Rockets 107, Mavericks 91 - Taking Care Of Business

Photo by Mark Downey Lucid Images/Corbis via Getty Images

The Rockets came into the Toyota Center for the first time Saturday night with the hope of starting their season off 3-0 and boy did they succeed. The final score does not properly represent how badly the Rockets ran away with this one. Houston was nearing a 40-point lead by the time the 4th quarter came around and an all-reserve unit was rolled out to finish the game.

What drove this enormous deficit? None other than James Harden. The Rockets outscored the Mavericks by 31 points in the 29 minutes James Harden was on the floor. The Beard was firing on pretty much all cylinders tonight. After struggling to find his shot in Houston's last victory in Sacramento (Harden shot 8-21 from the field and 4-14 that night), he managed to find his stroke out the gate.

Harden shot 10 for 19 from the field and a blistering 6 for 13 from 3-PT range tonight (included a stretch where Harden nailed 4 straight 26 footers). Although Harden was on tonight, the team as a whole struggled greatly to find their rhythm from behind the arc. The Rockets shot 12 for 25 from downtown tonight and even though the offense looked fine and they took a ton of 3s, the ball just never managed to find the bottom of the net.

Defensively however, the Rockets looked stellar. Houston limited Dallas to just 91 points and forced 14 turnovers. The Rockets got into transition several times and got a lot of their points in the paint. The Rockets won this game in convincing fashion, but wasn't all that great however.

The Rockets still have a lot of kinks to work out. In transition, the Rockets still have a ways to go defensively. Lineups where James Harden isn't in the game have been a mess offensively. With Chris Paul out, Eric Gordon has taken on the role of 2nd unit offensive creator, but the drop off from the 1st to 2nd unit offense is certainly noticeable. Gordon is best used as a complimentary ball handler and he's just not the level of passer of a James Harden or Chris Paul (obviously). Mike D'Antoni will have to get creative as to how he cobbles together better 2nd unit offense.

On the whole, however, Eric Gordon looks fantastic. Since this offseason was the first offseason in years where Gordon wasn't rehabbing some nagging or season ending injury, he spent the summer working on his body and his game. His improvement in his explosion and first step is definitely noticeable as Gordon is just getting to the rim at will in these first few games. He's getting a lot more and-1 drives and showing signs of the guard many thought would be among the best shooting guards in the league when he was a rookie.

So while it wasn't always perfect, the Rockets took care of business at home against a team they were supposed to beat and did just that, despite the Chris Paul injury. We're starting to get a clearer image of what this Rockets team is, and it's looking pretty good.

Game Preview: Houston Rockets vs Dallas Mavericks

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Following a win over the lowly Phoenix Suns, the Rockets, now 23-9, head to Dallas to take on the Mavericks for the 4th and final time this year. The Rockets are led in scoring and assists by James Harden, at 27.5 points and 11.9 assists, and in rebounds by Clint Capela, at 8.0 rebounds a game. The Rockets now rank 3rd in offensive rating, 19th in defensive rating, and 5th in net rating.

The Mavericks continue to struggle, still sitting at the bottom of the western conference standings at 9-22, following a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Mavericks are led in scoring by Harrison Barnes, at 20.4 points per game, in assists Deron Williams, at 6.8 assists, and in rebounds by Andrew Bogut, at 10.4 rebounds per game. So far this season, the Suns rank 26th in offensive rating, 22nd in defensive rating, and 27th in net rating.

Starting Lineups

With Clint Capela still sidelined with a fractured fibula, the Rockets starting lineup will continue to be: James Harden at point guard, Patrick Beverley at shooting guard, Trevor Ariza at small forward, Ryan Anderson at power forward, and Montrezl Harrell at center, with Eric Gordon getting starter’s minutes.

The Mavericks recently had good news (for seemingly the first time this season), when Dirk Nowitzki returned to the lineup, scoring 17 points in a win over the Clippers. The Mavericks still have injuries across their roster, with Andrew Bogut (knee) and JJ Barea (Achilles), likely to miss Tuesday's game, while Dirk is a game time decision, as he may be rested on a back-to-back. The Mavericks are likely to come out with a starting five of Deron Williams at point guard, Wesley Matthews at shooting guard, Harrison Barnes at small forward, Dorian Finney-Smith at power forward, and Dirk Nowitzki at center, with Salah Mejri replacing Dirk, if he is unable to play.

Three Things to Watch

• Four in a Row? – The Rockets are 3-0 against the Mavericks this season, and although the Mavericks are bad, it is hard to beat any NBA team 3 times in a row. Watch to see if the Rockets are able to withstand any last effort punches the Mavericks may throw to avoid a season sweep.
  


• Take care of the ball – One of the thorns in the Rockets' side this season has been turnovers. The Rockets are currently 27th in the NBA at avoiding turnovers, while the Mavericks are 1st in the league at creating them. Watch to see if the Rockets are able to take care of the ball, and not give the Mavericks an easy way into Tuesday's game.


• Return of Dirk – Assuming Dirk Nowitzki plays, this will be the first time this season the Rockets match up with Dirk. Watch to see if Montrezl Harrell is able to stand his ground against someone who once was one of the greatest scorers the game has ever seen.

Prediction and Tip-Off

The Rockets should be able to take care of business Tuesday, and complete the season sweep of the struggling Mavericks. I expect them to win, but for the Mavericks to make it tough on them all game long.

Tip-off will be at 7:30 P.M. Central Time in Dallas on Tuesday, December 27th. The game will be televised on ROOT Sports, with the radio broadcast on Sports Talk 790-AM.

