Month: October 2023

Rockets Return to H-Town, Host Warriors in Home Opener

Homecoming.    Fading Away.    Motivated Focus.

After two tough losses to begin the season, the Rockets return to Toyota Center to host the Golden State Warriors in their home opener on Sunday night. Houston is looking for their first win in this young season, and faces their toughest test so face in an experienced Golden State team that has Championship-mettle at its core. The Warriors may not be the superteam they were at the height of their dynasty, but they’re still a better squad than most NBA teams. And Stephen Curry is still one of the league’s best players. Curry is coming off a 41-point night in the Warriors previous game, a road win over the Kings to give them their first victory of the season. Besides Curry, his Splash Brother, Klay Thompson, seems to have some his best games against Houston. Thompson isn’t producing at the level he was before his injury a few years ago, but Klay can still put up 30 or 40 points on any given night. The Warriors also have a new piece that may be familiar to Rockets fans. Former Houston point guard, and NBA veteran Chris Paul, joined Golden State in the offseason. Houston’s facing an experienced trio on the perimeter tonight. The Rockets will need to focus on their free throw shooting, rebounding, and controlling turnovers, if they want to pull the upset on the Warriors in their home opener.

Toyota Center should be rocking on Sunday night, as Houston plays the first of what will be a seven-game home stand. Houston wants to avoid fading away, and falling to 0-3 in the standings with a loss tonight. Missed free throws really damaged the Rockets chances at victory in their previous loss, a tightly contested contest in San Antonio. Hopefully the home crowd motivates the squad to focus better on their free throws, and overall execution.

Rockets vs. Warriors ins’t the rivalry it was when James Harden was at his peak in Houston, but tonight’s contest should still be tightly contested. Expect the Rockets to come out hungry for their first victory. Golden State may overlook this Houston team, as they travel to face Zion Williamson and the undefeated New Orleans Pelicans tomorrow night in the Big Easy. The Rockets have a decent chance to secure their first win of the Ime Udoka era, as long as they don’t beat themselves. This means keeping missed free throws and turnovers to a minimum. If the squad can do that, and shoot the ball with the efficiency they showed in San Antonio, Houston should be able to win their home opener. Regardless of the outcome, expect an entertaining contest, as the Rockets face a fading, but still star-studded, Warriors squad tonight.

 

Toyota Center:  Houston, Texas

 

Jersey Colors:

Golden State Warriors (1-1):  Blue

Houston Rockets (0-2):  Red

 

Tip-Off:  6:00 PM CT

TV:  Space City Home Network,  NBA League Pass

Rockets Falter Late, Lose to Spurs, 126-122, in OT

Heartbreak Hotel.    Opposite Ends.    Progression.

In their second game of the season, the Rockets showed improvement, but ultimately fell to the Spurs, 126-122, in an overtime thriller. Turnovers and missed free throws killed Houston’s chances late in the contest, as Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs took advantage in overtime and seized their first win of the season. Wemby had the best game of his young career. The rookie phenom scored 21 points, grabbed 12 boards, 3 steals, and swatted 3 shots on the evening. It’s only a two-game sample size, but Wemby looks like the real deal, and could possibly exceed his unforeseen hype. The Rockets had possession with a chance to score on the final play, but lack of execution resulted in extra time with the score tied at 111. When OT began, San Antonio pounced on Houston, and never gave up the lead en route to dealing the Rockets their second straight loss to start the season.

Despite the loss, Houston played much better, individually and collectively, compared to their opening night performance in Orlando. The Rockets led for most of this contest, and had a 7-point edge entering the final period. Houston’s still developing their chemistry, as was evidenced in the final period and overtime. The missed free throws really hurt the Rockets late in the game. Houston shot an abysmal 10-for-20 from the foul line, good for 50%, which in the NBA, is terrible. The squad desperately needs to work on their foul shooting in practice. Better free throw shooting could’ve potentially prevented OT, and resulted in a W for Houston.

The Rockets have now experienced both ends of the losing spectrum. They suffered a nail biting loss in their most recent contest in the Alamo City, and a blowout loss in their opening night game in Orlando. At least Houston showed vast improvement after their torrid first showing. Jalen Green shot the ball much more efficiently, and was aggressive to start the contest. Green finished with 22 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the field, while adding 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Alperen Sengun continues to be the Rockets’ best player to start this young season. Sengun finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and a block for the night. Sengun continues to dazzle, as he’s playing at an All-Star level to begin his third career season. Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks both had their best games as new Rockets. VanVleet was exceptional, scoring 24 points on 50% shooting, while contributing 12 assists, and 8 boards for Houston. Brooks finished with 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting against the Spurs. Jabari Smith Jr. continues to struggle finding his shot, but nonetheless had a better game than in the opener. Smith Jr. recorded 13 points and 9 rebounds on the evening. And Jeff Green has quietly been excellent in his veteran role as a reserve off the bench. Green finished with 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting, in 21 minutes.

