# Preseason Game 3: Rockets VS Mavericks



## MissRose (May 22, 2006)

Houston (1-1), Dallas (0-3)
When: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas.
TV/Radio: Ch. 51, SportsRadio 610 AM

Injury Update: G Bob Sura (knee) and F Ryan Bowen (hip) are out, C Yao Ming and F/G Bonzi Wells (groin/tooth) are questionable for the Rockets; G Jerry Stackhouse (knee), G Devin Harris (hamstring) and G Greg Buckner (knee) are questionable for the Mavericks.

Mavericks Update: The Rockets will probably have to wait until their home opener on Nov. 4 to face all of the Mavericks. Dirk Nowitzki, Jerry Stackhouse, Jason Terry and others haven't played in Dallas' first three preseason games. Nowitzki, however, might be back on the court.

Projected Starting Lineup:

ROCKETS



































R. Alston / K. Snyder / T. McGrady / S. Battier / Yao M.​

MAVERICKS​ 





































J. Barea / D. George / J. Howard / D. Nowitzki / D. Diop

http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Yao_returns_for_preseason_tilt-192011-34.html 



> Yao will return to the court on Tuesday night when the Rockets visit the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.
> 
> Despite needing to improve his conditioning and having no toenail on his left big toe, Yao anticipates playing about half of the preseason game.


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

So uh Bonzi...Where the heck are you?


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## Pimped Out (May 4, 2005)

> F/G Bonzi Wells (groin/tooth)


i sure hope those arent related.


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## Cornholio (Feb 13, 2005)

:sad: ...hopefully, I get to watch this game.


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## chn353 (Mar 12, 2006)

lol at least you get to watch it

im just hoping boxscore will work


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## MissRose (May 22, 2006)

I can't wait to see this game. I want to see how Battier does against Nowitski.


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## Legend-Like (Mar 25, 2006)

Yay Yao comes back. Hope he doesnt reinjure himself.


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## Dean the Master (Feb 19, 2006)

Hmm... What happened to Terry?
This is our potential starting line up for the year. I think one must watch close if he/she can.


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## Dream Hakeem (Apr 20, 2006)

Wtfonz

Bonzi get your *** back in the game


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## Pasha The Great (Apr 9, 2005)

I'm ready to see Yao Ming dominate.


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## TManiAC (Dec 19, 2004)

If Yao is playing, I want to see a lineup of Head, McGrady, Novak, and Battier playing around Yao. 

Head: A good opportunity to prove he is capable of running the offense while giving us more opportunity to evaluate his shooting.

McGrady: Our core players need to be in the game to determine what components work best with them. McGrady should only be on the court for less than 24 minutes. 

Novak: This is our chance to see how much space we can create for Yao and how well we can count on our current shooters. Novak moves the ball well and can shoot, so he'll not be a stale point in the offense. I would like to see how efficient Novak can shoot with a perimeter defender like Josh Howard lurking.

Battier: This is why we picked him up. To match up to Dirk Nowitzki. We get to see how well he can defend hybrid PFs... hopefully Dirk is up to it and Avery is willing to give Dirk some burn.

Yao: I want to see him absolutely dominate. I realize he just came back from removing a toenail, but by all accounts it really isnt affecting his play. The chief concern seems to be infection. If thats the case, I expect to see Yao as mobile and dominant as he was the second half of last season and the extra space that the shooters are supposed to create should really help make the game easy for Yao.


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## HayesFan (Feb 16, 2006)

Dean the Master said:


> Hmm... What happened to Terry?
> This is our potential starting line up for the year. I think one must watch close if he/she can.


awww look he recognized the women!! Thanks DTM!

I agree.. if JVG starts these guys, the beginning of the game could be very interesting! Can't wait to see them working together!


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## CbobbyB (Feb 16, 2006)

HayesFan said:


> *awww look he recognized the women!! Thanks DTM!*
> 
> I agree.. if JVG starts these guys, the beginning of the game could be very interesting! Can't wait to see them working together!


BS! It was different earlier, he just made a little change.
:biggrin: lol


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## MissRose (May 22, 2006)

It seems Nowitzki won't play against the Rockets. 



