The Houston Chronicle reports: Without Tracy McGrady, the Rockets are 0-3 this season, 2-12 the past two seasons and 11-42 since he joined the Rockets for the 2004-05 season. McGrady has left three games with injuries this season — a sprained elbow, a sprained ankle and the sore left knee. But in the previous game McGrady missed, the Rockets took the Nuggets to two overtimes in Denver before losing on a last-second shot.
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Rockets recall Steve Novak from D-League
Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that forward Steve Novak has been recalled from Houston’s D-League affiliate, Rio Grande Valley. Assigned on Nov. 11, Novak averaged 18.2 points on 46.1 percent shooting, 7.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists in nine games with the Vipers. Prior to his assignment, Novak had been designated as an inactive for the Rockets’ first six games of the season. He is expected to join the Rockets for tomorrow’s practice at Toyota Center.
Rockets recall Aaron Brooks from D-League
Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that guard Aaron Brooks has been recalled from Houston’s D-League affiliate, Rio Grande Valley. Assigned on Dec. 6, Brooks averaged 23.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists in two games with the Vipers. Brooks is expected to join the Rockets for tomorrow night’s game vs. Dallas (12/15/07).
Brooks (6-0, 161, Oregon), who was selected by Houston with the 26th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, has averaged 2.5 points in his two appearances with the Rockets this season. He played in his first NBA game vs. Phoenix (11/17/07), notching five points (2-2 FG, 1-1 3FG).
Brooks also averaged 21.4 points (.461, 35-76 FG) and 5.2 assists over five games with Houston in the 2007 NBA Summer League presented by adidas.
He earned NBA Rookie of the Month honors for Summer League and was named to the 2007 NBA Summer League All-Star Team. In addition to his NBA Summer League honors, Brooks was one of the top-10 young NBA players named to a USA Basketball Men’s Select Team that was chosen to help prepare the 2007 USA Senior National Team for its gold-medal run at the FIBA Americas Championship 2007.
Positive Rockets notes
Some positive notes about the Rockets:
Stingy Defense: The Rockets are still dealing the defense this season, ranking fourth in the NBA in points allowed per game (93.7) through Dec. 9. Houston has been especially stingy at home, limiting its opponents to 91.3 points per game (730 TP) over eight outings at Toyota Center.
Triple Double: Tracy McGrady recorded 17 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds vs. Memphis (12/5/07) for his third career triple-double (22 points, 11 assists, 11 rebounds on 2/23/02 vs. Philadelphia and 46 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds on 2/23/03 at New Jersey). The last time a Rockets player had a triple-double was Steve Francis with 13 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds at Golden State (3/21/03).
Never Looking Back: The Rockets scored the first four points of the game at New Jersey (12/7/07) and did not drop behind the Nets the rest of the night, which marked the third time this season where Houston never trailed in a contest (others: 11/3/07 vs. Portland and 11/24/07 vs. Denver).
Rockets assign Aaron Brooks to D-League
Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that guard Aaron Brooks has been assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, which is Houston’s NBA D-League affiliate. He becomes the 14th NBA player to be assigned to the D-League this season. Brooks joins teammate Steve Novak, who was assigned to the Vipers on Nov. 11.
The Rockets now become the third NBA team this season to have multiple players partake in D-League assignments, joining the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs.
Brooks (6-0, 161, Oregon), who was selected by Houston with the 26th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, has averaged 2.5 points in his two appearances with the Rockets this season. He played in his first NBA game vs. Phoenix (11/17/07), notching five points (2-2 FG, 1-1 3FG). Brooks also averaged 21.4 points (.461, 35-76 FG) and 5.2 assists over five games with Houston in the 2007 NBA Summer League. He earned Rookie of the Month honors for Summer League and was named to the 2007 NBA Summer League All-Star Team.
In addition to his NBA Summer League honors, Brooks was one of the top-10 young NBA players named to a USA Basketball Men’s Select Team that was chosen to help prepare the 2007 USA Senior National Team for its gold-medal run at the FIBA Americas Championship 2007.
McGrady: Another 30-point game
McGrady to the Rescue: Tracy McGrady registered 36 points (13-26 FG, 8-8 FT), eight rebounds and six assists at the L.A. Clippers (11/26/07), marking his sixth 30-point outing of the season. McGrady, who also had 35 points (13-23 FG) in the previous game vs. Denver (11/24/07), led the Rockets with 19 fourth-quarter points and 28 second-half points against the Clippers. The respective totals marked Houston’s best quarter and half performances of the season.
Playing Defense: Houston limited the Clippers to opponent season lows in points (71), field goals made (25) and field goal percentage (.329, 25-76 FG) at Los Angeles (11/26/07). The 71 points by the Clippers were the fewest ever scored in a game against the Rockets in the all-time series between these two teams. The previous low was 77 points (done three times, last on 11/4/00).
Double-Digit Victories: Houston’s 88-71 (+17) win at the L.A. Clippers (11/26/07) ended a three-game slide on the road and gave the Rockets their first consecutive set of victories by a double-digit margin this season. Houston also posted a 109-81 (+28) win vs. Denver (11/24/07).
Yao Ming dominates but Rockets lose to Mavs
Yao Ming finished with 30 points, a season-high 15 rebounds and a season-best six blocked shots. Yao, who has had at least three blocks in seven of his 12 games this season, posted his first 30-15 game of the season. Yao also scored at least 30 points in a game in which his counterpart, Gana Diop, was held scoreless. Erick Dampier also played 10:21 off the bench in tonight’s game without registering a point. Yao did this previously against Diop when he scored 36 points vs. Dallas (3/15/06), while the Dallas starting center did not register a point in that contest.
Rockets notes: Great defense, Scola rising
Defensive Pressure: The Rockets are still dealing the defense this season, ranking sixth in the NBA in points allowed per game (93.5) through Nov. 18. Despite a 115-105 loss vs. Phoenix (11/17/07), Houston has still limited it opponents to 91.4 points per game (457 TP) over five outings at Toyota Center this season.
Double-Double for Scola: Luis Scola followed up a 20-point performance (10-11 FG) at San Antonio (11/16/07) with his first career double-double, finishing with 20 points (10-19 FG) and 11 rebounds vs. Phoenix (11/17/07).
Great Bench Play: Luther Head joined Luis Scola in double-figuring scoring off the bench with a season-high 16 points (6-11 FG, 4-7 3FG) vs. Phoenix (11/17/07). Overall, the Rockets reserves posted a season-best 57 bench points against the Suns.
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Rockets defense has been terrific
The Rockets are still dealing the defense this season, holding their opponents to under 40 percent shooting in consecutive games: .381 (32-84 FG) vs. Milwaukee (11/9/07) and .397 (31-78 FG) at Charlotte (11/11/07). Through Nov. 11, Houston ranks third in the NBA in points allowed per game (89.4) and seven in field goal percentage defense (.425). The Rockets have yet to allow more than 88 points in a home game this season.
Houston has now opened the 2007-08 campaign with a mark of 6-1, which stands as the best start to a season since the 1996-97 Rockets began 6-1.
Rockets send Steve Novak to D-League
Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that forward Steve Novak has been assigned to the team’s NBDL affiliate, Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Novak was designated an inactive for all six games this season. He is expected to report by Monday, and will remain on the Rockets 15-man roster. In his rookie season with Houston, Novak averaged 1.5 points and 0.7 rebounds in 35 games (one start).