Game Day: Houston Rockets vs. New York Knicks

Game Day: New York Knicks vs. Houston Rockets

Well if nothing else the game versus Memphis Friday night proved there is plenty of work still to be done especially on the defensive end of the court. Coming into the match Saturday, the Knicks are on a high having beat the Thunder in the loud Oklahoma City arena.

These Knicks through the early stages of the season are showcasing they aren’t to be trifled with and perhaps are capable of much greater heights than any of the pundits expected (myself included).

Regardless, the Rockets can’t afford to take the Knicks with a grain of salt or they’ll be putting themselves in a position where talk of getting back on track turns to can they even make the playoffs!

The Details

Venue:  Toyota Center, Houston Texaas

Game Time: 8:00 PM EST – 7:00 PM CT

TV: ROOT in Houston

Radio: 790 AM and ESPN NY 98.7

Recent History:

• Jan 8 HOU 120 – 96 NYK
• Nov 24 NYK  86-91  HOU

Walking Wounded:

Knicks:

• No injuries

Rockets:

• Dwight Howard as part of his maintenance program he’ll be rested one of the 2 games of a back to back
• Sam Dekker – back -scheduled for back surgery Friday, will be out 3 months
• Patrick Beverley sustained a twisted ankle, listed as day to day
  
• Donatas Motiejunas – still recovering from off season back surgery, no update on scheduled return date

Projected Starters:

Knicks: Jose Calderon,  Arron Afflalo,   Kristaps Porzingis   Carmelo Anthony, Robin Lopez

Rockets: Jason Terry, James Harden, Trevor Ariza, Terrence Jones  Clint Capela

Key Match-ups:

At this stage it’s all hands on deck with it being imperative for each player to take responsibility for stopping their defensive assignment. Obviously Carmelo has to be a major focus to stop, but there are others who are helping New York win like the youngster Porzingis.

Reserves:

Knicks: Derrick Williams, Cleanthony Early,   Kevin Seraphin, Langston Galloway

Rockets: Marcus Thornton, Corey Brewer, Ty Lawson

Keys To Winning:

48 minutes: Through this point in the season the problem with the Rockets isn’t their personnel or game plan it’s sustained effort.

Rebound: The team isn’t doing the fundamental things they should (and did last season). The boards will be a priority

Control: Perhaps the choice to push pace needs to be dialed back until the Rockets can integrate it without turning over the ball. In their losses Houston are coughing up the ball too often

Limit the Big Momentum Shift: Again, the Rockets tend to have game lapses where they allow the other team to go on a big run and by the time they recover, it’s too late.

Prediction:

The odds makers have Houston favored to win by 3.5 points with an over/under of 201.5 points. The problem is Houston hasn’t done much to prove they are the better team through the early season and may be without Dwight Howard.

I’ll hold off with the prediction until later today until we learn whether Howard and or Beverley will play.

For more exciting news and stories on the New York Knicks visit our affiliate Fansided site: Daily Knicks

And check our our Preseason Team Preview of the New York Knicks:

Next: Knicks - The Melo Rebuild

Make sure you catch up on our entire Team Preview Series, our Houston Rockets Player Profile Series as well as our SCS Round Table Sessions to help you get through the early season. Start your morning with SCS Rocket Science Daily and visit us throughout the day to keep abreast of all your Houston Rockets news and updates.