ROCKETS NOTES
By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Nov. 2, 2009, 11:30PM
For the two most tenured Rockets playing on Monday, Chuck Hayes and Shane Battier, no venue brings up more reminders of past games than EnergySolutions Arena.
They are not good memories.
Going into Monday's game, the Rockets had gone 9-28 in EnergySolutions Arena, with the Jazz winning six of their past seven meetings, and both games last season in Salt Lake City against the Rockets. That does not include the 2006-07 and 2007-08 first-round playoff series won by the Jazz.
“This place leaves a sour taste in your mouth if you're a Rocket,” Hayes said. “The history, the rivalry that we've had, the playoff series, this place can get really, really hectic. The runs, the crowd, how much harder they play, they really do have a true homecourt advantage when you come here.
“For me, it feels fresh because I was here for both series and they still have a lot of core players back from those series. For myself and Shane, we still have memories. It still lingers.”
Battier, however, said while those memories remain vivid, he did not consider them with this season's first trip to Salt Lake City because so much has changed since the Rockets' previous visit last March.
“It seems like a while ago that we were here,” Battier said. “The team is totally different. Going back to Portland last week was different (from last post-season). The personnel was different. The mind frame was different.
Garnering praise
As much as the Rockets have changed since last season's meeting with the Jazz, Utah coach Jerry Sloan had nothing but praise for those left standing. Though Tracy McGrady has not played against the Jazz since the 2007-08 playoffs, Yao Ming played in all four meetings last season. Sloan, however, said he liked the way the Rockets have compensated for having both out.
“They play bigger than what they are,” Sloan said. “They are a tough team. They push the ball on you a lot. They take three-point shots. They are capable of scoring a lot of points and put a premium of your ability to change ends.
“(Rockets coach Rick Adelman) does a great job. To see what he's lost and see what he's gained. He still keeps knowing how to put people out there who can play. (Aaron) Brooks and (Kyle) Lowry have added a lot to the way they want to play. Both of them can push the ball and they both get after you on the defensive end. They don't wait for you. They have three guys — (Carl) Landry, (Luis) Scola and (Chuck) Hayes. They rotate them in there and they are tough. They are just hard-working guys. If you don't respect that, you don't respect basketball.”
The Rockets shouldn't be winning games like they are. They have the weakest lineup of any of the Western Conference playoff hopefuls:
Brooks
Ariza
Battier
Scola
Hayes
Much respect to that coaching staff and those players for molding into a cohesive unit and playing above expectations. I count the Rockets out every year, but they always find some way to surprise me.
Chuck Hayes Leads Houston Rockets in Colossal Utah Romp? Believe It
by Robert Kleeman Columnist Single Page
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
When it came to the Houston Rockets winning prospects in Salt Lake City Monday night, I was not amongst massive crowd of non-believers.
I was at the gravesite shoveling the dirt over Aaron Brooks, Chuck Hayes, Luis Scola, and Rick Adelman.
When several friends asked if the Rockets had any chance at Energy Solutions Arena, I said "no" as emphatically as Charles Barkley says "yes" to Krispy Kremes.
Barkley, in case you missed it, thinks these Rockets will finish with the worst record in the West.
Fellow Bleacher Report NBA writer Andrew Ungvari opined they "would be lucky to finish 12th" in the conference.
Sports Illustrated's Ian Thomsen predicted the same fourth-to-last finish.
For one night, I was ready to bury them, too.
I guaranteed my inquisitive friends the team would lose by double figures. They had dropped 11 of the previous 13 contests there, many of those defeats by 10 or more points, and Energy Solutions Arena had always served as the franchise's House of 1,000 Corpses.
Like Rob Zombie films, Rockets games in Utah usually end in gruesome fashion.
If they could not steal one in the Jazz's haunts with a healthy Yao Ming and Ron Artest, how were they going to do it with a cast of role players and such low expectations?
Hayes. That's how. Scola's relentless work on the boards and in the paint. That's how.
Precision long-distance shooting from Aaron Brooks and Trevor Ariza. That's how.
