The third time is the charm

November 30, 10:15 PMHouston Rockets ExaminerDavid Hartnett

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After being humiliated at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks and humbled by the San Antonio Spurs’ ability to finish a game, faced with the daunting task of facing an up-and-coming Thunder squad in the midst of the Rockets’ first losing streak of the season, the Rockets — entrenched at the moment as the third best team in Texas — continued to establish dominance over Oklahoma’s lone professional basketball team.

While the previous two seasons has been tumultuous for the Durant-led Sonics/Thunder team, based on early returns it appears this year’s Thunder team may be ready to ascend to the first of apparently many playoffs appearances for the former Longhorn.

Thus, as the Thunder is apparently no longer a pushover, the fact the Rockets claimed a win on their home court — with one of their remaining stars out for essentially the entire game — it compels one to acknowledge this year’s Rockets squad continues to respond well in the face of adversity.

Watching Scola be rushed from the court, as blood sprayed from around his eye, with the tip-off having occurred no less than 30 seconds prior — coupled with the idea that they have dropped their last two games against their interstate rivals — it’s tough to imagine what was going in the mind of these Rockets. Though as it was mentioned earlier, they overcome adversity (in this case another injury) and led by the duo of Brooks and Landry, managed a way to claim a nine-point win.

Trevor Ariza is still trying to define his role within the offense (other than the guy who takes the most shots and makes the fewest) had what has become to be expected of him, a 7-for-23 performance for 19 points. But what may be lost in another outing in a string of sub-.500 shooting performances (that’s 15 out of 17 games where he has failed to shoot at least 50%) was his consistent wide-open 3-point attempts that he fails to put at the bottom of the net.

What was promising about Ariza when he arrived in Houston was with the Lakers he had the knack for hitting the open 3-pointer.

As of late, he has failed to do so.

Both the Rockets and their fanbase could have been fooled to believe that this would be indicative of his future play, or Ariza’s current play is nothing more than a mere aberration.

Nevertheless, at the present time, it isn’t pretty to see Ariza attempt (and miss) so many jumpers.

Yet as it was alluded to earlier, this game was all about Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry. Landry — currently the Rockets’ best player — and Aaron Brooks each had 21 points, each played their best in the second half enabling a nine-point deficit at halftime, to turn into a nine-point win.

Landry continues to remain a dominant force in the paint. Be it his ability to make the 15-foot jumper, or to pump fake, and go up for a contested dunk, Carl has consistently provided the Rockets with high percentage looks in the post. His play has improved with Yao’s absence, and while it’s unlikely to see him in the All-Star game, at the very least, he is one of the top players coming off the bench in the league. Sixth man of the year award consideration should be had.