[Playoffs!] A New Age! || GAME 1 OF THE FINALS | Hiatus

[Vespasian92]

Hmm, gave us Igoudala... can't decide whether I'm happy or not.

Anyway, even without T-Rob you have an athletic frontcourt with Sanders and J-Smoove. Looking forward to seeing where all the rookies and FA signings end up when you start the new season.

[Valor]

I am actually pulling for Asik to be traded to the Hawks IRL (With Jeremy Lin) so great move here, even though you didn't add Dwight to replace Asik with (with is even better, but you got a real midget at center...)

Feel sorry for Dirk, having to deal with Dwightmare for the last few years of his career...he deserves better

[Martti.]

Rockets finalize roster, add 6 players



The Rockets announced the signings to fill out their roster. Signees included Garrett Temple, Omri Casspi, Patrick Beverley, Tyrus Thomas, Lance Thomas and Robert Covington.

Beverley will take over the back-up PG duties behind Jeremy Lin after Shaun Livingston signed with Brooklyn. Thomas will play the back-up PF minutes which were filled by Marcus Morris last year. Morris was traded to the Suns in a cap-clearing move.

Thomas was a member of the All-Defensive team last year, but off-the court issues and personality issues resulted in him getting amnestied by the Bobcats. The Rockets were the first team to pick him up.

Garrett Temple was a late camp-signing, but played well during the pre-season and performed superbly in training camp to earn a spot on the active roster. Omri Casspi will also compete for minutes with Temple and the re-signed Carlos Delfino.

Covington and Lance Thomas aren't expected to make the active roster. The faiths of Terrence Jones and John Jenkins are unclear, as neither seem to have a clear role in the team.

2013/14 Rockets Depth Chart

C - Larry Sanders/Nerlens Noel
PF - Josh Smith/Tyrus Thomas/Terrence Jones/Robert Covington
SF - Chandler Parsons/Carlos Delfino/Omri Casspi/Lance Thomas
SG - James Harden/Garrett Temple/John Jenkins
PG - Jeremy Lin/Patrick Beverley

[Lamrock]

Even with no Dwight, it looks like you're fielding a pretty good team this year. Good luck!

[Martti.]

I'm very happy with this team, I like J-Smoove a lot in this game and my entire front-court rotation (Sanders, Smith, T-Thomas, Noel) are great shot-blockers, my fav aspect of the game.

[Martti.]

Josh Smith's first basket as a member of the Rockets

Rockets rally to win season-opener vs Bobcats

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

MVP: James Harden scored 14 points in the fourth quarter, catapulting the rest of the team to rally with him and save a game, which seemed lost. The Bobcats led by as much as 15 in the fourth quarter and Harden's 8 straight points in the fourth was key. Also, he made the crucial free throws late.

X Factor: Patrick Beverley played 15 minutes and registered 4 assists and 4 steals (also not-so-good 2 points, 1-4 FG) and he was +19 in that period, picking the pocket of Ramon Sessions on 2 consecutive possessions with 4 minutes left and his assist to Josh Smith's BIG dunk gave the Rockets their first lead since early in the second quarter.

Defining moment: Larry Sanders grabbed the offensive rebound off James Harden's miss and scored a lay-up and drew a foul, converting the 3-point play also, and put the Rockets up by 4, 98-94, with 22 seconds left.

That was ... a forgettable NBA debut: 4th pick Nerlens Noel had 5 points and 4 rebounds, but shot 1-5 from the field and 3-6 from the line. 9th pick Kentavious Caldwell-Pope struggled even more, going 1-6 from the field, 0-3 from deep and finishing with 2 points.