Houston showed progression in their second game, but will need to be better defensively and from the foul line if they want to avoid losses light the Heartbreak Hotel in San Antonio on Friday night. Luckily for the Rockets, up next, they return home for a 7-game home-stand, starting with their home opener on Sunday night against the Golden State Warriors. Hopefully a change of scenery and the friendly confines of Toyota Center will finally push the Rockets towards victory for the first time this season.   Houston will face their toughest test, in an experienced Golden State team, and needs to avoid going 0-3… or the Rockets will find themselves in a possibly inescapable hole to start the season.

Rockets Renew Rivalry, Face-Off Against Spurs

Second Helping.    First Taste.    Up.

Tonight, the NBA World gets a second serving of rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama, as the Rockets visit his Spurs for the first time this season. Houston is coming off an embarrassing blowout loss in Orlando to the Magic in their opener. In their first game, San Antonio narrowly lost to the Dallas Mavericks at home, as Wembanyama scored 15 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in his highly-anticipated debut. As the Rockets get their first taste of facing the young phenom, Houston is looking to improve off a disastrous first game of the season. The first game of the Ime Udoka era didn’t go as planned for the Rockets, as they were blown away by a young, hungry Magic team. 

Expect Jalen Green to have a more aggressive mindset entering tonight’s matchup. Green shot only 10 field goals, making just 2, as he struggled in the opener. Look for the Rockets young guard to bounce back on Friday night. Houston should play better with each game as the chemistry improves and they familiarize themselves with Ime Udoka’s system. Tonight, other than Wembanyama, the Spurs have a versatile young attacking core of players. San Antonio had 7 players score in double-figures in their first game. Guard Devin Vassell led the way for the Spurs with 23 points, and he’s someone the Rockets need to contain if they want any chance of victory tonight. Keldon Johnson, Zach Collins, Jeremy Sochan, and Tre Jones can also be threats offensively for the Spurs.

The good news for Houston is, after their first game, the only direction this team can head is up. San Antonio should prove to be tough matchup, and the crowd should to be more electric than Orlando’s. However, the Rockets can still win tonight if they focus on minimizing turnovers, and showing a more desired emphasis on rebounding the basketball. Houston got outmanned on the glass by the Magic in their opener, losing the rebounding battle, 56 to 31, on the boards. Regardless, don’t expect the Rockets to get blown out by 30 points tonight.

Ime Udoka is too disciplined of a coach to witness back-to-back blowouts to start his Rockets career. If Jalen Green can display more efficiency, and the Rockets do a better job rebounding as a team, they have a decent chance to split this early two-game road-trip. After tonight, the Rockets head back to Houston for their home opener on Sunday night against the Golden State Warriors, That matchup will tougher than tonight’s or Houston’s first game. If the Rockets want to avoid a potential 0-3 start to the season, they need to buckle down and focus on controlling the basketball, limiting their turnovers tonight. Their best chance to avoid starting the season in a hole is by getting a victory tonight, as they battle their in-state rival Spurs in the second game of this young season.

 

Frost Bank Center: San Antonio, Texas

 

Jersey Colors:

Houston Rockets (0-1):  White

San Antonio Spurs (0-1):  Black

 

Tip-Off:  7:00 PM CT

TV:  Space City Home Network,  NBA League Pass

Disarray:  Rockets Fall Under Magic Trick in 116-86 Opening Night Loss in Orlando

Disappearing Act.    Overly Outplayed.    Growing Pains.   

As they entered a new season with a fresh sense of hype, the Houston Rockets were quickly reminded of a past they’d love to forget. The Rockets were outmanned in every fact of the game by the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night, en route to an embarrassing 116-86 Opening Night loss. The opener, against a young, improving  Orlando team, was supposed to be competitive at the least. Houston trailed from the opening tip. They briefly held a 3 point lead in the first quarter, and trailed by a dozen entering halftime. The Rockets best display of basketball was early in the third quarter, where Houston cut the deficit to one point, 63-62. That’s the closest the Rockets would get to surmounting the Magic and making a comeback.

