[ESPN] Daily Dime - Rockets Survive, Thrive on the Road

Spacemoth · Nov 25, 2008

Not that you needed me to bring your awareness to the article, but since it was Hollinger I thought I'd do the honors and kick off the discussion.

Our offensive efficiency is currently 19th in the league (defense 4th). Now everybody knows our defense will improve into the top 2 or 3 again once Battier returns; the real question is whether or not we can improve our offensive efficiency to a championship worthy level. These last three games would indicate yes, but that's just been the nature of the Rockets season so far--take a few steps forward, take a few steps back. Boston last year went into the playoffs with the best defensive efficiency in the league by far and the 10th best or so offensive efficiency. If we could get to that level offensively, and STAY HEALTHY, then our chances should be just as good.

LINK

John Hollinger said:

MIAMI -- Sometimes the NBA regular season is just about surviving the grind.

And the Houston Rockets, who finished a grueling, injury-plagued first four weeks of the season with a 107-98 win Monday in Miami that left them in first place in the Southwest Division at 10-5, can officially be declared survivors.

The Rockets not only have survived early-season ailments to their three best players and the absence of defensive specialist Shane Battier, they also were dealt a rough schedule right when they were vulnerable. Houston's 10 road games are tied with Portland for the most, and include trips to both coasts that have taken in the league's two farthest corners in Portland and Miami.

And in their compressed early-season schedule, Houston has faced not just quantity but quality. Already they've faced the Lakers, Blazers, Magic, Heat, Suns, Spurs and Mavs -- and all those games were on the road. Throw in home tilts against Boston, New Orleans and Dallas, and 10-5 seems like an accomplishment.

This, of course, brings familiar echoes to a year ago, when the Rockets labored through a cruel early-season schedule and then feasted on an easier slate later on en route to a 22-game winning streak.

The key difference this time is that the Rockets don't need an epic win streak to be in good shape. After all the early struggles -- including that 33-point beating in L.A. -- Houston finds itself all alone in second place in the West thanks to four consecutive road wins.

Moreover, tonight Houston survived what it couldn't a year ago -- another dead-legged effort from guard Tracy McGrady. He was just 2-for-7 from the field with six points in 31 minutes, and the Rockets sat him the final 7:52 and used Brent Barry in his stead.

They survived this one for two reasons. First, Yao Ming destroyed a Lilliputian Heat front line with 28 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists, not to mention numerous kickouts from double-teams that led to a second or third pass to an open shooter.

But second, and perhaps more importantly, was the play of Ron Artest. This game, as much as any, illuminated how he could make a difference on this team and provide what was missing a year ago.

Offensively, Artest made up for the lack of punch from McGrady by pouring in 20 points to supplement Yao. And he was a giant on the defensive end, where his size and quickness helped limit Dwyane Wade to 7-of-23 shooting and five turnovers.

Unusually, Artest wasn't his over-aggressive bulldog self, instead laying off Wade and forcing him into being a jump-shooter. As a result, Wade took a season-high six 3-point attempts and "only" attempted nine free throws -- he came in averaging 10.5 -- and several of his misses were on long 2s.

"I like to push up, I don't like to back up," said Artest. "But coach told me I had to back up tonight. If I get up on him, obviously he'll blow right by me."

"Ron did a great job having patience, just making [Wade] work," said Rockets coach Rick Adelman. "We wanted to try to zone up as much as we can and give Ron as much help as we could."

Artest also provided the night's crucial sequence, when the Heat had cut a 13-point Houston lead to four points with 5:24 left. Adelman gave a winded Yao a late rest and had T-Mac on the sidelines, so Artest was the go-to guy. He delivered with an 18-foot pull-up to his left, then picked Wade clean up top at the other end to start a break that ended with a Carl Landry put-back dunk. The quick four points gave Houston some breathing room, and Miami never seriously threatened again.

But let's get back to the defense. That's Houston's bread-and-butter, and their game plan was to keep Artest on the court when Wade was (he played every second Wade did) and bring the cavalry from the weak side.

"Without Shane we didn't have anybody else to guard Wade," said Adelman.

Artest had help behind him. Yao was able to be a force defensively and alter several of Wade's deliveries around the rim, mainly because he largely avoided the sin of coming out too high to meet Wade.

"He can't come out from the rim," said Adelman. "He has to stay at the rim because that's where he's effective. He's so big that if he just stays there he's hard to shoot over."

It's way too early to say the Rockets are completely over the hump -- McGrady's ongoing maladies are a worry, and Yao's continued health can't be taken for granted either. Additionally, while the offense has flowed better the past three games, players admit moments of stagnation and hesitation remain while everybody gets on the same page -- most notably newcomers Artest and Barry, both of whom are shooting uncharacteristically poor percentages.

