ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Nuggets 1/12/2007

Yes ESPNHD

 

Rockets should be able to defeat the Boykins-less denver nuggets. Mutombo will continue his hot streak grabbing another 15 rebs. T-Mac will bounce back from that 8 pts performance against the Lakers and score 30pts. Final score rockets 101-99 Nuggets.

 

No reason to lose.

Nuggets is a very bad team with AI now. Just a 77ers

Rockets 100:79

Tmac 24mins 38pts

Deke 23mins 6pts, 26rebs,8blks

 

Fortunately, we won't have to worry about seeing Boykins blow by Alston time after time.

So who's going to guard Iverson? It's probably going to be Alston but I hope Battier or T-Mac gets some time to guard him. Perhaps Snyder gets some more time specifically to guard AI. Or could Bonzi return?

One of the keys of the game is to force AI to play some defense. Use various maneuvers like screens, picks, etc to force mis-matches to where AI would have to guard a guy like Battier, who can just post him up all day. Regardless, AI will be guarding Rafer most of the time, so Rafer needs to drive... a lot.

 

AI is going to go off

 

Doesn't matter if we win.

 

104-99
Rockets win!
Too bad the nuggets lost boykins..oh well their loss..

 

Rockets will win because of Tmac. No one on Dever could possibly stop his shooting/passing combination. Our defense is just too good to let AI go off.

 

AI can score 50 points shooting 40 times for all i care


just as long as we win

 

Camby worries me.

No Boykins was great timing, little things like that keep happening to us(players on opposion teams getting injured just before playing us etc)...Destiny perhaps?

C'mon Rockets, keep it going! No letdown on national TV. This is your big chance to shine and show the world we aint messing around.

Rockets 105
Nuggets 99

 

go Rockets!!!

 

YESSS ESPN ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

 

tmac is going to go off for 50 points! book it!

and we win of course

 

we'll win 101-87

Nuggets can't play ANY defense

 

I say houston 92 denver 87

 

Unless T-mac succumbs to altitude sickness there is no way we lose this game (and even then I still like our chances). Just recently watched the game where they (Denver) played Seattle, their D is terrible, and they are unable to score in the paint without Melo. When Melo comes back they'll be different team but right now they're easy pickings. Also, these one scorer teams (Cleveland, Celtics, Sixers) usually can't do anything against JVG's defense.

 

Rox 89
Nuggets 88

Huge night for T-Mac with 49 points!
Head dunks over Camby ...

Check out this guy!
Kevin Loughery on Rockets-Nuggets Matchup

Having spent over 30 years in the NBA and ABA, Kevin Loughery is one of the rare few that have had success both on the court as a player and on the sidelines as a coach. An 11-year veteran as a player, Loughery averaged over 15 points per game from 1966-71, including a career high of 22.9 in 1969 while with the Baltimore Bullets. Following his playing days, Loughery had a quick stint with the 76ers before heading to the ABA where he won two championships while coaching the great Dr. J. In 1977, Loughery returned to the NBA sidelines where he would remain through 1997 when he retired with a career combined ABA and NBA record of 642-746.

WHY THIS GAME IS IMPORTANT

For Denver: The Nuggets need to win their home games if they are going to get into the playoffs in the Western Conference. Right now they’re third in the Northwest and have lost four of their last five at home. A 10-9 record at the Pepsi Center isn’t going to cut it.
For Houston: Houston has played very well without Yao Ming and Bonzi Wells, so you have to give them a lot of credit. If they can stay in the race until Yao comes back, they can be a big factor down the stretch and in the playoffs.

PLAYER ON THE SPOT

Allen Iverson
As long as Carmelo Anthony is out, Allen Iverson is going to have to shoulder the load for the Nuggets. With all that has gone on lately with this team, I don’t think they can possibly be together. When you make a trade with a productive player like Earl Boykins, it takes a while to overcome that and adjust as a group. The trade doesn’t surprise me because it is tough to play two small guards like Iverson and Boykins together, but the way Boykins was playing, Iverson is going to have to step up that much more. J.R. Smith being back will help some, but this is still Iverson’s show until Carmelo returns.

X-FACTOR

The most intriguing thing in this game is the contrasting styles of the two coaches. George Karl wants to go up and down, particularly at home, to try and get the game in the 120s. If they go up and down it is a tremendous advantage for Denver with the light air, which is one of the reasons they decided to open it up and go every night. On the other hand, Jeff Van Gundy wants to really slow it down and get the game in the 90s. It is going to be very exciting to see which one prevails. Usually I don’t point to two coaches as being the x-factor to a game, but these guys are so different that it really changes things. Which one will be able to set the tempo? Can Denver get Houston running up and down? Can Houston get Denver to settle into a halfcourt game?

HOT TOPICS

Houston: How long can the Rockets continue to play this well without Yao?
Since Yao went down the Rockets are 7-2 and playing very well. Tracy McGrady has been absolutely sensational. He’s distributing the ball and when he needs to pick up the scoring like the other night versus Chicago, when he scored 25 in the second half, he is doing that too. When Yao is healthy, McGrady almost becomes a secondary player at times. Now he knows that he has to carry a club. That has helped him and he is really enjoying it. And he has shown more faith in his teammates as well. They are stepping up to the challenge. The addition of Shane Battier has really helped them on and off the floor. One of the most improved players is the kid from Illinois, Luther Head. I have really been impressed watching him play lately. He plays hard, brings intangibles to the team and shoots the three-pointer extremely well at nearly 45 percent.

Nuggets: Where do they go from here?
They are a club right now that can’t be together. It is a situation where they keep changing personnel without having the opportunity to figure things out in training camp. I have been there before and it is very, very difficult. First of all, they lost their best player for 15 games. They lost another starter for 10 games. Now you trade Boykins. Things can’t be happy around their locker room right now. I imagine everybody is looking around and wondering what’s next. But once Carmelo comes back and things settle down, I think they’ll be a pretty good team. They need to get adjusted to each other with a new point guard in Iverson, who is much different than Andre Miller, who was a distributor first, or even Boykins. It is a major difference. Will it be too late?


BOTTOM LINE

Denver can’t afford to keep losing games at home, especially in the West. It’s just too competitive. In the East you can go out and beat the other teams on the road, but it’s hard to go into other buildings in the West and win. There are just too many things going on with the Nuggets right now for them to pull this one out. Right now they’re not close to being a good team with all the changes. Everything to me is pointing against Denver winning this game, but knowing my luck, the Nuggets will probably blow them out.

-- Kevin Loughery appears courtesy of the National Basketball Coaches Association

URL: http://www.nba.com/news/coach_denhou_070112.html

I think he 's drunk ... a blow out? No waaaaaaaaaaay!

 

go rockets,distroy denver

 

And free V-Span !!!

Let's hope he gets some minutes......



DD

 

McGrady had a terrible game last season at Denver, but the year before he scored 45 points.