Month: November 2023

Rockets Rematch with Kings at Toyota Center

Deja Two.    Even Stevens.    Bringing the Fire.

The Rockets are coming off their most impressive win of the season, an 18-point victory over the Sacramento Kings. Houston will get another chance to earn an impressive win over these Kings on Monday night, as the two squads get set for a rematch. Sacramento is once again without star point guard De’Aaron Fox. Houston will need to capitalize on his absence like they did in their victory on Saturday night. It’s difficult to beat the same team twice in a row in the NBA, but the Rockets have a legitimate shot at taking down the Kings again on Monday night.

Despite Fox’s absence, expect Sacramento to play better and harder than they did in the first game. Houston will need to match the Kings’ intensity level if they want to take the second part of this two-game set. Expect Jalen Green to have a bounce-back game on Monday. Green scored on 10 points against Sacramento over the weekend. Love the Rockets young star to be more aggressive tonight.

Everything is in Houston’s favor for a Rockets victory on Monday night. They’re playing an undermanned, Fox-less Kings team once again. And once again, the Rockets have home-court advantage. Can the squad impress the fans and pull to .500 with a victory on Monday night? A win would put Houston’s record at 3-3. Both teams enter this game with records of 2-3, the loser will be two games under .500, the winner, even stevens. Hopefully the Rockets bring the energy tonight against a Kings team looking to bounce back. If Houston can match Sac-Town’s fire… the Rockets have a shot to win their third straight game on Monday night. 

 

Toyota Center:  Houston, Texas

 

Jersey Colors:

Sacramento Kings (2-3):  Black

Houston Rockets (2-3):  Red

 

Tip-Off:  7:00 PM CT

TV:  Space City Home Network,  NBA League Pass

Rockets Blast Past Kings, 107-89, for Second Straight Win

Back Ends.    Veteran Impact.    Back on the Boards.

For the first time this season, the Rockets won consecutive games, as they defeated the Kings, 107-89, on Saturday night. The Rockets built a big lead, which Sacramento erased early in the third quarter. However Houston managed to hold on, and Dillon Brooks put on a shooting display in the fourth quarter as the Rockets rolled to victory. Brooks led all scorers for Houston with 26 points, on an efficient 9-for-14 shooting. Fred VanVleet, and Jabari Smith Jr., who had his best game of the season, both contributed 21 points for the Rockets. Brooks and VanVleet’s veteran impact has been the strongest addition to Houston’s roster this season. Both players, especially Brooks, are off to fantastic starts in their careers as Rockets. Malik Monk led the Kings with 18 points off the bench. Sacramento was clearly sorely missing its leader in star point guard De’Aaron Fox. Houston took advantage of his absence to seal a Rockets victory.

Houston dominated the first and fourth quarters, despite scoring only 12 points in the third period. These back-ends allowed the Rockets to secure the win, along with their stellar defense. Despite the low scoring output, Houston only allowed the Kings to score 15 points in the third quarter. After being out-manned on the glass for several games, the Rockets worked on their rebounding in practice, and it showed on Saturday night. Houston out-rebounded Sacramento by 10, and were clearly more aggressive attacking the glass.

These two squads will square off in a rematch at Toyota Center on Monday night. It’s tough to beat the same team twice in a row, but the Rockets have shown improvement in each game this season. It remains to be seen if the Kings will still be minus De’Aaron Fox. Regardless, expect a closer matchup on Monday night as these two Western foes battle on the court once again.

Rockets Host Kings in First of Two-Part Showdown

Part 1.    Hometown Heroes.    A Chance.