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

HOU (1-0) | 30 | 17 | 19 | 34 || 100 ||
CHA (0-1) | 28 | 29 | 22 | 18 || 97 ||

Player of the Game : James Harden

| 26 PTS | 7 REBS | 3 ASTS | 3 STLS | 1 BLKS | 11-25 FG | 0-2 3 PT FG | 4-4 FT



Josh Smith : 25 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, 11-19 FG
Chandler Parsons : 18 points, 6-9 FG, 5-6 FT
Larry Sanders : 13 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks, 5-7 FG
Jeremey Lin : 6 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2-2 3PT



Kemba Walker : 22 points, 3 assists, 8-13 FG
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist : 19 points, 8 rebounds
Ben Gordon : 14 points, 8 assists, 3 steals, 5-18 FG, 2-11 3PT
Ramon Sessions : 13 points, 4 assists, 2 steals
Al Jefferson : 8 points, 14 rebounds, 4 steals
Josh McRoberts : 6 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 1-1 FG, 4-6 FT

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

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[Martti.]

What do yall think about the little recap changes?

[john26]

Pretty neat, looks awesome and nice win vs the bobcats

[Martti.]

Nerlens Noel out-scored Dwight Howard

Harden and Smith have big games as Rockets take Texas showdown

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

MVP: Josh Smith set the tone with 12 points in the first quarter on 5-5 shooting, he got Dirk into foul trouble as he picked up his 2nd with 4 minutes played. He had four and-1 baskets.

X Factor: The Rockets top scorers weren't as important in the fourth quarter, as the key players were Noel, Beverley and Sanders. The two bigs combined for 16 points and Beverly had 2 steals, 5 assists and one huge dunk.

Defining moment: Nerlens Noel out-played $100M man Dwight Howard when it mattered most, stripping the ball from him twice and scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter, when the Rockets out-scored the Mavs 39-23.

That was ... a 3-point barrage: The Mavericks attempted 34 three-pointers, making 11 of them. 7 Mavs players attempted at least 3 from beyond the arc and those didn't include Dirk and Ellington. Surprisingly, Shawn Marion was the most accurate, going 3-5.

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

HOU (2-0) | 28 | 26 | 23 | 39 || 116 ||
DAL (1-1) | 30 | 28 | 19 | 23 || 100 ||

Player of the Game : James Harden

| 29 PTS | 3 REBS | 8 ASTS | 1 STLS | 1 BLKS | 11-25 FG | 1-8 3 PT FG | 6-6 FT



Josh Smith : 24 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, 9-17 FG, 6-8 FT
Nerlens Noel : 18 points, 8 rebounds, 8-10 FG, 2-2 FT
Chandler Parsons : 15 points, 7 rebounds, 6-10 FG, 2-4 3PT
Larry Sanders : 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, 5-5 FG
Jeremy Lin : 6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Patrick Beverley : 5 points, 7 assists, 2 steals



Shawn Marion : 16 points, 6 rebounds, 6-10 FG, 3-5 3PT
Monta Ellis : 15 points
Shannon Brown : 12 points, 5-8 FG, 2-4 3PT
Dwight Howard : 12 points, 14 rebounds (7 off), 2 blocks, 6-11 FG, 0-4 FT
Vince Carter : 10 points, 3 steals
Dirk Nowitzki : 10 points, 7 rebounds
Devin Harris : 7 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

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[Valor]

Good start to the season, Josh Smith is beasting for you

[Martti.]

Harden spends hour after practice shooting threes to get out of slump



James Harden has been in a huge shooting slump to start the season and especially in the last 2 games.

Against Dallas, he was 11-25 from the field, but only 1-8 from three-point range. But in the last two games, losses to the Clippers and Jazz, he was 4-18 in each game from the field and a combined 1-16 from deep. (1-8 @ LAC, 0-8 @ UTA)

After 4 games, Harden is shooting 34.9% from the field, a catastrophic 7.7% from deep (2-26). The only bright side is his 89.7% FT shooting, a career high.

-----------------

Stephen Jackson returns to San Antonio



After not picking up a contract during the off-season, Stephen Jackson re-signed with the Spurs.

He averaged 7.5 points and 2.6 rebounds last year in San Antonio.

[Lamrock]

7.7% shooting from three - worse than Anthony Bennett irl!

[Martti.]

Luckily he shoots better then 38% from the line and 22% from the field.

