houston rockets (20-20, 11th in the west, 8.5 GB) at denver nuggets (24-17, 8th in the west, 5 GB) --------------------------------------------- figured since i was around alot recently, and we happen to play each other next, lets get a good discussion going on the game. cant consider it a must win for either team (kinda early) yet but its really big. two teams pushing for a playoff spot. will hakeem play? matchups (i hope i got your starting 5 right) pg: francis vs van exel : im sure one of these guys makes the all star team behind kidd/GP, and they always have great battles. tomorrow will be no different. sg: mobley vs lenard : lenard has been off the last few games, whereas mobley has been inconsistent (either really hot or really cold). might be a key matchup if the game is close. sf: anderson vs posey : two solid sfs who have been hitting the boards lately. if either can provide some O itll help pf: taylor vs dice : dice has had great success vs houston this year, and i hope it continues, however taylor always seems to matchup well and get a good amount of pts/rebs vs us. our advantage but not as big as i wish it was. cn: thomas vs raef : oh man that 3 by KT in game #1 is still in my mind. two big men with range...nice matchup! raef blew last game so he better fix it or we in trouble. I think the keys to the game will be (1) rebounding...giving up 2nd chance points (2) turnovers...they can lead to easy buckets and more shot opportunities...always crucial (3) momentum...i feel this will be a game of runs as both teams can get really hot and score a bunch but can give it up as well...last game was a good example of this and it ended up being i think a 2 pt game. what are your guys thoughts? good luck but i hope we win ------------------ the nuggets suck...i know, i know!
While looking at starting lineups is helpful, a large chunk of Houston's offense comes off the bench. I don't know much about Denver's bench, I just wanted to point out that there are many other things to compare. ------------------ "Of course, everything looks bad if you remember it!" Homer Simpson
good idea...heres our bench regulars (in no order): george mccloud kevin willis mark strickland robert pack tariq abdul wahad (started playing a little recently) how bout houston? ------------------ the nuggets suck...i know, i know!
Wasn't Robert Pack about to check into a game when he realized that he was wearing a t-shirt underneath his warmups instead of a jersey? I hope he pulls this kinda stunt in Houston. ------------------ PrEsident of The Danforth Langhford FAN CLUB... He IS our future All-Star Small Forward
KENNY THOMAS VS. ANTONIO MCDYESS MCDYESS WINS SHANDON ANDERSON VS. JAMES POSEY ANDERSON WINS CUTTINO MOBLEY VS. VOSHON LENARD MOBLEY WINS STEVE FRANCIS VS. NICK VAN EXEL FRANCIS WINS MAURICE TAYLOR VS. RAEF LAFRENTZ PUSH BENCH DENVER COACH HOUSTON ------------------ http://www.democrats.com
mobly will get 20 and 10 Francis will get close to a triple-double rockets will win 95 - 80 ------------------
I wish we had Willis right now. Excel will probly light it up. Mobley should have a big game. Francis and Anderson will be solid. Mo And KT, will be expending all their energy trying to contain Antonio. McDyess will NOT get 40 pts 20 rebounds again(pleeze no) LaFrentz will get some boards but struggle from the field. Rockets win, of course. ------------------ snap crackle pop
Houston bench: Walt Williams Moochie Norris Matt Bullard Dan Langhi Jason Collier Carlos Rogers ------------------
you guys go 11 deep? or do not all of them play regularly? ------------------ the nuggets suck...i know, i know!
Ahhh Robert Pack just wanted to be like Ala Abdelnaby. ------------------ "We need to fockass".....Dream back in the day
You mean, whereas mobley is either really, really amazingly hot, or getting on a plane and flying to LA to play a back to back against the Lakers with no centers and a D who had nothing to worry about but him and Francis. while still blowing by them and missing little bitty layups and tip-ins and nailing 12-13 from the line. Lenard is a very weak link for you. You get crushed on papar on that match-up. The storyline is: interior game of yours and the thin air, against a superior pick-n-roll dribbling attack of ours. Keep it simple.
can anyone guess who the rockets will let get SUPERSTAR type numbers??? ummmm......who's denvers waterboy??... :}
NugzFan, What do you think has been the key to the Negget's success this year? WRT the Rocks, they have been playing better as a team lately, making the extra pass on O and playing better team D. Both of these would not appear in a position by position discussion. Just curious ------------------
I wouldn't say that Cat is streaky, he has been dropping 17 points a game. And even when he has an off night shooting wise, he finds a way to manufacture 15 to 18 points. Back-to-backs don't help either. Mobley is the Rockets 2nd leading scorer. Jason Collier will get some decent minutes, he's a decent rebounder and good shooter. I think the Rockets speed could come into play, I see a Rockets win, they always play Denver tough. ------------------ Rocket fans UNITE to bring Pig Miller back home! WE NEED PIG! OINK! OINK! OINK!
Notradamus inc., prediction... Houston 112 Denver 101 Cuttino Mobely scores 12 in the 4th quarter. First Half Denver 55 Houston 51 Francis Line: 22 pts 7 reb 6 asst mcDyess Line: 32 pts 17 rb 2 asst. ------------------ humble, but hungry.
when i said mobley has been inconsistent lately, i was referring to his shooting over the last 10 games: 3-14, 14-26, 9-16, 6-17, 5-17, 5-16, 11-20, 4-16, 7-19, 4-11 lenard isnt as good as mobley, but in no way is he a weak link. ------------------ the nuggets suck...i know, i know!
i would say its a few factors: 1) mcdyess playing like an all star 2) van exel playing like a true leader/pg 3) our role players all playing their roles well (raef, posey, lenard, willis, mccloud, strick, etc) 4) having a well rounded team (inside/outside, starters/bench, running/half court), 5) the mutiny??? alot of things dont show up in a position by position analysis, which would probably favor denver IMO as position wise you guys would win. what does WRT mean? another question, you say you make the extra pass on O but you guys are low in the nba in apg and always complain about not passing and doing too many ISOs? ------------------ the nuggets suck...i know, i know!
that halftime score is almost the same as the halftime score the last time we played in denver ill say francis gets 18 and 7, mobley 23 and 5, taylor 17 and 7, KT 10 (all in the 2nd half). for denver dice 27 and 13, nve 18 and 8, raef 10 and 10, and posey 14. houston up early, denver fights back, takes lead mid way through 3, then the two teams go back and forth until late in the 4th where a mobley or KT 3 is the dagger. fts put the game away. houston 103, denver 98. ------------------ the nuggets suck...i know, i know!
