Post game Rockets vs Bulls

[JetLife]

Well since nobody posted a game thread I decided to post a post game thread. GOOD WIN ROCKETS!!!

[Air Poohdini]

Good game.

[Mr. E]

Very enjoyable Rockets win.

It's always great to get a win like this on the road, especially considering who we're missing!

[WarDragon]

Great win!

Let's keep the momentum going hopefully

[Jajwanda]

Are you guys getting Lowry back for the first round?

[rocketsballin]

i tuned in/out of the game, had a busy day, didnt expect to win. on the road @ chicago, w/o our starting backcourt still pull out a win

i did see lee at the end. he was 2-12 and i thought "his confidence is gone for this game, dont pass it to him" but he made 2 clutch shots

no monster game from camby but got a double double (looks like scola stole camby's monster game from him, with 2stls & 3blks ). he has been killin it, needs to be the starting center from now on. dalembert is a perfect backup center at this point of his career

btw, for the first time since the all star break (which doesnt really count cuz its the all star break), the rockets have not one, not two, but . . .
THREE DAYS OFF!!!!!!!!111111111111111111


i know what you're thinking, "3 DAYS OFF???!!! have you gone insane?"

but yes, the rockets have 3 days off. and another 3 days off before the very last game of the season vs noh (how convienent huh? couldnt get it the week before when we have 5 games in 7 nights ) but anyway, that rare long break should give us plenty rest to upset the lakers at their court. till then, i guess there's only two things left to do...


and

[rocketsballin]

Are you guys getting Lowry back for the first round?

he's out indefinitely. he'll be re-evaluated next week

[ReleaseTwill]

I'm loving the Camby trade more and more each game.

[rocketsballin]

found thsi on clutchfans, notice how terrence williams somehow managed to grab a defensive rebound for houston in the last minute of the game. thats pretty daam good, he doenst even have to play to make an impact.

[MaxRider]

found thsi on clutchfans, notice how terrence williams somehow managed to grab a defensive rebound for houston in the last minute of the game. thats pretty daam good, he doenst even have to play to make an impact.

6th man of the year

[Jajwanda]

I'm loving the Camby trade more and more each game.

So I'm assuming you guys are running pick and pop with him until the cows come home.

[Kal El]

I know we still have the playoff race going on and our draft pick scenarios but i can't help but ponder about our off season...

1. We have an interesting situation at PG. Lowry is the best player on our team, Dragic is a starter quality point guard. He might be gone in the off season. The only way Lowry gets traded is if we get a superstar in return.

2. I want Courtney Lee as our permanent starting shooting guard. first, he plays defense, he is one of the better wing defenders in the league and he creates turnovers. two, i don't see much drop off on offense between Lee and Martin. Over the course of the season Martin may end up with a better scoring average, but Lee has shown consistency (martin has lacked this season), Lee can hit the 3, mid range, can drive, and is a good ball handler. He is also successful in late game situation (something Martin absolutely lacks throughout his career).

3. I like Chandler Parsons as our starting small forward for the future. He is a really good wing defender, he is quick for his size, quick feet, smart defender and as i said he has great size. Not only that but he is versatile on offense, can hit shots, handle the ball, create for his teammates. I like his future.

4. Even though i wanted Scola traded earlier in the year, his offense has really come on. He also showed me some good defense in the Bulls game. Patterson is a solid 4, his offense is still coming along but defensively he has great feet. he will be a very solid defender.

5. I like the Camby, Dalembert combo. their size helps us defensively.

so with that...

G: Lowry Dragic
G: Lee
F: Parsons/ Budinger
F: Scola/ Patterson
C: Camby/ Dalembert

I think the off season can be a big one. I hope Martin can have a high value and be a good trade bait. I think if a superstar is available of a high draft pick (we also have possibly 3 to play with), scola maybe expendable to sweeten the deal, and ultimately it may take Lowry to make it possible. I really think we have solid players on our squad. Other than Kobe and Wade, there's nobody to brag about at the 2 position. Lee is very solid as our starting 2. Parsons is solid at 3. Lowry or Dragic is solid at 1. I think we are one superstar power forward of center away from making a dramatic change in our dynamic as a team.

Man i wish we had a shot at Anthony Davis. But maybe with a combination or all of Martin, Scola, Lowry and 3 possible draft picks can give us something of worth.

[Sasaki]

Are you guys getting Lowry back for the first round?

I personally suspect that Lowry is, in fact, technically healthy at this point ( he delivered a guest commentary during the Pacers game and looked fine). But the doctors need to make sure that the infection doesn't relapse, so he'll continue to take antibiotics and then will be evaluated on Saturday, and even when he does come back, he'll need time to get up to speed.

He'll almost certainly be back by the playoffs if we get there, and I will be very surprised if he isn't playing by 10 days.