> Troops returning: Avery Johnson welcomed back Jason Terry, Devin Harris and Greg Buckner to practice. Jerry Stackhouse and Nowitzki could be next to return, either today or Wednesday.
> 
> The team will have an extended shootaround today before tonight's exhibition against Houston at American Airlines Center.
> 
> Nowitzki said he expects to play Thursday against Milwaukee.


http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/101706dnspomavssider.3264124.html


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## yaontmac (Jul 5, 2006)

It's only preseason. I'll be happy no one gets injured by the start of the season :clap:


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## MissRose (May 22, 2006)

Yao in tow for game tonight 












> "Jeff stepped on my toe in the beginning of practice, and I felt all right," Yao said. "He was just backing up. I did not see him. He's pretty light."





> Tonight, however, Yao's time on the court should be more eventful. With two weeks before the Nov. 1 start of the regular season, Yao and Tracy McGrady will be on the court together for the first time since March 8. Yao is getting his first preseason playing time, and McGrady is expected to begin increasing his time past the 18 minutes he played in each of his first two games.





> McGrady said the Rockets are too concerned with their own issues to worry about the Mavericks' rotation. Yao, however, was curious about the Mavericks' condition.
> 
> "They haven't played yet?" Yao said. "Toenail problem? Must wear Nikes."


I love reading Yao's comments.


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## t1no (Jul 10, 2005)

MissRose said:


> I can't wait to see this game. I want to see how Battier does against Nowitski.


Did you watch the playoffs last year? Mavericks vs Grizzles, Battier didn't do too well against him.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

t1no said:


> Did you watch the playoffs last year? Mavericks vs Grizzles, Battier didn't do too well against him.


Crap, that's true. But gotta give credit to Dirk too, he was unstoppable.

We can always put T-Mac on him though. And its not like both guys will play more than like 20mins


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## t1no (Jul 10, 2005)

Well i don't think Dirk will have any problems vs smaller players anymore (Battier, Bowen, Posey). I think maybe Howard could do a decent job vs Dirk, just seems like Dirk has issues vs guys at his own size now. It's the other way around now, haha.


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## darkballa (Sep 19, 2003)

I hope bonzi plays, 20 mins for battier, mac,yao,alston and wells. Everything else is ust for the rle players.


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## CrackerJack (Jul 2, 2005)

im just waiting for the bench to blow a 20 point lead, our bench really has to start performing especially star import V-Span and where is Juwan and Luther should be starting 2


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## MissRose (May 22, 2006)

No I didn't. That is why I want to see.


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## jdiggidy (Jun 21, 2003)

All Luther needs to do is bring the ball across half court within the alotted 6 seconds Jeff is allowing and get the ball to Tracy with 18 on the shot clock to set the offense up.

It's just preseason so, let's not get injured and let's not show Dallas everything we have just yet.


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## debarge (Nov 13, 2005)

TManiAC said:


> If Yao is playing, I want to see a lineup of Head, McGrady, Novak, and Battier playing around Yao.
> 
> Head: A good opportunity to prove he is capable of running the offense while giving us more opportunity to evaluate his shooting.
> 
> ...


I could not have said it better myself, we always aggree :biggrin: :clap: Yah Yao is back to slap around those damn Dallas Thugs, I'm sorry I meant Mavericks, boo boo booooooooooo H-town is king!

Yaah I get to get my Tmac and Yao ON! Superman and Batman together again_....the Justice League shall ride once more. :cheers: Does this mean I can get my Drink ON too? :biggrin:_


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## TManiAC (Dec 19, 2004)

debarge said:


> I could not have said it better myself, we always aggree :biggrin: :clap: Yah Yao is back to slap around those damn Dallas Thugs, I'm sorry I meant Mavericks, boo boo booooooooooo H-town is king!
> 
> Yaah I get to get my Tmac and Yao ON! Superman and Batman together again_....the Justice League shall ride once more. :cheers: Does this mean I can get my Drink ON too? :biggrin:_


 :biggrin:


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## Deathdogz (Oct 8, 2004)

is this game going to be on ppstream? if so, on which channel?


