Rockets win season opener: Yao scores game-high 21
Thursday, October 30th, 2008
by John
I’ve been pretty quiet on this blog over the past few weeks, with me intentionally not getting too involved with the details of the preseason Rockets, and instead focusing more of my time on work, as well as the election. Like many of you, I’m not a big fan of the preseason – it’s way too long and not indicative of how the regular season will turn out for most teams.
But something magical has happened over the 24 hours. The juices started to flow in anticipation of Wednesday night’s regular season opener for the Rockets against the Memphis Grizzlies. It’s now time to get serious as the Rockets prepare to launch a winning campaign of their own with their new running mate, Ron Artest. [Click here for Raymond’s photos from the excitement of opening night].
It wasn’t pretty, but the Rockets overcame a disjointed offense to win 82-71 with their defense — ironically the thing that concerned them the most at the end of the preseason. The 11-point margin makes it seem like a bigger win than it really was. It was much closer.
Houston’s defense made an early statement against the Grizzlies offense when they stole the ball 3 times in their first four possessions, with Ron Artest getting two of them. This display before their very eyes of one of the league’s most celebrated defensive players whipped the fans in Toyota Center into a frenzy as the Rockets took an early 7-0 lead. I myself couldn’t contain my excitement as I envisioned what an extra 2 or 3 steals per game from Artest will mean to the the Rockets’ cuse this season.
The lead expanded to 11-2 thanks to an active Yao Ming grabbing two offensive boards for a tip-in and dunk.
Yao’s performance Wednesday night would remind everyone just how much he was missed during last season’s playoff series loss against the Utah Jazz. Anytime you take out of the lineup a game-high 21 points, 10 rebounds and 9-of-9 shooting from the free throw line like Yao had Wednesday night, you’re not going to be near as competitive against a playoff team like Utah.
Click here for more photos from the game.
Welcome back, Yao. We’re glad to have you.
Houston looked like they were well on their way to a blowout against a young Memphis team after building a 26-18 first quarter lead. But then Houston’s offense went south with Houston’s second unit getting more action, hitting only 4-of-21 field goals in the second quarter for 17 points, and scoring only 15 points in the third.
I’ve been pretty quiet on this blog over the past few weeks, with me intentionally not getting too involved with the details of the preseason Rockets, and instead focusing more of my time on work, as well as the election. Like many of you, I’m not a big fan of the preseason – it’s way too long and not indicative of how the regular season will turn out for most teams.
But something magical has happened over the 24 hours. The juices started to flow in anticipation of Wednesday night’s regular season opener for the Rockets against the Memphis Grizzlies. It’s now time to get serious as the Rockets prepare to launch a winning campaign of their own with their new running mate, Ron Artest. [Click here for Raymond’s photos from the excitement of opening night].
It wasn’t pretty, but the Rockets overcame a disjointed offense to win 82-71 with their defense — ironically the thing that concerned them the most at the end of the preseason. The 11-point margin makes it seem like a bigger win than it really was. It was much closer.
Houston’s defense made an early statement against the Grizzlies offense when they stole the ball 3 times in their first four possessions, with Ron Artest getting two of them. This display before their very eyes of one of the league’s most celebrated defensive players whipped the fans in Toyota Center into a frenzy as the Rockets took an early 7-0 lead. I myself couldn’t contain my excitement as I envisioned what an extra 2 or 3 steals per game from Artest will mean to the the Rockets’ cuse this season.
The lead expanded to 11-2 thanks to an active Yao Ming grabbing two offensive boards for a tip-in and dunk.
Yao’s performance Wednesday night would remind everyone just how much he was missed during last season’s playoff series loss against the Utah Jazz. Anytime you take out of the lineup a game-high 21 points, 10 rebounds and 9-of-9 shooting from the free throw line like Yao had Wednesday night, you’re not going to be near as competitive against a playoff team like Utah.
Click here for more photos from the game.
Welcome back, Yao. We’re glad to have you.
Houston looked like they were well on their way to a blowout against a young Memphis team after building a 26-18 first quarter lead. But then Houston’s offense went south with Houston’s second unit getting more action, hitting only 4-of-21 field goals in the second quarter for 17 points, and scoring only 15 points in the third.