# Preseason Game #1: Official Houston @ Philadelphia GAME THREAD. 10/11. 6:00 CST



## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

Wow. I can't believe basketball is already here. JVG has said we are a mess in practice right now, but you can't expect someone with his standards to be happy this early in the season. 

I don't know if I'll be able to commentate throughout game threads like I did last year. We have plenty of posters who can pick up the slack, however. I hope all the posters can enjoy reading through the GT's after the game's are over.


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## CrackerJack (Jul 2, 2005)

how can you say basketball is already here. its been like an eternity for me  but its back so im gonna turn that frown upside down :biggrin:


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

Yep unfortunately I can not really fulfill my duties as a mod to follow the games as well... I'd be lucky to catch ANY live NBA action this season, let alone Rockets games. 

But my heart's gonna be with the team all the way, and will be following the box scores and game threads as much as possible. Goooooo Rockets!


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## Cometsbiggestfan (May 14, 2003)

vs











The Rockets should win despite playing T-Mac or Yao. 

Rox-80
6ers-72


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## Pasha The Great (Apr 9, 2005)

I never thought I'd be so excited to read one of these threads. Thank God Basketball is back!!

Ive never kept up with the preseason, so like do the starters even play? Will Tmac and Yao get any playing time, or will they be benched to avoid injuree?


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## zinc (Apr 27, 2005)

I wonder if the spring/summer/autumn break for NBA is necessary. If Stern shorten the break, NBA will make more profit, won't it?


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## Pasha The Great (Apr 9, 2005)

That would make for me than 82 games a season, and any more than that would would be devistating for a player's body.


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## Q8i (Oct 23, 2004)

Looking Forwad To This Game.. Its Gon' Be On NBATV :banana:


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## Pasha The Great (Apr 9, 2005)

delete


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## hitokiri315 (Apr 30, 2004)

hey ym you could catch the stream from sports radio 610 if they would broadcast the game but i don't know if they do. but if they did you could catch them on the radio and listen to the sounds of gene and jim call the game.

Rockets should stomp a mud hole in the 76ers tonight. The backups could probably beat them by themselves. Should not be any challenge at all. But that is why they play the games.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

hitokiri315 said:


> hey ym you could catch the stream from sports radio 610 if they would broadcast the game but i don't know if they do. but if they did you could catch them on the radio and listen to the sounds of gene and jim call the game.
> 
> Rockets should stomp a mud hole in the 76ers tonight. The backups could probably beat them by themselves. Should not be any challenge at all. But that is why they play the games.


I could, if I wasn't at work during the games!! I'll probably be able to catch a weekend game or two. I can actually subscribe to NBATV here, but on average I only spend like 1hr on TV per day now, and most of that hour I'm forced to watch what my parents watch...

As for the game, I think the 76ers are going into this season very underrated. AI is thrilled that Mo Cheeks is in, and if he stays healthy for the season and clicks with CWebb they can take some teams by surprise.


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

Yao Mania said:


> I could, if I wasn't at work during the games!! I'll probably be able to catch a weekend game or two. I can actually subscribe to NBATV here, but on average I only spend like 1hr on TV per day now, and most of that hour I'm forced to watch what my parents watch...


What sort of job do you have?


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

Hakeem said:


> What sort of job do you have?


work for company that does consulting work for resorts and spas


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## Tracyfan56 (Oct 8, 2005)

*Preseason Game*

What channel is today's game. It's Houston @ Philadelphia. GO HOUSTON!!!!


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## Pasha The Great (Apr 9, 2005)

*Re: Preseason Game*

Local 51(channel 2 on timewarner) and NBA TV(ch 101 on timewarner.


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## sherwin (Mar 21, 2005)

*Re: Preseason Game*

Damn, I can't believe the Rockets are back. I missed the broadcasts and everything.


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## Pasha The Great (Apr 9, 2005)

*Re: Preseason Game*

I'm glad too see Moochie finally contribute something to the team. I hope to see him get some playing time during the regular season.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

..

Tmac is a badass.


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## zhaizor (Apr 27, 2005)

why isn't Stromile Swift playing?