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## Dream Hakeem (Apr 20, 2006)

Woot Yao is here


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## Dream Hakeem (Apr 20, 2006)

Mavericks are down 6 guys

Stackhouse
Dirk
Terry
George
Harris
Dampier


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## TManiAC (Dec 19, 2004)

Dream Hakeem said:


> Mavericks are down 6 guys
> 
> Stackhouse
> Dirk
> ...


Thought Dirk and George were playing


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## Dream Hakeem (Apr 20, 2006)

Nope

Avery just stated the guys not playing

I'm in Dallas so i get Mavericks post game news


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

Deathdogz said:


> is this game going to be on ppstream? if so, on which channel?


I would also like to know this


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## TManiAC (Dec 19, 2004)

Dream Hakeem said:


> Nope
> 
> Avery just stated the guys not playing
> 
> I'm in Dallas so i get Mavericks post game news


Thanks for the update.


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## TManiAC (Dec 19, 2004)

OneBadLT123 said:


> I would also like to know this



I dunno about PPStream, but im using TVKoo and i think it should be on CCTV-5


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## Dream Hakeem (Apr 20, 2006)

Line Ups

G Alston
G McGrady
F Battier
F Hayes
C Yao


G Johnson 
G Ager
F Howard
F Croshere
C Diop


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## Dream Hakeem (Apr 20, 2006)

Yao slammed it down for his first pre-season points


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## TManiAC (Dec 19, 2004)

McGrady is aggresively attacking the basket. He pumped Howard into the air and tried to draw a foul at the three point line but the refs didnt call it. Speaking of reffing, Chuck Hayes clearly took a charge on a drive by Howard but the call went the other way and Howard shot two from the line. 

Skip is playing bad. He had two wide open treys that he bricked off the back of the rim and he's trying to be flashy. He tried to toss a court-long pass but it got picked out of the air because it was underthrown. He also just tried to pull a fancy move on the perimeter and didnt realize that Yao was in the post for three seconds and turned the ball over.


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## Brian34Cook (Mar 26, 2003)

What happened to Lu? Heard he got hurt!


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

how's Matt Haryarz doing? he looks good on the scoresheet

Please don't tell me Head got hurt....


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## TManiAC (Dec 19, 2004)

Brian34Cook said:


> What happened to Lu? Heard he got hurt!


It doesnt appear serious. He was rotating his arm and stretching. 

Nice over-the-top put back slam by Snyder.

Billy is awesome on the break. He's snappy with his passing and its going to the right ppl at the right time. His defense to create the break is also impressive. The Rockets on a whole are playing good perimeter defense.

The offense is flat though. TMac is drawing alot of defenders and the players around him arent knocking down their shots (Skip). Billy is playing well today.

Haryasz is service in the post against a scrubby Dallas team.

Josh Howard is playing very aggressive and taking everyone to the rack.

Yao seems to be rusty on his shooting touch. Not quite as soft as it normally is but he's doing well demanding the ball in the post. He's getting double-teamed. I'm wondering why I havent seen much Novak or Battier.


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## CbobbyB (Feb 16, 2006)

44-34 DAL lead
9:47 -3rd QT


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

TManiAC said:


> It doesnt appear serious. He was rotating his arm and stretching.
> 
> Nice over-the-top put back slam by Snyder.
> 
> ...


Gumby's just trying to spread the minutes around. It prob. means he's confident enough with Batman and Novak that they don't need to prove themselves anymore. T-Mac and Yao are left in there 'cuz they gotta work things out!

Josh Howard's taking out his anger from his crappy contract offer on us.


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## TManiAC (Dec 19, 2004)

Yao Mania said:


> Gumby's just trying to spread the minutes around. It prob. means he's confident enough with Batman and Novak that they don't need to prove themselves anymore. T-Mac and Yao are left in there 'cuz they gotta work things out!
> 
> Josh Howard's taking out his anger from his crappy contract offer on us.


lol, Josh Howard is definitely playing angry.


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## CbobbyB (Feb 16, 2006)

*52*-54 DAL lead
End of 3rd QT


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## Pasha The Great (Apr 9, 2005)

i really hope the rockets are just sore and not playing good because we are playing dallas.


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

This team sucks. I'm supporting the Knicks this season. Eddy Curry has gone 17-23 from the field in the past two games. He's basically scoring a point per minute.


