Your beloved boys in Blue vs our beloved boys in Red

[Indazone]

ITS TIME! BRING IT MAVSFANS!

:lobt2::lobt2: vs http://www.ijstyles.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Coke-Zero.png

Rockets-Mavericks Preview
By JUSTIN EINHORN, STATS Senior Editor
www.nba.com (http://www.nba.com)
Posted Nov 9 2009 4:39PMThe return of Josh Howard brings the Dallas

Mavericks more balance.


It seems the Houston Rockets have little choice but to go that route offensively.

These in-state rivals play Tuesday night for the first time since Dallas cost Houston its first division title in 15 years.

The Rockets had the Southwest Division crown and the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference within their grasp going into their final game of the 2008-09 season, but they lost 95-84 in Dallas. That gave San Antonio the Southwest title while Houston settled for the fifth seed, one spot ahead of the Mavericks.

Both teams would lose in the conference semifinals and they appear capable of getting at least that far this season after strong starts, though Dallas (4-2) no longer has major injury problems while Houston (4-2) will have some all season.

As the Rockets await Tracy McGrady's return and know Yao Ming won't be back, the Mavericks saw Howard make his season debut Saturday in a 129-101 win over Toronto.

Dallas had five players score in double figures for the first time en route to its highest point total of the season. Only one player scored more than 20 - Dirk Nowitzki (29) - for the sixth straight game, but three others came close as Jason Terry had 19, Shawn Marion 18 and Howard 16.

Marion, acquired from Toronto in July, got his first glimpse at how good Dallas' offense can be now that Howard has rejoined the mix.
"It felt good, but a little weird because we haven't been out there," Marion said. "It's always good to have another weapon out there."
Howard, who averaged 18.0 points in 2008-09, missed the first five games following surgery to his ankle and wrist.

"It's something I have to keep working through," said Howard, who expects to be sore for a while. "Of course I'm fatigued and I have to work through the process of getting back to 100 percent, which I'm not. But I felt pretty good, getting back in the swing of things."

Houston should be feeling pretty good despite Yao (foot surgery) being out for the season and McGrady (knee surgery) unlikely to return in 2009.
The Rockets have won four of five, scoring more than 100 points in each, and the only loss came in overtime to the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers.

They have six players averaging at least 9.8 points - newcomer Trevor Ariza leads the way with 20.8 per game - and a different player has led Houston in scoring in three straight contests.

"We've got unselfish guys on this team," said rookie Chase Budinger, averaging 10.6 points off the bench. "Nobody on this team is playing for themselves. We are playing together, and everybody has got one goal in mind, and that is to win games."

Five Rockets scored in double digits Friday in a 105-94 win over Oklahoma City. Two days earlier, six were in double figures against the Lakers, and two days before that, eight scored at least 10 in a win at Utah.
"It's pretty much going to be like that the whole season," forward Luis Scola said.

Coach Rick Adelman will be going for his 865th career victory, which would break a tie with Jack Ramsay for 11th place all-time.
These teams split four meetings last season as each won once on the road

[Indazone]

Adelman, Rockets rely on bench

Reserves give edge in scoring over counterparts

By JONATHAN FEIGEN HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Nov. 8, 2009, 10:25PM

http://www.chron.com/photos/2009/11/06/19108881/260xStory.jpg
http://us.bc.yahoo.com/b?P=b72550c8-ce01-11de-9f3f-6736b57c0464&T=19elg85ce%2fX%3d1257861763%2fE%3d2022775998%2fR% 3dncsprtbkpr%2fK%3d5%2fV%3d8.1%2fW%3d0%2fY%3dPARTN ER_US%2fF%3d1498843589%2fH%3dYWx0c3BpZD0iOTY3MjgzM zE4IiBzZXJ2ZUlkPSJiNzI1NTBjOC1jZTAxLTExZGUtOWYzZi0 2NzM2YjU3YzA0NjQiIHNpdGVJZD0iNzYxMDUxIiB0U3RtcD0iM TI1Nzg2MTc2MzA2NTI3NiIgdGFyZ2V0PSJfdG9wIiA-%2fQ%3d-1%2fS%3d1%2fJ%3d0CA9B444&U=128n2kp77%2fN%3dK4rxB0S0qU0-%2fC%3d-1%2fD%3dBTN2%2fB%3d-1%2fV%3d5

Karen Warren Chronicle

Rockets head coach Rick Adelman chats with forward Carl Landry during their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.



