Game 39: Houston Rockets At Memphis Grizzlies Preview

What an amazing 107-103 overtime win the Houston Rockets had over the Indiana Pacers this past Sunday!

And it’s official — the Rockets are on a three-game win streak!

It goes to show that this team, if provoked, can beat the upper-crust of the NBA.

It’s all a matter of focus and applying the right technique to each opponent.

They’re still giving up a boatload of points to opponents but at least they’re not as bad as they were earlier in the season.

It certainly gives us Rockets fans hope moving forward.

The Rockets take on the 21-18 Memphis Grizzlies tonight to which it will be a likely, gritty down-to-the-wire match up at their house.

Despite the odds of the Rockets winning diminish a bit — the Grizz are 13-6 at home — I think they can pull out the W if they keep their eyes on the prize.

They’re 0-2 against them this season as the Rockets dropped their last meeting 102-93 back Nov. 25.

So who’s leading the charge for the Grizzlies?

Marc Gasol is the team’s leading scorer (15.7 PPG). Zach Randolph is the team’s leading board-getter (8.3 RPG). Mike Conley is the chief of dimes (5.8 APG), Tony Allen in steals (1.60 SPG). Brandan Wright is the team’s top shot-blocker (1.40 BPG).

Let’s talk about what the Grizzlies do well.

They care of the basketball. The Grizzlies are 5th in the NBA in turnover ratio, with a whopping 12.6 percent of their possessions ending in a turnover.

They take care of business from behind the charity stripe. The Grizzlies are 3rd in the NBA as far as free throw percentage (79.5).

Injuries:

Ty Lawson was suspended for three games this past Thursday as a result of a guilty plea for a separate charge in a DUI arrest that occurred this past July. His presence will be missed but there’s no doubt Jason Terry picks up the slack and then some as he continues to do.

If you’ve been under a rock lately, Donatas Motiejunas‘ back issues have flared up again. Yep, another team member with a back issue! 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 yesterday for the first time since heading to the injured list. This is certainly a sign of good things to come.

Mike Conley has suffered an Achilles’ injury causing him to be sidelined for a few games as a result. He was limited in practice in yesterday and is questionable for tonight’s game.

Sources: Jenny Dial Creech/Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com and Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commerical Appeal.

Next: Rockets: Week 12 NBA Power Rankings

Three Things to Watch:

Dwight Howard vs. Marc Gasol
James Harden vs. Tony Allen
Patrick Beverley vs. Mike Conley?/Mario Chalmers

Prediction:

104-98 in a Rockets’ win!

The Rockets hit the road to take on the Grizzlies at the FedExForum.

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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