The Rockets only shot 39% from the floor so it’s no wonder that they lost last night. Aaron Brooks led the way for the Rockets last night with 22 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists despite only shooting 9 of 25 from the floor. Luis Scola was the only Rocket player who brought his “A” game last night as he finished up with 19 points, 18 rebounds and 5 assists. Kevin Martin finished up with 14 points and 8 rebounds on 3 of 13 shooting against his old team. The Rockets are now 30-30 on the year. The Rockets can’t afford to lose at home to teams like the Kings if they wanted to make the playoffs.

The Rockets shot 51.3% from the floor and they were leading 97-65 after three quarters before calling off the dogs last night. Kevin Martin led the way for the Rockets last night with 28 points and 4 assists in only 32 minutes on the floor. Martin hit all five of his three point attempts last night for the Rockets. Aaron Brooks also had a solid game with 28 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists in 32 minutes. Backup center David Andersen was outstanding off the bench for the Rockets last night as he finished up with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in 23 minutes. The Rockets are now 30-29 on the year.

The Rockets now have 4 rookie players on the active roster. SG/SF Chase Budinger has played in 47 games (1 start) for the Rockets this season and he is averaging 19.6 minutes, 8.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. He is a solid bench player. Power forward Jordan Hill was a first round pick of the Knicks and he came over in the T-Mac trade last week. Hill played in 24 games (0 starts) for the Knicks and he averaged 10.5 minutes, 4.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. He has yet to play for the Rockets but he has a nice upside. G/PG Garrett Temple is a undrafted rookie out of LSU. He has played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Rockets this season and he is averaging 14.0 minutes, 5.4 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Shooting guard Jermaine Taylor has played in 17 games (0 starts) for the Rockets this season and he is averaging 6.1 minutes, 2.6 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.

Kevin Martin is off to a slow start for the Rockets who have him coming off the bench. I believe that Martin will pick his game up when the Rockets move him into the starting lineup. Martin has played in 2 games (0 starts) for the Rockets so far and he is averaging 30.0 minutes, 13.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game despite only shooting 28.6% from the floor for them. Jared Jeffries was sharp in his debut for the Rockets as he played 28 minutes off the bench in which he scored 11 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, dished out 2 assists and he had 1 steal and 1 blocked shot. He brings solid effort and defense to the Rockets bench. Hilton Armstrong and Jordan Hill have been watching the games from the bench so far for the Rockets. If the Rockets are going to snag one of those last playoff spots in the Western Conference they need these guys to step up.

The Rockets have released 29-year old power forward Brian Cook. Cook played in 15 games (0 starts) for the Rockets this season and he averaged 2.9 minutes, 1.4 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. He played in 24 games (0 starts) in his two years with the Rockets and he averaged 2.9 minutes, 1.4 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. This is no loss to the Rockets at all.