

January 16, 2013

Los Angeles Lakers (27-9) vs. Houston Rockets (12-27)

Dwight Howard - 30 points, Pau Gasol - 30 points, Kobe Bryant - 22 points...Boy we are good at shutting down the other team's best options, huh? Lakers beat us 124-110. Both teams shot over 50% from the floor but we just didn't have the offensive firepower to hang.

Jeremy Lin led the way with a career-high 35 points. His offense was much needed as James Harden (16 points) was stuck in foul trouble, limiting him to just 24 minutes. As one would expect, Omer Asik didn't play long as he fouled out in 17 minutes. Patrick Patterson was sidelined with a sore leg, so Royce White and Terrnce Jones were the starters at the forward position. Pau Gasol clearly ate them up. Carlos Delfino did his best James Harden impersonation as he dropped 27 off the bench along with four boards, three assists, two steals and a block.

All-in-all, a good fight against a great team with an undermanned roster. Moral victories are never good, but we will look at the positives as much as possible.

January 20, 2013

Miami Heat (32-6) vs. Houston Rockets (12-28)

LeBron James goes for 50 points, eight boards and six assists as the Heat beat up the Rockets 138-100. Chris Bosh dropped 27 while Dwyane Wade added 22 as the Big Three did what they were paid to do. James Harden battled for 33 points, Omer Asik had 13 and Royce White scored 12. The Heat shot 60% from the floor and that needs to stop.

[zike_42]

Have you any plans for a trade? Or are you going to ride out this season and try some moves in the off season?