SB Nation User Blog: Xiane

Thoughts on Rockets 89 - Trailblazers 90

Xiane — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 06:12:32 -0000

More photos » by Greg Wahl-Stephens - AP

A sight that is sadly all-too-familiar in Portland, Ore., Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens)

First, my sympathies go out to Greg Oden, the Trailblazers and their fans. I happened to change over briefly from the UT v Nebraska game, just in time to see Oden hurt his knee in a particularly grisly way. In my preview I had made jokes about Oden/Odin and how he was starting to become a basketball god.

I feel a bit bad about that now, but it was well meant. It looked like Oden had gotten his feet under him, and was starting to fulfill his potential. Sadly that is not to be for another season at least.

In my preview I also said: "Unless a raven whispers something in our ear...it is not given for us to know what may transpire." So I guess the moral is don't ever name-check Norse gods unless you want something weird, tragic and painful to happen.

Some people compare Oden to Yao, but I'd point out that Yao has played literally hundreds more pro basketball games.

The Rockets lost the game on yet another Brandon Roy last second miracle shot. Does he do this to anyone else or just save it for the Rockets? The Blazers, on the other hand, lost Greg Oden for the year. I'd say the Blazer's loss was worse.

Houston got beaten by one, on the road in one of the toughest places to play, by a team rallying around its superstar after a terrible event. Let's not make a meal of this one. I honestly think we win this one if Oden doesn't get hurt.

Andre Miller did what he can often do - fool you into thinking he's a great player. He's not, but he saved Portland's bacon in the 3^rd when the Rockets looked like running away with the game.

Brandon Roy apparently woke up and realized he's a top 3 SG, and edged Carl Landry in a duel for the 4^th quarter and the game. I'm curious as to whether or not Roy can do that on the road, away from the amazing Rose Garden crowd.

It's a shame that such an amazing effort from Scola and Landry was wasted tonight. Despite the terrible events in Portland, we need every win we can get, and this was a winnable game.

Well, a couple of nights off, then we meet LeBron and the Bronettes in Houston.

PS - What the hell was going on at the end of UT v Nebraska? Anyone?

Bittersweet sentiments at Blazer's Edge.

Rockets vs Trailblazers Game Thread

Xiane — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 02:08:32 -0000

Nihil Obstat.

Rockets vs Trailblazers Game Preview

Xiane — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 01:36:23 -0000

We are playing the Portland Trailblazers. We have always played the Portland Trailblazers. We have always been at war with Oceania.

Well, not quite. But if there's one team we've seen a lot of lately, it is Portland. And overall this is a good thing, because the Blazers are an entertaining team to watch, the fans at Blazer's Edge are generally bright and reasonable, and they aren't the Lakers (whom we have also seen a lot of lately).

Both teams come into tonight's matchup with fairly similar records, but quite likely, very different feelings about those records. Rockets fans seem to be reasonably pleased with what the Rockets have achieved with their star-deprived roster. Trailblazer fans? Not so much, I think.

There are no panicked Blazer fans running shrieking through the firs yet, but it might not be far off if Portland drops a 4^th consecutive game. Thus far, instead of consolidating their gains of the past two seasons, and stepping up to contention, Portland seems to be struggling to find consistency.

I can't say I'm surprised that the addition of Andre Miller has not stabilized their PG situation, but instead made it, somehow, worse. Miller just seems to have that effect, despite there being nothing essentially wrong with his game. Miller is presumably on the trading block now, which given his summer signing, is not a ringing endorsement. Perhaps if Miller is traded Bayless might get a chance, but I doubt it.

The real story thus far is the continued development of Greg Oden, a concept not unlike that of process theology. Greg Oden is not omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, polyamorous. But Greg Oden is becoming omniscient, omnipotent, etc, etc. It is the faith of the believers that makes this process true.

Of course, for a center to be truly effective, the offense needs to run through him. This is a concept Portland has thus far failed to grasp. Tonight would be a poor night for them to start, and if the drama in PDX's frontcourt continues to steer the ship, then we have little worry in that direction. Even so, Oden has been highly effective cleaning up garbage and playing D. Chuck Hayes will have his hands full. We'll see if David Andersen can draw Oden out of the paint, or if he will be trampled on defense.

