[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jSGYho4Af8[/youtube]
at the Toyota Center
INTRODUCING YOUR NEW AGE... YOUR NEW ERA... A TIME OF CHANGE AND RISING FORCES ~
THE 2012-2013 HOUSTON ROCKETS.
With the Leagues youngest and most promising backcourt in the NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
JAMES "BEARD" HARDEN - aka DADDY to all the gorgeous strippers in Houston
Harden continues to RAZZLE & DAZZLE fans as he dishes and swishes for the Rockets. Harden continues to be one of the bedrocks of the team as each game adds another facet of chemistry to the starting lineup. As each player gels with the rest of his team - we are starting to see more and more flow, more easy baskets, them just playing basketball and having fun. THIS IS IT FOLKS! THIS IS THE BEGINNING.
Look for more magic be it dishing or swishing as he continues to make a name for himself as a starter.
7-15 from the field, 16/16 FREE THROWS. 3-5 from beyond the ARC
9 assists! 4 Rebounds! 2 Steals 1 Block
The guy's putting in SOME WORK. I think everyone in Houston local needs to donate to the cause and thank Jenna Shae.
JEREMY "STYLIN"
When he's on the court you know its a good time when he be smiLIN!
But now we got some progress with 50% shooting against the knicks finally, the bacon just started crackLIN
So we lucky few, we brave members of the audience can get real excited for our backcourt with all their hard fought wins and all the struggles they be battLIN
---------- and in the FRONT COURT -----------
CHANDLER BANGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
STOP THE PRESSES - DO WE REALLY NEED TO LOOK FOR ANOTHER "STAR" WHEN WE HAVE ONE ALREADY? Parsons SHREDDED the Knicks and has already hit for 80% from ANYWHERE 2 games ago! I've been banging walls, starting forest fires in the MINDS of Rocket Fans - to RECOGNIZE THE GREATNESS WE HAVE ALREADY. BELIEVE IN THE BANG!
Whenever Chandler scores a girl goes into the pose
If anyone pays attention to the team outside of the game - in the moments in between, you can see the chemistry buildin ~ be excited.
- Bits and pieces from Knicks fans in response.
* Who is this guy?
* I knew we should have drafted him!
* Why do the knicks let no names have career games against them!
Guess none of them read my game threads!
Patrick PATTERSON aka SPIDERMAN!
at times I think PatPat has his position on LOCK - and then other times. I don't
20 minutes last game : 5-7, 3 personal fouls put a damper on his ability to play more minutes.
* Some may say that Patx2 played poorly in the beginning and only scored in garbage minutes toward the end. Thats up to you to decide. I'm leaving the jury out on this one.
* Also as Sampson really likes a lot of the rookies - he continues to experiment with the floor and mixes and matches based on whomever is on the floor. Therefore PatPat had a positive contribution. Though his defense has been noted as suspect due to him supposedly playing soft. +12 during his time on the floor I would say the jury is still out and as is noted. Give this team at least half a season before you call for the tar and feathers.
Keep on ballin PATPAT! show us how you can improve!
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Cue more epic music
Cue epic music ~ and continue to read on!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bm7A4lZHp8[/youtube]
OMER ASIK ~
THE LEGEND OF ASIK GROWS. MONSTER FORCE ON THE BOARDS ~ One that quietly has developed an offensive game and started to hit free throws regularly. Causing trouble just recently for DPOY Tyson Chandler - expect to see Omer grow and get even stronger as his body adjusts to playing STARTER minutes (I give it another 6-8 weeks)
With 14 rebounds last game - he continues to operate over his 11.9 rebs per game.
Hitting 6-8 free throws last game, this marks a CONTINUING IMPROVEMENT as he went 0-2 and 2-6 the last 2 games prior to the Knicks whuppin
Be excited, be very excited.
Omer and the Rockets leave the Knicks behind to contemplate the reunion in December at Madison Square Garden.
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BREAKING NEWS
DONNNNNNNNNATASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS MOTiEJUNASSSSSSSSSSSSSS CALLED UP!
2nd Unit!
Toney Douglas!!
against the Knicks 3-6 for 50% from the field and 3/4 from beyond the arc..
TD continues to find his groove. Last year he was almost feltonesque - This year he is returning to his potential!
Hitting shots and becoming the SOLUTION to tough problems on Sampsons mind.
It was interesting to see TD and Lin playing the floor together - Sampson continues to experiment!
Marcus Morris
* This guy HUSTLES, he's got size and height, and is in pretty good shape - his HUSTLE and ability to shoot the 3, and beast it out for rebounds against ANYONE - hybrid - big man hybrid right herrrrrrr. Him and Greg Smith.. wooooo when they get seasoned enough - start expecting fireworks.
* work, more work, Morris continues to need to build his confidence, build chemistry and rapport with his teammates, and have that swagger of a PRO Athlete. He's young like the rest of the team and theyre still discovering their identity - but given time Morris is going to very well see extended minutes regardless of whether he starts or is on the bench.
Terrence Jones
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQlbO8oX7M4[/youtube]
Screw pictures - Just use this for the rest of the season.
* You know your going to see more playtime for TJones ~ TJs proven with that alone - that he deserves to play. Confidence swag and gutsy attack.
Greg Smith
* Energy and Hustle
* I'd post up a video of a dunk montage but there isn't one on youtube yet - the guy is a bad slamajama. This - in between blinks = lots of extra dunks. Great presence to have on the court even for limited minutes. He makes the most out of it!
Questionable.
OUT - Cole ALDRICH - ankle injury
OUT - Carlos Delfino - Groin Injury
vs KYLE LOWRY.
