(63-19) First Round Wraps Up [4-0]

[rise]

You got to be kidding me...
I play one good game and Boozer isn't dominate like he was!C'mon,at least one win!!

It was because of my rebounding.

[Axel The Great]

Kiss my ass Thierry

Ok, are you gonna say that to everyone you beat?

Chauncey, Chauncey 11 points and 16 rebounds, but only one block? I will beat Timberwolves and Beasley in NBA!

It'd be hilarious if you got drafted by the Wolves.

Haha, I liked that comments below the Martin article. You're doing a great job with this D.

Thanks, hova-. Glad to see the comments weren't as weak as I thought.

Yea baby! Beasley is a cheese in the game Bad shooting game for me, but hogging for the rebounds sounds pretty good

Yeah, imo, some players are overrated in this game, and Beasley's one of them.

Hell yea i win again

You got to be kidding me...
I play one good game and Boozer isn't dominate like he was!C'mon,at least one win!!

Boozer doesn't play defense! Nobody contested K-Mart at the basket.

Intriguing story here! Just sent you my info.

Yeah, thanks again for the info.

You got to be kidding me...
I play one good game and Boozer isn't dominate like he was!C'mon,at least one win!!

It was because of my rebounding.

I think you had quite a bit of putbacks. That was a pretty evenly matched game though, two quick guards and two good rebounders.

[Axel The Great]

Part II

[30-13] Houston Rockets 108-104 Memphis Grizzlies [15-27]


Chase Budinger gave a good contribution off the bench. | Z-Bo's monster double-double was not enough for the Grizzlies

The Rockets got a firm grasp of the lead in the second quarter, and pretty much dominated from then on. At times, the Grizzlies did challenge the lead with Rudy Gay leading the way with a team high 26 points. The score was 79-77 after the third quarter thanks to a buzzer-beating three by OJ Mayo.

In the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies kept the score very close, and managed to tie the game in the dying minutes. With the game tied at 102 apiece, Michael Conley decided to take over the game, and how ineffective he was at doing so. He only made one field goal all game, and on two consecutive possessions, drove aggressively to the rim. The first time, he was met by Yao Ming's swat, and the second time, he was fouled. He missed both free throws, and the Rockets, thanks to Kevin Martin, managed to pull away on a clutch three-point play and clutch free throws. Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins' reaction pretty much summed up the disappointment for the Grizzlies.

After Conley missed both free throws, with the game tied, Hollins sat back down in his chair, with both hands over his face, in dismay at how terrible Conley handled the situation(s) his team had to pull away for good. He was unavailable for comment, but teammate Zach Randolph said, "I don't know what to say. Really don't know what got into him. Rudy and I had the hot hand in this game, he really should've passed to us. This is a disappointing loss considering all he had to do was just give us the lead with free throws."

With this game, Kevin Martin broke the franchise record of most consecutive games with 30 points or more. He went for 36 points, putting his fingerprints all over the game. "It's pretty amazing really. We'll see how long I can keep up the streak, but for now, we're focusing on winning more games, the 30 points will come naturally to me, you know, within the flow of the game," he said, happy about breaking the record, and coming away with a win.

Player of the Game-

Kevin Martin
36 points, | 5 rebounds | 2 assists | 2 blocks | 1 steal | 12/22 FG | 10/10 FT

Key Performers:
Rockets:
Aaron Brooks - 19 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 5/15 FG
Yao Ming - 15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 6/11 FG
Luis Scola - 14 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block, 6/10 FG
Chase Budinger - 12 points, 5/7 FG

Grizzlies:
Rudy Gay - 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 11/17 FG
Zach Randolph - 25 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 10/17 FG
Tony Allen - 15 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 5/8 FG
March Gasol - 14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 6/11 FG
OJ Mayo - 13 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound, 2 steals, 5/13 FG
Michael Conley - 5 points, 9 assists, 3 rebounds, 1/9 FG

21 30 28 29 108
22 26 29 27 104

[31-13] Houston Rockets 99-101 Orlando Magic [25-19]


The streak is now at 15. | Scola had another monster game.

With Jameer Nelson out for the season (torn patella tendon), Gilbert Arenas will play a big role in Orlando. | The battle of the two best centers in the league.

After the Magic rained threes in Orlando, the Rockets wanted revenge. Jason Richardson looked to maintain the three-point barrage early on, hitting three triples in the first quarter alone. He went a surprising 5/17 from the third dimension, showing his obssession with three-pointers. "He was so predictable this game. I blocked two of his shots early on because I knew he was gonna shoot the three," said Kevin Martin. Neither team got out to a double-digit lead, and while the Magic dominated the first half, things began to change in the third quarter.

