Game 8: Houston Rockets Vs. Brooklyn Nets Preview
The Houston Rockets are back in stride.
Almost.
After a miserable 0-3 start, the Rockets have gotten back to their bread and butter as far as their offense and have been beneficiaries of a four-game win streak since then.
The key component was getting James Harden going again as the team’s performance will only go as far as he can take them.
Luckily, he’s still on the upswing and he’ll continue to crush his competition as the season rolls on.
His 46 points that he put up in a 109-105 win over the Los Angeles Clippers –their last opponent — goes to show how much of difference he makes to this team’s offensive game plan.
However, the Rockets defense still isn’t quite where it needs to be or where it was at this point last season.
The Rockets are still holding at 26th in the league in defensive efficiency, giving up 106 points per 100 possessions.
That’s got to change if this team is to be a leader in the Western Conference.
But there’s 74 more games to go, the season’s still young, so they have plenty of time to right that ship.
Any way, the Rockets have had three days off since their grind-out win over the Clips last Saturday night so they should be fully-rested to take on the winless (0-7) Brooklyn Nets.
The Nets currently are on a eight-game losing streak against the Rockets and it appears that there are no signs of them turning that around this year as well.
Good.
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After a few seasons of adding some retreads of aging veterans, this team has decided they’re preparing to start a full rebuild.
Deron Williams relocated to Big D, Kevin Garnett went back to the Twin Cities where his career started and Paul Pierce is still ring-chasing, taking his three-pointer heroics to Hollywood in hope of getting some additional hardware before he retires.
This leaves this team with only two stars — Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez.
The sobering effect of their current losing streak off their emotional high of past winning seasons has fans clamoring for hope just as much as the guys who actually play on the team.
So who’s leading the charge for the Nets?
Lopez leads the team in scoring (20.4 PPG) and in blocks (1.70 BPG). Thaddeus Young holds the rebound title (7.9 RPG) while Jarrett Jack (6.5 APG) and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (1.30 SPG) are on top in assists and steals, respectively.
Let’s talk about what the Nets do well.
That’s actually a tough question.
They rebound the ball well and rapidly. The Nets are 8th in the league in offensive rebound rate (26.0) and 7th in the league in defensive rebound rate (79.0).
However, with as strong as our front line is, it’s highly likely the Rockets will win that battle as well.
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Injuries:
Patrick Beverley returned to practice yesterday after missing the past two games with a concussion. He has officially gotten the “all-clear” after going through the NBA’s concussion protocols before returning back to the court.
Terrence Jones also returned to practice after missing the past five games over the past couple of weeks.
At the time of this writing, their status for tonight wasn’t certain but they’re likely to be available and probable for tonight.
Donatas Motiejunas is still out after having back surgery earlier this year during last season. He still hasn’t been cleared by doctors to practice yet. But I implore you to take a look at his Twitter (@DonatasMot) timeline — he has posted a few videos in regard to his progress — and those drills look quite rigorous so it has me to believe that he’s not too far away from a return.
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As far as the Nets, Lopez has been dealing with a sore left foot and back since their last Saturday match up against the Milwaukee Bucks but he is probable for tonight’s game.
Three Things to Watch:
- Dwight Howard Vs. Brook Lopez
- Will the Beard continue his resurgence?
- Will the Rockets show some sort of a commitment to defense?
Next: Red Nation Hoops Podcast: Episode 7
Prediction:
110-98 in a Rockets’ win!
The Rockets are back at home to take on the Nets at Toyota Center.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST.
The game will be televised on ROOT Sports and broadcast on SportsTalk 790 AM (KBME) & La Ranchera 850 AM (KEYH) in Spanish.
Go Rockets.