Chuck Hayes News

Andrew Bynum joined his teammates for Tuesday's practice, suffered no immediate setbacks and pronounced himself ready to play Thursday against the resurgent Phoenix Suns.

Daryl Morey is fond of saying that playing hard is a skill, like any other. That never seemed quite right, but he might have a point.

Saturday: Rockets 111, Trail Blazers 107. Record: 2-1. Monday: at Jazz, 8 p.m. TV/radio: FSH; 610 AM and 850 AM .

As I was saying, there are going to be teams that have too much size and strength for the Rockets to handle.

Chuck Hayes is the most remarkable player on the NBA's most remarkable team. How's that for an opening sentence? Good one, huh? Don't believe me? Let's check in at Toyota Center and run it past some people who should know.

Field goals: 6-14. Rebounds: 6. Assists: 1. Trevor Ariza Points: 15. Field goals: 5-21. Rebounds: 9. Assists: 5. Rockets update Wednesday: Laker 103, Rockets 102 Record: 3-2. Friday: Oklahoma City Thunder at Toyota Center, 7:30 p.m. TV/radio: FSH; 610 AM and 850 AM .

For the two most tenured Rockets playing on Monday, Chuck Hayes and Shane Battier , no venue brings up more reminders of past games than EnergySolutions Arena.

Kobe Bryant scored 41 points, Andrew Bynum added 17 points and 17 rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers won in overtime for the second straight game, beating the Houston Rockets 103-102 on Wednesday night.

Aaron Brooks poured in 19 points and dished out nine assists, as the Houston Rockets used a strong second half to take down the Utah Jazz, 113-96, at EnergySolutions Arena.

When it came to the Houston Rockets winning prospects in Salt Lake City Monday night, I was notA amongst massive crowd of non-believers. I was at the gravesite shoveling the dirt over Aaron Brooks, Chuck Hayes, Luis Scola, and Rick Adelman.

After playing the Houston Rockets 24 times the last three seasons -- 11 regular-season games as well as first-round playoff series in 2007 and 2008 -- the Jazz might be in for a case of mistaken identity tonight.

The Houston Rockets' preseason slate was a seven-game reminder of why the preseason exists.

Through 96 minutes of basketball this season, the Houston Rockets are still searching for an identity.

But though it's the same three players featured from last year, there's something different about it.

With the 2009-10 NBA season tipping off on Tuesday night, two of the three Houston Rockets Featured Columnists decided to debate 12 burning questions regarding this year's team.

Planes, trains and automobiles? How about planes, ferries and Rockets. The Bay Bridge closed down on Tuesday due to a snapped cable, cutting off the Houston Rockets ' route from their hotel in San Francisco to Oakland for Wednesday's game against the Golden State Warriors .

How's that for emphasizing the positives of a season that begins with far more questions than answer.

Perhaps this wasn't what the NBA had in mind. Sending the Rockets back to Portland, to begin the season where the postseason began six months earlier, might have offered a nice bit of symmetry, a way to renew a budding rivalry between two of the Western Conference's emerging teams.

Rick Adelman admitted at the start that it was going to be a different kind of training camp and season.

Rockets post players: Player Pts. Reb. David Andersen 10.7 4.5 Brian Cook 4.8 2.5 Joey Dorsey 4.0 6.0 Chuck Hayes 2.8 4.2 Carl Landry 12.7 4.9 P. Mensah-Bonsu 8.3 5.8 Luis Scola 8.0 6.0 Note: Statistics are from preseason Had Pops Mensah-Bonsu allowed himself to worry, had he been tossing and turning through the nights while considering his chances ...