[Martti.]

Harden started off hot, but went cold as they game wore on.

Rockets snap losing streak behind Smith's BIG double-double

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

MVP: Josh Smith posted 21 points and 14 rebounds, added some other goodies to the stat sheet and kept LaMarcus Aldridge at bay, limiting the All-Star Forward to 2 fourth quarter points.

X Factor: Chandler Parsons was 5-5 from the field and 3-3 from deep in the fourth quarter, when the Rockets ran away with the lead. For the game, he scored 20 points on 8-10 shooting.

Defining moment: Chandler Parsons hit his fourth three of the night to cap off a 16-6 run in the fourth quarter as the result of a great effort play, sucking the life out of the Rose Garden.

That was ... hopeful: Harden made his first 3 threes and looked like he got out of his slump, but he missed his next 5. His overall shooting percentage, 46% (12-26), was a season best.

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

HOU (3-2) | 28 | 22 | 25 | 34 || 109 ||
POR (1-3) | 26 | 23 | 18 | 24 || 91 ||

Player of the Game : Josh Smith

| 21 PTS | 14 REBS | 3 ASTS | 2 STLS | 1 BLKS | 10-17 FG | 0-1 3 PT FG | 1-3 FT



James Harden : 31 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, 12-26 FG, 3-8 3PT, 4-4 FT
Chandler Parsons : 20 points, 8-10 FG, 4-5 3PT
Jeremy Lin : 10 points, 5 assists
Nerlens Noel : 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 4-4 FG
Larry Sanders : 7 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks



LaMarcus Aldridge : 18 points, 9 rebounds, 8-16 FG
Wesley Matthews : 17 points, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 7-11 FG
Damian Lillard : 16 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 6-20 FG, 1-5 3PT
Ben McLemore : 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
Nic Batum : 6 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists
Robin Lopez : 6 points, 6 rebounds

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

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[john26]

cold start for the season for harden, but i believe he'll get it together soon.

[Martti.]

Smith was a handful for the Hawks frontcourt.

Rockets blow out Hawks in Smith's first game against former team

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

MVP: Josh Smith was dominant on both ends of the floor, with a season-high 31 points and 6 blocks. He also got to the line 14 times, getting Horford and Brand into foul trouble.

LVP: The Hawks starters, minus Lou Williams and Korver. The trio of Teague, Horford and Brand combined for just 9 points on 4-20 shooting. Horford picked up two fouls in 2 minutes and sat for most of the night. Nate Wolters, the rookie who was a throw-in in the Josh Smith deal, outscored them all by 5 in just 9 minutes.

Defining moment: Josh Smith had 2 straight blocks on Williams and Asik that ignited a break that concluded with Chandler Parsons throwing down an alley-oop slam. This ignited a 24-6 run over the second and third quarters.

That was ... not a warm welcome: Omer Asik lost his starting spot last year and in in his first game back after the trade, he was scoreless, got his shot blocked 4 times and finished with just 3 rebounds in 19 minutes of play. Thomas Robinson, who played a big role last year during the Playoffs, had a productive night off the Hawks bench with 11 points and 6 rebounds.

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

HOU (7-9) | 29 | 31 | 30 | 31 || 121 ||
ATL (8-8) | 28 | 21 | 16 | 30 || 95 ||

Player of the Game : Josh Smith

| 31 PTS | 7 REBS | 3 ASTS | 1 STLS | 6 BLKS | 12-16 FG | 0-0 3 PT FG | 7-14 FT



James Harden : 27 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals, 10-19 FG, 5-8 3PT
Jeremy Lin : 14 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 59 FG
Garrett Temple : 10 points (8 minutes)
Larry Sanders : 9 points, 8 rebounds, 3-3 FG, 3-4 FT
Chandler Parsons : 20 points, 8-10 FG, 4-5 3PT
Tyrus Thomas : 8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, 3-4 FG



Lou Williams : 27 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 9-16 FG, 3-8 3PT, 6-6 FT
Nate Wolters : 14 points, 3 assists, 3-3 3PT (9 minutes)
Thomas Robinson : 11 points, 6 rebounds, 5-8 FG
Kyle Korver : 9 points, 3 assists, 3-10 3PT

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

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[Martti.]