Luis Scola scored 10 of his 20 points in the third quarter to help the Rockets regain the lead. At one point, both teams went on a cold spell, going about two minutes without a field goal. The Magic began to start making shots, and regained the lead, leading by as many as six, thanks to an aggressive Gilbert Arenas, who was penetrating his way through the paint for layups. The Rockets battled back, and with a minute left, the score was 101-97. The Rockets went inside to Yao Ming who was fouled and hit both free throws to bring the Rockets within two. On the other end, the Rockets got a lucky miss from Jason Richardson who missed a wide open three-pointer. With seven seconds left, the Rockets called a timeout, their last of the game.

After the timeout, they got the ball to Kevin Martin, who pushed his 30+ point streak to 15 games with this one now, stepped back and shot an elbow jumper. It hit front rim, and just barely bounced out as the buzzer sounded. With that, the Rockets lose their third home game of the season, and lose the season series against Orlando 2-0. "Whew. That shot was too close. That ball looked perfectly aligned with the basket. A bit more arc added to that shot and it would've gone in," Dwight Howard said after the game.

"I was pretty surprised that I had a clean look at the basket. But then again, the only player on this Magic team that actually plays defense is Dwight Howard," the Rockets superstar touched on the subject. The streak may be at 15 now, but Martin did not look happy with himself after missing that jumper.

Player of the Game-

Dwight Howard
25 points | 17 rebounds | 2 assists | 3 blocks | 10/14 FG | 5/6 FT

Key Performers:
Rockets:
Kevin Martin - 30 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 11/23 FG
Luis Scola - 20 points, 12 rebounds, 9/13 FG
Aaron Brooks - 12 points, 5 assists, 5/11 FG
Yao Ming - 10 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 5/11 FG

Magic:
Jason Richardson - 27 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 11/31 FG, 5/17 3P
Gilbert Arenas - 17 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 8/13 FG
Brandon Bass - 12 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 6/9 FG
Hedo Turkoglu - 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 5/13 FG

27 28 24 20 99
31 25 20 25 101

[Martti.]

No stopping K-Mart, yet you couldn't win against Orlando. Again. Dwight sure won the battle of the centers.

[rise]

rofl. Conley sucks nuts. What the fuck was he thinking, not passing it to Gay, Randolph, Gasol, Allen, Mayo, etc...? Lucky for you Conley thought he was a good enough point guard to score in the dying seconds against you.


Keep up the 30+ streak with K-Mart! Too bad he missed the game tying/winning shot vs. the Magic, but you've still got a pretty dope record.

I also like the fact I kicked George7's ass.

[kibaxx7]

There are other teams who've fired their coaches, and I wonder who they really hired. For story's sake, I'm going with what I see in game, though. Makes me wonder if Ewing will also be with the Magic when I play against them.

I'd go that way too, Ewing would make a nice head coach. You'll surely see the real Pat when you play against Orlando. If I remember correctly, you also had Malone's record broken in the Live 10 dynasty, right? Congrats on repeating And I can't believe I lost to Houndy, with all due respect Tough loss against the Magic, I guess now you see how I feel when Dwight goes Hulk against me.

[Houndy]

What are you talking about Thierry? You lost to Willie Smith!

[hova-]

Good to see Martin keeping that streak alive, but you got pretty much outplayed down low by Howard. Scola posted impressive stats nevertheless.

[Axel The Great]

No stopping K-Mart, yet you couldn't win against Orlando. Again. Dwight sure won the battle of the centers.

No answer for Orlando unfortunately. If we both somehow get to the Finals, we'll have to make some big adjustments.

rofl. Conley sucks nuts. What the fuck was he thinking, not passing it to Gay, Randolph, Gasol, Allen, Mayo, etc...? Lucky for you Conley thought he was a good enough point guard to score in the dying seconds against you.


Keep up the 30+ streak with K-Mart! Too bad he missed the game tying/winning shot vs. the Magic, but you've still got a pretty dope record.

I also like the fact I kicked George7's ass.

Conley bailed us out for the win. The way we were playing against the Magic, we were lucky to even have a chance to tie the game at the end of regulation.

There are other teams who've fired their coaches, and I wonder who they really hired. For story's sake, I'm going with what I see in game, though. Makes me wonder if Ewing will also be with the Magic when I play against them.