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## sherwin (Mar 21, 2005)

zhaizor said:


> why isn't Stromile Swift playing?


Some bruise on his arm... hes sitting out will play next game.


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## Pimped Out (May 4, 2005)

im not getting the game here so can someone update me on the action. specifically, how is juwan doing, is tmac being agressive with the ball, and how is yao doing (looking good in the post, stupid fouls)?


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## zhaizor (Apr 27, 2005)

56-54 philidelpiha halftime


Min FG 3Pt FT Off Reb Ast TO Stl Blk PF Pts 
T. McGrady 20 7-13 1-2 0-3 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 15 
J. Howard 18 1-3 0-0 4-4 0 5 1 2 1 0 1 6 
Y. Ming 14 5-10 0-0 3-3 1 3 0 0 1 0 3 13 
R. Alston 15 2-4 1-2 0-0 0 0 5 1 2 0 2 5 
D. Wesley 14 0-4 0-2 0-0 0 0 4 0 0 0 3 0 
M. Norris 9 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 2 
D. Mutombo 10 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 2 0 1 1 0 1 0 
D. Anderson 14 2-2 0-0 5-5 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 9 
L. Baxter 6 2-2 0-0 0-0 2 4 0 1 0 0 2 4


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## Pasha The Great (Apr 9, 2005)

I'm really liking the way this team is looking, and they are playing great defense. Alston is making some really good passes, tmac is playing great as always and drawing alot of foulds. Seems like theres a great season to come.


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## NYK101 (Jun 24, 2005)

yao is making so dumb fouls, t mac looks great, and alston was a good addition


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## sherwin (Mar 21, 2005)

You can't really draw anything from a pre-season game. 

But mid-way through the 3rd here are my observations:

Tmac was attacking the basket.

Yao got 17pts in 14min. 

Luther Head hasn't even played. If he doesn't get mins in a preseason game he definitely won't get anything this year.

Lonny Baxter looks good. He's HUGE in terms of body... big arms too.. and he was banging in the post. He grabbed 4 rebounds in just 6 mins. 

Wesley started and looks good. He definitely doesn't look 35.

Juwan is back and looks SOLID. He's still got those jumpers.

I'm already liking Rafer. 7 assists in 14 mins. He plays enthusiastically and aggressive, he wants to win, even in the preseason.


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## Pimped Out (May 4, 2005)

thanks for the update y'all


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## sherwin (Mar 21, 2005)

Luther Head just came in, his jersey# is 2 for anyone who wanted to know. Let's see how he plays.

haha... his first attempt of his career... drove to the basket and got STUFFED.

he got fouled shooting a 3pter.. so his first points are at the free throw line shooting 3, made 2.


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## zhaizor (Apr 27, 2005)

not bad, after getting stuffed comes right back and makes a layup


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## Kyakko (Aug 14, 2002)

i'm liking skip... he seems to be the pg we're looking for, though this is just preseason. very promising


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## sherwin (Mar 21, 2005)

the entire rockets team is enthusiastic. everytime they score the bench stands up and cheers.

this will be a good year.


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## zhaizor (Apr 27, 2005)

we won 105-91.

I am liking Luther Head!


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## rogue (Jul 5, 2005)

:banana: Very impressive start for a pre-season game. The passing was excellent for this time of year. Skip brings alot to the team's passing ability, and so did DA. It also was great to see Juwan back in action, he played fantastic. Sad to see that Stro and Barry didn't play. Maybe there just wasn't enough room tonight, I hope they do not have any injuries. The team had some turnovers yes, but all in all they played well for a pre-season game. I was equally impressed with the shooting of the Rockets, pretty on point for this early in the year. More good things to come... :biggrin: LUTHER HEAD RULES :clap: what a debut!


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## Pasha The Great (Apr 9, 2005)

Wow, what a great show put on by Head. I'm really looking forward to see him get alot of playing time. Anyone know why Barry didn't play? Is he injured?


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## sherwin (Mar 21, 2005)

*Final Rockets 105 Sixers 91*

Box Score Highlights:

*Rafer Alston* *7 assists* only 1 turnover in 26 mins.

