When the season began, the Los Angeles Lakers were supposedly going to threaten 70 wins. Now, after two straight losses, the Lakers just want to get back on track. The latest team to beat L.A. was the Houston Rockets, who did so by a final score of 101-91.
The Rockets only had one starter in double figures, however that one player dominated: Aaron Brooks. The quick little point guard who tortured the Lakers last year in the playoffs was at it again. In 41 minutes of action, Brooks finished with 33 points, six rebounds and four assists. He hit 11-of-23 shots …read more

Although the Houston Rockets beat the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, the talk after the game was about Spurs rookie DeJuan Blair. In his first professional game of any kind, Blair played 22 minutes and had 16 points and 19 rebounds.
Even though Blair was a second round pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, he’s widely regarded as the steal of the draft. It took all of one game for Blair to prove that there might be something to that talk.
Said Blair: “I did what Coach Pop asked of me and that was to rebound. Everything else came after that.”
Blair played …read more

Stephen Jackson has long been a good player in the NBA. However, sometimes his actions can overshadow his play. Now the Golden State Warriors may have a giant distraction on their hands after Jackson announced that he wants to be traded.
Jackson point out the four teams he wants to play with — the Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks or the Houston Rockets. Other than the Warriors, Jackson has also played with the New Jersey Nets, San Antonio Spurs, Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers in his NBA career.
Last year with the Warriors, Jackson had one of his better seasons. …read more

Pops Mensah-Bonsu has reportedly reached an agreement to sign with the Houston Rockets. Last season, Mensah-Bonsu split his time between the San Antonio Spurs and the Toronto Raptors. The report of his signing comes from Houston’s KRIV-TV.
The 25-year-old played his college basketball at George Washington and was once upon a time a very highly regarded prospect due to his fantastic athleticism. However, his skill level has taken a while to match his ability to run and jump very well at 6-foot-10.
With the Spurs, Mensah-Bonsu averaged 5 points and 3.4 rebounds in three games. In 19 games with the Raptors, he …read more

Yao Ming, the superstar center for the Houston Rockets and the Chinese national team, has decided undergo surgery on his troublesome left foot. The surgery all but guarantees that he will miss the entire 2009-10 season.
Yao has fractured his left foot twice. A third fracture would likely end Yao’s basketball career. In an attempt to make sure his foot won’t fracture a third time, doctors are going to conduct a bone graft and they will also lower his arch to lower the amount of stress his foot takes on during basketball activities.
While this is obviously bad news for Yao, the …read more

According to multiple sources, Ron Artest is headed to Los Angeles to sign with the defending champion Lakers. Artest, whose Houston Rockets took the Lakers to seven games in the Western Conference Semi-Finals, will reportedly sign an offer using the mid-level exception.
The Lakers needed to look for a new small forward after Trevor Ariza decided to ask for more money than Los Angeles wanted to pay. Although Ariza played great in the NBA playoffs, the Lakers obviously think he is expendable. Enter Ron Artest.
Last season with the Rockets, Artest averaged 17.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He …read more

If you are a fan of the Houston Rockets, Monday wasn’t a fun day for you. Reports surfaced that Yao Ming not only might miss the 2009-10 NBA season but that his career is in jeopardy. For a Rockets squad that looked to be on the brink of championship contention, this is obviously a big blow.
However, right now nothing has been finalized. The only thing that is certain is that Yao’s foot fracture isn’t healing as expected. He’ll have second, third and fourth opinions before the Rockets decide what to do.
Sources close to the Rockets believe that the prognosis is …read more

On Sunday, two very exciting Game 7 showdowns will take place in the NBA. In the first game, the Los Angeles Lakers will try to eliminate the underdog Houston Rockets. In the game at night, the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics will try to keep their back-to-back hopes alive against the Orlando Magic.
How do I see these two games playing out? Here’s how I see it playing out:
Lakers beat the Rockets in Game 7
Early on, the Lakers will go on a big run — fueled by the energy from the crowd. The Rockets’ defense will slowly start to clamp down …read more

Apparently, I’m not the only person enjoying the second round series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets. According to ESPN, Game 6 between the Lakers and the Rockets was the most viewed basketball game in the history of the network.
As the Rockets pulled off the improbable victory over the Lakers, ESPN had approximately 7.35 million viewers. The previous high was in the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals when 6.6 million viewers watched the Miami Heat defeat the Detroit Pistons.
On the national level, Game 6 in Houston had a 5.4 rating. In the city of Houston, it had a …read more

After Yao Ming was lost for the season following Game 3 of the series between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers, the Rockets were able to pull off a shocking Game 4 victory. However, Game 5 was another story. In Los Angeles, the Lakers hammered the Rockets by a final score of 118-78. The Lakers now have a 3-2 advantage in the best of seven second round series.
Kobe Bryant led the way with 26 points in 31 minutes. Paul Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Trevor Ariza, Jordan Farmar, Josh Powell and Lamar Odom also joined Bryant in double figures. …read more