I'd go that way too, Ewing would make a nice head coach. You'll surely see the real Pat when you play against Orlando. If I remember correctly, you also had Malone's record broken in the Live 10 dynasty, right? Congrats on repeating And I can't believe I lost to Houndy, with all due respect Tough loss against the Magic, I guess now you see how I feel when Dwight goes Hulk against me.

Yes, I did break Malone's record in my other story. Glad to know someone remembers! And yeah, Howard was just unstoppable. He started 7/7 from the field before Yao blocked a dunk from him (replay of that at a later date).

What are you talking about Thierry? You lost to Willie Smith!

Don't you mean Josh Lewis?

Good to see Martin keeping that streak alive, but you got pretty much outplayed down low by Howard. Scola posted impressive stats nevertheless.

I think Martin is second in PER in this association. I love Scola. Another efficient player next to Martin as well.

Since I'm sure everyone is interested, I have a D-League article coming up (sarcasm intended in that sentence, for those who didn't catch it). I played a D-League game a few days ago, and there are three players that caught my interest. They will be introduced in that article. And then, of course, the first part of Week 14, which includes a winning, Nellieball playin' T-Wolves team!

[Axel The Great]

I warn you, comments are pretty weak. Try to pay a little more attention to the article itself.

Scouting D-League Talent

Posted by Axel Gomez January 23, 2011 at 6:54 AM
This past Wednesday, I took an approximately four-hour drive from Houston to Rio Grande Valley, to take a look at our NBA Developmental League affiliate's talent. The Rio Grande Valley Vipers were set to take on the Maine Red Claws.

Apparently, the Vipers players must've picked up word that I, Assistant General Manager of the Houston Rockets, would be at the game, since they came out and mauled the Red Claws completely. They won with a score of 118-83, as the game had reached garbage time since the second quarter.

I was impressed by some of the players, but three of them caught my attention. Let me introduce you to them.


Ishmael Smith penetrating his way into the paint.

The first player of interest, many of you are probably familiar with him. His name is Ishmael Smith, nicknamed Ish, and he did not surprise me at how solid he was. True, he didn't shoot very efficiently, at only 3/9 from the field, but he notched a double-double of 10 points and 11 assists. Ish was on the Rockets for about 2-3 games at the end of December, due to the back spasms of Aaron Brooks. He was solid at the NBA level, and he was just as solid if not more, at the D-League level.

I see a bit of Tony Parker in Smith. Not a good shooter, but an excellent passer who utilizes his peripheral vision to perfection. Where he gets his points is within the paint; he utilizes his speed and agility to get in there and cause havoc, just like the Frenchman from the San Antonio Spurs. I love the way he pushes the tempo, every time up the court, if he sees a fast break, he speeds right up the court, looking to get something going for his teammates. At this point, he makes an excellent backup point guard at the NBA level, but not yet a starter. If he can develop a jumpshot, he will one day be a solid starter in the NBA.


Ed Jacobs finishing an alley-oop thrown from Smith.

The second player of interest leads the D-League in scoring, and looking at the way he plays, I can see why. Ed Jacobs is an athletic, 6'7" Small Forward who is a nifty scorer. He is an excellent jump shooter, and can also get to the basket. He is also a pretty decent rebounder; he's currently averaging 23.5 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game. He is pretty much the only good three-point shooter on the Vipers. From what I saw, hardly anyone could knock down threes, even open ones. In this game, he scored a game high 31 points (12/23 shooting) and grabbed four rebounds.

At the D-League level, Jacobs is an All-Star, but at the NBA level, I think he's a sixth or seventh man at best. He lacks defensive abilities, and isn't very fast either. If he can work on his conditioning and his speed, then maybe we may consider signing him to a 10-day contract at some point. For now though, we'll see how far he can take the Vipers in the playoffs.


Jared Gordon powers his way into the paint for an and-one.

Last but not least, Jared Gordon is the backup center of the team. I really don't know why, what I saw in him was solid. He has a post game, first of all, it just needs a bit of polish. He really knows how to use his big 6'11" body to power his way into the paint, and he is also a fierce rebounder. You could say he is an undersized and very poor man's Shaquille O'Neal, because of the way he manhandles defenders in the paint.

Gordon scored 14 points on a perfect 6/6 shooting, and also grabbed four rebounds. I'm gonna have to put a question mark next to his name, because the fact that he comes off the bench is intriguing. It may have been a fluke game for him, but what I saw from him was pretty impressive.

