Rockets Forecast: February 22
The Rockets are in for a tough week and are going to need newly-acquired guard Kevin Martin to come up big for them this week. With the backcourt line-up of Kevin Martin and Aaron Brooks, the new-look Rockets are going to have to get big time production from them in their hopes of making a playoff push.
February 24, 2010 vs Orlando Magic (38-19)
Facing one of the Eastern Conference contenders is never easy. This game will be a tough one for the Rockets. They are going to need Chuck Hayes to play big against a very tough assignment in Dwight Howard. Now sitting as the 10th seed in a very tough Western Conference, the Rockets need every win and a win against a very good team like the Magic would be huge. It seems as if all these Eastern Conference contenders are stacked these days which could be a big disadvantage in the long-term. Big name players need their touches and this can disrupt ball movement and shorten the competitive gap when playing a team of inferior talent such as the Rockets. While they don’t have the most talent, as they’ve demonstrated time and time again this season, they play hard and as a team and that has worked terrifically for them.
February 26, 2010 vs San Antonio Spurs (31-22)
This will be another tough home game for the Rockets. Things aren’t going to get any easier here either. The Spurs failed to make any big moves at the trade deadline and still pretty much have the same team. Playing against an older team the Rockets will take advantage of this aging Spurs team, Tony Parker will likely not be playing in this game due to a hip injury. It’s always good to see two Southwest Division rivals play against each other. The Spurs had a really rough week last week and just seem uninspired as of late. They went 1-2 losing to both Detroit and Philadelphia last week (two the league’s worst teams). I realize the Spurs are historically a good team, but they have been less-than-impressive this year and I think this will be a victory for the Rockets.
February 27, 2010 @ Utah Jazz (35-19)
As of late the Jazz are one of the hottest teams in the NBA. The Jazz however did trade away a solid player in Ronnie Brewer which could prove to be a huge setback for them. The Rockets will have some tough match-ups in the back court as well as in the frontcourt. Deron Williams is always a handful and is arguably one of the best point guards in the game today. Aaron Brooks will be at a disadvantage being a smaller guard so look for Kyle Lowry to get more minutes strictly because he is better at the defensive end of the court and is a more logical match-up pound-for-pound. With Jordan Hill and Hilton Armstrong joining the big man ranks of the Rockets, I look for the Rockets to be more competitive in the frontcourt than past contests between these two clubs.
Weekly Prediction: 1-2
The Rockets are still trying to get things figured out and are on the outside looking in for the playoffs. With new players come new roles for people. It seems likely that this will be a long week for the Rockets as they continue to try and work out the kinks and acclimate their new personnel. The question is no longer are they good enough but rather, will they get it together in time to make a legitimate run?…only time will tell.
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