NBA 2010-2011 Thread

[JohnBM01]

All's well in H-Town even with the return of T-Mac in a different uniform. It was a 97-83 victory. The big key was a solid finish. Another key was one Luis Scola. It was a stand up and cheer effort on the part of the Rockets. One other key- all the Technical Fouls the Pistons got called for, including Rip Hamilton(?) getting ejected on two Technical Fouls.

Just about every other game this month for my Rockets involve teams with losing records. I don't buy too much into records because I don't believe in "you are what your record is" in basketball. A single-digit win team could beat a 50+ win team either easily or just squeak by with a win. That's basketball.

 

[JohnBM01]

Rockets end up losing, playing like crap at Milwaukee. The Bucks provided 97-91 chin music on my Rockets. Red Rising will try not to fail when the Cavaliers come to Toyota Center tomorrow night. I believe we're 8-13 now. Some Rockets fans say that Jordan Hill should get more playing time. Either that, or some are calling for Rick Adelman to be fired. Some treat Adelman like he's Gary Kubiak or something. The "you can't win them all" mentality doesn't seem to sit well often times with some fans. We just straight up got beat at Milwaukee. What the hell can us fans do about it? We're not playing the game- the PLAYERS are. I'm sure our own Paulie is proud to see Croatian-Australian Andrew Bogut have a solid performance. The Bucks were just more physical and tough. Also, who said this game at the Bucks was an easy win? This s:censored:ty play by the Rockets had better improve, or our season will be even more over than it started.

Elsewhere, a BIG win for perhaps the best match of the night- Lakers at Bulls. The Bulls won 88-84. Congrats to all winners and tough luck to all losers (including my fail-happy Rockets from tonight's performance).

 

[Paulie]

Raptors are on a losing streak at the moment as well. It's good to see Bogut's elbow is feeling better and he's starting to play much better as well, anybody see his amazing tip in for the win the other night? It was all tied up with 0.5sec to play off a Milwaukee inbounds, and they threw it high to Bogut who managed the tip-in with someone in front of him leaning back on him to try and keep him out of it.

 

[JohnBM01]

MUCH better! Rockets are now 9-14 on the season pounding the Cavaliers 110-95. Sad news is... the Grizzlies won today. So we're still 5th in the brutal Southwest Division. The Southwest Division may not be the NBA equivalent of the AFC South, but it sucks when you're the ONLY Texas team with a losing record and dead last in the Southwest.

Another back-to-back for my Rockets begins on Tuesday. We host the Kings on Tuesday, then play at Oklahoma City the following night. We return home for the Grizzlies on Friday next week. We need to beat all of these teams to help our Western Conference standings, but we ESPECIALLY need to beat the Thunder and Grizzlies.

 

[Paulie]

The Raptors beat the Pistons too, Jerryd Bayless scored 31pts so clearly he was a good trade after all. It was a massive 4th quarter 37-17 that got them the 4pt victory.

For the record, it was a 25pt deficit comeback, the biggest in Raptors franchise history.

 

[JohnBM01]

The Spurs and Mavericks are volcanic hot this season (unlike my Rockets). Mavs held off a game Utah Jazz unit pretty well. Both San Antonio and Dallas look like they can easily win the Western Conference at this point. Of course, the NBA Finals do NOT start in December, so there's still a long way to go in determining who the real contenders in the West are.

 

[Paulie]

Both conferences are very even so far this year, with 7 teams in on 50% or above and 8 teams in the West on 50% or above. Oh how I want the Raptors above 50%.

 

[JohnBM01]

My Texans failed late in the NFL last night. Elsewhere in Texas, the Mavericks saw their 12-game winning streak come to an end as the Bucks took down the Mavs on the road. My Rockets failed at the Bucks this past Friday. Now, the Bucks take down another Texas team. The Bucks are certainly the truth. Elsewhere, the Miami Heat extended their winning streak with their win.

Tonight, another back-to-back for my Rockets. Home against the Kings followed by another trip to Oklahoma City the following night. Best of luck to all teams playing tonight.

 

[kjb]

My Knicks take on the Celtics soon hopefully they can continue to play well. STATS has been beastly. Who would have thought that the Heat and Knicks would have similar records?

 

[Omnis]

Yeah, well Mike D'Antoni is an awesome coach.

 

[a6m5]

They may have similar records, but that's with Miami's slow start, and New York overachieving(at least in my eyes).