It may have been just one game I saw these three players play, but I definitely know Smith and Jacobs' great games weren't flukes. I will be heading down to Rio Grande Valley a couple more times this season, to keep a look out on Jared Gordon, and any other hidden talent in the Vipers.

Comments (4):

Posted by Sir Charles January 23, 2011 at 7:45 AM
Who in their right mind goes to watch a D-League game? The quality of their arenas is poor, the cheerleaders are flat and ugly, and most importantly, the players are just a bunch of kids that will never make it anywhere in the NBA who get paid a low wage when instead they could be out there lookin' for a real job. You're just turrible for goin' to a D-League game.

Posted by Axel Gomez January 23, 2011 at 8:39 AM
@ Sir Charles, cool story bro.

Posted by Kobe #24 4-ever, January 23, 2011 at 8:54 AM
lol, i think if u add up all the salaries of players from a d-league team for a season, it still doesnt add up to how much money Kobe makes for ONE GAME. thats funny.

Posted by Ariza's Bricks January 23, 2011 at 9:34 AM
@ Kobe #24 4-ever, not to mention the amount of money he gets from you suckin' his ****.

[Houndy]

Nice article. D-League players can always do something... Evan Oliver anybody?

I've been to a D-League game, and it really was boring. I left in the beginning of the 4th. Mainly because the people don't pay attention to the players as much as the fans..

[kibaxx7]

X can agree with me: Kenny Adams.

[Axel The Great]

Nice article. D-League players can always do something... Evan Oliver anybody?

I've been to a D-League game, and it really was boring. I left in the beginning of the 4th. Mainly because the people don't pay attention to the players as much as the fans..

Yeah, I've seen some D-League games on Versus, not as exciting as NBA games, but hey, it's still basketball.

X can agree with me: Kenny Adams.

Lol, wasn't he the guy who torched X's Wolves with like 30 points or so?

[Axel The Great]

Part I

[31-14] Houston Rockets 122-115 Minnesota Timberwolves [17-26]


Explosive, unexpected surges from these two was key to the Rockets' victory.

Both these players played exactly like second overall draft picks are supposed to play.

After firing head coach Kurt Rambis a few weeks ago, the Minnesota Timberwolves were riding a 7-game win streak with new head coach Don Nelson. Yes, Nelson did come out of retirement to coach these Wolves.

From the looks of things, the Timberwolves' streak was no fluke. They gave the Rockets' defense fits all game, and if it weren't for Kevin Love's lower back strain that he suffered early in the first quarter, the outcome could've been completely different. Both teams got off to a hot start in the first quarter, with a scoring duel between Michael Beasley and Kevin Martin, whom both had team highs of 36 and 35 respectively.

The Wolves managed to tie the game midway through the second quarter, forcing Rick Adelman to call a timeout. He put in the starters, and they were able to get the lead again. Yao Ming played a monster game, as he had 23 points, and a season high seven blocks, doing his duty on the defensive end.

The Timberwolves went into halftime with the momentum, however, and continued it through the third quarter. The fourth quarter was a nail-biter, though. The Timberwolves were definitely getting the benefit of the call, as they attempted 19 free throws in the final period alone. They went 27/33 from the stripe for the game, while the Rockets were a perfect 28/28. Closer and closer they came, but the Rockets always found a way to get buckets to pull away.

Darko Milicic fouled out with five minutes left in the fourth quarter, and with that, the Wolves lost their best shot blocker, which saw the Rockets go on a big scoring surge. Shane Battier scored all of his 15 points in the second half, and with that, the Rockets ended the 7-game win streak for the Wolves. "What we needed was to shoot more threes. The Rockets were crowding us inside, so we needed to space the floor by taking three-pointers. There's no better and more effective weapon than the three-ball in basketball. It's too bad Kevin (Love) had to leave the game early, as I'm sure he could've helped us with the three-ball," head coach Don Nelson said on the loss.

Player of the Game-

Yao Ming
23 points | 4 rebounds | 7 blocks | 1 steal | 10/13 FG

Key Performers:
Rockets:
Kevin Martin - 35 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 13/19 FG
Aaron Brooks - 16 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 3/10 FG
Shane Battier - 15 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 5/10 FG, 3/3 3P
Luis Scola - 14 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 5/13 FG

Timberwolves:
Michael Beasley - 36 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 15/30 FG
Jonny Flynn - 19 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 6/9 FG, 3/3 3P
Darko Milicic - 17 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, 7/12 FG
Wesley Johnson - 17 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 5/13 FG
Luke Ridnour - 8 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 1/7 FG

36 21 26 39 122
27 25 27 36 115

[32-14] Houston Rockets 109-91 Los Angeles Clippers [21-23]


Avenging the rest of the league, Bud delivers a poster to Blake Griffin! | Kaman capitalizing on the fact that Yao wasn't patrolling the paint.

