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Cornholio · 03-07-2008, 10:14 AM

(41-20)/(42-19)

When/Where:
Saturday, March 8, 8:30 PM ET

Alston / McGrady / Battier / Scola / Mutombo

Paul / Peterson / Stojakovic / Bowen / Chandler

Preview

Before beginning life without Yao Ming, Rafer Alston heard rumblings that the Rockets wouldn't be able to score without their All-Star center.

He wasn't buying it because he knew the Rockets had a solution.

"We share the basketball," Alston said. "We don't mind making the extra pass. We don't care who scores and we're going to continue to move the ball."

The Rockets are on a roll because of it.

Despite losing Yao to season-ending foot surgery, the Rockets are still overwhelming defenses with their pass-happy offense heading into Saturday's Southwest Division showdown against Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets.

The Rockets (41-20) have won a franchise-record 17 straight games and can make a significant move up the Western Conference standings by beating the Hornets. Before Friday night's action, Houston was merely a half-game behind New Orleans for the third best record in the West.

Houston has continued to make a climb in the West because the offense hasn't become stagnant without Yao. During the past five games without the All-Star center commanding any attention in the paint, Houston has continued to pile up assists and points with their exceptional ball movement.

The Rockets are averaging 108.6 points and a whopping 25 assists over the past five games. Surprisingly, the Rockets haven't relied solely on Tracy McGrady to carry the offense without Yao. Houston has a well-balanced offense that has had at least five players reach double figures over the stretch.

The question now: Can the Rockets sustain those numbers without Yao commanding the ball in the paint?

"We have to," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "That's the only way we're going to win. We have to move the ball and we have to move people. If we do that, we're hard to guard. If you see us drop below 20 assists, we're not going to win. I think it's imperative. These guys have bought into that. They trust each other. They understand that you might make a pass that doesn't lead to an assist, but the next one might get it."

The Rockets will clearly miss Yao's low-post game.

During Houston's torrid run through the 2008 portion of their schedule, the big man was hammering opponents in the low post. The Rockets would often feed Yao down low early in the shot clock to force the defense to surround him. After that, Yao could kick the ball out for the Rockets to either find an open shot or swing the ball to the weakside to get the ball back inside to the All-Star center.

Now, the Rockets are working around the perimeter without the center commanding any attention. Rather than feeding the ball into the post and generating offense through their big men, Houston is finding openings by swinging the ball around the perimeter and making cuts to the basket.

The result is a well-balanced offense.

"We have to play a different style," Alston said. "We could post up Yao at will. But now, we understand we have to have a lot of energy because our post-up game has been taken away for the most part. We've got to pass, we've got to cut, we've got to set good screens and we've got to the move the ball."

Really, the Rockets have been moving the ball well since the calendar flipped over to 2008.

During the first two months of the season, the Rockets struggled to a 15-17 record because of a stagnant offense. Houston was relying too much on McGrady and Yao to shoulder the offensive load.

What changed on New Year's Day?

The Rockets were forced to improve their passing game since McGrady missed almost a month with a knee injury.

"What really helped was when I was out with my knee injury," McGrady said. "I think that gave them an opportunity to go out, play more minutes, get better shots and just get a better feel. That was the turning point. When I came back, I didn't want to mess with what those guys had going on. They were playing so well and moving the ball. I wanted to contribute. I didn't go back to dominating the ball and putting up 20 shots. I sacrificed some of my game for the improvement of our team."

That development has been especially important with Yao out.

When the Rockets were forced to play without their center in previous seasons, McGrady had the scoring burden placed squarely on him. The Rockets star was responsible for creating his own shots and generating offense for everyone else in the lineup. Eventually, defenses started trapping McGrady and trying to force someone else in the lineup to beat them.

Now? McGrady doesn't have the entire weight of the offense on him. With Adelman's pass-happy offense, the Rockets are sharing the ball and relying more on their supporting cast. The movement has allowed guys like Carl Landry and Luis Scola to find scoring opportunities in the paint. Alston, meanwhile, has become a handful by mixing runners in the lane with his spot-up jumper.

The Rockets simply aren't settling on the first option.

"We're moving the ball well from the strong side to the weak side," Rockets forward Shane Battier said. "We're doing a good job of making the defense shift. When you do that, you have much better scoring opportunities."

The Rockets are piling up points and assists with that play -- even without Yao.

"We're an unselfish team," Rockets guard Luther Head said. "We're playing aggressive and we keep passing until we find the open guy."

Hornets Update: The Hornets have been up-and-down since the All-Star break, but have managed to hang on to the third best record in the Western Conference. New Orleans is hoping an improved bench will maintain their standing in the West. The Hornets added Bonzi Wells and Mike James in a deal with Houston and recently signed forward/center Chris Andersen. Andersen was suspended from the NBA over two years ago for violating the league's anti-drug policy.

Next Games
vs.

vs.

**Yao Mania** · 03-07-2008, 10:26 AM

This will be the 2nd game of a back-to-back for the Hornets, and they will have to fly from New Orleans to Houston, so the advantage is with us. I like the Hornets, and in the March prediction I picked us to lose this game... but hey, we've proved just about everyone wrong already with our winning streak, so prove me wrong too!!

Side note: We've now won more games during this streak than Miami, Seattle, Minnesota, or Memphis have won all season.

Cornholio · 03-07-2008, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Starting forward David West is expected to miss his second consecutive game due to a sprained left ankle tonight against the New Jersey Nets. West sat out Friday's shootaround at the New Orleans Arena.

"He'd probably won't play tonight unless he tells me something different,'' Hornets Coach Byron Scott said. "He will probably not play until Wednesday.''

Ryan Bowen is likely start in place of West at power forward. Bowen started during Wednesday's 116-101 victory against the Atlanta Hawks and scored eight points in 34 minutes.

Link

lingi1206 · 03-07-2008, 05:24 PM

Ry Bo? nice nice

**Yao Mania** · 03-07-2008, 08:07 PM

RyBo v.s. Carluis Scolandry!!!

Krimzon · 03-07-2008, 09:01 PM

It's always a big game when we fact the Hornets. With David West out, we have a better chance of winning.

hroz · 03-07-2008, 10:34 PM

WOW hopefully our streak extends by having two all star PF out of the last two games. (Was Nene ever an all star cause then you could say 3). But this game is big. We have to keep showing we can win without Yao.

giordun · 03-07-2008, 11:53 PM

No David West? Phew.

But Scola VS David West was pretty cool last time. :P

AllEyezonTX · 03-08-2008, 07:37 AM

We have a 30pt Avg. 3quarter in the last 4 games......This one will be still a good one without West

**Dean the Master** · 03-08-2008, 09:48 AM

Smoke it up, we are going to win this and get that 18 game winning streak. We are proud but not satisfied.

kisstherim · 03-08-2008, 11:01 AM

Landry out for this game?

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...n/5603689.html

Quote:

With surging rookie forward Carl Landy out for tonight’s game against the New Orleans Hornets, the Rockets moved quickly to shore up the thinning ranks of their frontcourt.

The Rockets signed former Rice forward and fan favorite Mike Harris, who impressed in training camp this season, to a 10-day contract, releasing guard Gerald Green to make room on the roster for Harris. Landry has developed swelling in his left knee and will be evaluated further. He bruised the knee against Indiana on Wednesday, but played the next night in Dallas with little difficulty.

“We’re making this move because of concern about tonight,” Rockets vice president of basketball operations Sam Hinkie said. “We’re making this move because Mike Harris is someone we’ve always liked. We need live bodies, and he’s more than just a live body.”

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