Portland has, it is true, suffered from some injuries, but this is where their vaunted depth should shine. Meanwhile, we'll continue to be scrappy, stroppy, gritty and hustleful and pray it sees us through yet again. That or sound, unselfish, basketball.

Matchup Analysis - I always get this wrong. Write Your Own Punchline!

Portland has been experimenting with its starting lineup. What we see tonight may in no way resemble this description.

PG - Blake vs Brooks

Steve Blake is a good player with some real limitations. One is that when defending a player like Brooks he often resembles a turnstile. Andre Miller is somewhat better at defense, but has his own limitations - mainly that he sometimes fails to understand his role in the offense and takes shots away from more productive scorers.

Advantage: Rockets

SG - Roy vs Ariza.

Brandon Roy, for my money, is one of the top 3 SG in the league at this point. Trevor Ariza is the sort of player who can slow him down. Will he? We'll see. Roy has put up some huge games against us recently.

Advantage: Blazers

SF - Webster vs Battier

If Greg Oden is becoming God, then, Portland fans seem to reason, Nic Batum is obviously an archangel, if only because he actually seems to enjoy playing D. Unfortunately for them, he's hurt and they merely have a recent top 10 draft pick to replace him in Martell Webster. Some criticism has Webster content to loiter around the 3pt line, and not much else. I have no idea what Webster will bring. We all know what Battier will bring, but will he add 6 blocks? Let's hope so.

Advantage: Even

PF - Aldridge/Cunningham vs Scola/Landry

LaMarcus Aldridge is no doubt an effective player, with a sweet jumper. He's not really my preferred style of PF though. He can get hot and score points in bunches certainly, and his mid-range game seems made to work with an offense running through an omnipotent center. For now, that offense isn't Portland. Cunningham is another talented young Blazer player, a rookie in fact. I think Scola and Landry bring more to the party, especially the way Landry has been playing.

Advantage: Rockets

C - Odin vs Hayes

We discussed the incipient divinity of Odin in great detail. The All-Father remains a great unknown, perhaps a great-unknowable to mere Rockets' fans. Unless a raven whispers something in our ear soon, then it is not given for us to know what may transpire. Hayes can frustrate nearly any big man, but a Big God? Well, that could be different. We may see lots of Andersen, drawing Odin out of the paint, as Australians just don't show proper respect to anyone.

Advantage: Portland

Prediction: A tough game, but Portland may be in some disarray. Rockets by 4.

For coverage greater than that which can be conceived - Blazer's Edge.

Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus on Height

Xiane — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 19:17:34 -0000

Pelton's article deals extensively with the Rockets, and their defensive slide in the absence of Yao Ming. The conclusions are not much different than has been discussed before, with the unexpected element being that the correlation between height and winning is real, but not terribly strong. Lots more in the article and Pelton explains it better than I ever could.

The Long and The Short of It @ Basketball Prospectus

The Full Custom Dream Shake Experience Gamethread

Xiane — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 03:04:24 -0000

More photos » by Russel A. Daniels - AP

V for Victory? Not tonight, Don.

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This is your game thread. It's not that preview below. That's a preview. We must maintain the taxonomy of postings.

Also see the fine folks at:

Golden State of Mind

Poll

Does Don Nelson favor:

Preview - Rockets vs Warriors – Better Late Than Never Edition

Xiane — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 02:52:13 -0000


Game 19
ROCKETS	AT	WARRIORS Help! I can't make the wee pictures work!


December 3, 2009
9:00 PM CST
Oracle Arena (home of the Delphic Basketball Oracle)
Oakland, CA
Aaron Brooks	PG	Stephen Curry
Trevor Ariza	SG	Monta Ellis
Shane Battier	SF	C Maggette
Luis Scola	PF	V Radmanovic
Chuck Hayes	C	Mikki Moore(dtd)
Carl Landry	Key Reserve	A Randolph
Key Injuries
Tracy McGrady		A Biedrins/R Turiaf?