Of all that had been worthy of Rockets coach Rick Adelman's concern, the production of his bench seemed down the list.


He worried about that, anyway.

With his top three scorers from last season, Yao Ming, Ron Artest and Tracy McGrady, out or elsewhere, and his sixth man, Von Wafer, allowed to walk, depth did not seem likely to be a strength. It is not easy to be short-handed and deep at the same time.

The play of the bench has gone from a presumed liability to a strength. The Rockets' second unit has outscored its opponents by an average of 36 to 26.8. In the three games last week, the bench outscored the Jazz, Lakers and Thunder by an average of 37 to 16.7.

The Rockets have done that going with three players — point guard Kyle Lowry, shooting guard/small forward Chase Budinger and power forward Carl Landry — with center David Andersen mixing in for cameos.
Each position covered

“Our bench comes in, we have Chase scoring points, Carl scoring big points,” Lowry said. “It works because we have great balance. Up front, Carl and Dave coming off that bench are pretty effective. Chase and myself, we're out there pushing tempo and making plays. I guess it's working.”

With a short bench, the Rockets don't give their reserves extensive minutes. But they have produced enough in the time they have gotten to rank third in the NBA in points per minute, less than a point shy of league leaders Atlanta and New York. The Rockets are eighth in bench scoring.

Especially against Oklahoma City on Friday, the bench has brought needed energy, with Adelman saying Lowry “really kind of changed the whole tempo of the game for us.”

“He's always looking,” Landry said. “When Kyle has the ball, I'm running, I'm cutting. But I'm keeping my eyes on him all the time because you'll never know. He'll throw a pass on the side of your defender's ear, right in your hand. He's a great point guard. He'd be a starting point guard on almost every team in the league.”

“The Rockets will not be anywhere near as deep as some of the Western Conference contenders, particularly Dallas, Tuesday's opponent. But because their three regulars off the bench cover each area, with a point guard and a wing and a power forward, the bench can be one or two players shorter than others and provide significant playing time and production.

Asked if he expected this, Adelman charitably said, “Not really.
“Kyle and Carl and Chase have been very consistent,” Adelman said. “David has given us some stuff. I feel very comfortable with the guys off the bench. I was trying to feel it out and see how the rotation was going to go. But when they give you production, I was able to leave them in there for long periods of time, rather than get the starters back in, so that's nice to see.”

The offense off the bench also has been efficient, with the reserves making 47.5 percent of their shots, sixth best in the NBA, and 40 percent of their 3s (seventh best).
Mesh efficiently

“We're working well together as a team,” said Budinger, who has averaged 10.6 points per game. “We play really unselfish. I think that's leading to our success right now.
“I think the scoring the bench has been doing with me, Carl, Kyle, DA coming in, it makes it tough for teams to play us.”

Even for Adelman, that was tougher to predict.
[email protected]


Let the trash talking begin! That is all :lol

[Finperro]

I have to admit it won't be a handy mission to defeat the Rockets, as they've already removed the piece of shit who had been poisoning that team ever since he got drafted back in 02.

[Culburn369]

I hope the Mavs kick that Rocket ass up so high tonite that it'll serve as a hump forever thereafter.

[djohn2oo8]

^ I guess you would root for another team to kick their asses since the Lakers couldn't do it

[Findog]

I hope the Mavs kick that Rocket ass up so high tonite that it'll serve as a hump forever thereafter.

If this were April or May, that shit would be guaranteed to happen:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_1988.html

http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_2005.html

[djohn2oo8]

If this were April or May, that shit would be guaranteed to happen:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_1988.html

http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_2005.html

And so would choking (4-2)

[Findog]

And so would choking (4-2)

So you're a Heat fan?

