The month of December is going to be tough, especially given our injuries with 12 of our next 13 against teams over .500 and after Minnesota on the 5th, we will not see a team under until the 31st against Charlotte. This is going to be a real test! We are currently 5-3 against teams over .500 and face all the teams we lost at least once. We will have 4 back-to-backs, 3 of them first on the road and second one at home. Also 3 of them have the toughest opponent first, which could help us. Wed, Dec 3, 2014 8:00p EST NBA TV Memphis Grizzlies Fri, Dec 5, 2014 8:00p EST @ Minnesota Timberwolves Sat, Dec 6, 2014 8:00p EST Phoenix Suns Wed, Dec 10, 2014 10:30p EST @ Golden State Warriors Thu, Dec 11, 2014 10:30p EST TNT @ Sacramento Kings Sat, Dec 13, 2014 8:00p EST Denver Nuggets Wed, Dec 17, 2014 10:30p EST ESPN @ Denver Nuggets Thu, Dec 18, 2014 8:30p EST New Orleans Pelicans Sat, Dec 20, 2014 8:00p EST Atlanta Hawks Mon, Dec 22, 2014 8:00p EST Portland Trail Blazers Fri, Dec 26, 2014 8:00p EST @ Memphis Grizzlies Sun, Dec 28, 2014 7:00p EST @ San Antonio Spurs Mon, Dec 29, 2014 8:00p EST Washington Wizards Wed, Dec 31, 2014 7:00p EST Charlotte Hornets If we have this team for another week or two and perhaps Howard back, Beverley maybe, we should happy with a winning record for this month. I will try to remain positive and say we come out 9-5.
I can honestly say we can win all of them except our upcoming game against the Grizzlies. Beverley and/or Dwight should hopefuly be back by next Wednesday against the Warriors. Blazers we are going to murder. Dwight, Beverley, and Harden all have that game circled on the calender. So do the Blazers, but they won't want it as much as we will. TC will be rocking that night. Then we will drop the next two games against tough teams, but pick it back up. If all goes to plan we leave December pretty good. 11-3 for a 24-7 record All the Rockets have to do is keep on playing well until Dwight comes back. Memphis Grizzlies Minnesota Timberwolves Phoenix Suns Golden State Warriors* Sacramento Kings Denver Nuggets Denver Nuggets New Orleans Pelicans Atlanta Hawks Portland Trail Blazers Memphis Grizzlies* San Antonio Spurs Washington Wizards Charlotte Hornets
Assuming Bev and Howard are at least back by mid-December, I don't think the schedule is that tough. 5 really hard games (Memphisx2, GS, Blazers, Spurs) 7 games against OK teams (Denverx2, Phoenix, Hawks, Wizards, Kings, Pels) 2 Pushovers (Minnesota, Hornets) I could easily see 9-5, but this mystery injury timetable leaves things up in the air. With our current roster any game is a tough win. If Howard comes back early I could see 11-3, if he misses an extended time I could see 7-7.
If Dwight isn't back soon then we'll definitely lay some eggs making our way through that schedule. Suns and Warriors are no gimmes and we'll probably have a Laker-type game or two as well.
Sheesh, even Denver is a trap game. I don't mind the record so much as long as we deliver some statement wins against Memphis, GSW and Portland.
yep, we need Dwight back asap. If our injuries don't get better it's going to be tough. all those back to backs too, not good when you have one player whose carrying the team. Not to mention all those strong teams will be doing their best to make Harden work to begin with
9-5 is exactly what I came up with when I looked at the December schedule. Even with Dwight back, I'd be fine with that outcome. January gets a little easier(especially if Bev and T-Jones return by then), so the Rockets could make a run at that point.
I admire y'alls optimism, but unless our injured guys start returning I don't see us doing too well this month. Terry, Black, Dorsey, and Garcia are all going to be playing major minutes...
It all depends upon health, seems like we are playing with house money at the moment. Harden is going to wear down if he has to keep playing this hard, he needs DHo and Bev back ASAP. DD
Best case scenario: vs Grizz - L @ Wolves - W vs Suns - W @ GSW - W @ Kings - L vs Nuggs - W @ Nuggs - W vs Pellies - L vs Hawks - W vs Blazers - W @ Grizz - L @ SAS - L vs Wiz - W vs Hornets - W 9-5 in December
If Dwight is out most or all of December, then it's panic time. And I'm not even talking about our record this month(which probably won't be good). When your star center misses a month or more with a knee injury which is supposedly day-to-day according to the organization, someone on the medical staff is either incompetent or hiding something.
Agreed. But it's more than that. Even if Dwight comes back, and Jones, Bev and Canaan are all still out, I don't know how well we do in that stretch. I don't want to see Black, Terry, Johnson, and Garcia on the floor for more than a couple minutes. Too much is being asked of Harden. Our record has been good so far, but this month is going to be hard.
Honestly...just give me a win against the Grizzlies. I'm sure we'll go something like 8-6 or 9-5, but I'm tired of the 25 point losses to Memphis. Seems like they happen a ton.
I think if Dwight and Bev or Canaan return, we'll be fine. Black and Dorsey are crappy backups, but D-Mo is playing well in T-Jones' absence, the defense has held up for the most part, and that post-Mexico offensive funk seems to have finally passed. 8-6 or 9-5 is more than doable. Again though, it's all contingent on Dwight coming back soon. If we go another week with him continuously being listed as "doubtful", I'm gonna start to get nervous.
But Jones being out means that Papanikolau has to play more minutes than he really should be at the 4, which means that Garcia has to play ~15 minutes at the 3. I'm really happy DMo has stepped up, but we need Jones back. Those minutes (and honestly, any minutes Terry plays when Harden's not on the floor) are killing us.