The last time these two teams faced off, the Los Angeles Clippers pulled off an upset win, thanks to the career high 39 points from Eric Gordon. In this game, it was all a completely different story.

From the start, the Rockets took complete control, with Kevin Martin scoring 15 of the Rockets' 35 first quarter points. The Clippers went on a big cold spell, as they went the last three minutes of the first period without a single point. Baron Davis was coming off a horrendous 0/15 game in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks, and was looking for things to improve in this game. The field goal never came, as he also went 0/6 from the field. What was different from the Mavericks game however, was that he scored five points thanks to free throws. In this game, he did not score a single point.

"They just didn't show up to play. Their offense was a complete disaster; it was just one of those kinds of games for them. Defensively, they were just as bad, as I don't remember really scoring that easily this season," said Kevin Martin, who shot an efficient 11/16 from the field, and scoring 31 points in 29 minutes. His streak of 30+ point games has gone up to 17 now.

With four minutes left in the game, head coach Rick Adelman pulled the starters out of the game and let the bench play the rest. At one point the Rockets had a 25-point lead, shooting 51% from the field compared to the sub-par 39% from the Clippers. Who knows how bad the final score would've been had the Clippers been outrebounded, as they won the battle of the boards 46-37, keeping themselves somewhat alive with second chance opportunities.

Player of the Game-

Kevin Martin
31 points | 5 assists | 3 rebounds | 11/16 FG

Key Performers:
Rockets:
Aaron Brooks - 17 points, 6 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 5/10 FG, 3/5 3P
Luis Scola - 14 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 7/11 FG
Yao Ming - 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4/7 FG
Brad Miller - 8 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 4 steals, 2/5 FG

Clippers:
Chris Kaman - 33 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 block, 12/26 FG
Blake Griffin - 18 points, 17 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 7/12 FG
Eric Gordon - 16 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 5/18 FG
Al-Farouq Aminu - 11 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 4/8 FG
Baron Davis - 0 points, 13 assists, 2 rebounds, 6 TO, 0/6 FG

35 24 30 20 109
20 22 26 23 91

[hova-]

Nice D-league report. You are still rolling, but the Wolves and Clipps shouldn't be your benchmarks in there. Martin's doing so well, he should be a All NBA candidate.

[mp3]

K-Mart is flat out balling right now great job with the Triple double with him.

CHASE ! love that pic over Blake Haha !

[Houndy]

Chase Budinger Is officially a boss

[Lamrock]

If only Nellie would return in real life.

[kibaxx7]

Lol, wasn't he the guy who torched X's Wolves with like 30 points or so?

Yes he was Both Beasley and Kaman killed you but you got great wins!

[Axel The Great]

Nice D-league report. You are still rolling, but the Wolves and Clipps shouldn't be your benchmarks in there. Martin's doing so well, he should be a All NBA candidate.

T-Wolves and Clippers are overachieving in this D. Martin should definitely at least make All-NBA third team.

K-Mart is flat out balling right now great job with the Triple double with him.

CHASE ! love that pic over Blake Haha !

It's just been so easy these past few games; he's single-handedly carried the team to this record.

Blake got a taste of his own medicine (or poison?).

Chase Budinger Is officially a boss

Hehe, yeah, officially the dunk of the year. I'll have the replay of that up sometime soon.

If only Nellie would return in real life.

Yeah, some teams could use his three-point philosophy.

Lol, wasn't he the guy who torched X's Wolves with like 30 points or so?

Yes he was Both Beasley and Kaman killed you but you got great wins!

Kaman shot pretty inefficiently though, but Beasley was hard to stop.

[Justine.]

Beasley! K-Mart is still heating though. Keep the streak alive!

[Grandmama Johnson]

Deceptively tough game against the Wolves. Gotta watch out for Beasley!

[Stress Fracture]

Bud has the hops.

Sir Charles' comment is funny, but he speaks the truth. And, at Kobe #24 4-ever again.

[Bucket]

Wow, Beasley outscored K-Mart? I love Bud picture, finally Blake got posterized
Nice D-League report. D-League have some talents, I signed Evan Oliver and he is a beast in my association

[rise]

YOU POSTERIZED BLAKE GRIFFIN!!!!!!!