Game 54: Houston Rockets Vs. Dallas Mavericks Preview

The Houston Rockets are now back at it after the All-Star Break to officially start the second-half of the season.

With more than a week off, most of the team’s legs will be fresh and ready to do battle with their next slate of opponents that are on deck.

There were lots of notables over the past weekend with Patrick Beverley being the winner of the Taco Bell Skills Challenge, James Harden had 28 points, eight rebounds and eight dimes in his third All-Star appearance, nearing a triple-double.

It sure made up for the last place finish he had in the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout.  That night, he never seemed to get into the groove plus he got stuck in a elevator for nearly a half an hour while on the way to practice that same day.

We also saw Kostas Papanikolaou contribute to the Team World 121-112 win in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars competition.

Just before the trade deadline yesterday, the Rockets acquired K.J. McDaniels and Pablo Prigioni in exchange for Isaiah Canaan, Alexey Shved and some 2nd round draft picks to the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks, respectively.

It remains to be seen when we’ll see them but barring that they pass their physicals, but I’m projecting that they’ll make their debut tomorrow night against the Toronto Raptors at Toyota Center.

But the Rockets face the 36-20 Dallas Mavericks for the third time season and the Rockets ran away with the last one Jan. 28, beating them 99-94.

Pretty much the same here.

Monta Ellis leads the Mavs in scoring (19.5 PPG) and steals (2.00 SPG), Tyson Chandler is the lead board-getter (11.9 RPG),  Rajon Rondo is the chief dime distributor (8.6 APG) and Bernard James is their top shot-blocker averaging 2.00 BPG.

Newly-acquired Amar’e Stoudemire won’t be suiting up tonight with his debut with the Mavericks not likely until this Sunday against the Charlotte Hornets.

Rondo returned last night in the Mavs’ 104-89 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder after missing six games recovering from a left orbital bone fracture.  He had five points, six assists in 29 minutes of action.

As Rondo works his way to knock his rust off, J.J. Barea will be around to help.  He had averaged 13.2 PPG, 3.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists in the last five games mostly while Rondo has been out.

But let’s talk about what the Mavs do well.

Jan 28, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward

(41) controls the ball during the first quarter as Houston Rockets forward

(5) defends at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

They know how to put the ball in the basket.  The Mavs are 3rd in the league in offensive efficiency averaging 109.0 points per 100 possessions.

They take care of the basketball.  The Mavs are also 3rd in the league in turnover ratio with a stingy 11.5 of their possessions ending in a turnover.

The two are synonymous with each other — they’re so good at scoring, there’s not an opportunity to turn the ball over.

But the biggest question is, why can’t they beat us?

The answer is that the Rockets play very good defense — we’re currently ranked 8th in the league in defensive efficiency allowing 100.3 points per 100 possessions.

Watching both starting lineups in their entirety will be a joy to see but the most important will be the battle between Harden and Ellis.

They’re the motor to their collective engines and it will be interesting to see how Harden defends him.

Of course, Chandler Parsons is in the mix and we’ll have to see how well Trevor Ariza can prevent him from having a breakout game.

Donatas Motiejunas, Josh Smith and Terrence Jones will have their toughest test yet as they take turns in defending Chandler and Dirk Nowitzki, who has averaged 18/7 in the last five games.

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Three Things to Watch:

1.  Battle of the Back court — Beverley vs. Rondo / Harden vs. Ellis

2. Battle of the Front court — D-Mo vs. Dirk / Dorsey, Smith, Jones vs. Chandler

3.  Ariza vs. CP

Prediction:

106-99 in a Rockets’ win!

The Rockets take on the Mavs tonight on the road at American Airlines Center.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

The game will be televised on ROOT Sports Southwest and broadcast on 790 AM (KBME).

Go Rockets!