One thousand Rockets fans got into the Toyota Center for free tonight, thanks to the Rockets’ “Red Rowdy Night” promotion. You’re welcome.

Jeff Van Gundy told sideline reporter Patti Smith that Toronto is “yet another team that should not be underestimated.” Van Gundy’s got the same pre-game interview running on a loop in the coach’s office.

How many pairs of knee-socks for a 7′2″ man do you think you could fit in your sock drawer? We hope that Jake “Sockalidis” has a giant locker, because he’s been donning the knee-highs throughout the Rockets’ current homestand. Those things would be like pants on us.

Bill and Clyde breathed heavy sighs of relief each time T.J. Ford made a shot for the Raptors. Ford’s is the only name in the Raptors international lineup that the Rockets broadcast crew could pronounce correctly with any regularity. You’d think that Bill and Clyde would have an equally easy time with the Raptors’ other native Texan, Chris Bosh, but Clyde made a “Chrish Boss” slip-up early in the second half.

Ford had 16 points, six rebounds and five assists. Jose Calderon, Ford’s backup, had 14 points and six assists. It must be nice to have two point guards on your team. Of course, if Calderon was on the Rockets, given his speed and success in international basketball competition, he’d be riding the pine.

That thought led us to the Rowdy Rumination of the night: How funny would it be to have a Bryan Colangelo GM’ed team coached by Jeff Van Gundy? All of the young players would be too unproven, all of the international players would be too foreign, and all of the young international players wouldn’t be “committed to defense.” Get me some aging vets, Bryan.

Dikembe Mutombo had one rebound and zero blocks in 15 minutes. The Rockets went small for most of the night and got punished down low as they gave up a number of easy layups and dunks. Kris Humphries had the easiest 7-for-7 night of his life. Small ball isn’t really effective when your team is slow, doesn’t force turnovers, and can’t create shots for themselves.

The Rockets’ lock-down defense gave up a season-high 67 first-half points, including 40 in the second quarter. Toronto finished with 106 points on 57.1 percent shooting.

Anybody else think Fathead is destined for bankruptcy in the next six months? There’s nothing inherently wrong with oversized wall decals of sports heroes, but these things cost $120 each! If you’re old enough to have that much money, you’re old enough to not want a life-sized man on your wall.

The “Everybody clap your hands” sound-byte that is played over the Toyota Center PA every two minutes must be stopped. We’ve heard this in stadiums across the league, and we’re scared that it could join “Charge” and “De-fense” in the realm of universally-accepted timeless jock jams. We couldn’t be more serious on this issue: “Everybody clap your hands” is the “Who let the dogs out?” of 2007. If you don’t agree now, you will soon.