Raptors Fall to Spurs in NBA
Toronto, Nov 26 (IANS): The Toronto Raptors lost 106-111 against the San Antonio Spurs in double overtime in NBA action.
This was the fifth consecutive loss for the Raptors, dropping their overall record to 3-11 to begin the season.
The team's record after 14 games ties them with the Detroit Pistons for the second worst in the NBA this season, only ahead of the winless 0-11 Washington Wizards.
The 3-11 record also marks the third worst start in franchise history. Only the 1997-98 and 2005-06 seasons had worst starts, with 1-13 records through 14 games in both seasons.
"It's frustrating," said Raptors forward DeMar DeRozan during a post-game interview Sunday.
"There's no way we should be a 3-11 team right now. If you count, easily, there should have been eight or nine games we should have won. We've just got to finish our games," DeRozan added.
DeRozan's optimism comes from the fact that the team has been competitive in most of their games. Of the team's eleven losses, nine of them have been within ten points.
In addition, five losses have been be a margin of five points or less. Furthermore, the team has played in a total of five overtime periods, more than any other team so far this season.
Raptors head coach Dwane Casey also shares a positive outlook on the season so far.
"If it was a sprint, we would have won (against the Spurs) but it's not, it's a marathon," said Casey.
"We're in a process. I know it doesn't look like it, it sounds like a broken record but we are getting better. Getting a collection of guys playing well together on the same night and we're going to be cooking with gas," added Casey.
With 68 remaining in the regular season, the team looks to improve from their 23-43 record from last season, when the team had the seventh worst record in the NBA.
Tony Parker called it a game that "could have gone either way."
Don't be misled by their record, the Raptors have been missing Lowry for a while now and they took the Spurs to the very end. They also recently lost Landry Fields to a corrective nerve surgery which was literally interfering with his shot.
This game will be epic , for fans of the Rockets new and old - for diehards and those whom loved Lowry and consider him their fan-favorite.
In the end the Rockets would do the trade again to obtain Harden and all fans can do is show their appreciation for a top guard whom now dazzles for the Toronto fanbase and the rest of the NBA.
As there was an interesting 2ndry story against the Knicks (ahem i mean the main story was Lin and the Knicks) the 2nd story was Felton v Lin.
This one will be Lowry v Lin.
Winning > Everything.
UPDATE 11/26 - Chronicle Interview with Kyle Lowry
Raptors’ Lowry anticipates special game against Rockets
For one happy Thanksgiving, Kyle Lowry was like most other Houston sports fans, except rather than watching the Texans on his flat screen, he was at Ford Field, cheering and tweeting and offering no sign of professional athlete impartiality.
Lowry had left Houston, sent by the Rockets to the Toronto Raptors in July in exchange for the first-round pick they would flip to get James Harden. But part of Lowry, 26, considers Houston home. And given how proudly he has carried his affection for his hometown of Philadelphia, that says a lot.
“I love Houston,” Lowry, a 6-0 guard, said before returning for Tuesday night’s first meeting with the Rockets since the trade. “I love the people there. I love the city. They really accepted me as a man and as a player. It will always be my home away from home no matter where I am.”
Year of improvement
Lowry thought not of his frustrating last season marked by discord and illness or the late-season collapse, but of good times and achievement as he went from a solid backup to a respected backcourt force.
“That’s why I think it will always be a special place for me,” Lowry said. “I started playing well in Houston. The city and organization gave me the opportunity to do things. It will always have a special place in my heart.”
Lowry said he did not take the trade personally any more than he objected to being traded to Houston from Memphis, where he will play Wednesday in the next step of his reunion tour. But his former teammates expect to see him at his most aggressive and determined.
“He’s going to be coming at us,” forward Chandler Parsons said. “Knowing him, he’s going to want to have a good game. He’s been playing really well this season, too. It’s going to be a big challenge to have a guy with his mindset and his ability coming in here wanting to play really well.”
Lowry is averaging a career-high 18.3 points to go with 6.1 assists in eight games with the Raptors. He missed six games after spraining his right ankle.
He said he is working his way back but has been more frustrated by the Raptors’ run of narrow, often agonizing defeats, including Sunday’s double-overtime loss to the Spurs that dropped Toronto to 3-11.
Raptors struggle
“We have talent,” Lowry said. “We have to put it together. If we can get a three-game, four-game streak, we’ll get to .500 by the break. We have to keep playing and get over that hump to win these games.”
With that in mind, Raptors coach Dwane Casey — a finalist for the Rockets position in 2011 — has leaned on Lowry.
“He’s been a pit bull. He’s given the rest of the players a swagger,” Casey told the Toronto media last week. “He kind of identifies how we want be: tough, a little grimy, and that’s what he’s added to our team. That’s his personality.”
Lowry was open about his disagreements with Rockets coach Kevin McHale last season. Knowing this, Casey has sought to make Lowry a partner in guiding the Raptors’ rebuilding.
“We have a great rapport to try to make the team better,” Lowry said. “People say that me and coaches never got along, but I only had a few coaches.”
Rockets’ respect
It wasn’t that Lowry didn’t make a positive impression on his former Rockets teammates. Patrick Patterson spoke of copying Lowry’s work habits. Jeremy Lin praised him as underrated and said, “There wasn’t one thing he couldn’t do.”
They also expect the competitor they know will want to hit them with everything he has.
“I’m anxious to see how hard he’s going to play,” Patterson said. “When he was with us, his motor was running 24/7.”
That much has not changed, Lowry said. The Texans are not the only Houston team that stirs his emotions.
“It was a decision the Rockets made,” Lowry said. “I never took it personally. It’s just a game, but I am excited to come back.”
jonathan.feigen@chron.com
twitter.com/jonathan_feigen