*Lonny Baxter* 8pts *9 rebounds* in 23min!

*Derek Anderson* *13pts perfect shooting* & FT (4/4, 5/5) but clumsy with the ball. 5 TOs.

*Luther Head* Wow.. he was everywhere... *13pts, 2 steals,* 3 asst, 2 reb in 13 mins.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

So what did Head do that was so great?? I don't wanna be overly enthusiastic but I know this guy can play in this league.

Barry and Stro are listed as DNP - coaches decision, so I pressume they are both ok. Dion Glover is listed as injured though.


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

*Head*line of the day!:banana:


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

Caught the last 6 minutes of the game, Head was looking extremely confident. Quick first step and a pretty sweet outside shot. 

Critique's:
- I heard Yao was sloppy around the basket offensively, in terms of finishing, which is easily the most frustrating aspect about his game. Keep in mind he was playing against Steven Hunter and Michael Bradley (right?), so there really is no excuse to miss all those layups and close shots. 
- McGrady went 0-4 from the FT line. Only aspect of his game that is below average. Never shot above 80% in his career, that seriously needs to change. If he's not hitting them in the regular season, he's not going to hit them in the playoffs as we saw last year.

But as everyone else pointed out, great to see our role players/young players getting off to a good start.


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## TManiAC (Dec 19, 2004)

Yao Mania said:


> So what did Head do that was so great?? I don't wanna be overly enthusiastic but I know this guy can play in this league.
> 
> Barry and Stro are listed as DNP - coaches decision, so I pressume they are both ok. Dion Glover is listed as injured though.



Head was especially impressive.

Defense:
He showed his invigorating knack for defense. Head has great recognition for passing lanes and moves quickly to cover them. He's great on the ball, too. He doesn't over-commit, still maintains energetic and attentive defense. He rotates quickly to put a hand up on the shooter. 

He moves around constantly. I like how he positioned himself for rebounds and hustled every second he was on the floor.

Offense:
Head wasn't too greedy, although he gave himself a heat check late in the game. He has great penetration ability and makes decent passing decisions to set up other players. 

When he did decide to take the ball, he showed he can move low to floor and quickly through defenders. He is very strong as we saw on a drive past Korver... he kept low and kept his forearm between the ball and Korver. He finished on a nice power drive to the basket.

His offense was on point as evident by the Philly double-team later in the game. He had good moves both inside and around the perimeter. He has solid moves, from cross-overs to job steps and uses them well to get space between himself and his defenders. Not the best catch and shoot player... he's at his best when the ball is in his hands whether its a scoring possession or a nice pass off a penetration.

Very promising. 

as for the game in general, I was really impressed by our second unit. Baxter showed that he could use his body to swallow up some boards. He showed better conditioning than I had seen from him since his Maryland days. Norris was a good scoring option, too bad he never left it an option to let his teammates score. I like how Head took over the game yet didn't dominate the ball... he passed it to Lonny Baxter for some post plays a couple times in the game.

I can't wait to see Swift and Jon Barry play. I would much rather have Jon Barry playing consistent minutes over Norris. Swift would have rocked Gai... Gai would have tried to block Swift on every possession and Im sure Swift would have gave him some flight lessons. 

Alston played a great energetic game. He found the right players with the right passes. He played respectable defense on Iverson, although Iverson simply couldn't be contained. Skip has a nice outside shot and it proved useful. 

Alston, Swift, Jon Barry, TMac, Head... Were certainly looking much quicker than we did last season.


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## STUCKEY! (Aug 31, 2005)

*http://www.nba.com/*

Go to Nba.com to see highlights of rockets game


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## zhaizor (Apr 27, 2005)

*Re: http://www.nba.com/*



SHEED! said:


> Go to Nba.com to see highlights of rockets game


i cant find it


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

*Re: http://www.nba.com/*



zhaizor said:


> i cant find it


top right corner of site

Just saw it, they only showed stuff from the first half so I didn't get to see Head

T-Mac looks good driving to the basket though, and as mentioned nice to see Juwan back, looking like he's in his best form since his Washington days.


