Suns vs Rockets game thread

[sunsfn]

There are three reports here. ESPN, Suns site, and the Rockets site.
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I took the ESPN off because it was identical to the Suns write-up?

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This is from the suns site.
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Phoenix (5-5) at Houston (3-8) 7:30 pm EST

HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Finished with a tough stretch of road games, the Houston Rockets will try to snap a four-game slide when they host the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.

The Rockets finished a 2-6 stretch in which they played seven games on the road with a 102-93 loss at Dallas on Tuesday.

Rookie Luther Head marked his second straight start with season highs of 28 points and seven rebounds, but Houston lost again without star swingman Tracy McGrady.

McGrady missed his second straight game and fifth this season with back issues. The five-time All-Star is questionable for Wednesday's contest, a bad sign for the Rockets, who are 0-5 without him and 3-3 when McGrady is in the lineup.

Shawn Marion's 28 points and 18 rebounds led the Suns in Tuesday's 90-82 win over Toronto at home. Steve Nash added 23 points and nine assists as Phoenix moved back to .500 in its first game without Leandro Barbosa.

Barbosa is expected to miss up to three weeks with a sprained left knee suffered in a loss at San Antonio on Saturday. In his first season as a regular starter, Barbosa is averaging 15.7 points and is second on the team with a 54 percent field-goal percentage.

The Suns have won five of the last seven meetings between the teams, including three straight at the Toyota Center.


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THis is from the Houston Rockets site.
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Houston Rockets vs. Phoenix Suns ​

Wednesday, November 23

DID YOU KNOW?

-Houston has lost three straight to the Suns at home, but have taken four in a row against Phoenix at America West Arena.


The Houston Rockets host the Phoenix Suns Wednesday at Toyota Center beginning at 6:30 p.m. The road weary Rockets will be back in Houston for only the second time in the last nine games. Houston will now play five of their next six at Toyota Center.

The home stretch couldn’t have come at a better time for Houston, who suffered a 102-93 loss to the Dallas Mavericks last night on the road. The Suns defeated the Toronto Raptors Tuesday 90-82 in the valley of the sun.

Despite the loss of Amare Stoudemire, the Suns are still as explosive on offense as they were a year ago. Led by last year’s MVP, Steve Nash, the Suns are pouring in 103.5 points a game. Shawn Marion may not receive as much press as Nash and the injured Stoudemire, but be assured the rest of the NBA is well aware of Marion’s abilities. He is nearly a lock for a double-double nightly, while leading the Suns in steals and blocked shots.

The Rockets are still searching to find offensive chemistry as Tracy McGrady and Rafer Alston remain out of the lineup. While the Rockets have struggled offensively, their defense has been outstanding early in the season, allowing just 88.8 points a game.

They are going to need every bit of that defense Wednesday as it will take a strong effort to keep Nash and Marion contained in the open floor, an area of the game where the Suns excel. For the Rockets to win, they are going to have to keep the game in the half-court and lean on Yao in the low post.

Tuesday’s game will be broadcast coast-to-coast by ESPN, but can be seen locally on FSN Houston.

POSITION BREAKDOWN​

(pts./rbs./asts.)​

Point Guard: Rafer Alston (7.1/3.9/4.1) has a hairline fracture in his leg and is listed as day-to-day. The Rockets have several alternatives to replace Alston, but none will match up with Phoenix's Steve Nash (17/3.7/11). Nash is the reigning MVP for a reason. He makes everyone on the floor better - see Raja Bell's offensive output this season. It would have been easy for Phoenix to go in the tank with Stoudemire out. So far they haven't, and Nash is probably the reason why.​

Shooting Guard: Each team has trotted out different players here early in the season. The Rockets could call on Derek Anderson (9.8/3.5/2.2)), Luther Head (8.5/3.8/.2), or even Jon Barry (5.3/1.8/1.7). Anderson is a candidate to start at the three if McGrady can't go, so odds are it will be Head, who has been thrust into the starting lineup recently due to injuries. It would be tought to sit Head back on the bench after last night's performance. He is a player who is only going to improve with more playing time, and don't expect him to be intimidated by James Jones (9.4/2.7/.8) or Leandro Barbosa (15.7/2.9/2.1), neither of whom are going to light up the scoreboard for the Suns.