Thomas had a block-party and rookie Trey Burke was invited.

Harden has triple-double as Rockets escape with narrow in Utah

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

MVP: Even though Harden had a triple-double, which included a career-high 15 rebounds, he was still -4 in his 36 minutes. Tyrus Thomas was +20 in 17 minutes. He had 14 points and 10 blocks in just 17 minutes and forced coach McHale to sit Josh Smith in the fourth quarter after Thomas had 7 blocks in the third quarter, in which he played only 6 minutes!

X-Factor: Harden fits here. He had a quiet 32 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists. Although on closer look, the triple-double did seem a bit forced, the assists bit, which may have hurt the Rockets. He got his 10th assist 19 seconds before the game ended as Patrick Beverley knocked down a long two after Harden clearly shouted shoot, a bit unsportsmanlike.

Defining moment: 17 minutes when Tyrus Thomas played, pick any single one. The third quarter's latter half maybe is worth re-watching, when Thomas had 7 blocks, sending home Trey Burke, Paul Millsap, Mike Conley and Gordon Hayward.

That was ... a block-fest: The Rockets had 20 blocks as a team. Thomas had 10, Smith and Sanders had 4 and Noel and Temple each had 1. Quick look at the history books sees they were 3 blocks short of tying the NBA record of 23, set by the Raptors in 2001. That game and this had some similarities - a starter had a triple double (Harden and Alvin Williams) and a reserve had double-digit blocks (Thomas and Keon Clark). Despite the number of denials, the game was still close 'til the end.

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

HOU (10-9) | 32 | 19 | 25 | 34 || 110 ||
UTA (8-11) | 23 | 32 | 23 | 26 || 104 ||

Player of the Game : James Harden

| 32 PTS | 15 REBS | 10 ASTS | 0 STLS | 0 BLKS | 11-24 FG | 4-10 3 PT FG | 6-6 FT



Chandler Parsons : 17 points, 4 rebounds, 6-10 FG, 2-5 3PT
Tyrus Thomas : 14 points, 2 rebounds, 10 blocks, 6-7 FG
Larry Sanders : 13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks3-3 FG, 3-4 FT
Josh Smith : 10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks, 4-14 FG
Nerlens Noel : 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4-5 FG, 0-3 FT
Jeremy Lin : 7 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds



Mike Conley : 29 points, 8 assists, 4 steals, 9-20 FG, 10-12 FT
Alec Burks : 19 points, 7-12 FG, 2-5 3PT
Enes Kanter : 12 points, 11 rebounds
Paul Millsap : 12 points, 8 rebounds
Gordon Hayward : 12 points, 5-7 FG

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

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[john26]

awesome game by Harden, and love the reference to that raps game
i see you're on a little 3 game winning streak, keep it up

[Valor]

10 blocks!? Good lord it's almost too easy to block on 2K14 isn't it, especially with a guy like Tyrus Thomas who's a 2K hof caliber player

Love your new avatar btw Martti! GIMME THAT HOT SAUCE!

[Martti.]

It was odd, it was the first game I played on HOF, I played a few on Superstar to get used to 2K14, got about 5 blocks a game or so. Now first game, Harden gets 15 boards and I get 20 blocks, should adjust the sliders perhaps. But shot-blocking is my fav part of the game, so I quite like that. The best teams average 7 blocks IRL... I have a lot of shot-blockers though, on a good night, Smith, Thomas, Sanders and Noel can each get about 5.

Yeah, thought about what to write under the avatar, he didn't have a good nickname before Stacey King.

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[Martti.]

Sources : Pistons offered Monroe for Noel



Reports have surfaced that say the Detroit Pistons inquired the Houston Rockets regarding the 4th overall pick Nerlens Noel and were willing to offer Greg Monroe and their second round pick Peyton Siva for the services of the 19-year old center.

