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NBA Friday: (6-1) Houston Rockets vs. (6-1) San Antonio Spurs
A day after facing the Mavericks in Dallas the San Antonio Spurs will return home to take on a very good Houston Rockets team. The Rockets are being led by first year coach Rick Aldelman. Aldelman is well known among NBA fans for his creative offenses that revolve around good high-post players. Unsure if center Yao Ming would fit this mold going into the season, it’s worked so far. Because of his accurate passing, Tracy McGrady is leading the team with 27.3 points per game. McGrady has always been a top scorer, but has failed to go deep into the playoffs in any of his previous seasons. The duo of Ming and McGrady have fans believing this could be their year. In order to make it their year they will have to get through the team who has a lot of good years, the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs have all of their championship pieces back from last year, including Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker. The new look Boston Celtics may have their big three, but this big three has already proven their worth. Both teams are in a very busy stretch of their schedules so it’s hard to predict how much energy these teams will bring into this one. I favor the Spurs in this one because their offense is a little slower pace while the Rockets are in the middle of revamping their offense to a more up tempo pace, meaning the fatigue may hurt them more.
NBA Friday: (5-1) Detroit Pistons at (3-2) LA Lakers
The LA Lakers have gotten off to a decent start, which is more than some expected of them. Many think that if the Lakers are even to make the playoffs this season it will be a miracle. But, don’t tell that to Kobe Bryant. Bryant is averaging over 30 points per game, and is also leading the team in assists, with five a game, showing he’s more than just a point scorer. Power forward Lamar Odom is averaging 10 rebounds a game as well, so Kobe is getting a little help from his supporting cast. He’ll need all the help from his teammates at the one loss Pistons will come to town on Friday. The Pistons one loss came as a bit of a surprise to the one win Bulls, but they have rebounded well. The Pistons are once again playing very solid defense, out scoring their opponents by over 60 points on the season. Richard Hamilton is scoring 20 points per game to lead the offense. Hamilton is usually known as a second option, but has stepped up this year, as his teammates start to show a little sign of wearing down after more than a few years of NBA service. This game will be the fourth of five west coast games for the Pistons, so wear and tear might start to be an issue here. I think I will take the Bryant and the Lakers in a mini-upset.
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