Pelicans Soar Past Houston Rockets in Loss: Player Grades

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C. Before talking about his performance tonight, have to congratulate Howard on becoming the fourth youngest player in history to reach 15,000 points and 10,000 rebounds. People can say what they want about Howard, but he has had a great career and his numbers stacks up against some of the best big men in league history. As for tonight, he matched up against one of the top stars in the league, and I was hoping for a big game out of Howard. Overall, disappointed with his play, however the real issue lies with the ball distributors who saw fit to only give him 4 touches all night (of which he scored on 3). 7 points, 9 rebounds. . C. Houston Rockets. DWIGHT HOWARD

Houston Rockets. CLINT CAPELA. D. Capela was so inefficient tonight, there were times I forgot he was on the court. Trying to slow down Anthony  Davis on the defensive end was a tough challenge for second year player out of Switzerland. Therefore, I did not expect much from him. He had a few good moments defensively, but overall wasn’t nothing special. 2 points, 7 rebounds.. C

Houston Rockets. TREVOR ARIZA. B. <span style=. SF

B. With three early fouls in the first half, it was hard for the bearded one to pick up where he left off from Christmas night. Yet, Harden had a big second half where he scored 19 of his 25 points. Just wish Harden would have been a little  smarter with the ball in the final few seconds of the game. 25 points, 5 assists, 6 rebounds.. SG. Houston Rockets. JAMES HARDEN

PATRICK BEVERLEY. B. Over the last few games Beverley has been in a rut with his shooting. However against the Pelicans, Beverley was on fire! So much so, Beverley was the chef cooking in the kitchen tonight. He shot 75 percent in the first half, and led the Rockets on a 12-3 run to start the second half. Overall, great night offensively for Beverley, one of his best nights of the season. However his defense could have been a little better. 16 points, 2 assists, 60 from the field.  . PG. Houston Rockets

PF. Houston Rockets. TERRENCE JONES. B+. Terence Jones reminded fans that their was another great player drafted from Kentucky in 2012. Going up against his college teammate Anthony Davis, T-Jones has a good night. Perhaps he trying to earnget a second life in Houston. The more Jones continues to improve his game, the better the Rockets’ play will become as they head they approach the new year. 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals.<span style=

A+.  While most Rockets fans thought Davis would be the Rockets’ kryptonite, it shouldn’t be a surprise Eric Gordon gave them the most problems. Since entering the league in 2009, Gordon has always played his best basketball against the Rockets. If it wasn’t for a few devastating knee injuries, Gordon would have been one of the top All-Star players in the league. During the first half he scored 19 points in 18 minutes, while shooting a perfect 100 percent from the field. With a season high of six three-point shots, Gordon had an awesome night reminding fans of what could have been. 26 points, 5 assists, 83 percent from the field.. G. New Orleans. ERIC GORDON