Game 48: Houston Rockets Vs. Detroit Pistons Preview
It may have not been the prettiest win of sorts but your Houston Rockets are winners of four straight games!
This team must continue to press on without the presence of Dwight Howard and I honestly feel that I could be done.
It’s apparent that the guys that would normally be the role players have stepped up and taken the lead just like a starter would.
Donatas Motiejunas, Josh Smith, Corey Brewer — you know who you are!
If the intensity is kept up, these Rockets will continue to cruise their way toward the finish line of the regular season with or without D12.
Mar 1, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets power forward Terrence Jones (6) controls the ball during the fourth quarter as Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) defends at Toyota Center. The Rockets defeated the Pistons 118-110. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
One would’ve expected the Rockets to just punish the Boston Celtics for being such a bad team but that certainly wasn’t the case.
Their young bunch of guys were quite scrappy and made our Rockets earn that win.
There are no guarantees in the NBA and that’s certainly why you have to play the games!
But it’s now time for the Rockets to shift their focus to their next opponent — the 17-30 Detroit Pistons.
This will be the first time the Rockets will face the Pistons this season with the next/last meeting taking place March 6 at Toyota Center.
Their last meeting was March 1 of last year where the Rox defeated the Pistons 118-110.
This will also mark the first time that J-Smoove will be going against his former team since being acquired by the Rockets Dec. 26 after being waived by the Pistons.
I fully expect him to have one of his best games yet against a team that was not all that good with him and is still not all that good without him.
But let’s talk about what the Pistons do well.
They take care of the basketball. The team is 9th in turnover ratio with 12.7 percent of their possessions ending in a turnover. This is off a pace factor (PACE) of 96.0 possessions per game.
Mar 1, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Detroit Pistons small forward
Josh Smith(6) dunks the ball during the first quarter against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
They go after the boards, particularly ones for a second-chance. They’re 12th in the league with a rebound rate of 50.5 and they’re 5th in offensive rebound rate (27.5) and 8th in defensive rebound rate (75.8).
Brandon Jennings leads the team in points (15.4 PPG), assists (6.6 APG) and steals (1.10 SPG). Andre Drummond is the lead board-guy averaging 12.8 per game and also in blocks (1.80 BPG).
However, the rise of D.J. Augustin has caused him to get more minutes at the point. He has averaged 12.6 points and 5.2 assists per game within the last five games.
Either way, our back court will have their hands full covering those two lightning-quick guards.
Drummond, the other part to the Pistons’ sputtering engine, is their inside presence. It will be a combination of J-Smoove, Donatas Motiejunas, Terrence Jones and Joey Dorsey to defend and up to them to attempt to shut him down.
That will certainly be a key to victory.
As long as the Rockets continue to defend well and don’t take the Pistons lightly as they did with the Celtics last night, they should sail their way onward to their 5th straight win.
Three Things to Watch:
1. Patrick Beverley vs. Jennings/Augustin
2. Drummond vs. the Rockets’ bigs
3. How well J-Smoove responds to playing against his former team
Prediction:
105-95 in a Rockets’ win!
The Rockets will take on the Pistons tonight in Motown at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CST.
The game will be televised on ROOT Sports Southwest and broadcast on 790 AM (KBME).