Game Preview: Houston Rockets vs Dallas Mavericks

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Following their strong performance in an eight-point victory over the Mavericks in Dallas the Rockets are headed to Houston for their home opener. The Rockets will once again play the Dallas Mavericks, in the second half of a 'home and home' series between the two Texas teams, where the Rockets will look to sweep the Mavericks two games to none.

The Mavericks will be looking to even up the series and get their first win of the season as Dirk Nowitzki, who was held out of the last game due to an illness, returns to their lineup. To make up for Dirk's missing offense, newly signed Harrison Barnes showed why he was given a max contract, scoring 31 points on 23 shots. Overall the Mavericks struggled to score in the second half and are hoping having Dirk will help boost their late game offense.

Starting Lineups

The Rockets have no reason to change, as the starters all played well outside of Anderson, who will likely benefit from the Mavericks returning to a more traditional lineup with Dirk back. The starting lineup will likely continue to be Harden at point guard, Gordon at shooting guard, Ariza at small forward, Anderson at power forward, and Capela at center.

The Mavericks in the last game started out small, with Wesley Mathews and Harrison Barnes sliding down to small  forward and power forward respectively, and inserting JJ Barea into the starting lineup at shooting guard. With Dirk returning from his ailment the Mavericks will likely push Barea back to a bench role and Mathews and Barnes back to their natural positions so Dirk can return to his place in the starting lineup. The Mavericks are likely to start Deron Williams at point guard, Mathews at shooting guard, Barnes at small forward, Dirk at power forward, and Andrew Bogut at center.

Three Things to Watch

• Them or us? -  It will be interesting to see whether the Rockets are just better than the Mavericks or if the result of the game was more about the absence of Dirk Nowitzki for the Mavericks.


• KJ came to play - After hitting all five of his shots in limited minutes during the first game Coach Mike D'Antoni admitted that KJ McDaniels deserved more minutes and KJ got just that, jumping from 12 to 22 minutes in the second game. KJ did not disappoint, providing solid defense to go with nine points and two steals. It's worth watching to see if KJ can keep up this production as the season goes on.


• Tyler Ennis, not.... terrible? - After a horrid preseason and rough first game, Ennis appeared to be much more comfortable running the second team offense for short stretches, turning the ball over only one time while notching 4 assists (including this lob to Clint). If Ennis can continue to be passable as a 12-15 minute point guard for this team it will go a long way towards staying above water until Beverley is back.

Prediction and Tip-Off

My prediction for this game is similar to the last, I believe that while Dirk will boost the Mavericks' offense, he will have the same effect on Houston's, as his slow foot speed will be a problem when trying to defend a Mike D'Antoni offense, leading to another Rockets win over the Mavericks to move to 2-1.

Tip-off is at 7:00 P.M. Central Time on Sunday, October 30th at the Toyota Center in Houston and will be televised on ROOT Sports and the radio broadcast will be on Sports Talk 790-AM.

Game Preview: Houston Rockets vs. Dallas Mavericks

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After a disappointing loss to open the season in Los Angeles the Rockets head back to Texas to play the Dallas Mavericks in their second game. Although losing to the Lakers stings, let's not overreact, it's only one game. There is still plenty of time for the Rockets to become the team that will overwhelm teams with endless pick and rolls combined with outside shooting that we saw for one half against the Lakers.

The Mavericks also opened up their season with a close loss, albeit to a better team in the Pacers. They fought into an overtime game behind a bit of a come back ending in a game tying three by newly acquired Harrison Barnes, who struggled outside of that shot. Once they got to overtime their age showed, as they struggled getting out onto shooters like Paul George and Myles Turner who put the game away with a pair of threes. Dirk Nowitzki looked like his offensive game still refuses to age, putting up 22 points to go with eight rebounds and four of nine shooting from three.

Starting Lineups

The Rockets are likely to have the same starting lineup as last week, the one spot that could change is center, as Nene played over Capela in closing time last game, despite his obvious struggles. If there are no changes the Rockets will start James Harden at point guard, Eric Gordon at shooting guard, Trevor Ariza at small forward, Ryan Anderson at power forward, and Clint Capela at center.

The Mavericks, always hungry to sign a big free agent, went out and gave the aggressively mediocre Harrison Barnes a max contract and traded for Andrew Bogut, both of whom will start on Friday at Small Forward and Center respectively. Outside of the two former Warriors the Mavericks starting lineup is identical to last year, with veterans Deron Williams at point guard and Wesley Mathews at shooting guard to go with Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki. It is also worth noting that J.J. Barea played 40 minutes against the Pacers despite not starting.

Three Things to Watch

• Wheres the shooting? - In the off-season the Rockets clearly valued getting more shooting on the floor, giving shooters Gordon and Anderson $133 million dollars to come to Houston. Despite the added shooting the Rockets shot just 24.1% from three on 29 attempts, that must improve if they want to win games.


• Nene or Capela - In the closing minutes of the game coach Mike D'Antoni opted to play Nene over Capela, despite Capela playing significantly  better. If this game is close it will be interesting to see who D'Antoni trusts to finish the game.


• The new look Mavericks - As a team the Rockets will play four times this year, and may be fighting for a playoff spot with, it is worth noting how the two match up and just how good the Mavericks are this season.

Prediction and Tip-Off

Despite the gut wrenching loss the other night I am still fairly optimistic about the Rockets. I think the Mavericks will struggle to defend pick and rolls and chase shooters with their aging frontcourt, ending in a Rockets victory, otherwise there may be tears.

Tip-off is at 7:30 Central Time on Friday, October 27th in Dallas and will be televised on ROOT Sports and the radio broadcast will be on 790-AM.