[pr0wler]

I think Dragic > Lowry IMO. He's bigger, faster, more athletic, and has equal if not better court vision. Lowry is a little more of a safe option, good on D, good FT/3-PT shooter, runs the team well etc. But in terms of raw talent Goran is just flat out better.

I also disagree that scoring dropoff from Martin and Lee "isn't that much". He's averaging 14 PPG in 37 MPG as a starter. While that isn't terrible or anything, that comes nowhere close to Kevin Martin averaging 17 PPG in 31 MPG as a starter. Sure, Kevin Martin is perhaps slightly more inconsistent, but some of that has to do with fact he wasn't getting a ton of playing time certain games. When the coach only puts Martin out there for 20 minutes on a given night (for whatever the reason may be) how do we expect him to maintain his high scoring average? Lee is not the answer at SG.

I'm not saying I want either Lee or Lowry off this team, but I think we have a bit of a logjam at the guard position. Or do we? I just wanna see Dragic get more minutes. Something like this next season would be more ideal IMO.

PG - Lowry (30) Dragic (18)
SG - Martin (24) Lee (16) Dragic (8)
SF - Parsons (24) Budinger (18) Martin (6)
PF - Scola (30) Patterson (12) Parsons (6)
C - Camby (20) Dalembert (20) Patterson (8)
Something like that for an entire season, with the improvements of our young players would be a very solid lineup. Don't forget we played half this year with Jordan freaking Hill as our backup center, and then when he was out we only had a 3 man PF/C rotation. It's one thing that the Rockets are known for is having a solid bench with great depth. I don't want to sell the farm on Dragic/Lee and leave ourselves with scrubs as backups playing 16 minutes a night. No thank you.

But of course there will be trades, draft picks, and we might not be able to sign Dragic. So this is probably more of just a pipe dream than anything.

[Kal El]

For next season i think it will be Lowry or Dragic at point guard. I don't know our chances of keeping both. I really do believe that Courtney Lee is the answer at shooting guard. 2 big reasons separate Lee and Martin, even though Martin is the better scorer, Courtney Lee is a far superior defender, which absolutely makes a difference in the game. Martin absolutely does not make a difference defensively. Lee has also shown his ability to execute in late game situations, something Martin has consistently been incapable of. Just take a look around the league, other than Kobe or Wade, who is there at shooting guard? There's guys like Monta and K-mart who can score but are bad defenders. The most complete is probably Joe Johnson who is extremely overpaid. We have a guy in Courtney Lee who is productive at both ends of the floor. He is one of the better defenders at his position and he can score anywhere on the floor and execute late in the game. No he is not a high caliber scorer and he will never be an 18-20 ppg shooting guard, but i think he brings a lot to the table as our starting shooting guard.

I don't think we need a big 3. And in my honest opinion i don't think we need a duo. We have a solid roster, we really do just need one superstar.

Lowry or Dragic
Lee
Parsons/Budinger
?/Patterson
Camby/Dalembert

^ that is just a scenario lineup. in a scenario where it would take Lowry,Martin,Scola,Morris, and draft picks to land a superstar. Imagine that lineup with a player like Tim Duncan in his prime. I see the best team in the NBA. of course there is nobody out there thats going to be productive like timmy in his prime but my point is, we really just need that one superstar and i think we can work with it. We have the talent and productivity at each position. We have the defense at the 1,2,3 and 5. In a pipe dream, i think a guy like Anthony Davis whos expected to make a superstar impact, would be the missing puzzle piece and put this thing together. But of course, he have little to no shot at Davis.

[LarsV8]

The next two available superstars will be:

1.) D-Will, whom we could offer a max contract too, although it is assumed he wants to be in Dallas. Don't really know why since they are winding down thier eliteness. Although, I think he will atleast listen to our pitch.

2.) Dwight, who we apparently had a deal lined up for at the deadline and who we would have to trade for as a "rent to own"

I think the most likely scenario is that we draft 1-2 guys, resign Lee and Dragic to MLE level deals, bring back Camby at vet minimum, let Dally walk and use all available cap room on Asik. I think going into the deadline next year, you again look to make a move for Dwight in hopes to keep him.

Lowry / Dragic
Martin / Lee / #1 pick
Parsons / Budinger / #1 pick
Scola / Patterson /Morris
Asik / Camby / Montejounas

[Jajwanda]

Are you guys getting Lowry back for the first round?

I personally suspect that Lowry is, in fact, technically healthy at this point ( he delivered a guest commentary during the Pacers game and looked fine). But the doctors need to make sure that the infection doesn't relapse, so he'll continue to take antibiotics and then will be evaluated on Saturday, and even when he does come back, he'll need time to get up to speed.

He'll almost certainly be back by the playoffs if we get there, and I will be very surprised if he isn't playing by 10 days.

You guys are going to be a nasty matchup for OKC in the first round if you do face them.