Adelman Doin Work

Props to RA for getting to the next rung on the ladder, and getting the most out of our guys.

http://www.***************/Blogs/CourtsideBlog.asp?GAME_ID=36173&LEAGUE_CODE=NBA

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Post-Game:*Adelman Ties Ramsey With Win
Date*Posted:*11/6/2009 10:32:00 PM** By:*Bill Ingram**
The big news after the game on Houston's side was the fact that Rockets head coach Rick Adelman matched his mentor Dr. Jack Ramsay's career win total of 864 in leading Houston to a 105-94 win tonight. Adelman was hesitant to say he was as good a coach as Ramsay, but did admit it's a great personal accomplishment to equal Ramsay's win total. Adelman is now 11th on the NBA's all-time win list.

As for the game, the Rockets put on their usual display of team play, with ball movement and cutters as the key to their success. Several Thunder players were remarking in the locker room about points in the paint. The Rockets have no post-up players and yet they managed 54 points in the paint - mostly on back cuts and quick slashes to the basket away from the ball. Scott Brooks was completely disatisfied with his team's defensive effort, as the Rockets shot close to 60% for much of the game before settling for 54% at the final buzzer.

The Thunder did a lot of double-teaming, and against this Houston team that's a dangerous proposition . . .they don't depend on any one player to dominate. Trevor Ariza got off to a slow start, but wound up with 21 points. Meanwhile, Carl Landry had 21 points off the bench and Chase Budinger added 16. Scola was dominant, with 19 points and 10 rebounds . . .Adelman pointed out that he has to have seven or eight guys play well to win games while they're playing without Yao and Tracy.

The Rockets have now scored 100 points or more in five consecutive games, marking the longest such streak since a five-game run in 2007-08 from 2/29/08 to 3/8/08.
The Rockets had 28 total assists tonight, including 16 assists on 21 field goals in the first half.
Houston had a season-high 10 blocked shots tonight, led by Kyle Lowry's career-high 4.
Russell Westbrook's 33 points was just one point shy of his career-high, scored in an overtime loss to Sacramento last season.
Trevor Ariza matched his career-high with six assists.
Tonight's game was a pretty textbook example of Houston Rockets basketball for 2009-10. They have a lot of weapons and they come at you relentlessly. I caught up with Rockets trainer Keith Jones and he said Tracy McGrady is scheduled for an MRI on November 23rd, and his return date will be set based upon the results of that MRI. Until McGrady comes back, expect a lot more diversified scoring from the Rockets. They have a ton of weapons and they'll come at you from everywhere, all the time. It's a very entertaining brand of basketball to watch.