“So you’re telling me their’s a chance!”, the famous quote from Dumb and Dumber comes to mind as the Rockets approach one of the dumbest parts of their schedule, consecutive games against the same opponent in the same building. It’s a dumb idea that began after Covid-19 changed the world. Anyways, Houston does have a chance tonight, despite playing the upstart Sacramento Kings. Their All-Star guard, De’Aaron Fox, is out for Saturday night’s matchup. Fox is Sacramento’s most clutch player, he was actually named the Clutch Player of the League in the NBA last season, the first recipient of the new award. He’s an essential part of the Kings’ core along with Domantas Sabonis. The Rockets, fresh off their first win of the season, have more than a chance tonight if they continue improving as they have been over these first four games.

Houston debuted their new City-Edition jerseys, which honor Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, earlier this week. The squad will wear the jerseys for the first time on  this upcoming Wednesday, when they host LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.  Despite tough competition, the next five games are all at home for the Rockets. Houston will look to be “Hometown Heroes” and upset some of their more talented and experienced upcoming opponents. They need to take advantage of Fox’s absence tonight, and pounce on a wounded Sacramento team. The Kings are 2-2 on the season. Ironically both losses have come at the hands of the team that ended their season last year, the Golden State Warriors. Sacramento is coming off a particular heartbreaking loss in their previous game, to Golden State, as Klay Thompson hit a buzzer-beater to knock off the Kings.

Coming off a tough loss, Sacramento will be hungry tonight. The Rockets need to exceed the Kings’ hunger, and protect home-court in the first of two straight against the the Kings. Domantas Sabonis will be the biggest threat for the Kings, and expect sharpshooter Keegan Murray to play well, as he has in his young career against Houston. If the Rockets can contain these two players from having monster games, they should win this matchup. The next five games are brutal for Houston, but minus De’Aaron Fox this evening gives the Rockets their best opportunity… and a real honest chance at a victory tonight.

 

Toyota Center:  Houston Texas

 

Jersey Colors:

Sacramento Kings (2-2):  White

Houston Rockets (1-3):  Black

 

Tip-Off:  7:00 PM CT

TV:  Space City Home Network,  NBA League Pass

Rockets Sting Hornets, 128-119, for Season’s First Win

First of Many.    A-Men Down.    Forward Thinking.

Outplayed. Out-hustled. Overmanned. For the first time this season, Houston outmanned their opponent, en route to a 128-199 victory on Wednesday night. The win is the first of what will hopefully be many for the Rockets this season. Every Houston starter scored ate least 17 points in a balanced attack as the Rockets led virtually from the opening tip. The Hornets threatened with a run late in the first half to cut the deficit, but Houston never wavered. The Rockets came out of halftime and re-built their big first half lead as this game was never truly as close as the final score indicates.

P.J. Washington led Charlotte with 23 points. Terry Rozier chipped in 21 points for the Hornets, who have now dropped three straight games after winning their opener against the Atlanta Hawks. Jalen Green led Houston with 23 points on an average 6-for-16 night from the floor. The veteran newcomers were outstanding for the Rockets against Charlotte. Fred VanVleet had his best game of the season, scoring 22 points and dishing out 11 assists. Dillon Brooks scored 20 points on 7-for-9 shooting, and recorded a career-high 5 steals in the win. Alperen Sengun continued his steady play registering 19 points, 7 boards, and 4 dimes on the evening. And Jabari Smith Jr. had his best game of the young season, scoring 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting, to go along with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Houston finally got that monkey off their back after recording their first victory of the season. The Rockets now hope to keep the winning ways rolling as their next games are at Toyota Center as the home-stand continues.

On a negative note, Amen Thompson went down with a Grade-2 Ankle Sprain in the first half and is expected to miss at least several weeks. It’s unfortunate for the rookie, who was starting to improve with each contest after a shaky start in his first couple of games. Hopefully Thompson will be back sooner than expected and can rejoin his teammates to help the Rockets garner more victories. Looking forward, Houston hosts the Sacramento Kings on Saturday and Monday night at Toyota Center. It’s an odd stretch in the schedule, and the Kings are a good team, but they’ll be without their All-Star guard De’Aaron Fox for at least Saturday night. If the Rockets can outplay and out-hustle the Kings in their next game, Houston has a legitimate chance to get their second consecutive win.