Nonetheless, the Rockets' perfect swing through the Southeast (they also beat the Wizards and Magic) may be the first sign of their jelling around the new acquisitions Artest and Barry and getting away from the McGrady-dominated attack of yore.

"We're figuring out how we're going to play basketball," said Yao. "Our first 10 games we were playing just with our talent, not much with team discipline. We passed the ball to the weak side very well on this trip. We need to keep doing that the rest of the season."

In the meantime, this was exactly why they picked up Artest -- he enables Houston to survive the grind that takes such a toll on Yao and T-Mac. With 15 games gone, Artest still on his best behavior and a quarter of the Rockets' road games out of the way, they have to like where they stand after a bumpy first four weeks.
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mirror_image · Nov 25, 2008

Good article. I wish we could beat Lakers and Celtics when Shane is back.

fleshbody · Nov 25, 2008

nice read, it's always good to see hollinger's comment on us as he is one of the few media guy back up the Rockets.

as for Lakers and Celtics, we definitely need to run our offense better other than Shane to beat them.

AroundTheWorld · Nov 25, 2008

Excellent article, thanks for posting.

I think we are in great shape and the more the team grows together, the more dangerous we will be.

kaocsaephan · Nov 25, 2008

Good article. 10 road games already? That was fast.

AzNaNsZ · Nov 25, 2008

man faraout time flies, we've nearly gone through 1 quarter of the season already.

shortfuse3 · Nov 25, 2008

i read somewhere that championship teams are usually always in the top 10 in offense and defense. offense is where we need to be.

lxnew2000 · Nov 25, 2008

I just can't wait for Shane to come back, then Ron Ron will have a more active role on the offense. And the defense woohoo especially perimeter D is a lock down as Ron and Shane switching between the best of Kobes and LBJs.

CheezeyBoy22 · Nov 25, 2008

I think overall John likes the Rockets. I think he's waiting to see how the Rockets respond when Shane gets back. He's in love with defense and that is something that he always talks about in his articles.

kwng · Nov 25, 2008

Great article. We need some size to match the lakers and celtics. I am not sure Battier come back is enough.

thunder03 · Nov 25, 2008

Battier's back will help wingspan defence and team work ethnics, but we will have a hole at center position, if Yao is down, are we really counting on Hayes?

durvasa · Nov 25, 2008

thunder03 said:

Battier's back will help wingspan defence and team work ethnics, but we will have a hole at center position, if Yao is down, are we really counting on Hayes?
Click to expand...

The Rockets are planning on signing a 7-footer, likely Mutombo, in the event that Yao gets injured. For now, they think the PF trio is sufficient.

Rudyball · Nov 25, 2008

3 more games to finish out the month, and it is totally realsistic to finish the month out with a 13 - 5 record. Pretty good from where we have started.

Showtizzle2642 · Nov 25, 2008

i read that deke will be back by mid-december?
can anyone confirm this?

FFz · Nov 25, 2008

Showtizzle2642 said:

i read that deke will be back by mid-december?
can anyone confirm this?
Click to expand...

thats what he said in the 76ers game when he was being interviewed.

GRENDEL · Nov 25, 2008

Great article thanks for posting. For all the ups and down of this early part of the season we should be very happy where we are right now, plus this team still has the ability to improve.

GMAC · Nov 25, 2008

Looking at those rankings, damn, we've played a lot of games. 3 more games than a large majority of the teams in the league. Against quality opponents too.

I'd say a 10-5 is very respectable, best in the SW, especially without our superstars healthy and without Shane.

ClutchCityReturns · Nov 25, 2008

kaocsaephan said:

Good article. 10 road games already? That was fast.
Click to expand...

They mentioned last night on the telecast that we haven't played back to back home games yet. I guess it should have been obvious, but it amazed me when I really gave it some thought.

EDIT: Looking at the schedule myself, it turns out they were wrong on TV last night. We played Oklahoma City and then Boston at home. Still, 2 straight home tilts in the span of 15 games is crazy. I wonder if any other team has experienced that.

Big MAK · Nov 25, 2008

Showtizzle2642 said:

i read that deke will be back by mid-december?
can anyone confirm this?
Click to expand...

I heard that too. My question is, will he be playing, or just sit on the bench incase Yao gets hurt? I like running a small, quick lineup when Yao is out.

I wouldnt mind having Yao sit out a couple games against scrub teams throughout the season to rest, if we had Deke. Example, have him sit out OK and NY games Jan 9th and 10th for rest. Keeping him healthy is our number 1 priority.

heypartner · Nov 25, 2008

when did "home tilts" become a phrase. Never heard that before.

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