Rockets Forecast: February 1
After a long and tough month for the Rockets they look to rejuvenate themselves here in February and starting out against some decent to below average teams should help. As All-Star weekend nears, the need for the Rockets to either improve from within or via trade has become devastatingly obvious. The week ahead has three games total in store (including a back-to-back).
February 2nd, Tuesday vs the Golden State Warriors (13-33)
The Warriors have a lot of injuries and thus far have been a very bad team. They do have a few bright spots on the roster—one of those includes rookie Stephen Curry. He was an excellent player and in college and hasn’t looked like he has hit the rookie wall yet. Although many critics questioned whether his skills would translate to the pro-level he has down an impressive job to silence the critics and prove his value in this league during his rookie campaign. Although the Warriors are twenty games below .500 they have proven to be a tough team so this will be no walk in the park. Look for a high scoring, run and gun type of offense from both squads. Trevor Ariza will be a major key to this game should the Rockets win.
February 5th, Friday @ the Memphis Grizzlies (25-21)
The Grizzlies have started to come into their own this season and the move to get Zach Randolph has proven to be one the best moves in recent history for the Grizzlies. He made the All-Star team and better yet he was voted in by the coaches. This game will be yet another tough test for the Rockets. I really like the match-up of either Luis Scola or Chuck Hayes guarding Zach Randolph. It’s always good to see a good match-up of offense and defense, but it’s even better to watch a scoring machine go up against a really good low post defender. This will be the toughest game of the week for the Rockets.
February 6th, Saturday vs the Philadelphia 76ers (16-31)
This year has proven to be a tough year for the 76ers. Sitting on bad contracts and no point guard have really hurt the 76ers. Brand has yet to prove his value of the contract he signed two years ago and has often been injury ridden. Coming off a tough game on the road , look for the Rockets to take full advantage of an aging guard in Allen Iverson and a weak back court. The 76ers haven’t been the same since they let go of Andre Miller and will continue to struggle as the season goes on.
Prediction (2-1)
The Rockets will be taking advantage of some bad teams this week and have one really tough road game against a playoff caliber team. So I’d like to think that the Rockets can go 3-0 this week but with the tough road game it’s not likely. Escaping the week 2-1 is more realistic and probably what will ultimately ensue this week.
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