Lv06|ROCKETS-2| Officially Closed.

[Jemesouviens]

TMac
Artest
#8

[Clutch]

K. BENTLEY'S SCOUTING REPORT - CHARLOTTE BOBCATS



STRENGTHS Young, powerful front court; Okafor's speed/strength may be problematic for slower-footed May; active/atheletic forwards Maggette and Wallace always a handful; remedy - Artest?

WEAKNESSES Guard depth. After Felton? Very poor support; our stronger bench - Battier, Webster - could take advantage

TEAM RATING - STARTING LINEUPS CHA (92) - Center Kaman (72), PF Okafor (84,) SF Maggette (85), SG Wagner (66), PG Felton (80); HOU (93) - Center Ming (94), PF May (69), SF R. Artest (89), SG Graham (75), F McGrady (94)

INJURIES None

GAME SUMMARY

- Ron Artest debuts at starting SF position with Tracy McGrady at 'Point-Forward' role; McGrady looks more to get teammates involved offensively from the opening tip, taking his scoring opportunities sparingly;

- Only minutes into the game Rockets' PF, Sean May, comes up hobbling after tweaking his knee during an awkward landing trying to prevent an Okafor dunk attempt; May would leave for the locker room but return to play later in the second quarter;

- Artest and Cory Maggette both open strong with 8 points a piece after the first quarter and Houston leading 27-23 after one;

- The 'Cats would rally in the second quarter led by Raymond Felton's playmaking and Maggette's scoring with Emeka Okafor and Chris Kaman controlling the paint; it would stifle Houston's offense and put Charlotte ahead 56-55 by halftime;

- After the break, tough, physical defense would be the tone set by both teams, not allowing either to maintain more than a 5-point advantage over the other; Maggette would carry the 'Cats offensively with 6-points in the third while Yao Ming, finding his rhythm, would begin to abuse Kaman down on the block;

- Into the final quarter Houston would hold a narrow 91-86 advantage at the 3:33 mark but the Bobcats would push again cutting the margin to 93-90 with just over a minute remaining;

- Utimately Houston's newcomer, Ron Artest, would take over the final moments of the game and snap Charlotte's collective will, first on a powerful drive against three defenders at the 1:04 mark for the basket-and-1 to give Houston a 96-90 edge; then later, with less than 30 seconds remaining and the Bobcats threatening once more, Artest would power his way to the basket, backing down Kaman in the post then split a double-team for the layup and 100-94 Rockets lead;

- Free-throws by Artest off an intentional foul to stop the clock would put Charlotte away for good

QUOTES

Artest, "I wanted to do everything I could to win, especially in my debut game, in front of the home fans; there was no way they were gonna come in here and rain on my parade" Artest ended with 23 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals;

Maggette, "They were a tough match-up already last season; now, with the addition of (Ron) Artest, they'll cause a lot of headaches around the league," Maggette finished the night with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals

NOTES
- Shane Battier had an impressive re-debut, beginning his second tour of duty with Houston; Battier finished with 7 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist, block and steal a piece;

Speedy Claxton had a quiet debut, missing his only shot attempt (a three) but still finished with 2 assists and a steal;

The Rockets next travel to Minnesota to take on Ricky Davis, Kevin Garnett and the T'Wolves

BOXSCORES
PLAYER OF THE GAME

PICS

Ron Artest welcomed by the fans and off to a fast start

McGrady looking to set up his teammates

Sean May pulls up injured in early in the 1st Qtr

T-Mac finds Battier before HE even knows he's open | Maggette answers at the other end

Okafor posterizes Sean May | Rookie, Carmel Fergus, with a nasty throw down

Speedy debuts but with quiet results | Webster with an impressive finish after the foul

Artest clamping down defensively

Battier impressive in his debut, setting up Artest and then rejecting Gerald Wallace

Yao began to abuse Kaman in the 3rd | McGrady with a bailout jumper beating the shot clock

Mutombo can't stop the quick-footed Maggette from reaching the rim | Yao and Kaman on the other hand...

Artest strong in the closing minutes seals the win for the Rockets


AROUND-THE-LEAGUE

10/28/08 Opening Night - Impressive debuts for rookies, Asa Grayson of the Wizards and LAC's "Second Coming,"
Lorenzen Bryant.