[Culburn369]

^ I guess you would root for another team to kick their asses since the Lakers couldn't do it

I have no firm grudges/sans the Suns.

[Indazone]

Those new Rockets uni's are kickin!

We are back! Mustard and Red. Championship colors again.

[Culburn369]

ESPN is reporting that the Rockets will lose. Manoshevitz!!!

http://admin.accuscore.com/iframes/images/pc_acc_logo.gif (http://accuscore.com/)
Game Projection PTS Houston Rockets (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=hou) 95.7 Dallas Mavericks (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=dal) 99.0
Projected High-Scorer
Dirk Nowitzki (DAL) 23.5 pts
Live Betting Predictions
Point Spread AccuScore Probability Houston Rockets +6.5 57.5% Dallas Mavericks -6.5 42.4% Over / Under AccuScore Probability OVR 200 41.0% UND 200 57.1% Money Line AccuScore Probability Houston Rockets +235 37.4% Dallas Mavericks -255 62.6%

TEAM WIN % PTS BIG WIN CLOSE WIN hou 37.4% 95.7 17.1% 10.4% dal 62.6% 99 31.0% 12.7% Big Win is by 10 or more pts; Close Win is by 4 or less pts.


AccuScore Winning Percentage
AccuScore simulated this game over 10,000 times

http://admin.accuscore.com/iframes/images/team_logos/nba_HOU.gif
Houston Rockets
Dallas Mavericks

37.4%

62.6%




http://admin.accuscore.com/iframes/images/team_logos/nba_DAL.gif


Houston Rockets
Forecasts PTS FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA AST STL TO OREB TREB BLK Aaron Brooks 18.8 6.7 15.6 43% 3.0 3.8 80% 2.3 6.2 6.6 0.6 3.5 0.6 3.1 0.3 Trevor Ariza 16.7 6.0 13.5 44% 2.7 3.9 70% 2.0 4.9 3.9 1.3 2.9 1.4 6.0 0.4 Luis Scola 13.2 5.2 11.0 47% 2.8 4.0 70% 0.0 0.1 2.1 0.5 1.9 2.1 9.4 0.3 Carl Landry 12.0 4.4 8.3 53% 3.1 3.8 81% 0.0 0.0 0.8 0.3 1.3 1.8 5.8 0.5 Shane Battier 10.0 3.2 7.7 42% 1.8 2.0 86% 1.8 4.8 2.4 1.1 1.1 1.0 4.7 0.9 Chase Budinger 8.8 3.3 7.7 42% 1.6 2.2 73% 0.7 2.0 1.8 0.3 1.2 0.6 3.1 0.6 Kyle Lowry 7.0 2.3 5.7 41% 2.0 2.6 75% 0.4 1.4 2.7 0.6 1.1 0.3 2.3 0.2 Chuck Hayes 4.4 2.1 4.3 50% 0.1 0.3 27% 0.0 0.1 1.5 0.8 0.9 1.8 6.3 0.5 David Andersen 3.4 1.4 3.8 37% 0.5 0.7 74% 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.2 1.6 0.1 HOU Benchwarmers 1.4 0.5 1.3 42% 0.2 0.3 78% 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 1.0 0.1 TOTAL 95.7 35.2 78.9 45% 17.9 23.8 75% 7.4 19.9 22.3 5.8 14.2 10.2 43.4 3.8
Dallas Mavericks
Forecasts PTS FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA AST STL TO OREB TREB BLK Dirk Nowitzki 23.5 8.4 18.3 46% 5.8 6.4 90% 1.0 2.6 2.3 1.0 1.7 0.9 8.1 1.0 Josh Howard 14.2 4.8 11.4 42% 3.9 4.9 79% 0.7 2.2 1.6 1.1 1.3 1.1 4.7 0.5 Jason Terry 14.1 4.8 11.3 43% 3.0 3.5 84% 1.5 4.3 3.2 1.5 1.3 0.4 2.3 0.2 Shawn Marion 12.8 5.2 11.0 47% 2.0 2.6 76% 0.4 1.4 2.0 1.6 1.5 2.1 7.6 1.2 Jose Juan Barea 7.5 2.8 6.6 43% 1.1 1.5 75% 0.8 1.9 3.1 0.5 1.1 0.4 1.9 0.1 Jason Kidd 7.4 2.5 6.4 40% 1.1 1.2 86% 1.3 3.1 6.6 2.2 1.8 0.9 5.5 0.3 Erick Dampier 5.7 2.3 3.7 62% 1.1 1.8 61% 0.0 0.0 0.8 0.5 0.8 2.6 6.7 1.5 Kris Humphries 5.0 1.9 4.3 45% 1.1 1.8 63% 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.4 0.7 1.4 3.9 0.3 DAL Benchwarmers 3.5 1.4 3.3 43% 0.3 0.3 77% 0.4 1.1 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.7 0.1 Quinton Ross 2.7 1.1 2.9 38% 0.3 0.4 71% 0.2 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.3 1.3 0.3 Drew Gooden 2.4 1.1 2.4 46% 0.2 0.3 83% 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.6 0.1 TOTAL 99.0 36.4 81.7 45% 19.9 24.9 80% 6.3 17.1 21.2 9.6 10.9 10.6 43.3 5.6

