Blast to the 'Ship - A Houston Rockets Story

[Rizzo]

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

I've been trying to deal Greg Smith and Marcus Morris religiously to get them off my cap but to no avail. No team wants their contracts. Carlos Delfino could be dealt off, but then we have no depth at SG unless I want to play Daequan Cook legitimate minutes. Could be a tank season, grab a top prospect and then hope to sign a top flight FA. Our defense is so bad I'd love to pair Nerlens Noel and Dwight Howard down low, but that's a wet dream at this point.

[Rizzo]

January 22, 2013

Denver Nuggets (28-13) vs. Houston Rockets (12-29)

Kenneth Faried leads his Nuggets to a 26-point win over the Rockets, 114-88. His 29 point, 16 rebound performance paced the way for the Nuggets. McGee chipped in 18 points, 13 boards and five blocks.

The Rockets had Lin score 23 with seven boards and assists. Harden poured in 20. The only other Rocket to score 10+ was Carlos Delfino with 14 off the bench. We shot 34% as a team and got embarrassed. Terrence Jones and Royce White got dominated.

We gave up 72 points in the paint. If you don't think the Rockets are targeting a paint presence both in free agency *cough* *cough* Dwight *cough* and in the draft *cough* cough* Nerlens *cough* then you're blind!

January 24, 2013

Utah Jazz (25-17) vs. Houston Rockets (12-30)

The return of Patrick Patterson to the lineup from his injury helped the Rockets cut down on opponent paint points (44) as well as helped on the glass (12 for PP), but the Jazz still rolled to a 102-85 win. Al Jefferson was too much for Omer Asik to handle as he had 24 points, nine boards and two blocks. Marvin Williams scored 20 while Derrick Favors had a double-double with 12 and 10.

James Harden went bananas with 41 points. Jeremy Lin put up a goose egg in 38 minutes, missing on all 16 of his shots and not getting a single trip to the line. He added six boards and ten assists to go along with his five turnovers. Terrence Jones continues to struggle in the starting lineup and we may need to insert Carlos Delfino for a veteran presence.

After the game, Donatas Motiejunas blasts Coach McHale over playing time. I'm sure that won't help him keep his home in Houston much longer...

Immediately after hearing that, Kris Eisley hopped on the phone and called his good friend Mark Cuban. The Dallas Mavericks were soon to be in rebuilding mode and could use a young big man to groom for when Dirk Nowitzki would hang them up. After about 45 minutes of negotiations, Donatas Motiejunas was sent packing to Dallas along with Houston's 2014 2nd round pick for Dallas' 2014 first round pick. Eisley takes a step towards achieving one of his season goals: shedding salary for next season.

[Rizzo]

January 26, 2013

Houston Rockets (12-31) vs. Indiana Pacers (20-22)

The beginning of a three-game road trip and Royce White is traveling with the team. With Chandler Parsons still on the mend from his broken nose, we need all the bodies we can get.

The Rockets have a great offensive showing with 109 points on 49% shooting. That doesn’t look so good when you give up 124. Roy Hibbert took home player of the game honors with 24 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. Granger also torched us for 27 points of his own.

The starting backcourt of the Rockets were really the only ones who showed up to play. Harden led the way, as usual, with 30 points but a nasty eight turnovers. Jeremy Lin went for 20 points and ten assists with his complimentary seven turnovers. Nobody else scored in double figures.

January 28, 2013

Houston Rockets (12-32) vs. Detroit Pistons (17-25)

The Rockets have just found the rarest of rare birds: a road victory, 112-100! James Harden was sensational with 44 points. Jeremy Lin had another double-double with 21 and 12. Even Terrence Jones had ten points in 16 minutes of play off the bench.

The Pistons may be struggling now, but they have a great, young frontcourt with Greg Monroe (23 points, 8 rebounds) and rookie Andre Drummond (16 points, 11 boards, 2 blocks).

January 29, 2013

Houston Rockets (13-32) vs. New York Knicks (26-17)

The second game of back-to-backs on the road is never easy as the Rockets get routed on the road 113-91 by the Knicks. Carmelo had his way with Carlos Delfino to the tune of 38 points and 11 boards. Amar’e Stoudemire had 23 and seven while Tyson Chandler chipped in 21 and 14.