Grayson, 6-1, 217 lbs out of Michigan, was Washington's first-round pick and 9th-overall in the draft. A gifted scorer and deadly three-point shooter, his game has been compared to a young Ray Allen

Bryant, dubbed "the Second Coming" by his peers, was the #1-overall draft pick by the Clippers making the jump from high school directly to the NBA. At 6-9 198 lbs, he is easily the most talented player of the draft and future cornerstone of the Clippers' rebuilding franchise

___

THE 'JUMBO MUTOMBO' CONTEST RESULTS #1

Thx all who entered! The Leader Board is now up and running on Page 1; double check to make sure I did the math correct on your entry and don't forget to post picks for the next recap vs the T'Wolves!

If you didn't enter or hit one out of the park this time, a correct MUTOMBO could vault you right to the top!

[Ipsofire]

Good win!

Nice to see Artest putting up good numbers in his debut


T-Mac, Yao
#5

[Cartar]

Artest, Webster
6

[Oli]

nice win

McGrady, Yao, 2

[Lamrock]

Congrats on winning the season opener. Your decision to start Graham and May over Battier and Webster is questionable, but its your game.

#3, Yao, Mutombo

[bee-boy]

great dynasty man. keep it up.

[nba_baller]

I'm gonna have to go:

McGrady, Yao
Number: 7

[weechees]

Nice win!

Webster, Yao, 5

[Clutch]

thx guys! all entries for game 2 acceptable , offensively and defensively i can feel a big difference from last year's squad so i'm pretty stoked; i've noticed TMac attacking the basket a lot more which is both exciting and nerve-wracking; many times he'll drive on 2-3 defenders determined to throw it down lol

Lamrock, i kept Graham at his starting spot (he had almost always started last season unless he was injured) and Webster's gives me offense off the bench; Battier is higher-rated that May no doubt, but for now comes off the bench as he keeps the 2nd unit strong defensively; plus with May starting with the big 3, he knows his role - kind of a 'Charles Oakley' enforcer-type just not nearly as strong defensively

The 'Jumbo' contest is off to the races and Ipsofire takes a slight lead with the pack close on his heels after gm 1; new readers/contestants always welcome to play and can jump in anytime during the regular season so feel free - with the 'Jumbo' Factor, anything can happen!

ETA gm 2 vs T'Wolves... Tomorrow. cast entries before the next recap

[Oskar]

Yao, McGrady ; 4

Without a doubt the best dynasty right now.

[Clutch]

K. Bentley's Scouting Report - MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES

STRENGTHS Everything begins and ends with the Big Ticket. KG will be a nightmare matchup for May; double-team often as possible. Davis is a streaky X-Factor but Artest should be able to contain

WEAKNESSES Bench. Not much threatening there, except Madsen's dancing. Their 7th ovrl pick, PG rookie, Casper Paris, can't shoot worth a damn; definitely a 'project' if not a bust

TEAM RATING - STARTING LINEUPS HOU (93) - Center Ming (94), PF May (69), SF Artest (89), SG Graham (75), F McGrady (94); MIN (78) - Center Johnsson (68), PF Garnett (98), SF Davis (77), SG McCants (76), PG Jaric (72)

INJURIES B. Wright (MIN), Injury: Sore Thumb - 10/30/08; Recovery 30%; Duration 6 days; Tracking - On Target

___
oskar - thx man and good luck!

[kaiser_kobe]

Can i still put my entry for game 2?

Heres mine: Mcgrady, Yao
No: 4

[Martti.]

Yao, T-Mac

#3

Great stuff early on!

[Clutch]

kaiser kobe, martti - thx guys; kaiser, your entry is always good for the 'next' game recap; in this case, you're good for game 2 since i haven't posted yet

should be up by tomorrow... cast your votes if you haven't already!

[Valor]

Yao, Mcgrady, 3

[Clutch]

GAME RECAP

10/31/08 Minnesota (AP) -- It's official - Ron Artest has made the Houston Rockets into a legit contender. However, with T-Mac shackled by severe foul-trouble the entire night, the Rockets could not overcome a mighty T'Wolves third quarter run resulting in a narrow 102-104 road loss.