Team Records: Warriors 6-11, Rockets 10-8

Tonight we revisit the ongoing soap opera that is the Golden State Warriors. So much talent. So much drama. So little defense. So much Don Nelson, wandering around, drinking scotch, and alienating people.

The Warriors are coming off a big loss to Denver, while the Rockets pulled away from the LA Clippers with a strong 4^th quarter showing, turning a tight game into a cakewalk in the space of 8 minutes.

When we last saw the Warriors, again on the 2^nd game of a West Coast back-to-back, they featured Stephen Jackson. Jackson, after much public outcry, whingeing, hand wringing and hoopla, is now a Bobcat. Coming to the Warriors is Vladimir Randmanovic - a man who can truthfully boast one of the worst contracts in the NBA, which is saying something. The Warriors also feature man-child Anthony Randolph - a player I think should become a Rocket, if only to get back to Texas.

No one played that much in last night's win against LAC, with what we call our "2^nd Unit" closing out the game, and the opponent. This is to say, the Rockets have the bench to run up and down with the Warriors on the 2^nd night of a back-to-back.

I think the Rockets can largely keep up with the Warriors scoring, and certainly play a lot more defense. If the Warriors can't field Biedrins or Turiaf, Randolph, Moore and Radmanovic might have a tough job holding down Scola and Landry.

Monta Ellis has been on fire recently, effectively winning some games himself. The Rockets need to stop this from happening in order to win tonight.

Let's look at the match-ups:

PG - Brooks v Curry

As a rookie, Curry has looked great, and not so great, sometimes in the same quarter. Brooks tore up LAC last night, before giving way to the more physical game of Lowry. Edge - Rockets

SG - Ariza v Ellis

Ellis has been on a tear lately, totally destroying the opposition at times. Ariza has been playing better lately, driving and dunking, while still playing good D. We'll see if he can slow Ellis down.

Edge - Warriors

SF - Battier v Maggette

Maggette remains a great enigma of the NBA. Sometimes when you see him play, you think he should dominate the league. But he never really has - injuries, the wrong situation have slowed him down. I think Battier will too.

Edge - Warriors

PF - Scola/Landry v Radmanovic/Randolph

Radmanovic is...not as bad as you might think he is. If you don't watch the Rockets, you'll be surprised to learn that Landry is much better than you thought he was. Scola seemed to be bothered by his shop goggles last night. Let's hope he's found the old school "bug type" goggles. Randolph might go insane and fill up the stat sheet. He might go insane and spend the night on the bench.

Edge - Rockets

C - Hayes v Moore

Wow. Without Biedrins and possibly Turiaf, this looks sort of scary for the Warriors. I'll say now that we're going to see a lot of Andersen.

Edge - Rockets

Rockets by 10

The Opposing Blog

The Malcontent All-Stars: A modest proposal

Xiane — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:21:59 -0000

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

I'm Allen Iverson, and I approved this message.

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The 2009-2010 NBA season has featured a number of unhappy players demanding to be relieved of their current predicament, feigning retirement and so forth. This is unfortunate, but there is a solution: The Malcontent All-Stars (MAS). This would be a "barnstorming" team comprised of players like Alan Iverson, Stephen Jackson, Zach Randolph, Tim Thomas, Shaq, etc.

The team would have no coach. In the spirit of entertainment, the playing time, plays, and other coaching duties of the Malcontents would be decided entirely internally, amongst the players. They would nominate a captain to arbitrate all disputes.

Every 3 years an NBA team could move a player off its roster and on to the Malcontents, with 1/3 of the league able to do this on a rotating basis. The team would be responsible for 1/2 the player's salary, and would get cap relief for the other 1/2, plus an open roster spot. Any team can sign a Malcontent during 4 signing periods distributed annually, but they must replace the player with someone from their roster, and pay the full salary and contract of the player they claim. Claims would be from worst record to best. The Malcontents may cut non-guaranteed players and sign D-league players, upon a team vote.