No one played spectacularly for Houston, but Alperen Sengun had the best overall night. Sengun finished with 14 points, 8 boards, and 6 assists. Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks also scored 14 points apiece in their Rocket debuts. Jalen Green scored only 10 points, as Houston’s young star continues to struggle with his shot entering his third season. Green connected on only 2 of his 10 shot attempts on Wednesday, and didn’t have a single assist on the evening. Amen Thompson had a quite night in his debut. The fourth overall pick was noticeably excited upon playing his first NBA game. Thompson struggled with his shot, scoring only 8 points on 3-for-10 shooting. In another Rockets debut, rookie Cam Whitmore didn’t score in 10 minutes of action. Jabari Smith Jr. had a quiet night, scoring only 7 points and grabbing 5 rebounds. Houston was simply outplayed and out-hustled by a hungrier Orlando team. The Rockets have a lot of new pieces, along with a new Coaching system which the players are trying to implement successfully as quickly as possible. However, this team will endure some growing pains, as evidenced in their embarrassing opening night loss.

Cole Anthony was the best player for the Magic on Wednesday night. Coming off the bench, Anthony led all scorers with 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting, and also grabbed 8 rebounds. Franz Wagner chipped in 19 points, and Paolo Banchero contributed 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 dimes for a seemingly rejuvenated Orlando team to start their season.

Houston will now travel to San Antonio to take on their in-state rival Spurs on Friday night. It will be officially the first time the Rockets face rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama. The squad will need a better performance than their showing in Orlando if they want any chance to split this opening two-game road-trip. The Rockets then return home Sunday to face the Golden State Warriors in their home opener at Toyota Center. For now, Houston looks to rekindle the hype to begin the season as they travel to the Alamo City for their second game on Friday night.

Rockets Open Season in Orlando, Matchup with the Magic

First Look.    Magical Beginning.    Third Time’s the Charm.

Teams never truly know when they’re beginning the start of a dream season. And tonight, the Houston Rockets kick off their season with a trip to Disney World to take on the Orlando Magic. Tonight’s officially marks the beginning of the Ime Udoka era in Houston. The Rockets endured three tough seasons under his predecessor, Stephen Silas, as the squad won only 59 games combined in three seasons. As we get a first look as these new look Rockets tonight, expect them to be better defensively, and to lessen their turnovers compared to the last few seasons. It’s the first game of the season, so everyone is rusty entering a new campaign. Anything could happen tonight.

Luckily for Houston, their opponent tonight isn’t an expected playoff contender. The Orlando Magic finished 34-48 last season, and they have a nice young squad, but are likely a few years, and players, away from playoff contention. The Rockets have the more talented squad, but there could be some growing pains as Houston adjusts to Ime Udoka’s system in the game one of the season. Hopefully, the Rockets can replicate their play in the preseason, where they had great success going 4-1, and defeat a very beatable Magic team tonight in Orlando.

The Magic’s biggest threats lie in third year player Paolo Banchero, who was the first pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, the year Houston selected Jalen Green third overall. The two will square off as opponents early on as both players look to have breakout seasons. Expect Green to be more aggressive on the offensive end to start this season. Green’s put on some muscle in the offseason, and he should be able to adjust more contact from the opposition as he attacks the rim. Besides Banchero, keep an eye out for Franz Wagner, the guard/forward is a versatile and skilled offensive player who can sneakily put up points quickly. Tonight’s matchup is a toss-up, featuring a battle of two of the league’s youngest teams. Despite the fact the result could end in either fashion, expect the Rockets to look like the hungrier team as we begin the 2023/2024 season in Orlando, home of Disney World… where dreams come true.

 

Amway Center:  Orlando, Florida

 

Jersey Colors:

Houston Rockets (0-0):  Red

Orlando Magic (0-0):  Blue

Tip-Off:  6:00 PM CT

TV:  Space City Home Network,  NBA League Pass

Crystal Ballers: A Nudoka Era Begins – Houston Rockets 2023/2024 Season Preview

The New Batch.    Prime Position.    Liftoff.

“The world is changing, reforming. This is your moment,” a quote from this past summer’s Blockbuster film, Oppenheimer. Those words also accurately describe the situation the Houston Rockets face as they enter the upcoming 2023/2024 NBA season. A lot has changed for this Rockets’ squad, as well as for the NBA overall. The Rockets have a new Head Coach, Ime Udoka, and an array of new players, featuring a mix of veterans sprinkled with a couple of solid draft picks. A new moment begins in Rockets basketball, and Houston has a chance to make serious improvement from what has been a tough past three seasons for the Rockets.