Tracy McGrady sat most of the night, picking up 2 fouls in the first few minutes. Speedy Claxton would fill in at the point position and had a decent night with 8 points, 6 assists 3 steals and one rebound but was responsible for 3 turnovers.

With McGrady struggling, Artest had a brilliant night and kept Houston in the game. Most impressive to coach Jackson was Artest's ability to nail the trey; the versatile forward hit 4-of-8 on the night from downtown

"I knew Ron (Artest) had a strong inside game," said the Rockets head coach. "but his ability to stroke the three has been a welcome surprise." Artest's biggest three came at the 1:16 mark of the 4th quarter to tie the game 97-97 with the T'Wolves threatening to pull away

Unfortunately Artest and a solid night by Yao Ming were not enough to overcome a 31-16 third quarter meltdown nor the 16-8 turnovers surplus Houston had over Minnesota

"I've learned so much from Kevin (Garnett)," said 2nd-year pro, Basil Johnsson, who helped the Minnesota Timberwolves edge the Rockets with an impressive 24 point, 11 rebound night

Johnsson, a 6-11, 288 lbs Center drafted 49th overall in the 2nd-round of 2006 originally from Rome, Italy, dropped 8 points in a critical third quarter T'Wolves surge and was instrumental down the stretch in securing rebounds and preventing second-chance efforts by Houston

Garnett, who tallied 25 points, 5 boards and 2 assists seemed pleased with his Center's performance, "We worked hard this summer and it shows. I pleased man, very pleased."

Artest finished with a team-high 36 points while collecting 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals and Yao finished with 21 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. McGrady, who sat the majority of the night but came back in late in the 4th quarter only to foul out, finished with 13 points, 2 assists in only 19 minutes of game time

The Timberwolves are now 2-0 on the season while Houston with a 1-1 record next host Jason 'the Jet' Terry, Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks

PICS

Ron Artest ties the game connecting from downtown and forcing a T'Wolves into a timeout

Phil Jackson calls Shane Battier's number moments later and he drills the huge basket

Trailing by one, McGrady re-enters the game to try for the win but ends up fouling out and sending his man to the line

AROUND THE LEAGUE

- Tonight's Boxscores
- Antawn Jamison among others remains the top un-signed free agent when the Washington Wizards elected for the 'youth movement' and did not offer to renew him;
- Injury woes continue in Phoenix as veteran point guard, Steve Nash, is once again off to a nash-ty start. His injury will keep him off the active roster for at least 2 weeks

Emilio Moss (PHO) dazzled Mike Dunleavy and the Indiana Pacers on route to a 95-85 Suns victory finishing the night with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals and a block in 29 minutes of play

THE 'JUMBO MUTOMBO' CONTEST RESULTS #2

[-PeeBo]

sorry i was a bit away but that is my style

T- Mac, T-Mac
jumbo number 10

[Clutch]

no prob Peebo; you just missed this one but no worries - you're entry will definitely count for the next game vs Dallas

[Oskar]

Damn, I got it wrong as well.. Well, against Dallas, here's my entry.

Yao leading in points, May in FG%

Mutombo getting 4 together.

[Lamrock]

T-Mac, Yao
#4

I was excited to see that I got the correct Mutombo number... then I saw that everyone else did.

[Cartar]

T-Mac, Yao
5

[Clutch]

all entries so far are acceptable for gm 3 vs the Mavericks (recap ETA... tues/wed)

oskar, you got your previous entry in on time (check leader board on pg 1) and you don't need to specify; if Yao leads in FG% and May in points or either for PotG, you'll earn the appropriate pts;

lamrock, after gm 1 results, i was beginning to think the 'Jumbo' # might be impossible; your guy's 3-way tie restored my confidence

cast your votes folks also new readers/contestants welcome; with the 'Jumbo' factor in effect, it'll never be too late to join in the mayhem!

[Oli]

Yao, Webster, 4

Good Luck

[Chaser7]

YAo, McGrady, 3.

Nice work clutch, although what happened to that thing you used to make before all your regular season games last year?