Dating back to last year's playoffs (and especially post-McGrady and post-Yao) this Rockets team won my heart as a well assembled group of players with interesting depth, and players that knew their roles and meshed very well as a unit. Even with their memorable effort in the 7 game series loss to the Lakers, I admit I didn't expect them to be as entertaining as they have been this season. I was hooked when I caught an early game against the Warriors and the Rockets out-hustled and out-smarted Nellie's team while playing just as fast. This despite wings that don't really shoot all that well and no real interior presence. Even by the new standards of positional flexibility in the NBA, these Rockets seem like an especially fluid group, without the guiding hand of a mad scientist like Nellie to force certain players into awkward roles.

Thus when I looked ahead and saw this game on the schedule, I figured the Rockets would out-hustle and out-run their way past the Knicks, and teach the Knicks some lessons about how to play tough, how to play smart, and how to maximize the potential of a collection of talented role players. And that is sort of how it played out -- except the Knicks didn't follow the script for a half and looked like the "better" overachieving team, before getting steadily worn down in the second half. And the statistics to date this season actually show that these are more similar teams than it might have first appeared: both in the middle of the pack offensively and defensively, but capable of sustained stretches of good shooting and lock-down defense. The Rockets are a better offensive rebounding team, but otherwise the biggest difference in the numbers are the teams' respective records.

Some game notes:

*  The similarities in the teams were reflected in the way the Rockets announcing team of Matt Bullard, Clyde Drexler, and Bill Worrell discussed the Knicks during the broadcast. I've found this team to be a tad homer-ish on a few League Pass games earlier in the season, but they were genial toward the Knicks the entire game, seemed to recognize the limits of their own Rockets as well as the Knicks, and even pointed out in the close final minutes that both teams faced issues with learning how to hold leads and win close games. They were highly complimentary of Lee and Chandler, and applauded the Knick defensive effort when it was warranted. There was the usual loud cheering for some of the hometown boys (Clyde's folksy rah-rah-ing is an acquired taste), but all in all I was happy to hear the Knicks get a fair and nuanced shake from another broadcasting team.

*  Speaking of cheering for the hometown boys, I did get on board with the cheering for one Rocket, Kyle Lowry. I get a crazy buzz watching Lowry enter a game whenever I watch the Rockets -- seeing him bowl through players (including teammates) for loose balls, rebounds and tip-ins -- that approaches the giddiness of a high school crush when he's in full-on tornado mode. I didn't want to see him do it against the Knicks, but there was no surprise in seeing him make a major impact on the flow of the game with hustle plays. I imagine it's the same buzz opposing fans and audiences get when they see Nate Robinson enter the game and get on one of his scoring bursts. Lowry comes on more like your favorite independent film actor, never announcing his importance but establishing his gravity and hovering around the edges of your awareness even when off-camera; Nate is more of a scenery-chewing leading man when he's on the floor  (though to be fair, he has toned this aspect of his personality since the benching).

*  The Knicks, led by Lee, Chandler and Robinson, established a sizable lead of 13 points in the first half, but after a Rocket timeout down 55-42, their defense woke up. (Lee and Chandler, in particular, weren't challenged much on dribble penetration for most of the 1st  half)  In the second half, Lee was played more tightly on his dribble, and Duhon was trapped much more aggressively on every pick and roll. Attempts to reverse the ball over to the weak side were challenged, and most of the 2nd half offense was garbage baskets from Jeffries, jumpers from Nate, and the occasional move by Chandler. The Knicks scored 64 points the first 26 minutes, only 31 points the final 22 minutes.

*  Alan Hahn over at Newsday said in his report that Nate got extended minutes and a longer leash, partially to get him used to running the offense with more fluidity, partially because he could keep up with Brooks. Perhaps that what the coaches intended, but neither worked out very well. Brooks had a 3 pointer and a 15 foot jumper in a couple of key sequences that gave the Rockets the lead in the 3rd quarter, both the result of Nate not getting through screens or getting beaten. And the playmaking part didn't work so well either: 1 assist and 4 turnovers, including 3 key turnovers in the final two minutes. Nate is still very driven toward his own offense, and the coaching staff is going to have to find ways to get him to move the ball more effectively.

*  The Knick defense really struggled with guarding the post --  Scola and Landry were receiving the ball in very good position too often, and the Knicks have more difficulty defending mobile post players who can pass. They had a little more luck with Landry at the start of the game, but by the end Landry was shooting over or around the Knick players with ease. And when the Rockets were stopped, Lowry was there to bail his team out. The Rockets also did an exceptional job of making the shots the Knicks gave them: they were 11 of 16 on long jumpers of 16-23 feet, way above their season average. Only two other times this season had the Rockets shot over 60% on long jumpers -- probably helping in this area was the foul trouble of inefficient Trevor Ariza, whose limited playing time meant more minutes for Chase Budinger and David Andersen, who are better shooters.

*  Best line delivered by the announcing team, when Gallinari tried a spin move into the lane in the first quarter, and ended up falling over (and somehow getting a pass underneath to Jeffries, who was fouled) -- "Gallinari was trying a 360 there and only got to 280". Which sums up the game he had, though he may not have even got to 280 (to overextend the metaphor). Gallo was penetrating early and got off a few good jumpers, but in the second half he had a lot of trouble getting into the flow of the offense and making himself an option, and when he did get jumpers off they were challenged.

This should be a very interesting game -- superficially by the numbers, it looks like the Knicks will be facing another so-so offensive team (Thunder 21st in offensive efficiency) but one that is very good defensively (7th in defensive efficiency, and especially strong in limiting opponents' shooting and forcing turnovers). A lot of the Knick focus will be on Kevin Durant, who's having an All-Star season, averaging nearly 29 points a game and playing 40 minutes per game (he's averaged 25 points against the Knicks in his career). He and Westbrook will be a load for the Knicks, and the biggest defensive challenge for the Knicks may be how to limit Westbrook's penetration and rebounding. 

The Thunder are a tall team and definitely pose some interesting defensive issues in terms of how much the Knicks use players like Nate, what defensive assigments players like Chandler and Jeffries get, and how much matchup zone they play. Al Harrington's return to the lineup tonight, assuming he is actually able to play at 80 percent or better, will help with the interior defense and also give the offense more options to attack the Thunder. OKC has won six of their last eight, and is, in their own way, as interesting and probably sexier than the Rockets in terms of "scrappy, emerging team" storylines -- young stars, interesting role players (Collison, Ibaka, Sefolosha, Kristic), and lots of pieces that coach Mike D'Antoni probably wouldn't mind having on his own team.  Should be a lot of fun to watch.

Stats of interest: 

1) Ten of Nate Robinson's 24 shots against the Hawks in his first game after benching were at the rim, and he made nine. Since then, in 3 games, Nate has attempted 30 shots total, and 3 of them have been at the rim. Hope the coaching staff reminds Nate to take it in more, and find more open shooters at the wings when the defense collapses. 

2) Jared Jeffries leads the Knicks in adjusted +/- and on/off rating, and is 25th and 30th in the league overall in those categories, respectively. I'll have more to say about this in a future post, but this may be the best (if still very limited) measure of his value to the Knicks in recent games, given the inability of traditional metrics to assess his impact. Also, Jeffries is 13th in defensive rating from the same metrics, and my man Kyle Lowry happens to be 15th.