D'Antoni's an good coach though. I usually don't buy into run 'n' gun offense(they never win anything that counts), but when he had the right set of players in Phoenix, they damn near beat the Spurs, who were smack in middle of their prime. It was very impressive.

There is a good chance Knicks will pick up Carmelo, and/or Chris Paul in the near future. Boy, that would be pure terror.

 

[JohnBM01]

The Rockets finally got to double-digit wins with a 118-105 beating of the Kings. The Rockets are now 10-14 on the season. Their next challenge is Wednesday night in Oklahoma City against the Thunder. The best-case scenario is that we somehow win every upcoming game. If we win every game, we'll be 15-14 by Christmas. No game is a gimme, though. We still have to play with fire and determination. Even bigger long shot best-case is that we finish 2010 with wins. That means we'll be 18-14 between the at Thunder game and the home game against the Raptors on New Year's Eve. Every win counts because January 2011 for my Rockets is going to be BRUTAL with plenty of playoff-ready teams ready to face us.

But it all begins with playing at the Thunder. Just need to keep the string of success going as the schedule hits a soft spot for us.

 

[JohnBM01]

G:censored: damned, motherf:censored:ing shame. Well, to Hell with "over .500 before Christmas." Rockets get spanked 117-105. We got beaten by OKC tonight like we beat Sacramento. Can't do a damn thing on the floor tonight except play dead and fail. They were bricking shots (both free throws and field goals) almost all night long. We DEFINITELY need to take down the Grizzlies on Friday night.

Hope your teams didn't fail tonight like my Rockets.

 

[FishforRent]

Well the Bucks didn't make it out of Texas undefeated. Barely, though. Spurs build up an 18 pt lead in the first half only to let those pesky Bucks reel them back in and tie up the game with 45sec to go. Bucks miss with 10 sec to go. Spurs grab the rebound and Ginobli sinks the go ahead at the buzzer! 92-90 Spurs get to 21 wins first in the league this year. With the Nuggets tomorrow night in Denver on the agenda, it'll be a tough one. Damn close one. Last year we would have lost this by the 3rd quarter. We need these wins, cause come two weeks from now the schedule gets brutal. Then we'll see what we got this year.

 

[JohnBM01]

I will say this... don't underestimate East teams like Milwaukee and Indiana. Those two teams are very much two potentially dangerous teams. I am a fan of Brandon Jennings for the Bucks.

NBA on TNT tonight:
* Hawks at Celtics
* Spurs at Nuggets

Then, there is a non-TNT game as the Wizards play at the Nets. Enjoy tonight's games!

 

[FishforRent]

Spurs catch a break from the officials during the game ending shot by the Nuggets to win 113-112 in Denver. Carmelo Anthony drove the lane with 4.2 sec on the clock to apparently sink the go ahead shot at the buzzer. Refs call him on a charge that negated the shot and gave the Spurs the ball and 0.4 secs to inbound and win. Tough call against the home team that almost never gets called in that situation (unless your Carmelo Anthony, in which it's happened to him before). It was a see-saw game the whole night, but the Spurs will take that win and fly home for a 3 game home stand through the weekend, that includes playing Denver again next Wedn in SA.

(it was charge, the call was a good call; it just rarely gets called at the buzzer like that. To bad, so sad )

 

[JohnBM01]

How do you avenge a loss after giving a terrible loss? Take it out on Memphis, that's how. We won 103-87. We were up 34-13 after the first quarter as the Grizzlies struggled to score. We just put the hammer down and got it done. The 4th Quarter was a bit shaky for the red boys, but we lead from start to finish. A stupid moment in the game came when Rudy Gay shoved Luis Scola from behind, earning him a Flagrant-2 foul (and perhaps a suspension from the NBA) and an ejection.

I'm also sad that Yao Ming is done not only for this season, but perhaps maybe the end of his career. How about the Heat- 11 or so straight wins. They come to Toyota Center for their ONLY visit on December 29th!

 

[Paulie]

Well apparently the Raptors' losses can be put down to both Bargnani and Calderon being out of action for the last few games, with both of them back they beat the Nets, but then, everyone should beat the Nets anyway.

 

[JohnBM01]

Rockets will be in California this week. At Kings tonight, at Warriors on Monday night, and at the Clippers Wednesday. Then to end 2010, we're home for three nights, starting with a game against the Warriors next Monday. That includes a game on the 29th against the Heat (gulp) and on New Year's Eve against the Raptors. At best, we can end 2010 with a 17-15 record. At worst- 11-21. We'll see how our final games of 2010 go before a brutal January 2011 comes along for my Rockets.

