Preview: Rockets vs. Nets

[Ma3oxuct]

<div align="center">Date: Saturday November 12th, 2005
Place: Continential Airlines Arena
Time: 8:00 P.M.
On: YES/Ch. 51 and WFAN 660 FM

It is a showdown of the

VS

Houston Rockets (1-3) vs. New Jersey Nets (3-2) </div>

<u>The anticipated starting lineups are expected to be:</u>
<div align="center"><font color=""Red"">For the Rockets</font>

<font color=""Navy"">For the Nets</font>

</div>

<u>Match Up to watch:</u>
<div align="center">

Yao Ming versus Nenad Krstic</div>
Both are young. Both have tremendous potential. And both have high expectations this season. Yao Ming has had much higher expectations, but also has the hieght advantage. It will be interesting to see how Krstic will fare against a young, legitate center (remember he did not get tested against Shaq in the Miami game). It will be interesting to see if Krstic plays Yao aggressivly and physically or if he plays finesse style like Yao. Krstic's defense will definitly be tested along with his offense. The clear advantage that Krstic has over Yao is endurence. While Yao is capable of playing only 30 minutes. Krstic is able to play more (he does not however, but will not get as winded as Yao in the same amount of time.

<u>Starters Comparison:</u>Because the Rockets are without McGrady, the Nets have the advantage in the starting line up will all but four players. Kidd obviously will win the point guard matchup. Carter is definitly capable of outperfoming Derek Anderson overall. Jefferson can handle Ryan Bowen on defense, however, Jefferson's offense is sure to raise some hell for Bowen. Collins is better than Juwan howard overall. Athough Howard does have much better offense, Collins has much better rebounding and defense. If Collins boxes Howard out all of the time, then Howard will not be able to do much (Howard wieghs 230 ounds while Collins is 265+). Yao ofcourse has hieght advantage over Krstic which may significantly cuase Krstic trouble on both ends of the floor.

<u>Bench Comparison:</u>It may seem that the Rockets do not have enough good players to compete in the starting line up. However, the truth is, the Rockets some firepower off of the bench. Thier bench includes the veteran David Wesly, The athletic Stromile swift, Sharpshooting Jon Barry, defensive specialist Mutumbo, and the Rookie Luther Head. Cliff Robinson certainly cancels out Mutumbo, but will Mark Jackson be able to slow down Swift? If the Nets' bench is going to play well, they have have a chance to draw even. If it does not play up to its potential, then it will be a long night for the starters.

<font color=""Red""><u>Keys to the Game for the Rockets:</u></font>
1. Slow down Carter and Jefferson. This this a key for just about any team, but the Rockets will especially have a tough time because thier best (most capable) defender, T-Mac, is out. They will have to some how muster up what ever defense they can to stop Carter and Jefferson. Ryan Bowen can keep Jefferson from shooting, but not driving, but the help should be there with Yao or Swift in the middle. The Rockets will have to hope that Carter does not get on a roll, because if he does, Derek Anderson, nor any other player, will be able to stop Carter.

2. Feed the ball to Yao. Yao has the height advantage over Krstic. The Rockets definitly will not go wrong if they risk testing the type of defense Krstic can play. If Collins plays Yao, then the Rockets should throw the ball down to Howard or Swift. This basic key is to attach Krstic when he is on defense.

3. Do not let the Nets out rebound. The Nets are relativly small compared to the Rockets (Yao obvoisly make this difference). This means that the Rockets have to rebound according to how they are supposed to rebound.

<u><font color=""Navy"">Keys to the Game for the Nets:</font></u>
1. Take advantage of who ever is guarding Jefferson or Carter. Without T-Mac, the Rockets will struggle keeping up athletically and skillfully here. Why not try to take advantage.

2. Krstic has to get physical on Yao. If not Krstic, then Collins, and if not Collins, then Jackson. Who ever is guarding Howard also has to get Phyiscal. As for Swift, they just need to match his energy. Howard and Yao are finesse players who do not perform best when physically pushed around. Yao is tough to push around, but it is certainly possible.