Harden had 35 points. His scoring has been great, but it hasn’t led us to many wins this year. Asik had a rare double-double with 12 and 10 along with four blocks. Patrick Patterson added 11 while Terrence Jones scored ten off the bench.

[Rizzo]

January 31, 2013

Philadelphia 76ers (25-18) vs. Houston Rockets (13-33)

Jrue Holiday leads his 76ers to a 107-95 win in Houston as he scores 24 points, dishes 11 assists and grabs six boards. Andrew Bynum had 20 and 12 while Dorell Wright scored 16. Veteran Jason Richardson shot 8/11 for 18 points off the bench.

James Harden struggled to get his 23 points as the entire team shot just 37% from the floor. It's a make or miss league and the Rockets don't make very many of their shots on a consistent basis.

With another month in the books, Royce White made both road trips in January and now has a Mental Health rating of 48. The only thing is how long will he be a member of this roster?

At 13-34, we are now tied for dead last in the Western Conference with the Sacramento Kings. I guess those preseason predictions were pretty accurate after all. With three teams in the East with a worse record (Orlando, Toronto and Charlotte), we are fully in the lottery and looking at a very high pick.

[Rizzo]

February 3, 2013

Golden State Warriors (28-19) vs. Houston Rockets (13-34)

A dominant paint performance by the Rockets leads Houston to a 120-114 home win over the young Warriors. Harden and Lin attacked the paint with reckless abandon. James Harden finished with 44 points on just 25 shots, missing on only eight attempts. Jeremy Lin had a monstrous double-double with 19 points and 15 dimes to go with six steals. Omer Asik added 12 points and rebounds while Toney Douglas scored 14 off the bench.

Stephen Curry and Carl Landry both had 20 points, but it wasn’t enough in the end. The Warriors were clinging to a two-point lead at the end of the 3rd but faltered down the stretch.

February 6, 2013

Chicago Bulls (25-23) vs. Houston Rockets (14-34)

Don’t look now fans, but the Rockets are on a two-game win streak! Houston beat Chicago 121-111 while being led by James Harden’s 27 points. Patrick Patterson had a big offensive performance, shooting 7/10 from the field and the line en route to his 21 points. Terrence Jones added 20 off the bench and Royce White scored 11, grabbed five boards and dished out four assists.

Outside of Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer, nobody on the Bulls’ roster had a good game. The biggest struggler was Marco Belinelli as he could only manage to hit one of his ten shots.

February 7, 2013

Houston Rockets (15-34) vs. Memphis Grizzlies (24-23)

After just half a season, it seems as if the Rockets’ front office is getting a little fed up with Royce White and him not playing on the road as he will miss this game in Memphis. Luckily, the Rockets have decided to suit up Chandler Parsons and give him some minutes off the bench to break him back in to the lineup.

The Grizzlies beat us again as they got out to an early 24-point lead in the first half. We fought back to make it a game but fell short, losing 108-100. Tony Allen takes home player of the game honors with 25 points, six boards and five steals. Rudy Gay complimented him with 28 of his own points while Zach Randolph had 16 points and 12 boards as well.

Patrick Patterson shot 8/10 for a team-high 19 points. James Harden struggled, taking 15 shots for his 15 points. Jerem Lin had 116 while Toney Douglas scored 11 off the bench.

With the trade deadline just two weeks away, the Rockets will be exploring all options to improve their roster…for the future.

February 8, 2013

As we hinted to yesterday, the Rockets have made a trade. In what can only be called a salary dump, Houston has decided to move team veteran Carlos Delfino to the first place Los Angeles Lakers for three players: Earl Clark, Andrew Goudelock and Darius Morris. All three players' contracts expire after this season and how many of them actually stay on the roster in the following days is yet to be seen. The Rockets, who are in full rebuilding mode, did Delfino a favor for his years of service by sending him to a title contendor. We wish him the best of luck and think he can be a key bench contributor for the Lakers.

As soon as the deal was completed, Andrew Goudelock was on the phone and told he would not be reporting to the Rockets as he would be released.

In another trade, the Charlotte Bobcats sent Matt Carroll and his $3.5 million expiring contract to Houston in return for Daequan Cook, Scott Machado and Greg Smith. Cook had a $3 million expiring contract, but Machado was on the books for this season and another two while Greg Smith had one more year after this one. That's just more salary being cut off the cap for next season.