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## Pimped Out (May 4, 2005)

*Re: http://www.nba.com/*



zhaizor said:


> i cant find it


here

http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap_pre004_detchi.asx is the actual video


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## TracywtFacy (Mar 29, 2005)

Great to hear about our first 'win'... can't wait for the season to begin in a few weeks... pity Stro didn't play... so was he injured or what?


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## Meatwad (Feb 18, 2005)

Mr. Roger's Cardigan said:


> Caught the last 6 minutes of the game, Head was looking extremely confident. Quick first step and a pretty sweet outside shot.
> 
> Critique's:
> - I heard Yao was sloppy around the basket offensively, in terms of finishing, which is easily the most frustrating aspect about his game. Keep in mind he was playing against Steven Hunter and Michael Bradley (right?), so there really is no excuse to miss all those layups and close shots.
> ...


uhmmm his free throw shooting is above average. below average means that your free throw shooting is below the league average. the league average wasn't close to 77% last year. and he shot 82% from the line in the playoffs.


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

Perhaps below average for a superstar guard. And he missed some pretty important ones in the playoffs.


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## Brian34Cook (Mar 26, 2003)

Great news to hear about Luther.. How'd he do really? Looks like he was good?


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## hitokiri315 (Apr 30, 2004)

T Mac was T MAC
Yao did not look to good
Wesley average
Howard looked impressive
Skip was great he will change the way the people view the rockets as a fast breaking team.
Anderson what a punch of the bench he will bring
Head stole the show he showed so much in the short amount of time he was in there. I think he just took moochie's spot as the backup point guard if he keeps on performing the way he did last night.

overall team performance 6 out of 10

too many turnovers by the bench but that is expected of a game of such little importance.


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## TRACIELOVESCOMETS (May 14, 2003)

That game was so boring. I knew we were going to win. I think I like Luther Head.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

TRACIELOVESCOMETS said:


> That game was so boring. I knew we were going to win. I think I like Luther Head.


I think around here we all like Head too (get use to it, I'll be saying this all season!!!)










Yao = Huge. He makes 6'1" Allen Iverson look like a midget. And look at those thighs, yikes.

I'm quite surprised to hear everyone day Yao played poorly, 'cuz he looks very good on the stats sheet. I have no doubt that this will be Yao's best year to date, and that is a very good thing.

Chron game recap: http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/sports/basketball/index.html

Gumby on Baxter: 


> "He did many things," Van Gundy said. "Good plays. Turnovers (five). Fouls (five). But some good plays, too."


on Alston's reaction on a bad call:


> "He's got to be a little bit more emotionally stable when he doesn't get the call he wants," Van Gundy said. "I think he was fine, but if that was a regular-season game or a playoff game, maybe he has a different reaction. He's got to be very intense and also stay in emotional control. But I like the way he plays."


on Head:


> "He shot every time," Van Gundy said. "(He) might want to mix in a pass or two, but he did all right."


Looks like Gumby's gonna take no exception to Head being a rookie, which I think is a good thing. Everyone's praising the kid for a good debut but Gumby's keeping him on ground, letting him know he still has much to improve. That's what I love about Gumby, he's not going to overly praise anyone until the season ends.


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## Smooth Lotion (Jan 7, 2005)

Meatwad said:


> uhmmm his free throw shooting is above average. below average means that your free throw shooting is below the league average. the league average wasn't close to 77% last year. and he shot 82% from the line in the playoffs.


TMac was very shaky at the line down the stretch. This is when players like Kobe and Iverson exceed. Even during plays when Dallas wanted to intentionally foul, I remember thinking get the ball to Wesley... Yeah 78% is above the league average, but that includes big men. I think 78% is probably closer to the average for most guards (even though McGrady is a shooting forward, he definitely has a SG type game). Whatever the case, it should be in the 80's for a player his calibre... with his touch.


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## Meatwad (Feb 18, 2005)

player | career regular season | career playoffs
kobe | 83.1% | 79.2%
ai | 76.9% | 76.5%
mac | 75.9% | 79.2%

and in his last 2 years in orlando he shot 79.3% and 79.6%.


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