3. Bench has to play thier best game yet. The bench is going to have to step it up to even up with the Rockets' bench.

<u>Prediction:</u>
Judging by the way the Rockets have been playing thier last few games, I can not make them the favorite in this game. I predict that the Nets have this game under thier belts unless Carter and Jefferson both have miserable games (or if the bench play terribly aweful). I would expect a great game from Carter and 20+ points from Jefferson. I would also expect Collins to grab more than 10 boards. I also expect Yao to score more than 20 on Krstic.

 

[Henacy]

Nice preview X, if Collins sits out again tonight then we are definately in trouble on the frontline...Nenad cant guard Ming. All we could possibly hope for is that the non-0aggressive Yao Ming shows up...the on that stands out on the perimeter and doesnt demand the bal in the post to make his pressence felt...cause if Yao feels like being aggressive that is going to be 25-30 points for him against Nenad.

Anyway, I think this is a test for RJ....Jefferson in my opinion has made that legitimate cross over to being a star go to guy...well star go to guys know how to put the past behind them and bounce back from the type of performance he had in Indy, last night.

Your 3rd key to the game was the biggest tho...the bench must produce...its a back to back situation...and even though it was a blow out last night and the starters didnt play in the 4th quarter..2nd game of a road back to back a team always needs a spark...that spark needs to come from the 2nd unit guys.

 

[NJNetz]

Great Preview,
To make things harder for the Nets, Mcgrady might play today. I don't think this game will be like the one in Indiana and if Mcgrady doesn't play then it is gonna be easier but still hard to win.

 

[Nasty]

Da Da Dadum Da Daaa

 

[NJNetz]

Well, it was an awful first half, better second half but just not enough. The Nets just keep proving that they can not compete with the harder teams. They need another big men.

On the only bright side, Jackson and McInnis had a good game.

 

[Henacy]

Right now, we are in a bad spot we dont have quality depth, we just have bodies. Like I said before with this roster the way it is now Carter and Jefferson have to play at a spectaculart level every night inorder for us to even compete against the elite teams...and I donbt even really conside the Rockets elite as of now.

I think Coach Franks needs to switch a few things up..I will start a thread later tonight so we can discuss some of the changes that I think as well as you guys think need to take place, mainly things with the rotation..cause as it stands now, it isnt very productive.

 

[phunDamentalz]

Didn't see the game but when Nenad goes single-figures they usually lose so far this season. it makes you worry when you have to depend on Nenad getting points on a team with VC,JK and RJ. Right now I think they are a playoff team, but ultimately playoff fodder. They are clearly missing a piece, or maybe even two pieces from winning the Larry O'Brien. One piece they could use is a defensively skilled 4. The only problem is they either have superstars or very limited players on the roster, so the only way they can get the pieces they need is via a blockbuster deal.
If the Nets are serious about winning, they need to consider the value they would get for Kidd or RJ right now. Crazy as it sounds, they're not winning the whole thing with the current team and you'd have to lose one of those guys to get what you need. You won't get a Rasheed Wallace or a Kirilenko or even a Marcus Camby for Jeff MaCinnis and Scott Padgett.

Here are three trades that probably couldn't happen but would make the Nets a bit better overall

Okur for RJ:

STARTING 5:
Kidd - PG
Planinic/MacInnis - SG
Carter - SF
Krstic - PF
Okur - C

Camby for Kidd:

STARTING 5:
PG: MacInnis
SG: Vince
SF: R. Jefferson
PF: Krstic
C: Camby

Sheed for RJ:
STARTING 5:

Kidd - PG
Planinic/MacInnis - SG
Carter - SF
RaSheed Wallace - PF
Krstic - C

 

[kobimel]

Okur for RJ???!!! First of all, it wouldn't work out cap wise. Second, Okur isn't close to RJ's level, and RJ is having a career season so far, why trade him? He's gonna be the best player on the team in 2 seasons, or even 1 if he continues at this pace.

Why trade Kidd for another injury prone player in Camby? And with Jeff McInnis instead of Kidd, Carter and Jefferson aren't going to get good enough looks. Terrible trade and wouldn't work out cap wise.

Why bring in Sheed, who's attidute and ego will only clash with Carter, instead of RJ, a seflless player and improving playmaker? Also, wouldn't work out cap wise.