[Indazone]

Oh my! I am so suprised.

Rockets are the underdogs.

Again lol.

[Culburn369]

lol all you want, Inda. They went to the time & trouble of running the simulation over 10,000 times. You're pooh-pooh'in it at your own peril, spud.

[Findog]

This is going to be a tough game for the Mavs. A Houston win would not surprise me.

[Culburn369]

This is going to be a tough game for the Mavs. A Houston win would not surprise me.

Why Fin? You're at home and Howard is back. How's come the concern?

[Findog]

Why Fin? You're at home and Howard is back. How's come the concern?

Houston right now is one of those "the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts" kind of teams.

[Culburn369]

As a rule do they play well/win there in Dallas?

[Findog]

As a rule do they play well/win there in Dallas?

They went 1-1 in Dallas last year. Historically we own them in Houston and they play better in Dallas.

[robbie380]

+6.5 is too much for the rox. this game will be close.

[Findog]

+6.5 is too much for the rox. this game will be close.

Yep. The Rockets are a smart, well-coached and unselfish team.

[Double-Up]

I hope the Mavs kick that Rocket ass up so high tonite that it'll serve as a hump forever thereafter.

In a regular season game? But when Portland was whopping that LA ass last regular season you had an excuse? What's new...:lol

[ginobili's bald spot]

^ I guess you would root for another team to kick their asses since the Lakers couldn't do it

WTF are you talking about? When did the Rockets beat the Lakers?

[Culburn369]

But when Portland was whopping that LA ass last regular season you had an excuse?

No. They whopped our ass.

I don't do excuses. It's my religion.

[badfish22]

we are gonna kick the shit out of them.

This is the most confident I have been heading into a game (besides toronto)

[kamikazi_player]

Rockets win 107-101. Dirk, JJ Barea, and Terry miss 10 Ft's in a row in the 4th.

[lurker]

Why Fin? You're at home and Howard is back. How's come the concern?
Josh being back is part of the concern. :lol You never know which Josh is going to show up.

[robbie380]

Josh being back is part of the concern. :lol You never know which Josh is going to show up.

i seriously thought about that as a potential negative for you guys tonight. either way....we still have no fuckin way to stop dirk.

[badfish22]

http://www.catearplugs.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/5y2gw9t.jpg

[badfish22]

Josh being back is part of the concern. :lol You never know which Josh is going to show up.

I think we are gonna see the good Josh for a while. He seems like he is out of that troubled phase and back to the 06-07 Josh.
He could re-injure himself at any time though.

[lurker]

I don't know. You can't really judge if he's grown as a player and a person based on one game. :lol

[badfish22]

I don't know. You can't really judge if he's grown as a player and a person based on one game. :lol

Judging based on interviews (not much better I know)
He acts completely different now, like hes excited to be there and is having fun opposed to "cant control what the ball do".

Also the two important words: Contract Year.

[lurker]

Even with interviews it's hard to tell what's genuine and what's being fed to him by the PR folks for damage control.