 

[Paulie]

Lost to the Lakers today, surprise!

 

[JohnBM01]

Meanwhile, my Rockets won 102-93(?) at the Kings yesterday. Rockets now seek revenge tonight at the Warriors after losing at Golden State last time (you know, when the Rockets lost five straight games to start the season?). Hope to see if the Rockets will get it together.

 

[JohnBM01]

First three-game winning streak! It was a 121-112 win at the Warriors. The boys in red had to fight for this one. That was especially when the game was tied halfway through the fourth quarter. They pulled one out. Maybe the craziest stat- Kevin Martin has hit 44 or 45 free throws this season in the Rockets-Warriors series. Rockets get to the foul line a lot, and while they need to improve their free throw shooting a bit, they are still solid. Speaking of which, Kyle Lowry took a hard foul from one of the Warriors as he cleanly stripped the ball under the basket. If you're going to play in the NBA... be ready to take some hard falls and some hard fouls (and giving them, of course). Next stop... at the Clippers Wednesday night.

The Miami Heat fizzled out in Dallas with a 98-96 victory for those boys in blue up in Dallas. Their winning streak came to an end in Big D.

 

[Paulie]

I saw the Bucks vs Portland game the other day, it was really good to see Patrick Mills getting plenty of game time, and he seemed to play pretty well also.

 

[a6m5]

I saw the Bucks vs Portland game the other day, it was really good to see Patrick Mills getting plenty of game time, and he seemed to play pretty well also.

Yeah, from what I've been seeing, he's been a pretty solid back up. 👍

Also, did you see the two long fellows from your neck of the woods, battling it out in that game?

Buck of course is Bogut. Blazer is Sean Marks, who is what you guys call Kiwi I think? He's a New Zealander.

 

[JohnBM01]

We should have won by double digits, but we prevented the Clippers from getting a late win on us. We led from start to finish starting with a dominating first half. The Rockets went cold in the 3rd Quarter, but we quickly picked up the tempo while we were down. This California road trip was a success for us. I think we're now 14-15 on the season. A win at home against the Wizards on Monday can take us to .500. But after that... hosting the Miami Heat. That's a HELL of a way to try to go over .500, and if we can pull it off, that would be HUGE for our confidence heading into our New Year's Eve game hosting the Raptors. We can also head into a brutal January with some confidence. Rockets won 97-92 against the Clippers.

 

[Omnis]

Hey guys, why do the Clippers perennially suck? Don't they have a top 5 draft pick every year? Why are they in LA if everyone in LA is a Lakers fan? Do they not have any attendance for Clippers games or something? Help me understand the Clippers.

 

[Paulie]

I never knew about that Sean Marks fellow, so I didn't really take any notice. I know that the Bucks are very hot and cold, straight after getting thrashed by Portland they thrashed the Lakers. That's the NBA for you. Toronto need to get their act together, they are sucking very badly at the moment.

 

[JohnBM01]

Here's my thing about the Clippers... they play some of their Preseason games at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Before they became the Houston Rockets, the Rockets franchise began in San Diego. Why do the Clippers have to share the same house as the Lakers? Probably to make more money, but the team still stinks. From that game last night, I'm glad we led from wire to wire despite some terrible officiating. The fans only started to care when the Clippers made the game close. Clippers just have talent- but they just stink. Almost like the Bengals (or "Bungles" as some people call them) or Redskins of the NBA.

Three games tonight! First, the NBA on TNT games:
* San Antonio at Orlando
* Miami at Phoenix

And the non-TNT game tonight is Milwaukee at Sacramento. Enjoy NBA basketball!

 

[a6m5]

Hey guys, why do the Clippers perennially suck? Don't they have a top 5 draft pick every year? Why are they in LA if everyone in LA is a Lakers fan? Do they not have any attendance for Clippers games or something? Help me understand the Clippers.

Starts at the top, man. Starts at the top.

I never knew about that Sean Marks fellow, so I didn't really take any notice.

You guys are so spoiled. Every time there is a Japanese NBA player in exsistence, I take notice man. I frigging take notice!

 

[Paulie]

Starts at the top, man. Starts at the top.

You guys are so spoiled. Every time there is a Japanese NBA player in exsistence, I take notice man. I frigging take notice!

I know about the Aussie players. The Heat vs Phoenix game was entertaining, James did a thrilling power move right at the end of the first half. The officiating was rather questionable.
Bogut's just a machine these days, respectable scoring, and most games getting well over 10 rebounds and 3-5 blocks half the time.