Houston Rockets at Memphis Grizzlies
Time: 7 PM CST
TV: NBA TV
Spread: TBA – as available
Total: TBA
Despite many detractors purporting that Houston Rockets would fall off following the subtractions of Omer Asik, Jeremy Lin and Chandler Parsons, the Rockets have started the season strong. Houston is 20-7 and sits just 2.5 games back from the best team in the West thus far, the Golden State Warriors.
Houston has gone 14-6 in Western Conference games, but will face on of its toughest tests tonight in the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Grizz are 21-7 and started the season on fire. However, Memphis has lost its past three contests to Chicago, Cleveland and Utah. The losses to the Bulls and Cavaliers were understandable, but there is no reason for a team as talented as Memphis to allow the lowly Jazz to win the game.
Despite the loss, Mike Conley came through in a big way.
The former Ohio State Buckeye scored 28 points, and he’s continued to assert himself as the best point guard no one ever talks about. Conley is averaging 17.9 points per game, 6.1 assists and 1.1 steals. He’s a strong defender and good distributor to a team not short in talent.
Marc Gasol will be a free agent this summer, and he is putting in a strong effort in a contract year. Gasol is averaging nearly 20 points per game while pulling down 8.2 boards and dishing out 3.8 assists per game. The former Defensive Player of the Year also averages 2.4 blocks/steals per game, while also only turning it over 1.5 times per contest.
Between he and Conley, the Grizzlies are an efficient machine.
Zach Randolph has fallen off preciptiously, but he’s still good for 16 points and he leads the team in rebounding (11.4 per game). Strong defenders Courtney Lee and Tony Allen add depth to an already strong defensive unit. Simply put, Memphis is a true contender.
Houston has a big problem defensively, but this has been known for quite some time. Due to missing out on Chris Bosh and losing Omer Asik in a cost cutting move, the Rockets are mortally weak at power forward, starting the defensively woeful Donatas Motiejunas in lieu of the Terrence Jones injury (Jones has played just four games thus far).
Kevin McHale’s squad tries to make up for the defense with a high powered offensive attack, and James Harden is the beard, or man, behind it. Harden is posting a career high 27 points per game while also averaging seven assists per contest. His defensive numbers have picked up due to the help-side defense of Trevor Ariza and Patrick Beverley.
Harden is good for 3.0 steals/blocks per game, because he’s been able to focus on playing passing lanes more rather than be the matador he has been in the past on the perimeter. His 26.0 PER attests to how well he is dominating the other 2-guards on a nightly basis.
Dwight Howard has rejuvenated himself and earned high praise from Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon this summer. Howard came in springy, lithe and ready to play.
And he’s done just that.
The former three-time Defensive Player of the Year is averaging 19.3 points, 11.9 rebounds and 3.07 blocks/steals per game. He’s still turning the ball far too often for a big man (3.2 turnovers per game), but he’ll never be Shaquille O’Neal or Hakeem passing out of the post, and that’s fairly evident after 11 years in the league and minimal improvements in passing out of double teams.
Look for the Rockets to do its usual thing: run, run and jack up threes. But will it work against Memphis strong defense on the road? It seems dubious, but the Rockets are a well-oiled powerful machine offensively.
Just don’t expect that model to lead to much success in the postseason, evidenced by Portland’s through trouncing of the Rox last year in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs.
Alluding to the defensive problems at PF earlier, LaMarcus Aldridge lit Houston up for 43.5 points per game over the first two games of the series, and the man who slowed him down (Asik) is no longer with the team.
It may not matter a lot tonight, but in the long run, Houston is a regular season team, not a playoff contender.