[Rizzo]

February 10, 2013

Minnesota Timberwolves (26-22) vs. Houston Rockets (15-35)

The Rockets got Rubio’d as Ricky leads the Wolves to a 116-105 road win in Houston. The Spanish PG scored 22, handed out 13 assists and have five steals. Andrei Kirilenko was the high man for the game with 29 points while All NBA forward Kevin Love had 23 points and 12 rebounds. Minnesota hit on 51% of their shots.

The Rockets played a decent game, shooting 46% from the floor and hitting six of their seven three-point attempts, but it was the 23 turnovers that killed them. Harden had 23 points on 21 attempts. Asik had a big double-double with 18, 16 and four blocks. Patterson tossed in 18 of his own. Linsanity had 16 with six boards and assists to go with his eight turnovers. Lin sits at 2nd place on the turnovers per game list at 4.8, trailing only Ramon Sessions who averages 5.1 per contest. Parsons had ten points while Royce White played great off the bench with 14 points, five boards and three assists.

February 12, 2013

Houston Rockets (15-36) vs. Milwaukee Bucks (23-30)

Royce White update: he’s on the team charter and will play on this one game road trip.

Brandon Jennings stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points, eight steals, seven assists and six blocks, leading the Bucks to a 98-86 win. The Bucks scored 70 points in the paint to the Rockets’ 42.

Harden had 28. Asik had a double-double with ten and 14 and Lin added 14, nine assists and six more horrendous turnovers. Royce White another solid game off the bench with ten points, seven boards and three assists. Looks as if he is starting to assert himself a bit more as the leader of the bench. He has an amazing amount of untapped potential that he hopefully can show us the rest of the season.

February 14, 2013

Sacramento Kings (16-37) vs. Houston Rockets (15-37)

For a special Valentine’s Day matchup, the Kings come to Houston for a bottom-feeder game. As the saying goes, misery needs company so these two teams are great for one another. Unfortunately the Rockets play an absolute miserable game and lose 105-89. Is it draft time yet?

James Harden scored 25 but took the turnover title from Jeremy Lin and threw it away nine times. Lin had 20 points of his own. Parsons scored 12 while Asik had 11 and 11. the bench struggled to score, but Royce White did add five boards and five assists.

Tyreke Evans led the way with 28 points and eight rebounds. DeMarcus Cousins struggled for his 12 points but ripped down 14 rebounds. Sharpshooter Marcus Thornton tossed in 17 points off the bench.

February 16, 2013

All-Star festivities began today with the Slam Dunk and Three-Point contests. In the field of high fliers that included Perry Jones II, Derrick Brown and Victor Claver, Gerald Henderson reigned supreme. In the three-point contest, Marvin Williams defeated Ryan Anders and DJ Augustin in the finals to take home the hardware.

February 17, 2013

In the annual Rookie-Sophomore game, the rookies shocked the second year players, winning 125-118. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist took home MVP honors with 25 points, five boards, four assists, four blocks and three steals as he played like a man possessed. Other big stat lines for the Rookies were Bradley Beal’s 30 points, Kendall Marshall’s 13 and 15 assists, Anthony Davis’ 10 points, nine boards and three blocks as well as Jonas Valanciunas’ nine points and 13 boards.

For the sophomores, Kyrie Irving was the engine to keep them going with 25 points and 11 assists. Klay Thompson matched Irving’s 25 points as well. Bismack Biyombo showed flashes of why he was a lottery pick, scoring 14, grabbing 13 boards and swatting five shots. Ricky Rubio and Derrick Williams scored 13 and 12 points off the bench respectively.

