1. Brian Grant vs. Yao: Don't underestimate the undersize PF and sometimes C, Grant will be very physical trying to get Yao out of the paint. 2. Eddie Jones vs. Jim Jackson: JJ, you better defend EJ's 3-point shots or else he'll kill you. 3. Caron Butler vs. Stevie Interesting matchup.
lol somebody actually predicted Van Gundy will win? Hm...can you be anymore vague? It's like predicting a team will lose tomorrow night
I can't read chinese but it's pretty obvious which links are for nba games. They usually have nba in the description and the two teams playing in the file name.
The Rockets simply must win this game, if all the respect we are gradually building up in the the league is not to crumble like a pack of cards. Rockets 91 Heat 74
Heat is a very good team, at least it's way better than the magic team without T-mac performing. We only won that by 10 so it's possible we lose this one. But if everyone has the right attitude we should pull it off. Stan van gundy is working his a*s off (just like his brother), he deserves more than what he got.
Tonight's game: HEAT AT ROCKETS South Florida Sun-Sentinel About the Heat: At 0-6, the Heat is off to its worst start since 0-17 at the franchise's inception in 1988. Tonight's game could mark the first start for forward Caron Butler, who played off the bench for 31 minutes in Saturday's 88-79 home loss to Minnesota, his first action since Oct. 4 arthroscopic knee surgery. The Heat has shot below 37 percent in four of its past five. It has yet to have a player record more than one blocked shot in a game. Forwards Samaki Walker (shoulder), Rasual Butler (hand) and Malik Allen (foot) are on the injured list. About the Rockets: The Rockets are 4-1 for the first time since starting 5-1 three seasons ago. Houston has lost its past three home dates against the Heat, but those games were at the Compaq Center, with the Rockets having moved this season to the new Toyota Center. The Rockets have lost at least once to the Heat in each of the past eight seasons, with tonight's game opening the two-game season series. Yao Ming was limited to 12.5 points in the two meetings last season, with the 7-foot-6 center shooting .643 from the field and averaging 10 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. Guard Steve Francis averaged 24 points against the Heat last season but did it on .371 shooting. Forward Ben Davis (knee), swingman Adrian Griffin (knee) and guard Eric Piatkowski (ankle) are on the injured list. Forwards Maurice Taylor (NBA substance abuse) and Eddie Griffin (team sanctions) are under suspension. - Ira Winderman
TV for mom, dad By Ira Winderman Staff Writer Parents Bill and Cindy Van Gundy plan to sit this one out in the comfort of their Miami home. More likely is an appearance at the Jan. 26 rematch at AmericanAirlines Arena. ``It's just too much,'' Cindy said. ``I've been to one Heat-Knick game, here in Miami, before we moved down here, and one in New York. It's just too difficult, because you don't want to be perceived as being partial -- and we're not partial -- but people draw their own conclusions by when you applaud, facial expressions. ``And, probably more than that, some fans can be really mean. It's awfully hard to sit and hear remarks made without retaliating. I would be great at retaliating. And I don't want to, because I would never, ever want to do anything to embarrass them.''
JONATHAN FEIGEN Feeling the Heat Perhaps no team left as much of a mark on Yao Ming last season as the Miami Heat. Those marks, two lines of scars across his back, have faded but are still visible, and Yao has not forgotten his meetings with Heat center Brian Grant. "They're still here," Yao said of the scars across his back. "It's the NBA. I'm ready for them to use the same physicality again this year. Maybe they'll be even more physical."
Talent level By JONATHAN FEIGEN The Rockets (4-1) are in first place five games into the season and lead the Midwest Division later in the season than since 1997-98, before any current Rockets player joined the team. They are not impressed. "It's too early," Rockets guard Steve Francis said. "San Antonio is playing without their two best players. For us as a team, I think everybody realizes it's better to be in first place in April than first place in early November. We're playing better -- better than we started out early in preseason. We still have a lot of improvement (to come). Like coach said, every day is a work in progress. We need to improve every single day, whether it's lower turnovers, better defense for more than one quarter. "We have the talent, despite us having two of our key forwards out right now, plus Eric (Piatkowski) and Adrian (Griffin). We have a good chance of improving. But I think we've done a good job with the guys we have. The sky's the limit if we keep believing in each other." Easy does it? The Rockets have noted recently that they have only beaten struggling or injury-depleted teams this season. But they often lost to such opponents last season and fell to 11 of the other 12 lottery teams. "What makes me laugh is when a lottery team overlooks another lottery team," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "Is that a joke, or what? ... What do you think, they were circling the date on their calendar? It's a joke. If you're not ready in this league, you don't win. "People that think there's a huge difference in talent level in this league are wrong. The differences are attitude, preparation, team chemistry, team spirit. We'll be tested tomorrow. It's not going to be down the line. It's not going to be on the West Coast. It's going to be tomorrow, and it will be pass or fail." Besides, five games don't prove much. "It's only five games," center Yao Ming said. "There's still 77 more games to play. When I think of 77 more games, it makes me tired. We still have a long way to go."
Yao Ming got 17 shots in the Magic game. Sure he did not shoot a high percentage but I cant remember a game in which he got 17 shots. I will be intersted to see if he gets that many tonight. If I remember correctly last year the Heat did A LOT of fronting on Yao and that seemed to cause him some problems. Not to mention Yao allowed Grant to push him too far out of the box and out of his comfort zone. I would look to see how Yao establishes his post position tonight and to see how many shots. Clearly the Rockets have an edge with Yao in the post and we have to take advantage of it. We can't allow Grant to shut down Yao.