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## Pasha The Great (Apr 9, 2005)

so u giving up on being a rockets fan?


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

Hakeem said:


> This team sucks. I'm supporting the Knicks this season. Eddy Curry has gone 17-23 from the field in the past two games. He's basically scoring a point per minute.


 :|


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## CbobbyB (Feb 16, 2006)

Hakeem said:


> This team sucks. I'm supporting the Knicks this season. Eddy Curry has gone 17-23 from the field in the past two games. He's basically scoring a point per minute.


...it's preseason.


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## TManiAC (Dec 19, 2004)

Luther Head and Steve Novak are A+ shooters.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

wow, we might actually come back and win this silly game, with a line-up of Novak, Bill, Head, KFC, and Azubuike (I think)?


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## CbobbyB (Feb 16, 2006)

yep..Novak is ready.


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## Dream Hakeem (Apr 20, 2006)

Phewww

KillBill saved us drawing the charge


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## CbobbyB (Feb 16, 2006)

yep..Novak is reaaadddddyyyy


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## Prolific Scorer (Dec 16, 2005)

I'm a Magic fan, don't usually come to the Rockets board, but everyone should get a chance to join the T-Mac is NOT done Fan Club! .

Fear the Magic in 2007.


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## CbobbyB (Feb 16, 2006)

Prolific Scorer said:


> I'm a Magic fan, don't usually come to the Rockets board, but everyone should get a chance to join the T-Mac is NOT done Fan Club! .
> 
> Fear the Magic in 2007.


lol


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## TManiAC (Dec 19, 2004)

Dream Hakeem said:


> Phewww
> 
> KillBill saved us drawing the charge


Yeah. Was that Daniel Gibson trying to run him over?

Either way, Novak is NASTY. His shooting really helped us get on top of this game.


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## Dream Hakeem (Apr 20, 2006)

Damn,time out right before time out ><


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## Dream Hakeem (Apr 20, 2006)

TManiAC said:


> Yeah. Was that Daniel Gibson trying to run him over?
> 
> Either way, Novak is NASTY. His shooting really helped us get on top of this game.


I didnt catch it

But nice hustle by KillBill,he got trampled lol


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## Dream Hakeem (Apr 20, 2006)

Rockets win!


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## CbobbyB (Feb 16, 2006)

lol...this was an ugly game.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore?gid=2006101706

They don't have a picture of Novak yet so they're just using the Rockets logo for his face :laugh:

Very encouraging to see our 2nd unit step up like this. VSpan with his first decent outting as a Rocket, very happy to see.


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## Dream Hakeem (Apr 20, 2006)

They have Vspan as DNP on thier


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## TManiAC (Dec 19, 2004)

Novak is lights-out!


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## bronx43 (Dec 9, 2005)

Yao and Tracy didn't look too good.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

bronx43 said:


> Yao and Tracy didn't look too good.


Its Yao's first game back, so give him some time. T-Mac was probably trying to adjust playing with the big guy too.


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## TManiAC (Dec 19, 2004)

bronx43 said:


> Yao and Tracy didn't look too good.


Both were getting mobbed with double teams. TMac played well, he just got hacked everytime he went to the rack. Yao looked alright but his shot past 10 feet is a little too strong.


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## yaontmac (Jul 5, 2006)

Man, I'm just glad Yao and T-Mac didn't get injured. :gopray:


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## Cornholio (Feb 13, 2005)

We shot 51% from FT?! :dead:


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## Legend-Like (Mar 25, 2006)

but out rookies stepped up.


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

Yao and T-Mac still need to develop on-court chemistry. I'm not sure "chemistry" is the right word, though. Whatever it is, they've never looked perfectly comfortable on the floor together, IMO. They were getting there by the end of the '04-05 season, but then...


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

Hakeem said:


> Yao and T-Mac still need to develop on-court chemistry. I'm not sure "chemistry" is the right word, though. Whatever it is, they've never looked perfectly comfortable on the floor together, IMO. They were getting there by the end of the '04-05 season, but then...


Yeah I agree. All the sporatic games they played together didnt help the situation any. It seems as if they just need time to mesh again. Last year was just not a good year for both players. They never had a chance to build upon 04/05


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

Gifs added :wink:


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