The Houston Rockets are, in the words of Matt Moore, a machine. They might not be the dispassionate and steadily-grinding machine that the San Antonio Spurs are, or the unpredictable and suddenly-encroaching Flying Death Machine that was the LeBron-era Miami Heat. No, the Rockets Machine that destroyed the New York Knicks tonight is something else, and it shows no signs of going anywhere. This game was special for how not special it ended up being. Even with all the theatrics, it was simply one of many. It's the product of a machine.
Showing posts with label Kristaps Porzingis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kristaps Porzingis. Show all posts
Game Preview: Houston Rockets vs New York Knicks
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After winning a high scoring game over the injury riddled Clippers, the Rockets head into their second half of a back to back against the New York Knicks at 25-9. The Rockets are led in scoring and assists by James Harden, at 27.8 points and 11.8 assists, and in rebounds by Clint Capela, at 8.0 rebounds a game. The Rockets remain ranked 3rd in offensive rating, 17th in defensive rating, and 4th in net rating.
The Knicks have had an up and down season this year, but are still about where many pegged them to be, at 16-16, following their third straight loss at the hands of the Pelicans. The Knicks are led in scoring by Carmelo Anthony, at 22.4 points per game, in assists by Brandon Jennings, at 5.3 assists, and in rebounds by Joakim Noah, at 8.3 rebounds per game. So far this season, the Knicks rank 16th in offensive rating, 24th in defensive rating, and 23rd in net rating.
Starting Lineups
With Clint Capela still sidelined for up to another month 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 either Nene Hilario or Montrezl Harrell at center, with Eric Gordon getting starter’s minutes.
The Knicks have head a relatively healthy season, considering some of their player's histories, but one starter, Courtney Lee, may miss Saturday's game with a sore right wrist. The Knicks are likely to start the game with Derrick Rose at point guard, Sasha Vujacic at shooting guard, Carmelo Anthony at small forward, Kristaps Porzingis at power forward, and Joakim Noah at center, with Courtney Lee moving back into the starting shooting guard role is he is healthy enough to play.
Three Things to Watch
Prediction and Tip-Off
I expect the Knicks extend their 3 game losing streak, while the Rockets do the same with their 3 game win streak. The Rockets are on fire in December and are just the more talented team, going into Saturday night.
Tip-off will be at 7:00 P.M. Central Time in Houston on Saturday, December 31st. The game will be televised on ROOT Sports, with the radio broadcast on Sports Talk 790-AM.
Happy New Year!
After winning a high scoring game over the injury riddled Clippers, the Rockets head into their second half of a back to back against the New York Knicks at 25-9. The Rockets are led in scoring and assists by James Harden, at 27.8 points and 11.8 assists, and in rebounds by Clint Capela, at 8.0 rebounds a game. The Rockets remain ranked 3rd in offensive rating, 17th in defensive rating, and 4th in net rating.
The Knicks have had an up and down season this year, but are still about where many pegged them to be, at 16-16, following their third straight loss at the hands of the Pelicans. The Knicks are led in scoring by Carmelo Anthony, at 22.4 points per game, in assists by Brandon Jennings, at 5.3 assists, and in rebounds by Joakim Noah, at 8.3 rebounds per game. So far this season, the Knicks rank 16th in offensive rating, 24th in defensive rating, and 23rd in net rating.
Starting Lineups
With Clint Capela still sidelined for up to another month 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 either Nene Hilario or Montrezl Harrell at center, with Eric Gordon getting starter’s minutes.
The Knicks have head a relatively healthy season, considering some of their player's histories, but one starter, Courtney Lee, may miss Saturday's game with a sore right wrist. The Knicks are likely to start the game with Derrick Rose at point guard, Sasha Vujacic at shooting guard, Carmelo Anthony at small forward, Kristaps Porzingis at power forward, and Joakim Noah at center, with Courtney Lee moving back into the starting shooting guard role is he is healthy enough to play.
Three Things to Watch
- Last game of the year – The Rockets have already set a record for most December wins in franchise history, with 14, and are now going for number 15 on the last game of 2016. Watch to see if the Rockets can end the old year and welcome the new one with their fourth straight win.
- Attack the glass – The Knicks are currently 27th in the NBA in defensive rebound rate, luckily for them, the Rockets best rebounder is sidelined with an injury. Watch to see if the Rockets are able to crash the offensive glass, attacking the Knicks most glaring weakness, with Nene and Montrezl holding down the fort at center.
- Kristaps, the almighty – Kristaps is, without a doubt, one of the most fun players to watch in the NBA right now, averaging 20.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, and nearly 2 blocks per game, all while shooting 40.2% from three point range! Watch to see the young Latvian big man show his skill, as he develops into one of the best bigs in the NBA.
Prediction and Tip-Off
I expect the Knicks extend their 3 game losing streak, while the Rockets do the same with their 3 game win streak. The Rockets are on fire in December and are just the more talented team, going into Saturday night.
Tip-off will be at 7:00 P.M. Central Time in Houston on Saturday, December 31st. The game will be televised on ROOT Sports, with the radio broadcast on Sports Talk 790-AM.
Happy New Year!
Game Preview: Houston Rockets vs New York Knicks
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Coming off of a close loss to the reigning champ Cleveland Cavaliers just the night before the Rockets head to New York to take on another 'super team'... sort of. The Rockets are hoping that they can get back to above .500, sitting at 2-2 after Tuesday's game, that saw a supernova James Harden put up 41 points to go with 15 assists against just one turnover.
