Five Reasons Houston Beat Charlotte
The Houston Rockets beat the Charlotte Bobcats 82-70 Tuesday night in a game that was far from pretty. It appeared multiple times throughout the contest that Houston would pull away for a comfortable win, but poor shooting and unforced errors allowed the Bobcats to make a series of late runs. Regardless, Houston is back on track after a four game losing steak and set to play the Spurs in San Antonio tomorrow. Tim Duncan and company haven’t lost there all season. Here are five reasons why the Rockets beat the Bobcats last night:
1) Chandler Parsons. I called this one. Parsons continued his hot surge Tuesday night with a career high 20 points, along with seven rebounds and a crucial steal that led to a fast break dunk. The rookie from Florida made timely shots, played stingy defense, and consistently provided injections of energy precisely when the team needed it. In fact, eight of Parsons’ points came in the closing minutes when Houston was steadily giving up a late 12-point lead. Parsons drained two clutch threes and provided an acrobatic reverse lay-up, perhaps the signature moment of the game, to put the score out of reach for Charlotte. It’s a bit difficult to believe, but Parsons is a legitimate NBA starter and Houston would not have won the game last night without him. This guy is for real.
2) Kyle Lowry’s return. Lowry was a bit rusty with his shot and only scored six points, but his presence on the court after missing two straight games with injury was invaluable. The stocky point managed the game well and set up teammates beautifully on his way to eight assists, and asserted himself as a top rebounding guard with 11 boards. The team looked immeasurably more comfortable and polished with Lowry running the show, and as good as Goran Dragic played in a starter’s role against Oklahoma City, it’s good to have K-Low back.
3) Jordan Hill’s low-post effectiveness. Hill is a player with a multitude of talents, but he is still learning how to harness them consistently. He is a big athlete with a great rebounding sense of position and timing, and he took advantage of Charlotte’s undersized and untalented post players last night. Hill scored 12 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and blocked five shots while being guarded by the likes of DeSagana Diop and D.J. White. A particular momentum-shifting play occurred when Hill blocked a shot and ran the floor like a gazelle to finish a powerful jam on the fast break. If Hill can contribute more plays like that, he should be starting ahead of Samuel Dalembert, whose spry athletic days are quickly growing more distant in the rear view.
4) Kevin McHale’s rotation. McHale continued with some interesting shifts in the rotation last night, and they were highly effective for the most part. Starting Chandler Parsons at small forward instead of Chase Budinger looks like a genius move, as Budinger shot 1-8 from the field and is still mired in a shooting slump, while Parsons looks like a future star. Johnny Flynn, who is a turnover waiting to happen at the point guard position, did not play. Neither did Terrence Williams. I have mixed feelings over this, as Williams will likely unleash a torrential Twitter rant as he did the multiple times he suffered a similar DNP under Rick Adelman. Williams has so much athletic talent, so it’s natural to want him on the floor, but he doesn’t play within any sort of order or constraints. The next step is incorporating Courtney Lee back into the lineup when he becomes healthy, and giving Kyle Lowry more of a rest; he played 41 minutes last night to Dragic’s 12. Lowry’s health is of paramount concern, and Dragic has proven he can handle big minutes.
5) Poor Bobcats shooting. Let’s not fool ourselves. Houston did quite a few positive things, especially down the stretch, but the Rockets would not have pulled out a win if the Bobcats hadn’t played with such ineptitude. As a team, Charlotte shot 33 percent and made only one of 13 three-pointers. Starting power forward Boris Diaw shot 2-14 from the field, while fellow starters Gerald Henderson and D.J. Augustin shot a combined 10-27. That isn’t an effective formula for a win.
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