The throng of Rockets shooters dropped smart bombs in the NBA's toughest environment and fist-pumped and snickered as Jazz fans tried to escape the rubble.
There is no such thing as a Utah Jazz team not tough to beat at home.
The squad could lose 11 road games in a row by 30 points, with Kermit the Frog at point guard and Beavis and Butthead at center and power forward, and most opponents would still be in for the asskicking of their lives.
Winning in Utah is like beating Bobby Fischer at chess or scoring higher on a linguistics test than Noam Chomsky.
The Los Angeles Lakers ousted the Jazz from the playoffs two years in a row and reached consecutive NBA Finals, finishing the job this spring.
The San Antonio Spurs bested the Jazz en route to a 2007 le.
Only the strong survive at ESA, with the above championship runs serving as proof.
Rockets fans should celebrate this improbable and momentous win, even if the Jazz at times look more defenseless than the French in World War II and more dysfunctional than the Partridge Family.
Yes, the lowly Golden State Warriors won in Utah last year, but that was an anomaly.
This victory was no accident or coincidence. The Rockets are going to do this to a lot of teams with superior talent.
Yes, Houston Chronicle columnist Jerome Solomon, sometimes contenders do take the night off when they assume the foe will be easier to kill than Kenny on South Park .
Before I could half-fill the grave, before the tombstone had arrived, there was the stoic Hayes, whacking me over the head with the shovel.
Sorry fellas. It won't happen again.
Hayes did not the lead the Rockets in scoring, though he poured in an effortless 12 points, nor was he the best rebounder. Scola hauled down 15 boards to Hayes's nine.
In 28 minutes, however, he led the team in effort and in steals, with three.
No one needs to crash the euphoria with the obvious caveats.
The Rockets won't shoot 10-of-19 from behind the arc often enough to win more of these tough road contests.
Yep.
Got it.
Thanks.
Brooks cannot be expected to maintain his averages of 21 points and eight assists, higher than those of the player to which he is most often compared in Tony Parker.
Roger that.
Kyle Lowry and Brooks will not win every point guard duel with Deron Williams.
Uh-huh.
A 3-1 start in the first week guarantees nothing, not even a finish higher than 12th.
Super.
To those skeptical of the team's ability to challenge for a playoff spot, this win should change your mind.
If it doesn't, you might want to get that head checked.
You might have dementia. You might be insane.
The road to the playoffs has just begun for sure.
Oklahoma City started 2-0 and the LA Clippers appear more compe ive than last season, even with top pick Blake Griffin on the shelf.
Phoenix out-gunned teams three times last week.
The Rockets will have to fend off all three squads to grab that seventh or eighth spot in the West.
Don't let such minor details spoil your deserved enjoyment of Monday night's shocker, Rockets fans.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...omp-believe-it
Could it be? Nah..it's too improbable. But just maybe...
The Rockets are for real
I respect the Rockets, too. What they lack in talent they make up for in teamwork.
The Rockets don't have much talent but they have some guys who hustle their asses off. Any success they have this season will show the value of playing hard.
Question: what do you consider to be a "talented player"?
Who is more talented: a player with freakish athletic ability or a player that can shoot, drible the ball, pass and has offensive moves?
Who is more "talented": Dwight Howard or Luis Scola?
Seriously. You look at that lineup of non-stars and you laugh and wonder how they're gonna win 20 games this year.
Dude I bet you crapped your pants when the Rockets took your mighty Lakers to game 7 of the WCSF.
Anyone with any common sense would say they would be lucky to compete with the Thunder.
Still, losing in 7 games on the WCSF against the NBA champs without "supossedly" your two best players isn't getting "skull ed".
09-10 Rockets = 03-04 Jazz
This Rockets team is a carbon copy of the 03-04 Jazz team. That 03-04 Jazz team wasn't suppose to win more than 15 games, and several experts predicted them to break the record for fewest wins in a season. They were all hustle, all heart, every game. Same as the Rockets this year. The 03-04 Jazz team was one of my favorite squads ever, and I bet most Rockets fans will feel the same way about their team this year.
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