Houston Rockets

2. (54) Maarty Leunen, SF

alleyoop — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 16:59:46 +0000

The Houston Rockets selected Maarty Leunen in the 2nd round of the NBA Draft on Thursday Night. Leunen isn’t the most athletic player on the court but he does have nice size at 6′9″, 220 pounds. Leunen played in 127 games (91 starts) at Oregon and he averaged 9.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He’s an unselfish player as he did hit 50.3% of his career shots from the floor. Look for minutes to be hard to get for Leunen as a rookie.

2. (33) Joey Dorsey, PF

alleyoop — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 16:56:25 +0000

The Rockets acquired power forward Joey Dorsey in the same trade that they acquired Donte’ Greene in from the Grizzlies. Dorsey is the prototype power forward as his game never ventures far from the paint. He is 6′9″, 265 pounds and he gives an all out effort on both ends of the basketball court. Dorsey played in 149 games (112 starts) at Memphis State and he averaged 6.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.8 blocked shots per game. Dorsey also shot 61.4% from the floor in college but most of his shots came on putbacks and dunks. Dorsey will likely be able to give the Rockets some quality minutes off of the bench.

1. (28) Donte’ Greene, F

alleyoop — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 16:52:15 +0000

The Houston Rockets acquired forward Donte’ Greene in a trade with the Grizzlies. Greene can handle either forward position and he had a great year as a freshman at Syracuse. Greene is 6′11″, 226 pounds and he’s a player. The Rockets were fortunate to get their hands on him as he could be a starter in the NBA as soon as this year. Greene played in 35 games (all starts) at Syracuse and he averaged 17.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.6 blocked shots per game. He plays hard on both ends of the basketball court and a lot of teams will be upset that they passed on him down the road.

The Houston Rockets had a great rookie crop this season

alleyoop — Wed, 21 May 2008 21:51:02 +0000

The Rockets got three players before this season started who will all play big parts in the teams’ very near future. It all started when the Rockets stole forward Luis Scola in a trade with the enemy Spurs. Scola moved into the starting lineup at mid-season and he was great for them. He will be the starting power forward for a long time in Houston. Scola played in all 82 games (39 starts) for the Rockets this season and he averaged 24.7 minutes, 10.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Look for Scola’s numbers to improve with added playing time next season.

Carl Landry was the 2nd round pick of the Rockets and he really played well as a rookie. He played in 42 games (0 starts) for the Rockets this season and he averaged 16.9 minutes, 8.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Landry shot an amazing 61.6% from the floor and that is because most of his shots were from close range. Landry only shot 66.1% from the free throw line and that will need to improve in the future…but that’s nitpicking.

Guard Aaron Brooks didn’t get a lot of playing time but he looked good when he did make it out to the court. He played in 51 games (0 starts) for the Rockets this season and he averaged 11.9 minutes, 5.2 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. This was quite a haul for the Rockets both for last season and in the future.

Utah Jazz 113, Houston Rockets 91

alleyoop — Sat, 03 May 2008 06:28:44 +0000

The Rockets were outscored 27-11 in the third quarter last night and they only shot 39% from the floor and those factors doomed the Rockets in their last game of the season. You can’t blame this loss on Tracy McGrady as he finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Luis Scola was the only other Rockets players that showed up last night as he finished with 15 points and 9 rebounds. The Rockets didn’t have any other players who scored more than 8 points last night. The Jazz won this series 4-2.

Houston Rockets 95, Utah Jazz 69

alleyoop — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:00:44 +0000

The Rockets dominated the Jazz on Tuesday Night! They outrebounded the Jazz 46-38 and they held them to 36.5% shooting from the floor which helps explain the final score. Tracy McGrady led the way for the Rockets with 29 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Luis Scola had his best game of this series with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 2 assists. Rafer Alston had another solid game finishing with 14 points, 6 assists and 2 steals. The Rockets are now down 3-2 in this series.

Utah Jazz 86, Houston Rockets 82

alleyoop — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 15:30:38 +0000

The Rockets only shot 36.7% from the floor last night and it killed them in the end. Tracy McGrady only shot 9 of 25 from the floor but he still finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists. Rafer Alston had a decent game as he finished up with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Carl Landry pitched in with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals off the bench for the Rockets. The Rockets are now down 3-1 in this series.

Houston Rockets 94, Utah Jazz 92

alleyoop — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:58:30 +0000

The Rockets got up off the mat last night and they won on the road in one of the toughest buildings in the NBA. Tracy McGrady had a huge game as he finished with 27 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Rafer Alston made his first appearance in this series and he played a solid game finishing with 20 points and 5 assists. Luis Scola only shot 4 of 13 from the floor but he still finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Shane Battier pitched in with 12 points and 2 rebounds. The Rockets are now down 2-1 in this series.

Utah Jazz 90, Houston Rockets 84

alleyoop — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:00:44 +0000

The Houston Rockets lost this game partially because of an awful call on Luis Scola late in the game as Andrei Kirilenko flopped. But, the game was tied at the time so all the Rockets had to do the rest of the way was outplay the Jazz and they didn’t. Tracy McGrady led the way for the Rockets with 23 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots. Despite those fine numbers T-Mac has to show up in the 4th quarter of games as he only has 1 point in the 2 games of this series in the final quarter. Bobby Jackson did a good job stepping in for Rafer Alston as he scored 18 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and dished out 2 assists. Luis Scola had another decent game with 14 points and 5 rebounds. Aaron Brooks was solid off the bench with 11 points and 2 assists in only 18 minutes. The Rockets are now down 2-0 in this series.

Utah Jazz 93, Houston Rockets 82

alleyoop — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:55:14 +0000

The Rockets only shot 36.7% from the floor on Saturday and the Jazz shot 52.1% from the floor which explains the loss. Shane Battier was a perfect 7 for 7 from the floor as he finished with 22 points and 3 rebounds. Tracy McGrady had a rough game as he only shot 7 for 21 from the floor but he still finished with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals. Luis Scola pitched in with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 2 steals. The Jazz are now up 1-0 in this series.