The Knicks will be coming off of a bad game against the Detroit Pistons that saw them fall to 1-2 on the season (along with the worst shot I've ever seen in an NBA game). The Knicks have been a bit of a disappointment so far this season to some, having the fourth worse net rating in the NBA up to this point. Carmelo Anthony comes into the game against the Rockets game averaging 21 points to lead the team in scoring followed by Latvian phenom Kristaps Porzingis at 18.3 points per game. New addition Derrick Rose has been about what most expected him to be so far, averaging just over 16 points per game on nearly as many shot attempts to go with just six assists through three games.
Starting Lineups
The Rockets have no reason to change anything once again, unless Ariza's newly stitched up face causes problems (it probably wont). We can expect to see Harden at point guard, Gordon at shooting guard, Ariza at small forward, Anderson at power forward, and Capela at center out there for the opening tip.
The Knicks made some major changes to their roster over the off-season trading for former MVP Derrick Rose and signing his former teammate Joakim Noah along with former Rocket Courtney Lee, the three newcomers start for the Knicks at point guard, center, and shooting guard, respectively. The only two returning starters are prolific scorer Carmelo Anthony at small forward and second-year star Kristaps Porzingis at power forward. The Knicks also signed point guard Brandon Jennings to fulfill the role of sixth man, so expect to see him play a decent amount of minutes as well.
Three Things to Watch
Prediction and Tip-Off
I think the Rockets are the better team between the two but that may not be enough on Wednesday. While this game will be the second of a back to back for the Knicks as well, playing at home in those games is much easier than being on the road. Due to how hard these games are I predict a close game, with the Rockets still able to pull out the victory, moving to 3-2 on the season.
Tip-off will be at 6:30 P.M. Central Time in the Madison Square Garden in New York City, on Wednesday, November 2nd and will be televised on ROOT Sports, with the radio broadcast on Sports Talk 790-AM.
Coming off of a close loss to the reigning champ Cleveland Cavaliers just the night before the Rockets head to New York to take on another 'super team'... sort of. The Rockets are hoping that they can get back to above .500, sitting at 2-2 after Tuesday's game, that saw a supernova James Harden put up 41 points to go with 15 assists against just one turnover.
The Knicks will be coming off of a bad game against the Detroit Pistons that saw them fall to 1-2 on the season (along with the worst shot I've ever seen in an NBA game). The Knicks have been a bit of a disappointment so far this season to some, having the fourth worse net rating in the NBA up to this point. Carmelo Anthony comes into the game against the Rockets game averaging 21 points to lead the team in scoring followed by Latvian phenom Kristaps Porzingis at 18.3 points per game. New addition Derrick Rose has been about what most expected him to be so far, averaging just over 16 points per game on nearly as many shot attempts to go with just six assists through three games.
Starting Lineups
The Rockets have no reason to change anything once again, unless Ariza's newly stitched up face causes problems (it probably wont). We can expect to see Harden at point guard, Gordon at shooting guard, Ariza at small forward, Anderson at power forward, and Capela at center out there for the opening tip.
The Knicks made some major changes to their roster over the off-season trading for former MVP Derrick Rose and signing his former teammate Joakim Noah along with former Rocket Courtney Lee, the three newcomers start for the Knicks at point guard, center, and shooting guard, respectively. The only two returning starters are prolific scorer Carmelo Anthony at small forward and second-year star Kristaps Porzingis at power forward. The Knicks also signed point guard Brandon Jennings to fulfill the role of sixth man, so expect to see him play a decent amount of minutes as well.
Three Things to Watch
- Gut check - The first back to back game of the season is here and it's a tough one for the Rockets, having to travel from a hard fought game in Cleveland to New York just the night before . I will be watching to see how the team combats the fatigue that comes with a road back to back and the disappointment of letting a close one get away just the night before, as last years team didn't do a great job facing adversity.
- Second unit sadness - On Tuesday's game D'Antoni tried changing his rotation to combat how bad the team has been with Harden on the bench, giving Bobby Brown his first run of the season, but it didn't work. The Rockets outscored the Cavaliers by ten points in the 38 minutes Harden played, but the bench was able to get outscored by 18 in the ten minutes Harden was out, which is impressively bad. It will be interesting to see if D'Antoni continues to try and find a new bench unit that can keep the team afloat while Harden sits and what he comes up with.
- Clint Capela's struggles- While he had been very good defensively up to this point, Clint has struggled on offense, both finishing at the rim and at the free throw line. There was a stretch in the middle of the fourth where his struggles showed, he missed a layup off of a slightly off James Harden lob that led to a cavaliers layup on the break, then turned the ball over on an ill-advised bounce pass, resulting in a three to spark a big Cavalier run. We will need to watch and see if Clint can get past these struggles and be able to earn more of D'Antoni's trust.
Prediction and Tip-Off
I think the Rockets are the better team between the two but that may not be enough on Wednesday. While this game will be the second of a back to back for the Knicks as well, playing at home in those games is much easier than being on the road. Due to how hard these games are I predict a close game, with the Rockets still able to pull out the victory, moving to 3-2 on the season.
Tip-off will be at 6:30 P.M. Central Time in the Madison Square Garden in New York City, on Wednesday, November 2nd and will be televised on ROOT Sports, with the radio broadcast on Sports Talk 790-AM.
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