should be an interesting game. especailly with the way the rockets been playing lately. there are a few good mismatches in favor of the rockets. yao has been more aggressive (except last night) with his post moves and getting alot more deeper in the paint when he receives the ball. i know he's recovering from the flu but its been enough time and he's no baby. he should handle up on there center! i like the match up between nash and sura because sura is bigger & stronger then nash and can post him up causing double teams. which opens up things on the floor for yao or tracy. i dont think the rockets have ever had this advantage this season. sura can score and rebounds extremley well for a point gaurd and flat out, he plays hard. he's a go getter and thats why i like this match up. and what is there to say about my boy t-mac.we all know what time it is!!!enough said. i'l l go out on a limb and say that richardson will pretty much be held in check. he might have a decent game cause i believe in wesley's defence. he's a strong solid defender. since the edition of barry and wesley's arrival the rockets have picked up the tempo in their game especailly after last nights game. also there turnovers have gone down and they have been passing the ball alot better.which leads them to having more assist as well. since last nights victory a few of the rockets players are saying they like to run and thats what they prefer to do. well i'll tell you what. the rockets better be ready to run when they take the suns on for the first time this season. this game will mean a few things. if the rockets lose that will mean they are not ready for contenders which means that they are at the bottom of the west beacause has quite a few of those. if the rockets win that means the editions made by the orginization have worked very well because what i said before plus you just beat the best team in the nba in my opinion. it also means that the rockets will be two games above 500. for the first time this season. also the rockets will have had a 4 game winning streak also for the first time this season. it should be a good one on espn...
not sure if it works blatz I think my java is ****ed up..... but it looks like it would work if it wasn't ****ed up.... if that helps
hmm....... I'll be watching this game but got a feeling it's going to be a long long night for both the fans and the players :\ good luck rockets
This game will be an indicator of just how far these trades have gotten us and how competitive we will be with our new lineup against the true playoff teams.
are we wearing our harwood classic uniforms wed. because i think i heard bill worell say something about them but i may be wrong
Those teams may be crappy but they are also perimeter which is the toughest type of teams for the rockets to play. With the new acquisitions we are now better at transition offense and defense but it is not the strong point of the team Sura, Mc Grady and Wesley will decide if we win or lose. Mc Grady will get his because they have no answer for him although Shaun marion is a very good defender. But more impotantly wesley and Sura have to show up because Yao will have a solid game in streches because they run too much for him but if he starts to get hot they will double and tripple him those guys and Jon Barry have to hit those open shots then rebound we will win this game.
just hoping that yao doesn't get into foul trouble with amare flying to the bucket and nash penetrating. if no foul trouble... rox 101... suns 95.
For the Aussies out there, the game will be LIVE on Foxtel (ESPN) at 1pm on Thursday. My prediction: Rockets 103 Suns 97
Houston 108 Phoenix 95 T-mac - 35 Sura - 15 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists (excited to challenge Nash) Houston wins the game with a stong 4th quarter push.
Rockets 93 Suns 90 Seems like a pretty low estimation for the Suns but I think that if our team can shut down JJ and Q, we have a better shot at winning the game. Shutting down Amare would be vital, but I think shutting down the swingmen is slightly easier. In their 4 losses, JJ and Q did not shoot particularly well. And I have confidance that our trio of Wesley/Sura/McGrady can defend their trio of Nash/JJ/Q.
The yare the top offensive team, but WE are one of the top defensive teams, so there is no way they score over 100 points if we play a controlled defensive game. Rockets 97 Suns 90
The Suns are a very good team because they have scoring depth across the board, everybody can light it up from 1-5. Glad we are meeting them now with this team, we have the best chance to defeat them with this roster, we would have gotten crushed with the old roster. Keys for this game are all defensive. 1. Keep them under 100 points. 2. Yao has to use his size to keep Amare from getting deep low post position. Expect Amare to use his quickness advantage to spin and drive to the hoop for dunks, we need a favorable referee crew to not call the ticky-tack blocks on Yao. 3. Play lock down defense on Nash. Sura did a terrific job last game, I was impressed with his athleticism and quickness in making 5 steals. Sura needs to focus on the defensive end and smother Nash. 4. Play tough post defense, cut off the interior passing lanes and limit baskets made in the paint. Juwan did a great job of this against Utah. Let the Suns beat us from the outside and hope their shot is off. Tracy needs to go off, shoot 30+ shots and exploit the poor Suns defense. I think he will rebound from his low percentage last game and shoot a high percentage. If the Suns don't double Yao, which I don't expect, he will have a good offensive game as well. If the Suns do double front Yao, he needs to feel the double teams and protect/pass the ball out, as important as scoring he needs to keep his turnovers to a minimum. This game is a good test for this reconstituted Rox team but to win they have to come up with the best defensive effort of the season, minimize the mistakes and exploit the Suns poor defense on the offensive end.
Amare and Marion will get their points. The key is to not allow open looks to Richarson & Johnson and limit Nash's penetration. Wesley, Sura, Barry & TMac are fast enough to slow their outside players. If Howard gets more minutes and competes on the board with Marion, we'll be good. Yao needs to back-off from Amare and make him shoot over Yao while doing the same to Amare on the other end. Last year Amare was not as active on offense against us because he spent a lot of energy defending and pushing Yao.
