The Rockets held the Nuggets to 37.8% shooting from the floor but they were outscored 59-43 in the second half so it didn’t matter in the end. Luis Scola had another monster night with 28 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocked shots on 12 of 16 shooting from the floor. Kevin Martin pitched in with another solid effort finishing with 21 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Yao finished up with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocked shots in his usual 23 minutes last night. The Rockets are now 0-3 on the year.

The Rockets have signed 34-year old center Erick Dampier to a 1-year, $2 million dollar deal. Dampier played in 55 games (47 starts) for the Mavericks last season and he averaged 23.3 minutes, 6.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. Dampier has now played in 921 games (749 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 25.1 minutes, 7.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game. This was a good signing for the Rockets as you can never have too many quality big men. Plus, the Rockets need help at center with Yao Ming not allowed to play on the second game of back to back nights and he’s also limited to 24 minutes a night when he does play.

UPDATE: (11/9/2010) - It appears that the Rockets got cold feet and they decided against signing Dampier.

The Rockets were without Yao last night as he’s not allowed to play on the second game of back to back nights. They just couldn’t play any D last night as the Warriors shot 55.4% from the floor and that was the big reason for the loss last night. Luis Scola was a absolute beast for the Rockets last night as he led the way for them with 36 points and 16 rebounds. Kevin Martin only shot 5 of 14 from the floor but he still finished up with 28 points and 4 assists last night. Chuck Hayes took over at center last night and he responded with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists on 8 of 12 shooting from the floor in 39 minutes. The Rockets are now 0-2 on the year.

The Rockets gave a great effort last night as they led this game 62-51 at the half. They just couldn’t sustain that level of play in the second half. The Rockets hit the boards hard in this game outrebounding the Lakers 53-44 which gave them a good chance to win this game right until the end. The starting guards were outstanding in this game. Kevin Martin (26 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists) and Aaron Brooks (24 points, 3 rebounds and 9 assists) gave the Lakers fits all night long. Luis Scola was an absolute beast inside for the Rockets last night as he finished up with 18 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists in 33 minutes on the floor. Chase Budinger was very solid off the bench for the Rockets in this game with 13 points and 5 rebounds in only 22 minutes on the floor. But the sight for sore eyes was seeing Yao Ming on the floor. Sure, he fouled out in 23 minutes and he only shot 4 of 11 from the floor but he still finished up with 9 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocked shots which is pretty impressive in his first regular season game in over a year. The Rockets are 0-1 despite looking pretty darn good in this game.

The Rockets were 42-40 last season but they have made big time improvements to the roster for 2010-11. Yao & Brad Miller are going to share the center position (instead of Chuck Hayes) this year. Rookie forward Patrick Patterson & SG/SF Courtney Lee have been also brought in to solidify the bench. With those things in mind I would bet the over as the Rockets are going to be the best team in Texas this year. The Rockets are also 45-1 to win the NBA Championship and I think it’s something worth making a bet on at those odds.