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The 2011-12 season was a disappointing one for the Houston Rockets

alleyoop — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:24:26 +0000

The Houston Rockets were right in the playoff mix until the last week of the 2011-12 season. They made a deal to add veteran center Marcus Camby at the trade deadline in an effort to make a legit playoff run, which they did until falling just a tad short. The Rockets finished up with a 34-32 (51.5%) record in 2011-12. Here is the players who made the biggest impacts in my opinion for the Rockets in 2011-12:

Team MVP: Luis Scola - 32-year old power forward Luis Scola wins this award by default, due to his staying healthy the whole year. Scola played in 66 games (all starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 31.3 minutes, 15.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

Biggest Surprise: Goran Dragic - When starting point guard Kyle Lowry went down to injury, 26-year old Goran Dragic really stepped up to replace him in the starting lineup and he was excellent. Dragic played in 66 games (28 starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 26.5 minutes, 11.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He kept the starting job even when Lowry returned to action late in the year.

Biggest Disappointment: Samuel Dalembert - 30-year old center Samuel Dalembert played in 65 games (45 starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 22.2 minutes, 7.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game. Dalembert’s inability to handle a full time workload spurred the Rockets to deal for Marcus Camby at the trade deadline.

The Houston Rockets expected more out of their rookie class

alleyoop — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:16:02 +0000

The Rockets expected a little more than they got out of their rookie class in 2011-12. 22-year old forward Marcus Moore played in only 17 games (0 starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged only 7.4 minutes, 2.4 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. He only shot 29.6% from the floor for the Rockets in 2011-12. Moore was a bust as a 1st round pick for the Rockets as a rookie, but they hope he starts showing improvement next year. 23-year old small forward Chandler Parsons bumped Chase Budinger out of the starting lineup pretty early in the season and he played pretty decent basketball. Parsons played in 63 games (57 starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 28.6 minutes, 9.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Parsons was a steal in the 2nd round for the Rockets. 21-year old center Greg Smith played in only 8 games (0 starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 8.6 minutes, 1.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.

Kevin McHale did a so-so job in his first year in charge of the Houston Rockets

alleyoop — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:56:37 +0000

The Rockets finished up with a 34-32 record (51.5%) in 54-year old Kevin McHale’s first year as the head coach. He seemed kind of strange in how he used players as he has constantly stiffing leader scorer Kevin Martin out of P.T. McHale is now 73-87 (45.6%) in his first three years as an NBA head coach. The Rockets hope that McHale is the right guy to get them back to the playoffs, starting in 2012-13.

Houston Rockets 84, New Orleans Hornets 77

alleyoop — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:11:53 +0000

The Rockets outscored the Hornets 21-6 in the 4th quarter last night to put them away. Chase Budinger led the way for the Rockets last night with 27 points and 4 rebounds. Samuel Dalembert was tough around the basket as he finished up with 11 points and 11 rebounds in 18 minutes on the floor. Courtney Lee only shot 4 of 14 from the floor but he still finished up with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot. The Rockets finished up the 2011-12 season with a 34-32 record.

The Houston Rockets shut down Kyle Lowry and Kevin Martin for the rest of the year

alleyoop — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:30:57 +0000

The Rockets have decided to shut down 26-year old point guard Kyle Lowry (sports hernia) and 29-year old shooting guard Kevin Martin (shoulder) for the rest of the 2011-12 season. Lowry played in 47 games (38 starts) for the Rockets this year and he averaged 32.1 minutes, 14.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Martin played in 40 games (all starts) for the Rockets this year and he averaged 31.6 minutes, 17.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. The Rockets are 1.5 games behind the Utah Jazz for the last playoff spot, with 1 game left to play…so it made sense to shut down Lowry and Martin.

Miami Heat 97, Houston Rockets 88

alleyoop — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:27:21 +0000

The Rockets were outscored 31-19 in the 4th quarter last night and it did them in. Chandler Parsons led the way for the Rockets last night with 23 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals and 1 blocked shot. Goran Dragic (16 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists), Courtney Lee (14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot) and Patrick Patterson (14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) also had solid games last night. Luis Scola pitched in with 12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal last night. The Houston Rockets are now 33-32 on the year.

Houston Rockets 99, Golden State Warriors 96

alleyoop — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 12:58:32 +0000

The Rockets nipped the Warriors in Houston last night to keep their playoff hopes alive. Courtney Lee (20 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal) and Goran Dragic (18 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals) led the way for the Suns last night. Luis Scola also had a solid game with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals last night. Chase Budinger (11 points) and Patrick Patterson (10 points) also pitched in for the Rockets last night. The Rockets are now 33-31 on the year.

New Orleans Hornets 105, Houston Rockets 99 in O.T.

alleyoop — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:18:40 +0000

The Rockets were outrebounded 57-40 and they were outscored 18-12 in O.T. to suffer a devastating road loss in the Big Easy last night. Goran Dragic (23 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists and 1 steal) and Chase Budinger (22 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists) led the way for the Rockets last night. Courtney Lee (15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal), Marcus Camby (14 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal) and Luis Scola (11 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot) also had solid games for the Rockets last night. The Rockets are now 32-31 on the year.

Dallas Mavericks 117, Houston Rockets 110

admin — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:29:23 +0000

The Rockets shot 50% from the floor last night but it just wasn’t good enough as they were outscored 39-26 in the 4th quarter and it did them in. Goran Dragic (20 points, 2 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 steals) and Luis Scola (18 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals) led the way for the Rockets in this game. Courtney Lee (16 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals) and Chase Budinger (14 points and 3 rebounds) also had decent games last night. Chandler Parsons (12 points), Marcus Camby (11 points and 17 rebounds) and Kyle Lowry (11 points) also pitched in for the Rockets in this game. The Rockets are now 32-30 on the year.

Denver Nuggets 105, Houston Rockets 102

alleyoop — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:30:05 +0000

The Rockets left it all on the court and they just fell short last night against the Nuggets. Chandler Parsons (21 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot) and Goran Dragic (21 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 steal) led the way for the Rockets last night. Courtney Lee (18 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot) and Luis Scola (14 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists) also had solid games for the Rockets. Kyle Lowry pitched in with 10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocked shots off the bench in 20 minutes. The Rockets are now 32-29 on the year.