The Houston Rockets will hit the road to open their 2011-2012 regular season schedule traveling to Orlando to take on Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic. The game will be the regular season debut of new Rockets coach Kevin McHale as he begins his first season on the bench.
Houston thought they had made a big splash in the offseason as they were a part of the failed three-team trade that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers and would have landed Pau Gasol with the Rockets. Instead, Houston will send out a core featuring Kevin Martin at shooting guard and Luis Scola inside. Houston was third in the league in scoring last season averaging over 105 points per game but dealing with Dwight Howard has been a problem.
Orlando has won the last four meetings between the teams and is coming off of a Christmas day loss to Oklahoma City. New acquisition Samuel Dalembert will be charged with slowing down Howard who is averaging 19.5 points and 15.3 rebounds in the last four games against the Rockets.
Game Date/Time: Monday, December 26, 6:00 p.m. CT
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
TV Coverage: NBA TV
Online Streaming: NBA League Pass
For more on this game Houston Rockets fans should check out The Dream Shake while Orlando Magic followers should take a look at Orlando Pinstriped Post. For everything NBA, be sure to visit SB Nation's NBA hub.