Game 46: Houston Rockets Vs. Dallas Mavericks Preview

What an impressive win the Houston Rockets had Friday over the Milwaukee Bucks!

Sure, they weren’t the utmost in competition but we saw things with the Rockets that weren’t apparent all-season.

Josh Smith seems to have been the catalyst of bringing the old Rockets back with his superior defense, passing abilities and eventually his timely shots.

Did you see that pass he made to Marcus Thornton?

I went wild when I saw it!

But it’s back to business for the Rockets this afternoon as they face the 25-20 Dallas Mavericks.

They have overachieved as of late and Chandler Parsons has been carrying the team on his back as some of their bigs have been hurt. He had 26 points, five rebounds in their 109-106 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday night.

This will be a test for the Rockets but it may be toned down a bit if their bigs are not a go, most of them are questionable for today.

We’ll have to see but it’ll be an entertaining game nonetheless.

So who’s leading the charge for the Mavericks?

More from House of Houston

Dirk Nowitzki is the leading scorer (17.7 PPG). Zaza Pachulia is the team’s top board-getter (10.7 RPG). Deron Williams is the assist man (5.6 APG) and the steals king is Wesley Matthews (1.10 SPG). JaVale McGee is the prime shot-blocker (0.90 BPG).

Let’s talk about what the Mavericks do well.

They take care of the basketball quite well. The Mavericks are 4th in the league as far as turnover ration with 12.3 percent of their possessions ending in a turnover.

They take advantage of opportunities at the charity stripe. The Mavericks are 9th in the league as far as free-throw percentage (78.8).

Injuries:

Dwight Howard sprained his left ankle early into Wednesday’s game against the Detroit Pistons. He didn’t return that night and missed the game against the Milwaukee Bucks Friday. Both J.B. Bickerstaff and Howard have said there’s a small possibility that he’ll be available today. I expect that he won’t be available as he didn’t practice yesterday. His status will likely be DOUBTFUL.

If you’ve been under a rock lately, Donatas Motiejunas‘ back issues have flared up again. He has planned to sit out until he’s pain-free so no specific timeline has been set. This is such a setback to a guy that’s been working so hard to get back into a rhythm. There was no structural damage to the back itself so he may be back sooner than we think but he may not. We just have to cross our fingers for a speedy recovery. Montrezl Harrell will take his spot on the roster for the time being, he had been leading the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in scoring during his stint there (21.5 PPG).

Sam Dekker had back surgery back in November but the 2015 first-round pick seems to be edging closer to a return. He was seen shooting on the practice court for the first time since heading to the injured list. This is certainly a sign of good things to come.

Dirk Nowitzki has some issues with his right knee and has been ruled QUESTIONABLE for today.

Zaza Pachulia is dealing with some lower right leg pain and has been ruled as QUESTIONABLE for today.

Jeremy Evans is being treated for right shoulder tendinitis and has been ruled as QUESTIONABLE for today.

Sources: Jenny Dial Creech/Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com, Mark Berman of FOX26 (KRIV) and Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com.

Next: Will Ty Lawson Be Retained Beyond The Trade Deadline?

Three Things to Watch:

Patrick Beverley vs. Deron Williams
James Harden vs. Wesley Matthews
Trevor Ariza vs. Chandler Parsons
(Bonus) The rest of our bigs vs. whomever is available to play at forward for the Mavs

Prediction:

106-101 in a Rockets’ win!

The Rockets are at home to take on the Mavericks at Toyota Center.

Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 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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