Guard/Forward: Tracy McGrady (24.8/7.8/3.8) is an x-factor in this game. If he is able to play Wednesday, the Rockets should pull out a win at home as he will be able to dominate Raja Bell (11.5/3.7/1.8). The Suns have sported a three-guard look for much of the season, but Bell is not even close to the player McGrady is. Look for Anderson or Ryan Bowen (.9/.8/.4) to get the call if McGrady can't go. Both may have trouble offensively as Bell is a solid defender, but either should be able to keep Bell in check.


Power Forward: The combination of Juwan Howard (7.3/6.1/.8) and Stromile Swift (8.5/3.8/.2) has looked great some nights and mediocre on others. When Howard is hitting his outside jump shot and Swift is clearing the glass, the two are a very nice one-two punch. It's going to take a tag-team effort to keep Phoenix's Shawn Marion (19.6/13.1/2.4) in check. Marion is one of the league's quiet stars and is as versatile a player as you will find in the NBA. His weakness this season has been from behind the arc (1-21). The Rockets’ frontline needs to play off and let Marion chuck it from the front row as he is shooting over 55 percent from the floor inside the three-point line.


Center: Yao Ming (19.2/8.9/1.4) should dominate Phoenix's Kurt Thomas (7.8/5.7/.9). Yao will need to keep watch for a roaming Marion who may play off of Howard and Swift until they can prove they are able to score. It would be surprising if Phoenix played Yao one-on-one, so the big man should be ready for a double team early and often. If Howard can hit a jump shot early in the game, it may provide Yao just enough space to display his low post game, which is improving every night out.

 

[boisesuns]

We should be able to beat the bottle rockets tonight!

 

[goldseraph]

The Rockets are playing poorly, we should be able to handle them if we can get Yao in foul trouble. I am a bit worried about Luther Head vs Nash, Head has been playing very well and Nash might have problems containing him.

 

[Chaz]

Shooting Guard: Each team has trotted out different players here early in the season. The Rockets could call on Derek Anderson (9.8/3.5/2.2)), Luther Head (8.5/3.8/.2), or even Jon Barry (5.3/1.8/1.7). Anderson is a candidate to start at the three if McGrady can't go, so odds are it will be Head, who has been thrust into the starting lineup recently due to injuries. It would be tought to sit Head back on the bench after last night's performance. He is a player who is only going to improve with more playing time, and don't expect him to be intimidated by James Jones (9.4/2.7/. or Leandro Barbosa (15.7/2.9/2.1), neither of whom are going to light up the scoreboard for the Suns.

I would say that is a safe bet considering Barbosa isn't playing and Jones doesn't play shooting guard.

 

[myrondizzo]

yao dominating.

 

[nowagimp]

The Rockets are playing poorly, we should be able to handle them if we can get Yao in foul trouble. I am a bit worried about Luther Head vs Nash, Head has been playing very well and Nash might have problems containing him.

Luther Head is too fast for Nash to guard. If we double or chase him defensively on the drive, there will be some serious issues with offensive rebounds and putbacks by the Houston big men. This means that Nash will probably play off Head initially to see if his outside shot is falling. It could be a big night for Head. The fact that Diaw has a sprained ankle probably means that he wont be able to help out defensively on Heads' drives. I am concerned that we need to shoot well to win this game. Passing better be crisp to let our shooters square up. Against toronto we shot poorly partly because the passes were off target and the toronto defense was able to adjust before our shooters gathered the ball and squared up. Houston is not a smart team(floor smarts) so hopefully Nash can take advantage of this.

 

[Evil Ash]

Gametime chat anyone

http://www.arizonasportsfans.com/chat.php

 

[elindholm]

Wow, does everyone else's picture quality completely suck? What the hell?

 

[devilalum]

Wow, does everyone else's picture quality completely suck? What the hell?

