Game 13: Houston Rockets At Memphis Grizzlies Preview

The Houston Rockets streak is snapped!

Finally, after witnessing grueling loss after loss, the Rockets were finally able to get a quality, gritty win against the Portland Trail Blazers.

It took the legendary Kevin McHale to get the axe, with his top assistant in J.B. Bickerstaff to take over the reins but it was a win nonetheless.

That game wasn’t pretty by any means early-in as it appeared as if it was going to be more of the same but it was about the last four minutes of the 4th quarter where things got quite exciting.

I had the distinct feeling that they were going to hang in there and try to win this game.

I also noticed that Bickerstaff was actually using the whiteboard to draw up plays that the Rockets actually executed!

How about that?

We hadn’t seen something like that in quite awhile as the Rockets had totally tuned out McHale in his last days on the Rockets bench.

The Rockets up together an impressive 12-5 run in the last 1:27 of to tie the game culminated with an amazing prayer of three-pointer by Corey Brewer and then taking control in the overtime period.

I can get used to this!

Anyway, the Rockets can celebrate a little but now it’s time to get back to work against the 6-6 Memphis Grizzlies who have been off since Monday.

The Grizz have been up-and-down just as much as we have but they did trade for guard Mario Chalmers with the Miami Heat and they’ve seen a sudden jolt in activity since.

More from House of Houston

Chalmers just got through putting up 29 points in 23 minutes off the bench in their 122-114 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder this past Monday.

They haven’t lost a game since the four-player trade that occurred Nov. 10.

With the addition of Chalmers, the Grizz are averaging 112.3 PPG and shooting 46.9 percent from the field, up from 90.2 PPG and 39.9 percent, respectively.

They’re back on track and the Rockets can’t take it lightly against a team that’s better than their record indicates.

So who’s leading the charge for the Grizzlies?

Marc Gasol is the scoring champ (16.3 PPG) and shot-blocker (0.80 BPG), Zach Randolph is the top board-getter (8.7 RPG), Mike Conley in dimes (6.8 APG), and Tony Allen in steals (1.80 SPG).

Let’s talk about what the Grizzlies do well.

The Grizz still have a lot of work to do to get better in a lot of categories but here’s what they do:

They take care of the basketball. The Grizz are 5th in the league in turnover ratio with just a measly 12.7 percent of their total possessions ending in a turnover.

Injuries:

Terrence Jones injured his left hand earlier this week — although he was a game-time decision this past Wednesday, he did try to contribute, adding eight points and two rebounds in 30 minutes of action. He status continues to be day-to-day.

Patrick Beverley is out of his walking boot but there’s no timetable for his return, he’s OUT indefinitely at this moment.

Sam Dekker will have back surgery today and is expected to miss about three months.

There are no injuries to report for the Grizzlies.

Next: Red Nation Hoops Podcast: Episode 8

Three Things to Watch:

Trevor Ariza vs. Jeff Green
Dwight Howard vs. Gasol
Ty Lawson vs. Conley

Prediction:

103-97 in a Rockets’ win!

The Rockets hit the road to take on the Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST.

The game will be televised on ROOT Sports Southwest and broadcast on SportsTalk 790 AM (KBME) and La Ranchera 850 AM (KEYH) in Spanish.

Go Rockets!

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