Houston Rockets Game 38 of 2015-16 Season versus Pacers

Houston Rockets Game 38 of 2015-16 saw the squad tipping off versus the Indiana Pacers.

Continuing SCS series of all 82 games from last season next up is the Houston Rockets Game 39 of 2015-16 versus the Indiana Pacers..

The Houston Rockets added draft picks and signed free agents to improve upon an especially mediocre 41-41 campaign. Big man Dwight Howard left for Atlanta while free agents Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon, Nene Hilario and Pablo Prigioni joined Houston in free agency.

Hopes are these additions and the growth of existing assets will translate into a season similar to 2014-15. While fans wait for opening night on October 26th versus the Lakers hopefully this series will appease your cravings.

To that end, this series showcases the Rockets 82 games noting the pregame analysis, post game grades, and relevant video. Furthermore, SCS will highlight significant changes made by their opponents this summer. So, here it is – – enjoy all 82 posts as SCS takes you back over the 2015-16 season.

Game 38 – Indiana Pacers.

Pregame Analysis:

SCS opined the continuing win streak in the preview of the game

It’s been an odd week for the Houston Rockets given they’ve only played one team (the Utah Jazz) and had several days off in between. Then again the squad probably needed the practice time as well as the rest for players like Dwight Howard and Donatas Motiejunas who are both on the injured list.

Sunday offers the opportunity for the Rockets to reverse last weeks 4 straight losses by sweeping this week with 3 consecutive victories. The Pacers arrive with 2 wins and a loss under their belts this week and questions surrounding how well they can perform on the road.

Post Game Analysis:

Post game player grades and game analysis offered the following excerpt:

Let’s be clear, this Houston Rockets overtime victory was the best win of the season and came in spite of James Harden who almost gave the game away repeatedly today. This continues the winning streak to 3 games in a row.

Trevor Ariza was the hero of the day hitting shots to force overtime and holding Paul George in check specifically in the final frame and overtime to ensure the Rockets victory.

Stat Leaders:

Hard to isolate a single Rockets player as top dog in this one as both Ariza and Howard were pivotal to the win. For the Pacers it was far easier to pinpoint just one player given the best player on both ends on this night was Paul George.

NBA.com provides full box score which can be viewed via this link.

Rockets Games vs Pacers in 2016-17

January 29th in Indiana at the Fieldhouse
February 27th at home

Draft Picks and Free Agents

Indiana was one of the more active teams this summer starting with a changing of the guard behind the bench. Veteran coach Nate McMillan will take over from Frank Vogel, an odd decision given Larry Bird wants to run a more up tempo offense. To that end, Bird did add relevant free agents, but the team lost defensive specialists. Suffice to say the question is will the Pacers offensive gains be over shadowed by their defensive regressions.

Draft Picks:

Round 1: N/A 

Round 2: Georges Niang (50) Nets trade Thaddeus Young to Indy for rights to Caris LeVert, the 20th pick, and future second-round draft pick.

Incoming Free Agents/trade:

Thaddeus Young (traded from Nets)
Jeff Teague (traded from Hawks)
Al Jefferson 3-years, $30M exits Hornets
Jeremy Evans (trade from Dallas)
Aaron Brooks to a 1-year, $2.5M deal exits Bulls

Exiting Free Agents/traded:

Solomon Hill 4-years, $52M to Pelicans
George Hill (traded to Jazz)
Ian Mahinmi 4-years, $64M to Wizards
Jordan Hill exits for T-Wolves to sign a 2-year $8M
Ty Lawson exits for Kings

More Free Agent News

Next: Updated Free Agency Report

Next: Free Agency Profiles for all 30 Teams

Due to the large Houston Rockets fan base, SCS is always looking to add new talent to our writing team. To that end, we’re looking for individuals with a specialized focus. Specifically, the first area is perfect for someone who constantly surfs for breaking news on injuries, trades, insider info. Consequently this individual would select top news items providing timely quick hits to keep SCS readers in the loop.

The other writer would possess an especially strong social media background and would like to interact with Clutch City Fans. Therefore this person will promote SCS team content on facebook and twitter. As a result the successful candidate will make sure to promote the best content coming from H-Town fans. In conclusion, if you’re a budding writer who possesses these qualities vist the SCS link, and fill out an application