Instant analysis: Rockets vs. Bucks

October 12, 10:16 PMHouston Rockets ExaminerDavid Hartnett

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It was the first pre-season game at the Toyota Center, and keeping with the trend of late comebacks, it was apparent this game would come down to the wire.

Sadly, the Rockets weren’t able to walk with a win — losing to the Milwaukee Bucks 96 –92 — but alas, the game wasn’t a total waste.

Without Yao, the interior D is still ok. Sure the Bucks were solid from beyond the 3-point line, but the Rockets weren’t beat down low. David Andersen and Chuck Hayes did a solid job of protecting the paint. Speaking of Andersen…

Andersen is the top center from Australia. Well, if you base your decisions off one game and the stats put up in pre-season (and I hope you would), then apparently Andersen is superior to Bogut. Andersen outscored Bogut (17-6) and had the same amount of rebounds (4).

Ariza hasn’t found his shooting grove yet. It’s still early, and Ariza was aggressive attacking the basket. But another sub-500 shooting performance isn’t ideal. Nevertheless, strides have been made, and that’s the best you can hope for in pre-season.

The Rockets sure are aggressive.  Forty-four free throw attempts. I don't care who the referees are, that's a lot of attempts.