Ya, me too!

 

[jibikao]

Thank god we have 7-0 run to end that ugly 15-3.

By the way, is it me or I find James Jone look like JJ?? lol

 

[jibikao]

Yes, 10pt lead. Please keep it up!!!

 

[greensborohill]

Ya, me too!

Same here

 

[jibikao]

Ok, I don't think Kurt Thomas and Nash know each other really well. Kurt can't hit a thing too.... we need to bring Marion back.

 

[jibikao]

I think Yao should gain more weight....

 

[jibikao]

Where is everybody! lol

Man, Diaw is GOOD. He can easily replace JJ IMO.

Great game. Poor Rocket. lol

 

[Evil Ash]

I think Yao should gain more weight....

Weight isn't the issue with Yao ... its desire. He's incredibly soft and prefers to shoot 15 footers than going in the post.

It seems he prefers not to have the ball in his hands

 

[mribnik]

I was just about to post about how well Raja Bell played (and still will) but did anybody else notice the box score? Raja Bell played 45 minutes! He had a great all-around game and deserves his props. Diaw had a great game as well.

 

[elindholm]

Very good effort by the Suns all the way through. This was definitely the best they've looked in a full game all season, in my opinion. It finally started to be fun watching them again.

Diaw is an early candidate for Most Improved Player.

 

[sunsfn]

Yao Ming played 26 minutes and looked exhausted.
I think from watching him in some games last year and now this year, he just does not have a lot of stamina.

The Rockets are in trouble! If McGrady continues to have back problems at his young age, he may have problems every year.

Shawn Marion had another great game!

 

[Neo]

Good game. I about died laughing when Walton called House one of the great scorers in the game.

 

[jibikao]

Weight isn't the issue with Yao ... its desire. He's incredibly soft and prefers to shoot 15 footers than going in the post.

It seems he prefers not to have the ball in his hands

I wonder why. I mean if he goes through some muscle training, he may not feel as painful when he gets "dumped" by other centers/PF??

I don't know...I just feel Rocket hasn't really found a way to use Yao effectively.


Bell is great! He doesn't seem tired at all! lol

 

[George O'Brien]

I only caught bits and pieces of the game, but I don't think Yao is in particularly good condition. It's not just strength, it's his overall conditioning. Is he on his way to become Ostertag with a jump shot?

 

[mribnik]

I only caught bits and pieces of the game, but I don't think Yao is in particularly good condition. It's not just strength, it's his overall conditioning. Is he on his way to become Ostertag with a jump shot?

I think it was partly Yao and partly terrible guard play by the Rockets. They had no idea how to get the ball into Yao at all. Yao also has a history of playing very poorly against smaller/quicker players. I tend to think of him morer as a Rik Smits type of player.

 

[elindholm]

I only caught bits and pieces of the game, but I don't think Yao is in particularly good condition. It's not just strength, it's his overall conditioning.

Not to be snide, but do we know of anyone 7' 5" who runs better? I mean, that's really freakishly tall. It has to be very hard on the body in ways that are poorly understood. I know there are plenty of guys in the 6' 10" to 7' 0" range who run well, but this is another five inches on top of that. It's a big difference.

 

[George O'Brien]

I only caught bits and pieces of the game, but I don't think Yao is in particularly good condition. It's not just strength, it's his overall conditioning.

Not to be snide, but do we know of anyone 7' 5" who runs better? I mean, that's really freakishly tall. It has to be very hard on the body in ways that are poorly understood. I know there are plenty of guys in the 6' 10" to 7' 0" range who run well, but this is another five inches on top of that. It's a big difference.

History suggests you are right about the running. About the only over 7 footer I can think of that could run with the Suns is KG and he's only about 7'1" (but sure seems taller). The bulk of the really big guys were awfully slow: Smits, Eaton, Ostertag, etc. used calendars rather than stop watches. But at least they didn't get pushed around in the lane like Yao.

Yao tends to spend his summers doing stuff for the Chinese national team rather than working on body building, so I think that what you see is what you are going to get.