The Rockets weren't ready to deal Noel, even for a polished player like Monroe.

Detroit sits third in the East and their current front-court of Drummond, Monroe and Jeff Green seems to be working out well, so the proposed deal seems odd.

Noel is averaging 7.4 points and 6.5 rebounds during his rookie season while Monroe is averaging 16.7 points and 9.4 rebounds in his fourth year in Detroit.

Durant, James earn Player of the Month honors



Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder and LeBron James of the Miami Heat have been named the Player of the Month in their respective conferences.

Durant led the Thunder to a 12-3 record, best mark of the West. Durant had an excellent month, as he averaged 33.2 points (#1 in league), 9.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.0 blocks. His shooting numbers are off the charts and he is very close to another 50-40-90 season, as his numbers are 51.3% from the field, 48.9% from 3-pt range and 88.8% on free throws.

James led the Heat to a 14-3 mark, best in the league. He has also carried his excellent shooting numbers from last to this year (.557 FG%, .464 3PT%, .778% FT%) as well as monster statistics. He averaged 33.2 points (#2 in league), 10.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.2 blocks.

MVP Race :

1. Kevin Durant, (OKC 12-3)
(33.2 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.2 spg, 1.0 bpg, .513 FG%, .489 3PT%, .888 FT%)
2. LeBron James, (MIA 14-3)
(28.0 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 6.3 apg, 1.3 spg, 1.2 bpg, .557 FG%, .464 3PT%, .778 FT%)
3. Derrick Rose, (CHI 12-3)
(23.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 6.3 apg, 0.9 spg, 0.1 bpg, .495 FG%, .295 3PT%, .784 FT%)
4. Tony Parker, (SA 10-7)
(23.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 5.7 apg, 0.4 spg, 0.1 bpg, .535 FG%, .289 3PT%, .772 FT%)
5. Brandon Jennings, (DET 11-6)
(22.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 6.4 apg, 1.4 spg, 0.1 bpg, .455 FG%, .404 3PT%, .826 FT%)

Porter, Bennett named Rookie of the month



Otto Porter of the Phoenix Suns and Anthony Bennett of the Cleveland Cavaliers have been named the Rookie of the month in their respective conferences.

Porter led all rookies in scoring. He averaged 17.4 points and 4.9 rebounds.

Bennett is the leading rookie rebounder with 6.9 a game and shot-blocker with 1.2 rejections. He has struggled with shot, averaging 10.5 points on 38% shooting.

Rookie Rankings :
* Bold - denotes stat leader

1. Otto Porter, PHO (17.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.6 apg)
2. Anthony Bennett, CLE (10.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.2 bpg)
3. Nerlens Noel, HOU (7.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 0.8 bpg)
4. Ben McLemore, POR (8.3 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.8 spg)
5. Victor Oladipo, TOR (6.5 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 0.7 spg)
6. Archie Goodwin, PHO (5.9 ppg, 1.7 apg, 1.5 rpg)
7. Trey Burke, UTA (5.2 ppg, 2.2 APG, 0.3 SPG)
8. Vitor Faverani, BOS (4.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 0.4 bpg)
9. Michael Carter-Williams, ORL (4.1 ppg, 2.7 apg, 0.9 spg)
10. Hollis Thompson, PHI (4.6 ppg, 1.6 apg, 0.9 rpg)

[Martti.]

Also, on a personal note, I just got confirmation about my visa to Australia, will go there around middle-late of January, so I hope to post as much as I can before.

[Vespasian92]

With Sanders and Smith on board, not really sure how well Monroe would have fit with you anyway. Seems like you have a good thing going with the defense of your frontcourt rotation.

Also, enjoy Australia too. It's probably exciting to see other countries, which I've never had the chance to do

[Valor]

Also, on a personal note, I just got confirmation about my visa to Australia, will go there around middle-late of January, so I hope to post as much as I can before.

Just as I'm leaving for the summer holidays...how long you staying for?

[Martti.]

About 6 months I think.