[Indazone]

This is Carl Landry's and Chase Budinger's coming out party! Just don't let Ariza shoot the ball!

[Allanon]

Trying to figure out if I should watch this game or Nuggz vs Bulls.

[Ghazi]

I don't know. You can't really judge if he's grown as a player and a person based on one game. :lol

There was positive signs toward the end of last season until he got reinjured. He played well in teh Spurs series and remember the Heat game where he took a charge at the end to win it? :)... and the 3/4 court 3-pointer against the Suns well that was lucky but still :D

[mystargtr34]

Luis Scola is pretty much what Drew Gooden could have been if he had a basketball brain.

Really similar players, Scola just has 'it', while Gooden doesn't, despite his obvious offensive talent.

[Allanon]

I was watching the Nuggz, switched here and I saw 37-28 and I thought it was the 2nd quarter :lol

[mVp]

lol mavs, 37 points for the Rockets in the 1st :lol

[lurker]

Mavs letting the Rockets shoot 63%, Josh in early foul trouble. Yawn.

[Culburn369]

WTF? Gd it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Danny.Zhu]

Kidd is too slow for Brooks.

[redzero]

Damn, the Rockets should trade Budinger to the Hornets. They don't need him.

[Culburn369]

Kidd is too slow for Brooks.

Fish took his pants down and Kidd is quicker than Fish.

[lurker]

Nice save by Kidd.

[Indazone]

Budinger is the bomb! A white man who plays like Reggie Miller lol.

[robbie380]

man i knew we were gonna get fucked when we got the mavs got in the penalty bonus that quickly. the lead would probably still be 10 if we didn't get sloppy with our fouling. oh well...i think everyone knew the mavs were going to make a run and that this game was going to be close at the end no matter what.

[Indazone]

There was some sloppy inside guard play and some weak passes

[Allanon]

Halftime couldn't come quick enough for the Rockets.

[Indazone]

yep, Adleman has got to get the guys back to what got them that big lead. Play with composure.

[Indazone]

how many out of control spinning shots did we see leading to turnovers or a wild errant pass right there at the end?

[Culburn369]

Adelman is your weak link. Too bad Rudy got the cancer. He's made for this Houston club.

[robbie380]

Adelman is your weak link. Too bad Rudy got the cancer. He's made for this Houston club.

good call....because we have a dominant center to throw the ball down to, right?

tee | hee

[The Franchise]

Sit Shane and Scola for a while. They are both a waste of floor space right now.

[The Franchise]

Please remove Shane.

[Culburn369]

Please remove Shane.

Without Kobe and the requisite Stop Kobe Binder---Shane is a lost soul.

[The Franchise]

????? Ok

[redzero]

Damn, put the white Larry Bird in, Adelman.

[The Franchise]

Damn, put the white Larry Bird in, Adelman.

He did, but as usual it is a little to late.:ihit

[Indazone]

We need offense, hope Chase can produce.

[Indazone]

Ariza and Battier are a waste of space right now.

[Indazone]

Why is Ariza out there? He's totally lost.

[dallaskd]

Damp so far..

14 pts
17 rbs
3 blocks

on 6-6 shooting, 2-2 FT

:lol

[Culburn369]

I said kick that Rocket ass high enough to qualify as a hump. And I God's, you f'ers did it!

WOOT!

[Many PackYao]

Damn, looks like the Rockets blew their load in the first half.

[sook]

Culburn your not a cool kid.


And yo uwon't get much posting that sack of shit anderson up every time...retards

[Culburn369]

Culburn your not a cool kid.


And yo uwon't get much posting that sack of shit anderson up every time...retards

Some nite I'll side the Rockets, sook. Tonite you f'ers deserved this shellacking.

[Indazone]

Getting exposed for our lack of size. Also lack of scoring from a premier player like T-Mac.

[Many PackYao]

Culoburn469 your not a cool kid.


And yo uwon't get much posting that sack of shit anderson up every time...retards
fify

[Indazone]

Not pleased with Ariza's play so far. He's really inconsistent and careless handling the ball. I think he should be coming off the bench and Landry should be starting with the green light to shoot.