February 18, 2013

The NBA All-Star game: the greatest collection of basketball talent on one court at one time in the entire planet. Too bad the game isn’t played like a true game that matters. Here are the rosters:

Eastern Conference All Stars:

G – Deron Williams, Brooklyn Nets
G – Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
F – LeBron James, Miami Heat
F – Greg Monroe, Detroit Pistons
C – Andrew Bynum, Philadelphia 76ers
B – Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics
B – Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
B – Anderson Varejao, Cleveland Cavaliers
B – Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks
B – Monta Ellis, Milwaukee Bucks
B – Carlos Boozer, Chicago Bulls
B – Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers

Western Conference All Stars:

G – Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
G – Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
F – Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
F – Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves
C – Dwight Howard, Los Angeles Lakers
B – Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
B – Rudy Gay, Memphis Grizzlies
B – Al Jefferson, Utah Jazz
B – Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
B – LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trailblazers
[color="Red"]B – James Harden, Houston Rockets[/color]
B – Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers

In this year’ playful exhibition, the East defeats the West in a defensive struggled 148-136. LeBron James played for MVP from the opening tip and won the hardware after posting a line of 26 points, six assists, three boards, three steals and two blocks. James’ Heat teammate Dwyane Wade had 28 points to lead the East in scoring. Greg Monroe had a great showing in his first all-star appearance with 16 points, ten boards and five blocks.

For the West, Kevin Durant did all he could to win it for his squad as he poured in 40 points. The next highest scorer was Rudy Gay off the bench with 22. Our very own James Harden had 14 points off the bench on 5/6 shooting. Blake Griffin registered a DNP:CD in an All-Star game…ouch!

Speaking of ouch, and you hate to see this in a game for the fans, but just two minutes into the game, Kevin Love reinjured his wrist. The diagnosis came back shortly after. The Timberwolves’ forward broke it again and will now miss two months. We wish him a quick recovery.

[Rizzo]

February 20, 2013

Brooklyn Nets (31-22) vs. Houston Rockets (15-38)

The long All-Star Weekend layoff seemed to help the Rockets as they beat the Nets 116-95. James Harden continues to score at a high clip as he dropped 40 in this one. Jeremy Lin had a double-double with 18 points and 11 assists, but even better was his one turnover. Patrick Patterson is quietly having a good season as he scored 15, grabbed seven boards and swatted two shots. Terrence Jones had 13 points off the bench.

Deron Williams, Gerald Wallace and Brook Lopez were the only Nets to reach double figures in this one as they only shot 38% from the floor as a team.

After the game, Terrence Jones was diagnosed with a sprained wrist the will hinder him for the next 1-2 weeks. Parsons' nose is just about healed up at this point, too.

February 22, 2013

The trade deadline comes and goes without the Rockets pulling off another deal. They worked the phones to see if they could move any one of their assets to better the franchise, but nothing fruitful came of them. The team is locked in.

February 23, 2013

Dallas Mavericks (27-26) vs. Houston Rockets (16-38)

An in-state beat down was delivered by the Mavericks as they roll in Houston to a 129-94 win. Dirk went for 24. Darren Collison added 21. Mayo and Brand both had 14 of their own. Roddy Beaubois scored 19 points in 20 minutes off the bench.

Harden scored 21 with five turnovers. Jeremy Lin scored 20 points as well. Omer Asik joined them in the double-digit club with 12 points. Ugly, ugly game...

[Rizzo]

February 25, 2013

Charlotte Bobcats (15-40) vs. Houston Rockets (16-39)

When you lose at home to the Bobcats, you know you're not a very good team. Charlotte wins 104-96 after leading at one point by 18. Ramon Sessions had 25 points, eight boards and seven assists while Gerald Henderson scored 20 himself. Bismack Biyombo and BJ Mullens combined for 25 points and 20 boards while Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had seven points and boards with four blocks.

Patrick Patterson had another quality game with 16 and 12 while Chandler Parsons had his first decent game in recent memory with 17 points, six boards and three assists. Omer Aisk had a double-double with 14 and 11 while Harden had 21 points.

Adding injury to insult, we suffered four injuries during this one game. The first was to Jeremy Lin who suffered a bad bruise to the calf and will be sidelined for the next two weeks. With Lin out, Toney Douglas was the next logical option to play point guard for the Rockets. He is now ailing from a strained abdominal and will have to play hurt. If we were making a playoff push, he would be in the lineup but Kris Eisley has made the executive decision to sit his young point guard. Kurt Thomas, being as old as he is, suffered a back injury and may need to sit the next game out. Patrick Patterson also hurt his hand and is not 100%.

[PointGuard]

Better buy a new hydro therapy tub.

[Rizzo]

Better buy a new hydro therapy tub.

No kidding. We seem to be a very fragile team. I guess sitting Lin a couple weeks will help our draft position, but still tough to watch the losses pile up.