The remainder of the Malcontent's pay would come from revenues generated by the team itself. The players would receive a share of the gate for all their barnstorming games, plus some revenue from the NBA TV contract. Revenues claimed by players cannot exceed 2x a player's contracted salary for salaries under $4 million, or an extra 50% for salaries over $4 million. Any remainder would go to fund a halfway house and charity for any NBA player, current or former, whose gambling losses, gentleman's club expenses, and recreational chemical purchases exceed $2 million dollars, lifetime.

The Malcontents would play a full NBA slate, with no home games, or home city. Some games would be in places like London or Shanghai, others at the Corn Palace in South Dakota. Teams with a winning percentage under .300 could request that the Malcontents play up to 4 games of their schedule at their home arena, with the result counting towards their record. Obviously any game between the Malcontents and that team would have to be played. The team being replaced would play the Malcontent's schedule during that time.

If the Malcontent's make the playoffs, they may nominate a home city, either in a venue of a team that did not make the playoffs, or a barnstorming site of their choice (decided by team vote), or play at multiple sites in North America. If the Malcontents should win an NBA title, they would be eligible to claim the home city of a non-playoff team for the following season, and send that team on the road to play their schedule. The Malcontents would be able to accept any inducement offered to pick, or not pick, a particular city to displace.

All Malcontents' games would be available on all Fox Sports affiliates, or NBA TV. The team logo shall be a version of the Jolly Roger, with the letter "M" on the skull.

Poll

Would you like to see the Malcontent All-Stars become a reality?

Rockets stop slide in Oklahoma City - 100-91

Xiane — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 03:11:54 -0000

More photos » by Sue Ogrocki - AP

Houston Rockets guard Aaron Brooks played a solid, thoughtful and effective game, of NBA basketball in Oklahoma City, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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Thoughts on Rockets 100 vs Thunder 91 (Game 17)

Tonight's Episode Sponsored by: Bullet Points - The Lazy Man's Friend^TM

* First order of business - Luis Scola. PF might be the position we can cover fairly well in the short term, but we need Scola, every single night. Let's all hope that Luis comes right very soon after Etan Thomas hurt him on practically the first play of the game. I think we may miss Pops a bit right now. Will we see Joey Dorsey and his wallet full of $1 bills? The fictional side of TDS certainly hopes so. Get well Luis.

* Second order of business. I am heartily sick of the Bill Simmons "Team That Shall Not Be Named" schtick when it comes to the Oklahoma City Thunder. I feel tremendous sympathy for Seattle and its fans. Only a cad wouldn't.

There is no question Seattle was jobbed. But is it really OKC, as a fanbase's, fault? Should the enthusiastic fans watching a good young team bear the wrath of a city, a nation or an internet sports commenting phenomenon with a bully pulpit?

The whole sorry affair appeared to be a combination of bad acts on the part of Seattle's former owner (The Starbuckeroo), the OKC group, dithering on the part of the city of Seattle and an obviously pre-arranged deal with Stern and the NBA owners.

When you've got a buyer who has all along looked like he wanted to move the team to a nice new facility in his hometown, why be surprised when he does just that? We like to think of teams as our own, and God knows, we fund them as if they were, building arenas and whatnot. In the end, however, they are private property, and owners in the USA can generally do what they want with their property. You may say we're foolish to build arenas, and maybe that's true, but tell that to Seattle, where a rather nasty point about new facilities seemed to be made by the NBA.

So while the loss of the Supersonics was a terrible outcome for the loyal and great fans of Seattle who did not deserve anything like that treatment, and there was without question treachery on the part of a number of actors, the fans of OKC are not to blame. Being petulant about a team and city isn't hurting Clay Bennett, Howard Schultz, or David Stern. Let it go, at least when it comes to OKC and its fans - they are 2^nd least blameworthy group in this mess.

* Seeing OKC again, I still think this is a collection of players struggling to become a team. On a talent level, this is an amazing group. From an execution and strategy level, they tend to look flat when playing Houston. Sometimes their massive collection of ability is enough to overcome a very good opponent. But in 11 straight games, that combination hasn't been enough to beat the Rockets.