In the NBA, change is happening as well. This is the first season the NBA will have an In-Season Tournament. The tourney lasts from November to early December, with the matchups being counted as regular season games for each team. This season also marks the beginning of the Victor Wembanyama Era, The first overall pick by the San Antonio Spurs is the most hyped NBA prospect since LeBron James, who is entering his 21st season, still playing at an incredible level for someone approaching age 39 in this league. The biggest move of the NBA’s offseason saw the Milwaukee Bucks acquire superstar Damian Lillard from the Portland Trailblazers. Other changes in the league include Chris Paul now playing for the Golden State Warriors, and Bradley Beal joined the Phoenix Suns. Houston had a few changes of their own, that should help cement an easy transition into the second phase of their rebuilding. After finishing the last three seasons with win totals of 17, 20, and 22, the Rockets knew they needed to make a change at the coaching position. And they found  a gem of a young coach in Ime Udoka. Houston’s newest coach took the Boston Celtics to the Finals in 2022, and has a reputation for developing young players and getting the most out of his talent. Udoka’s presence should allow Jalen Green to blossom into a potential All-Star as he begins his third NBA season. Look for the Rockets to be a much better defensive and disciplined team. Gone are the days of consistent losses by more than 20 points. Expect Houston to be competitive in most matchups they play this season. Former Head Coach Stephen Silas was a little too easy-going and didn’t command the locker room the way Udoka already seems to have. The pre-season saw the Rockets go 4-1, and although it means nothing when it comes to the regular season, Houston already looks like a much better defensive team. A lot of that has to do with the Rockets’ new batch of players they added to the roster in the offseason.

Beginning with the NBA Draft in June, Houston selected Amen Thompson, from the G-League, with 4th overall pick., The Rockets then snagged arguably the steal of the draft, in Cam Whitmore, from Villanova, with the 20th overall selection. Whitmore was MVP of the NBA Summer League, and has an NBA-ready body physically. The Villanova product appears ready to contribute right away for Houston. As for Amen Thompson, he’s shown flashes of the versatile player can become in the pre-season. Once the season begins, Thompson may have an adjustment period transitioning to the physicality of the NBA. However, under the guidance of Ime Udoka, Thompson is talented enough to show his doubters on the court why he deserved to be selected so high in the draft.

Houston’s biggest offseason acquisition was Fred VanVleet. The Rockets acquired the point guard from the Toronto Raptors, and FVV is the perfect veteran to guide a Houston team with a vast amount of young wing players. Dillon Brooks was also acquired by the Rockets in the offseason, from the Memphis Grizzlies. Brooks has a reputation of being sort of a Detroit Pistons-esque “bad-boy”, but he’s someone who draws comparisons to former Rocket Patrick Beverly: a guy you can’t stand if he’s not if you’re playing against him, but when he’s on your team, you love him. Brooks is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, and should be a pest to opponents on a nightly basis. The Rockets also acquired Jock Landale, from the Phoenix Suns, and Jeff Green, from the defending champion Denver Nuggets. Uncle Jeff has played in Houston before, and his veteran leadership will be key in the locker room, especially coming off a championship with Denver. Reggie Bullock Jr., Aaron Holiday, and Victor Oladipo also joined the Rockets in the offseason as Houston enters a season with a different feeling compared to the past three years.

This feels like the first time in three years that the Rockets have a chance to put a relatively competitive basketball team on the court. With a new Head Coach at the reigns with proven experience, and an array of new talent, the only direction for this Houston squad to head is up. And after being one of the youngest teams in the NBA for the past three seasons, the Rockets average age this season is 25.9, which puts them right outside the top 10 in the league. Houston is in prime position to make a leap in the standings with their combination of savvy veterans and upstart-rookies. Expect the Rockets starting lineup to consist of: Fred VanVleet, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Jabari Smith Jr., and Alperen Sengun. Houston has a much deeper rotation this season, and it will be intriguing to witness how new Head Coach Ime Udoka uses this versatile group of players.

Liftoff is the Houston Rockets “motto” or “slogan” this season, and it’s quite appropriate. This young Houston team is ready to liftoff from the bottom cellar of the NBA standings, and contend for a playoff spot this season. With a new coach specializing in improving the development of young players, the Rockets are poised to a least challenge for a Play-In spot this season. After three years of disastrous blowout after blowout, it’s refreshing to enter a new season with genuine hope and promise for the future. It’s important that Houston gets off to a strong start to the season. Three of the Rockets first four games are against teams that finished near the bottom of the standings last season: Orlando, San Antonio, and Charlotte. The other game is Houston’s home opener, which should be a stronger test as they host the Golden State Warriors. Regardless, it’s key Houston takes advantage of this easy portion to start the season. The squad’s goal should be to start the season 3-1, giving this young team confidence and momentum for the rest of the year. It’s a long season with 82 games over the span of several months. But these first four games feel more crucial than a usual four-game span to start a season. The Rockets have a real opportunity to liftoff and show the rest of the league the future is now in Houston… this is their moment.