Game 63: Houston Rockets Vs. Denver Nuggets Preview

The Houston Rockets have had quite a fast and furious schedule, getting ready to undertake their fifth game in the past seven days.

Even for the mightiest of warriors, that’s a tough schedule to handle.

It’s quite amazing that the Rockets have at least competed against their opponents and did not curl up in ball and get beat up.

Nope, even one game without James Harden, this team still took it to the hardwood, taking care of business but coming up short down the stretch.

It’s the 4th quarter that really has bitten us in the rear over these past two games.

They’d play decently for 36 minutes but those last 12 have been a tough pill to swallow.

But anyway, the Rockets will take on the 22-39 Denver Nuggets tonight.

This was a team that had so much promise but it looks like they’ll be tearing this team down again, poised for another rebuild.

Brian Shaw was relieved of his head coaching duties Tuesday (56-85, two seasons) as the team continued to struggle, even Kevin Garnett felt that the team had quit on him after their 100-85 loss to the Nugs this past Wednesday.

The team has gone 2-1 so far under interim head coach Melvin Hunt as the new voice in the locker room — he may be what the doctor ordered, maybe not.

These teams last met Dec. 17 in a photo finish that involved the Rockets prevailing 115-111 in overtime.

Ty Lawson continues to be the anchor for the franchise, leading in scoring (16.0 PPG), assists (9.8 APG, 3rd in the league) and steals (1.30 SPG). Kenneth Faried is their top board-getter averaging 8.7 per game and Jusuf Nurkic is their chief shot-blocker (1.30 BPG).

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

They love to have the ball in their hands. The Nuggets are 5th in the league in PACE, averaging 98.3 possessions per game.

They take care of the basketball decently. The Nuggets are 10th in the league in turnover ratio with only 12.6 of their possessions ending in a turnover.

They go for the second-chance frequently. The Nuggets have offensive rebound rate of 26.3, good for 10th in the league.

The top match-up to watch will be Patrick Beverley going up against Ty Lawson, the motor to the Nuggets engine. Let’s see if one the league’s top defenders can shut him down. He held him to 12 points and 4-for-12 shooting back in December but Lawson had 16 assists.

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It will also be interesting to see how our bigs match up with theirs. Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas will be battling up against Faried and Danilo Gallinari who has been on a tear as of late. He has averaged 19.2 PPG in the last five games. Faried has averaged 10.5 RPG in the last five, well above his average.

The most important thing to see will be how well they respond to a back-to-back flying from H-Town to the Mile High City to take on another game. The grind of a back-to-back may be a factor.

But despite all of that, they should be able to get a nice win against a team that has some talented pieces but is not very good overall.

Three Things to Watch:

1. Beverley vs. Lawson

2. TJones/D-Mo vs. Gallinari/Faried

3. How they respond from travel on a back-to-back

Prediction:

115-102 in a Rockets’ win!

The Rockets take on the Nuggets tonight on the road at Pepsi Center.

Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. CST.

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

Go Rockets!

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