* Wow. We needed this win. After the Dallas Debacle - Part II, and the Spurs crushing 3^rd quarter, I felt as though doubt was starting to creep in regarding the whole program. This is unnecessary. The Rockets are able to compete with anyone, most nights. But when things go wrong, or when we play a team that's pure poison for us like Dallas, things can get ugly fast. Our big players do make a difference. They bring certain things, every night, and sometimes those things (Defense, insanely efficient shooting from Yao. Explosive scoring, the ability to create good shots, and excellent passing from McGrady.) are vital. There's a reason those guys are considered stars, despite the efficient and strong performance of our "No Stars"lineup.

* I've been accused of jinxing Carl Landry, so I'll try not to do that. But, but... Wow! Right now he's just an amazing force around the basket. If he got some of the calls that "star" big men get, he'd be even tougher. Remember, after the vile Etan Thomas (nice gratuitous shot at Brook's head) lacerated Scola's eyelid, he got 3 quick fouls - so most of his 21pts and 10 rbs came in the 2^nd half.

Three UP

1. Aaron Brooks - 21 pts on 8-15 shooting, 3-3 on 3pts, 4 assits, 5 steals(!), and most importantly, 1 turnover. Yes, the wanton giveaways came to an end tonight, and it made a huge difference. A mature and poised game from Aaron, and despite somewhat similar stat lines - he played much better against Westbrook tonight.

2. The D on Durant. Kevin Durant can make impossible-seeming shots with some frequency. He can make easy shots with even greater frequency. At least 10 of Durant's 25 points came on "how did he make that" shots. That's all you can do, or hope for.

3. Landry is mentioned above, so - David Andersen. The big Aussie is finding his game in the NBA, he's moving much better on defense, and was frequently offering solid help D in the paint. His shot is as smooth as glass - we need to see more of it.

Three Down

1. Trevor Ariza channeling Ron Artest. 7-23 type nights are a problem. I like his aggressiveness, but he's not quite aggressive enough - he can get to the rim, but can't make the shot go - try to dunk more, Trevor. Also, his 3 seems way out of rhythm.

2. Etan Thomas - lacerated Scola's eye, and very nearly connected on a vicious, unnecessary, Karl Malone-style elbow to Aaron Brooks, who was simply standing near him. It's not in character for the Rockets, but a takedown of Thomas by his ridiculous ponytail would have satisfied my unrealistic revenge fantasies quite nicely.

3. A quiet night for Battier, who looked tentative when it came to open shot

Thunder Fans Welcome You To Loud City, USA

Rockets v Thunder Thread

Xiane — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:24:10 -0000

Sorry folks, this has been an almost tragicomically bad week/weekend for Houston sports teams (except for the Horns - sorry Ags, that was a crazy game). Combine that with holidays, lots of family fun, and some accelerating work commitments and you're not getting the quality Dreamshake experience you've come to expect. In the end, I'll blame it on tryptophan - everyone else lays their sins at the feet of this largely harmless substance, why not me?

Anyhow, here's a game thread.

Game Thread and Non-Preview

Xiane — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:50:49 -0000

More photos » by Gregory Smith - AP

Jack Sikma finds monarchists repellent.

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Here is your Rockets v Kings game thread. We need this one, and hopefully we'll play to our recent pattern.

Sacramento is a young team with a lot of talent, and they shredded us on the boards last time, which proved the difference in the game. They're playing much better than anyone expected, either their talent is meshing better, or they went out and hired an honest-to-God NBA coach.

Big athletic PF/C types have been giving us trouble this season, so we'll see if we can't control the Kings version of that guy in Jason Thompson, who had a big night against us in Sacramento. Tyreke Evans looks like the real deal, but also might be a bit banged up (it is evidently against his machismo to admit that). Also, if Beno Udrih plays against us like he did last time, I'll... I'll...do something extreme.

Last night in Atlanta was a heartbreaker, but I believe the Rockets will come out with energy and a desire to wash the bad taste of last night's amazing near-comeback out, and commit REGICIDE. DEATH TO THE KINGS! Or at least, defeat to the Kings!

The cruel hand of monarchy at Sactown Royalty