Game Day: Houston Rockets vs Dallas Mavericks, Oct 19th

Oct 11, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks center Andrew Bogut (6) and guard Justin Anderson (1) celebrate a defensive stop against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Game Day Countdown breaks down Houston Rockets match versus Dallas Mavericks Wednesday October 19th.

Houston Rockets come off their first loss of the preseason. The game reached double overtime and featured the Memphis Grizzlies. Tonight the Rockets face another South Division rival as they head down the highway to play the Mavericks. ,

In their last outing it was clear the trip to China took something out of the legs of the Rockets. Ryan Anderson was especially ineffective .

Most of the veterans were a step slow with the revamped Memphis Grizzlies capitalizing on that fact. Additionally, fans got to see plenty of the young guns, especially when the game was extended by 2 over time frames.

Kyle Wiltjer continues to impress in preseason, leading to many pundits, including yours truly, believing the Rockets need to find a way to keep him on this squad.

In his best outing since joining Red Nation, Tyler Ennis scored freely, and conducting the point with a steady hand.

Tonight the Rockets face a revamped Mavericks squad with 2 former Warriors in the line-up. Most pundits have already wrote them off, but you can never write off Rick Carlisle.

With that, let’s break down the game.

Next: Starting Line Ups and Depth Charts

Oct 21, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) on the bench during a game against the Phoenix Suns at American Airlines Center. Phoenix won 99-87. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports

Starting Line-Ups:

Mike D’Antoni has utilized projected starters and key reserves through the first 5 games. After a good dose of the young payers as game out it should be back to the original starting 5 tonight. but don’t be surprised if he switches that up tonight.

Houston Rockets Starters:

Point Guard: James Harden

Shooting Guard: Eric Gordon

Small Forward: Trevor Ariza

Power Forward: Ryan Anderson

Center: Nene Hilario

Rockets Depth Chart:

Point Guard: Tyler Ennis, Bobby Brown,

Shooting Guard: K.J. McDaniels, Gary Payton II, Isaiah Taylor

Small Forward: Sam Dekker, Corey Brewer, P.J. Hairston

Power Forward: Kyle Wiltjer, Montrezl Harrell

Center: Chinanu Onuaku

Mavericks Starters:

Point Guard: Deron Williams

Shooting Guard: Wesley Matthews

Small Forward: Harrison Barnes

Power Forward: Dirk Nowitzki

Center: Andrew Bogut:

Mavericks Depth Chart:

Point Guard: JJ Barea, Devin Harris, Jonathan Gibson

Shooting Guard: Seth Curry, Justin Anderson, C.J. Williams, Keith Hornsby

Small Forward: Dorian Finney-Smith, Nicolas Brussino, Jameel Warney

Power Forward: Dwight Powell, Kyle Collinsworth

Center: A.J. Hammons, Salah Mejri

Next: Game Particulars

Dec 22, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; A view of the Dallas Mavericks logo on the shorts of forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) during the game against the Atlanta Hawks at the American Airlines Center. The Hawks defeated the Mavericks 105-102. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Walking Wounded:

Mavericks:

Quincy Acy: Foot – is ready to play, but may not see time till the season

Wesley Matthews: Hip, questionable

JJ Barea: Elbow, questionable

Rockets:

Pablo Prigioni suffered a shoulder injury which will likely keep him out of game Saturday

Patrick Beverley knee injury, not be available until season start.

Donatas Motiejunas remains unsigned

Venue:

American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas

Radio and Television Providers:

In Houston and Area: Root Sports

Worldwide: NBA League Pass

Game Time: 7:30 PM CT and 8:30 PM EST

Next: Mavericks Summer Roster Moves

Dec 4, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Wesley Matthews (23) defends against Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) during the first half at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Incoming:

Andrew Bogut (trade)
Harrison Barnes 4-years, $94M
Seth Curry 2-year $6M deal exits Sacramento
Nicolas Brussino from the Argentina League
Jonathan Gibson signed a 3-year minimum deal
Quincy Acy has agreed to a 2-year minimum deal exits Sacramento

Exiting:

Chandler Parsons 4-years, $94M from Grizzlies
Zaza Pachulia 1-year $2.9M to Warriors
Jeremy Evans (trade to Pacers)
Raymond Felton joins Clippers on a reported 1-year minimum deal
David Lee on 2-year $3.2M deal with Spurs
JaVale McGee will attend Warriors training camp under a ‘make good’ 15 day contract

Re-upping:

Deron Williams 1-year, $10M
Dwight Powell 4-years, $37M
Dirk Nowitzki (he’s a Mav for life) 2-year, $40M

Unresolved:

Charlie Villaneueva

Next: Keys to Game

Oct 14, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Deron Williams (8) points on the court in the first half of the game against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports

Fine Tuning:

With the regular season set to start next week it’s time for Mike D’Antoni and the Houston Rockets to fine tune. Starting line-ups and who comes off the bench in what order should be finalized over these final games.

Games against your division rivals also offer insight as to what specific needs the team may still need to address.

Defense:

The Houston Rockets offense is definitely not the issue. Defense is another story. It’s a bit of a quandary for the Rockets for several reasons.

First: when a team is scoring as much as the Rockets are it’s difficult to et them dialed in on the other end.

Second: everyone in the National media is agog over the Rockets lethal offense. The same pundits continually point out the issues there will be defensively. Granted Jeff Bzdelik still has his hands full getting the team as invested to play on both ends. For the moment it’s the Rockets who lead the NBA with 121. 8 points per game. The Warriors have closed the gap, but still trail by 8.1 points.

Who stays and who goes?

These last 2 games offer the last chance to decide who of the training camp invites remain in Houston, go to Rio Grande or get released.

With Donatas Motiejunas still unsigned there are concerns whether this deal will get resolved. The other big question is whether the team sends Onuaku to the D-League in order to keep another inviteee. Kyle Wiltjer looks like the best prospect and one who could fill a hole in the roster.

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The final Houston Rockets preseason game will occur in San Antonio on Friday, October 21 at 8:30