Rockets Eagerly Seeking First Win, Host Hornets

Must-Win?    Difficult Stretch.    Needed Urgency.

The Houston Rockets play part two of their seven-game home-stand on Wednesday night, as they host the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets had one of the worst records in the league last year, and are inexperienced like Houston. A victory still won’t be easy, as Charlotte has some young talent in LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward, and Brandon Miller, the second overall pick in this past summer’s draft. Miller scored 22 points in the Hornets last game, and this young core is not to be overlooked. Charlotte dealt with injuries last season, so far they’ve been fairly healthy to start this season. The Hornets are 1-2 this season, and are coming off a pair of losses after an opening night win over the Atlanta Hawks. This is the Rockets best chance to get a victory for a while, as Houston’s upcoming schedule is absolutely brutal.

Of the Rockets upcoming 20 games, 18 are against teams that made the playoffs last season. After tonight’s game against Charlotte, this is by far the toughest portion of the season, schedule-wise for Houston. Hopefully, these young Rockets play with a sense of urgency, and realize how essential winning tonight’s contest is for the big picture of this season.

Alperen Sengun has been the Houston’s best player through the first three games of the season. Jalen Green is improving after a dreadful opening night performance. Amen Thompson is slowly adjusting to the NBA game as a rookie. The Rockets’ new veterans are still gelling and working on chemistry with the squad. Maybe that chemistry will finally result in a victory for Houston, as they battle a very beatable Charlotte team on Wednesday night.

 

Toyota Center:  Houston, Texas

 

Jersey Colors:

Charlotte Hornets (1-2):  White

Houston Rockets (0-3):  Red

 

Tip-Off:  7:00 PM CT

TV:  Space City Home Network,  NBA League Pass

Splashed Down: Curry’s Late 3-Point Barrage Spoils Houston’s Chances, Rockets Fall to Warriors, 106-95

Green Light.    High Leverage.    Upcoming Storm.

Houston returned home for the first game of the season at Toyota Center, eagerly seeking their first win as they hosted Golden State on Sunday night. The Rockets plans for victory were spoiled by Stephen Curry and the Warriors, who pulled away late in the fourth quarter, en route to dealing Houston a 106-95 loss. Curry scored 24 points, and Klay Thompson added 19, to lead the Golden State’s shooting barrage. Jalen Green had a second consecutive solid outing, scoring 21 points on 8-for-20 shooting, while grabbing 9 renbounds. Green clearly has the “green light” to be as aggressive as possible this season. He’s improving, but still needs to up his aggression level in the coming games. Alperen Sengun continues to be Houston’s best player to start the season. Sengun finished with 19 points, 5 boards, and 7 assists on the night. Jabari Smith Jr. scored 14 points and grabbed 8 boards in his best showing of the the year so far. Fred VanVleet struggled mightily with his shot, connecting on only 2 of his 13 shot attempts for 8 points.

The defeat is Houston’s third consecutive loss to start the season. Despite coming out on the losing end, the Rockets fought hard to the end with a tough, veteran Warriors’ squad. During the Stephen Silas era, this team would’ve folded and settled for a blowout on a night like Sunday. This Houston squad is more resilient, despite remaining winless, than last season. In high leverage games like this last season, the Rockets usually got blown out. This season, Houston has shown flashes of their overall potential as a unit. However, the squad has one of the toughest schedules to start the season in the entire league. If they can manage to weather this upcoming storm, and not lose too many games, Houston can be proud of their start despite their record. 

The Rockets now will have two days off before hosting the Charlotte Hornets in the second leg of this seven-game home-stand. After that, the schedule gets incredibly difficult, as Houston faces mostly teams that made the playoffs last season over the next month. The squad needs to be prepared to swat an inexperienced Hornets club out of the building, otherwise the Rockets could be in danger of facing a lengthy losing streak to start the year.