[Culburn369]

fify

You got the shit beat out of ya!

[sook]

im laughing so hard everytime anderson touches it, and I call every outcome right

[The Franchise]

We can't seem to do anything right in the second half.

[Culburn369]

Not pleased with Ariza's play so far.

Conversely, we're happy as pigs in shit with our Artest. tee, hee.

[Double-Up]

Damp so far..

14 pts
17 rbs
3 blocks

on 6-6 shooting, 2-2 FT

:lol

He's playing well out there, definantly can tell he's in a contract year. Either way good win for Dallas.

[Indazone]

Anderson is our Matt Bonner lol

[The Franchise]

im laughing so hard everytime anderson touches it, and I call every outcome right

Sorry, but I have to call you on this one. Anderson hasn't played bad at all. This game was decided before Adelman put him back in the game.

[dallaskd]

Dampier gets his 20 rebounds :lol

[Many PackYao]

You got the shit beat out of ya!
I won't deny that.What a fucked up way to tease the fans.

[Indazone]

No, Anderson wasn't the reason we lost the game. We lost the game near the end of the first half when our guards took spinning off balance shots with no hope of going in and throwing the ball away when they tried to dish off at the last second. Ariza also turned the ball over a bunch.

Then there was that lid the Mavs glued over the Rockets basket.

[The Franchise]

Well, at least we get to see Jermaine Taylor for three minutes.

[The Franchise]

Good game Mavs. We deserved to lose the way we played, and you gave us the foot in our ass to make it a done deal. :toast

[badfish22]

we are gonna kick the shit out of them.


Well I got a little nervous at the beginning, but my prediction held true :)


The most important thing was that Kidd, Terry and Howard all got low minutes so they can be ready to kick the spurs asses tomorrow :toast


The most annoying thing is we would be 6-1 if JJB could hit a free throw...

[Culburn369]

If you guys will remember correctly I said before the season started that you guys were the goods.

[badfish22]

Mavs- 22-23 FT's

Damn the Mavs really took advantage of their free throws.

[mavs>spurs2]

I just want to send out a big FUCK YOU to all the people talking shit at the beginning of this thread when we were down double digits. And amarelooms still needs to kill himself. God bless sons

[stretch]

with the exception of a fluky FT missing bonanza, the Mavs are looking like the best "second half" team in the NBA. in every game except for the Wizards game, they have either been behind and came back in the second half, or have simply made key plays at big moments to seal wins. even the New Orleans game, they had a nice comeback run in the 4th that SHOULD HAVE won the game for them.

its nice to see them winning games in the 4th, instead of choking them in the 4th like last year

[mavs>spurs2]

Actually that last post is better suited for the other thread amarelooms made

[Lars]

Congrats Mavs, props to Carlisle for turning the game into a half court affair. We have no half court players lol.

[Culburn369]

....we helping ourselves to your last one. tee, hee.

[21_Blessings]

with the exception of a fluky FT missing bonanza, the Mavs are looking like the best "second half" team in the NBA.r

:lol

[monosylab1k]

:lol

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=291030013

[Finperro]

I bet everytime mono casts his all-star votes he gives one of the 2 forward votes to Antony Randolph instead of Marion, whom he should have voted for.

[Finperro]

Good game Mavs. We deserved to lose the way we played, and you gave us the foot in our ass to make it a done deal. :toast
I'm pretty sure that the absence of shit wasn't something Rockets could take as an excuse for their loss. Damp just played too good this season to get restricted and even shit would bring little help even if he played. Undeniably Marion plays a big role in our campaign, but Dampier is actually the real change from last season. Plus, Dampier holds the highest FG% with a convincingly huge margin over the 2nd place.

[robbie380]

I'm pretty sure that the absence of shit wasn't something Rockets could take as an excuse for their loss. Damp just played too good this season to get restricted and even shit would bring little help even if he played. Undeniably Marion plays a big role in our campaign, but Dampier is actually the real change from last season. Plus, Dampier holds the highest FG% with a convincingly huge margin over the 2nd place.

rogue, still trollin yao?

[Findog]

We love our boys in blue!