 

[phunDamentalz]

Okur is already proving he might be the best center out west.
His stats so far this season are ridiculous.
Now look at how many good centers there are in the league.
so Okur for RJ is not THAT far-fetched. I love RJ he's one of my fave players but I have to admit that if the game slows down he has trouble sometimes. Open court? one of the absolute best. Okur plays good halfcourt.

Carter and Jefferson wouldn't get enough looks with MacInnis? I doubt that Larry Frank would tolerate MacInnis forcing shots himself. IF anything they would make MacInnis look like a better player by converting his passes and bringing his assists up.

PS what are you talking about Rasheed - Rasheed is a TOTALLY selfless guy if anything he needs to attempt more shots per game and his defensive prowess would be worth it. He is also a club guy that teammates love. The ONLY bad rep he has is because of a couple of weed infractions and he gets a lot of T's. As far as being a basketball player no GM wouldn't take him and no player wouldn't want him on their squad.

 

[giftedvisionz]

Unless we're getting a superstar caliber player, there is no way that RJ would be traded. Especially for Okur.

I'm really dissapointed in our low post defense and our bench play. We're letting too many people inside the paint, and when Kidd, Carter, and RJ have to help our big men on defense, the opposing team is always getting wide open looks around the perimeter. Our bench isn't much of a factor as we hoped it would be either. McInnis is playing average, but no one else is truly contributing. Lawrence Frank NEEDS to give Jackson more minutes, and needs to hope he doesn't get into foul trouble. We need Robinson back on the floor as well. I wouldn't mind if we saw a trade of some of our bench players for a tough big man in the near future. If we improve our interior defense, then we can get more stops and have more fastbreak oppurtunities as we did in the Kidd-Kittles-RJ-Martin era. Good defense leads to easy offense.

 

[kobimel]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting phunDamentalz:</div><div class="quote_post">Okur is already proving he might be the best center out west.
His stats so far this season are ridiculous.
Now look at how many good centers there are in the league.
so Okur for RJ is not THAT far-fetched. I love RJ he's one of my fave players but I have to admit that if the game slows down he has trouble sometimes. Open court? one of the absolute best. Okur plays good halfcourt.

Carter and Jefferson wouldn't get enough looks with MacInnis? I doubt that Larry Frank would tolerate MacInnis forcing shots himself. IF anything they would make MacInnis look like a better player by converting his passes and bringing his assists up.

PS what are you talking about Rasheed - Rasheed is a TOTALLY selfless guy if anything he needs to attempt more shots per game and his defensive prowess would be worth it. He is also a club guy that teammates love. The ONLY bad rep he has is because of a couple of weed infractions and he gets a lot of T's. As far as being a basketball player no GM wouldn't take him and no player wouldn't want him on their squad.</div>

Best center out west? How about Stoudamire? Duncan? Brad Miller? Gasol (sometimes C)? Camby???!!! No way Okur is better than any of those guys.

It's obvious that Frank wouldn't tolerate it, and maybe McInnis WOULD pass more, but it's also obvious that he isn't nearly as good a passer or playmaker as Kidd and would lose a lot of balls, and if Camby gets injured, which is as probable as Kidd getting injured, our lineup would be:

McInnis
Jefferson
Carter
Collins
Krstic

Same lineup which would play if Kidd go injured. Camby would add a lot of defense and rebounding, but would he get enough touches from McInnis ALONG with RJ and VC, and also Krstic??? Kidd wouldn't complain about not getting the ball, but I'm not so sure about a guy like Camby who complained about not getting money from the league to buy clothes...

If Rasheed has turned sefless and I didn't notice, then that's a plus. BUT he's still a problem causer on the court, while RJ is not. Also, who would we start at SG? Planinic? Not good enough. McInnis? Too short, and Vaughn would be the only PG backup. Wright? Hasn't been impressive enough. Inexperienced, too. So I prefer a Collins+RJ combo than a Wright/Planinic/McInnis+Sheed combo.

 

[NJNetz]

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Okur is already proving he might be the best center out west.</div>

Your joking right? HE has great numbers but this is only like 8 games into the season. I see his points decresing to around 13-14. He is not the best center in the west. Period.