Rockets Blog : This Week's Schedule

Here's who is on our horizon for this week:

@ Oklahoma City: Not even karma will save the Thunder when I say that this won't even be close. We haven't had a statement game yet, and when I mean statement game, I mean we have yet to utterly destroy anybody. So, Thunder, you get to be first! And I'm hoping for this to happen not only as a Rockets fan, but also as a genuine viewer of basketball. The Rockets and Thunder (the name will never truly sink in, by the way) are two of the league's worst scoring teams - only Charlotte and LAC are worse. Expect boredom for a number of reasons.

• The Thunder shoot 7.8 threes per game, which is somewhere near Rafer Alston's per game average. It is also dead last in the league by a large margin. So if you prefer to watch teams suck in the paint rather than watch teams suck from three, this is the game for you!
  
• Ready for another Ming vs. Goliath matchup? It's Yao vs. Petro! China's Champion versus France's second of the Thunder's three straight bust centers selected in the first round!
• Usually I would provide three reasons, but to be honest, this game is going to reach an all-time high in boredom. Yes, even worse than last week's Spurs game.

Dallas: I really don't care if Dirk and Josh Howard put up 35 points each in this one. In fact, that's basically what happened last night as the duo combined for 40 points...and the Mavericks still had to go to overtime to beat the New Look Knicks. While nobody else seemed to notice, last night's statline was fascinating to me. Check out the amount of production that Dallas's other three starters managed to combine for:

Dallas
Starters		Min	FG	3Pt	FT	Reb	Ast	TO	Stl	BS	Pts
J. Kidd	G	40:21	1-7	1-3	0-0	6	9	2	4	0	3
G. Green	G	6:32	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	0
E. Dampier	C	4:05	0-1	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	0
J. Howard	F	45:29	12-24	1-3	6-9	14	2	2	1	3	31
D. Nowitzki	F	44:10	13-27	1-1	12-12	15	4	0	1	1	39

Absolutely amazing. First of all, Jason Kidd goes 1-7 against the Knicks. Then, Gerald Green and Eric Dampier combine for 10:30 of playing time, going 0-2 from the field. When, in the history of basketball, have three starters combined for only three points? I wish I knew, and I wish I had readers that would look it up.

As for our matchup, I think we can win this one pretty handily. It didn't take much to beat them in Dallas, and Howard and Dirk went off in that one as well. Until they play defense and find an alternative to The Starters, they're going to be doomed. I'm predicting a Rawning: 30 points in a breakout game at home for Artest.

@ Washington: You thought the OKC game would be boring? I don't even know what to do with this one. OK, so they have Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison. Got it. Patient Zero is still in hibernation mode, so I guess we get a look at some other Witchcraft and Wizardry. Thank God I'm not paying to watch DeShawn Stevenson, Etan Thomas, and Darius Songaila play. Hibachi to you all suffering in D.C., and enjoy this clip of your starting point guard Antonio Daniels:




@ Orlando: Finally, a game that will be worth watching. The Magic have one of the most exciting lineups in the league, and it's headlined by Dwight Howard, who went Hakeem on the Thunder earlier this year with a triple-double via points, rebounds, and blocks. And besides the on-court matchups, including a T-Mac return to Orlando, there is plenty to be observed about the status of the teams themselves. Five years have gone by since the McGrady/Francis trade, and it looks like each team came out as a winner, though the Rockets would have liked to risen another banner or two by now. The deal allowed the Magic to completely rebuild, and since that time, they've quickly regained form and are now among the top teams in the East. Key matchups:



Center: Yao vs. Dwight Howard - Edge goes to Dwight in this one. He has been too quick and too powerful for anyone to stop him up to this point, and with Yao's ability to be slow and elderly, he should have plenty of good looks down low. The only question is will he be able to stop Yao on the defensive side of the ball.

Power Forward: Luis Scola vs. Rashard Lewis - Again, the edge goes to Orlando. But it's pretty unfair to choose between these two; their styles of play are polar opposites. Rashard stays outside along the three-point line and is really a small forward, while Luis bangs inside with the big bodies. It's a toss-up, really.

Small Forward: Ron Artest vs. Hedo Turkoglu - Edge goes to Rawn. He's going to start clicking at some point, and Hedo isn't going to D him up as well as others have. Hopefully by this time he will have begun the process of removing himself from the list of potential Queensbridge 96ers.

Shooting Guard: Tracy McGrady vs. Mickael Pietrus - Edge goes to McGrady. In other news, Jamaicans are faster than Eskimos.

Point Guard: Rafer Alston vs. Jameer Nelson - Even. This is quietly going to be the matchup to watch. Two talented, yet often boneheaded and criticized point guards that don't score much but do what it takes to win. Whoever plays the better game may decide the outcome in this one.

Bench: Edge goes to Rockets. Aaron Brooks, Bones, and Landry will play big roles in this game as well.

Outcome: I think the Rockets can pull this one out by playing good, solid defense. Dwight will get his dunks, but if we force Lewis and Turkoglu into taking bad shots, it could be a low-scoring affair, which is just what we want. Prediction: Rockets 85-Magic 81.