Will Shaq rebound?
No really. I don't mean from an injury or adjusting to a new team, or anything like that. Can he still...rebound?
What's a big guy to do? First, the flagrant on Stuckey. Now this. But first....
It was a light Monday night schedule with just three games. And a near record for the Big Diesel (not one he would want).
Houston Rockets (7-4) beat the Oklahoma City Thunder (1-10): 100-89
Who says that Rick Adelman is an offensive-minded coach?
The league's top defensive team (points allowed) the Houston Rockets, roll over, or should I say... limp over league doormat, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Houston Rockets record leads a division with three legit title contenders, including themselves. Their offense is 3rd worst in scoring in the NBA. The surprise is that record is good enough to make them the leader in this tough division.
What's not a surprise is all three Rockets stars played hurt last night. Tracy McGrady's surgically repaired knee began to bother him and he left the game for good early in the 2nd half, playing just 18 minutes. Yao Ming still has foot problems as he gutted out 33 minutes. Ron Artest turned his ankle, but played 38 minutes.
Luis Scola led the way with 23 points last night, followed by Yao Ming with a 19 on an efficient 7 of 8 shooting, and Ron Artest with 17 points. Ming and Artest both had double doubles with 12 and 11 rebounds.
Rocket coach Rick Adelman has the team playing well enough to compete with one star out, as evidenced by their play-off performance last season without Yao Ming. But two stars out would be asking too much. So far, that hasn't happened.
The Thunder have a few bright spots in what will be another long year. Their record drops to 1-10. Everyone knows that scorer Kevin Durant will work to hone his skills again this season. He led both teams with 29 points on 13 of 23 shots.
The Thunder's #4 pick in this years draft, rookie point guard Russell Westbrook had 3 straight steals and 5 in the game in an attempt to bring his team back by himself. He had 14 points in 28 minutes off the bench. His future looks bright. As he develops and gets acclimated to the NBA game, he will eventually supplant Earl (play me or trade me) Watson as the starting point guard.
The big red injury (so far he has made Greg Oden look healthy), 7 ft. Robert Swift got the start and had eight rebounds, two blocks and six points in 25 minutes for the Thunder.
Houston's wobbly run towards a a chance at an NBA Championship continues. The main thing is that they know defense is the driver. Take that - Adelman doubters! Keeping the team is another story.
Utah Jazz (7-4) beat the Phoenix Suns (8-4): 109-97
Phoenix's Shaquille O'Neal had just one rebound for only the second time in his career. Yes, you read that correctly.
Beyond that, Shaq, looking all of his 36 years, was blocked on three consecutive attempts. The first was by 6'8" Paul Millsap as Paul stood smack in the way of a Shaq rim rattling, power move. Millsap actually hurt his arm in the process but managed to reject the Big Diesel.
That was followed shortly after by two straight blocks by Andre Kirilenko. Shaq appears to have no lift left. The Diesel is carrying a heavy load and seems to be running out of gas. He doesn't even cross half court until very late on some plays.
Even more telling - (if the plus/minus is correct at NBA.com) the Suns were being beaten by 27 points while Shaq was on the floor in his 31:48 minutes. That means they outplayed the Jazz by 15 points in the 16 plus minutes he was on the bench.
2 comments Last one added 7 months ago — Leave a Comment
Andrew Ungvari 7 months ago
Nice job. Shaq has been awful on the 2nd night of back to backs going back four/five years now. There's also a huge difference in his numbers between getting 2 days off as opposed to 3 days. Take a look at the box scores from the Pistons series in 2004 and check out the difference in numbers. Terry Porter said he was going to give Shaq a night off this year in either the first or second game but I guess with Detroit and Utah he felt it was worth taking the chance--especially with Shaq getting an early shower on Sunday.
It's no surprise Kirlienko was able to block Shaq. He's the only player I've seen since 1996 that guarded both Shaq and Kobe. That tells you all you need to know about how good a defender he is.
The Jazz have done wonders with second round picks. Milsap, Korver, Miles, Boozer, Collins, Fesenko and Okur are all 2nd round picks and Ronnie Price went undrafted. Sure they didn't draft Korver, Boozer or Okur but they've still managed to develop them.
I'm a Bruin so I love Westbrook (and Watson) but there was a stretch during the game last night where he tried to take over and he either took a horrible 3-pointer or drove the lane and either missed a lay up or had his shot blocked. He's going to be a good all-around player down the road but you have to feel for Watson, Joe Smith and Collison. How many more rebuilding years can those guys take at this stage in their careers?
McGrady is hurt again. I'm shocked. The Rockets need Battier back soon so T-Mac can take his time in coming back.
How about Roger Mason, Jr.? The Spurs gave him two years and a little less than $7.5 million. He might turn out to be the steal of last summer's free agency.
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Thomas Halzack 7 months ago
Some good thoughts, Andrew.
Not surprised at the "Shaq on 2nd night" numbers. He's carrying way too much weight to go for any distance even if he was younger, let alone for 2 nights in a row.
AK47 is solid as a defender, but that the back-to-back blocks were nice.
Westbrook will be a solid pro, it appears. He will take some bad shots on his way to legitimacy, but he'll get there. Similar story for Ramon Sessions. of the Bucks.
Yeah, Joe Smith is an old pro in more ways than one. He seems to accept his fate rather well. Earl Watson - not so much. He wants to play.
Roger Mason is good, but getting to play in Popovich's system helps. too. Nice to see journeymen like Mason keep improving and getting their shot, so to speak.
I like the Rockets to come out of the West...If healthy. That's big if. Hard to keep those 2 guys on the court - Ming and McGrady.
Shaq needs to get in shape, period.
peace,
T
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