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.
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