Cavaliers' revamped lineup is able to take the court with return of two ailing players.
View full sizeAntawn Jamison has the position to grab this first-quarter rebound in front of the Cavaliers' Anderson Varejao and Houston's Luis Scola Saturday night.HOUSTON -- Ninety minutes before the Cavaliers game against the Houston Rockets in Toyota Center, Daniel Gibson was on the court breaking a sweat while hoisting up jump shots, and Ryan Hollins was getting a massage.
The two players who missed practice on Friday with the stomach virus that seems to be going around the NBA these days arrived here about 3 p.m.
"I Love my City!" Gibson tweeted upon landing in his hometown. "H-Town What It Do?"
Asked how he was feeling, Gibson smiled and said, "I'm all right."
After missing the morning shootaround, Gibson got a crash course in the game plan from assistant coach Joe Prunty. His presence allows coach Byron Scott to proceed with the starting lineup he introduced against Chicago on Wednesday, with Gibson and Mo Williams in the backcourt, Antawn Jamison and Anthony Parker at forward and Anderson Varejao at center. Once again, Jamario Moon was inactive, along with rookies Christian Eyenga and Samardo Samuels.
"Everything will be pretty much the same as the last game," Scott said.
Getting defensive: Scott was asked about the Rockets defensive struggles this season. Houston came into the game giving up 105.3 points per game. Only five teams give up more.
"I'm more worried about them on the offensive end anyway," Scott said. "They're pretty good offensively. They share the ball extremely well, a very unselfish basketball team, which you expect from a Rick Adelman-coached team, move extremely well without the ball.
"So I'm more worried about them offensively than anything. If we can slow them down on that end, our offense will hopefully take care of itself. I didn't go into this game worried about what we were going to do on the offensive end. I went into it worried about what we were going to do against them defensively."
Cleveland entered giving up 102.4 points per game. Eleven teams give up more.
Remember when? Last summer, Houston guard Kyle Lowry signed a four-year, $23.5 million offer sheet with the Cavs, only to have the Rockets match it the next day.
"Of course you think about it," Lowry told the Houston Chronicle. "That's the situation I could have found myself. To be honest, it wasn't up to me. It was up to the Rockets. They did their job. They did what they said they [would].
"I can't really think 'what if.' It was an opportunity to go there, get some big minutes. I could have had a chance to be the starting point guard. It would have been an opportunity to play big minutes, the type of minutes I wanted to play."
Lowry is the Rockets starting point guard, averaging 10.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 33.7 minutes per game.