Rockets/Kings - where I say nice things about Rafer

As of 7:29 pm last night, I was formulating a rant where the singular purpose was to tell Rafer Alston to simply shut the F up.

In the last two weeks, Rafer decided for some reason trash talk Chris Paul... got into semi-fisticuffs with Sasha Vujacic... been mind-f--ked by Rajon Rondo... and then torn up by CP3 in the revenge game in New Orleans. The lesson? Do not mess with CP3. Oh, and actually not be a mediocre player in the NBA when you decide to do your best Gary Payton impersonation.

Then the Rockets/Kings game started last night. And my whole world seemed to change. The Rockets did everything they could to lose the game. (1) They gave the Kings a standing invitation to form a layup line; (2) T-Mac's body language was begging the Kings to bully him with his bum ankle; and (3) no one could make a jumpshot. Not T-Mac... or Battier... or Head... or Scola...

and then Rafer came to the rescue. Rafer??!?!?

I have a ready made tag for "Luis Landry to the rescue" - but not "Rafer to the rescue" -- something just seems wrong there!

In the end, the Rockets won 108-100 and won game 1 of what is hopefully a 8+ game winning streak. Yet I was convinced they were trying to lose. Rafer wouldn't let them.

I can't believe I just typed that. Skip led the way with 28 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. He even made 7-8 of his free throws. Now that is how you endear yourself to me! Make your free throws! Rafer even made a consistent amount of those "tearput" shots of his. And not one time did I say "oh, no!" when he released it. I'm not even kidding.


I may have to re-evaluate things. Two weeks ago - during the Streak - I still considered "point guard" to be our potential weak spot in the playoffs. The way Rafer is playing in March is changing all of that. He's actually looking like a legitimate NBA point guard these days.

I'm about 80% sure now that someone slipped me some long-lasting opium while I was in Vegas. Rafer Alston = good? Well, at least I can avoid the wrath of his mom today.

Oh, and Ricky got his 800th career victory. Congrats, Mr. Adelman. Next up? Minnesota on Wednesday. No way we can lose that game, right???

Rockets vs. Lakers - a new kind of double/double!

The Rockets have won 22 games in a row. Yes, in a freakin' row. 22!!!

For all those who said the Rockets' Streak was just a fluke... that we didn't play any good teams... that we're really not that good of a team? Yeah, suck it - we just beat the Lakers. Who were the #1 team in the West until the Rockets decided today that it's our turn at the top.

So, yeah, that's 22 consecutive wins. The 2nd best Streak of all time.
And, in case anyone has forgotten - that is now TEN (10) consecutive wins since the Ming Dynasty abdicated his throne until next season.

It's like a double-double... 12 wins in a row with Yao. 10 wins in a row without Yao.

Before anyone says anything about it... yes, I saw Rafer score 31 points. And make eight (8?!?!) three-pointers. I am still in shock and in total disbelief. He'd have gone for 40 if he could make a layup!! (Hey - I can't completely be nice to Rafer - even after a career day on national TV!)

Okay, okay - Rafer killed the Lakers and gave a double-middle-finger to my season-long criticism. I admit it.

On the flip side... Rafer's career day effort was sorely needed. Tracy McGrady had a rough and I mean really rough day. Maybe not as rough as Kaz Matsui's backside... but rough nonetheless. 4-16? In a huge matchup against Kobe? 0-4 from the three-point line? 11 total points? Ouch, babe - very ouch.

But this is why the Rockets are a true team. And why this team kicks ass. When T-Mac has a bad day - it's not a problem. Rafer steps up. Or Scola steps up. Or Mike freakin' Harris steps up. Or Bobby Jackson? Bobby Jackson?!? Wow - awesome game from Bobby, by the way.

Of course, the real MVP of today was one Shane Battier. Considering he's a Duke grad and all - it should not be surprising given that today was Selection Sunday for the NCAA tournament. It's kind of a big deal at Duke I hear. As an SMU alum, I would not know. But back to Shane. The MVP of the NBA this year is Kobe Bryant. It is, just trust me. What does Kobe do with Shane guarding him? 11-for-33. Yes, that's not a typo. THIRTY-THREE shots. 33%. It's like Evil Rafer played for the Lakers today and wore #24. And in those 33 shots, Kobe only scored 24. That's a phenomenal defensive effort.

Shane Battier must have earned himself a spot on the NBA All Defensive First Team with today's effort (he already belonged, but today's performance should get him all the votes).

Kobe? pwn3d, bitch.

The Houston Rockets - #1 in the Western Conference. #1 in the Southwest Division. #1 in the hearts and minds of NBA fans and all of America. 22 and counting.

Next up? Rockets host the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. We did a Q&A with the guys over at CelticsBlog. Their answers to our off-the-wall questions should be posted here sometime on Tuesday morning.

Also - for a gameday live-blog of today's Rockets/Lakers game - head on over to Hardwood Paroxysm. Matt did a bang-up job blogging Rafer's big day.

Compliments for Skip?

As awesome as this winning streak is (19 and counting for those still unaware)...

the hardest part has been coming to terms with the fact that Rafer Alston is - for the most part - not stinking up the joint or getting in the way of things. In fact, he's actually been a competent if not better-than-average point guard the last 6 weeks. Yes, it kills me to say it because I'd have traded his useless ass for a moldy ham sandwich back in December. And it would have made for a most excellent Christmas.

Check it out - Sports Illustrated even named Skip one of the most "overlooked" players in the NBA right now. Really. It's true. Look here. Shocking, I know. I had to read it twice just to make sure. And then I closely examined the calendar to make sure it wasn't April Fool's Day.

I'm just in stunned silence right now. Okay, maybe not silence (no one can ever truly silence me)... but I am definitely stunned by Rafer's turnaround.

This is a brave new world we enter - one where Rafer "Skip to my Lou" Alston is... good?


Okay, so I still hate it when he takes that "tearput" shot of his. It's such an all-or-nothing shot. And yes, I still yell "nooooo!" at the TV whenever he winds up to shoot the 3. But I'm improving. Slowly. Baby steps, my friends. Baby steps.

The streak is maturing before our eyes!

18!!!

The streak is now of voting age!

(Uncle Sam wants you... to get on the bandwagon)

CP3 tried everything he could do. And I mean the 37 points and 11 assists kind of everything, but the Rockets continue to win. And win by double-figures. Again.

T-Mac had 41. First player to score 40+ in the Toyota Center since Carlos Boozer in the playoffs last year. I guess T-Mac doesn't hate the home rims so much anymore.

Rafer continues to figuratively give me the middle finger every time he takes the court now. A very, very impressive 20 points, just enough to cancel out the only All Star on the court last night. Rafer was apparently trash talking Chris Paul the whole game, too. Ballsy. For example:

"I don't like them. They don't like me," Alston said. "They keep telling me to stop talking. I'm great at talking trash."

Paul, considered an MVP candidate, was pretty good at it, too. "I wish I could be half as good as him one of these days in the NBA," Paul said, "since he thinks he's so great."

For a while I thought it was the Duke/Carolina game I was watching - with all the long-distance shooting and complete lack of free throws. Rafer, Novak, T-Mac, Battier, Luther Head... everyone was making threes. It was crazy. And I loved every minute of it.

Bring on New Jersey... as the streak marches onward to 21 (and it better hit 21 - our next three games are against sub-.500 Eastern teams).

I have foreseen your destiny!

Hey, New York Knicks........

Apologize!!!You cannot stop Yao. You can only hope to contain him. Or foul the shit out of him. But he shoots 90% from the line, so that doesn't work either. Isiah saw it coming, so he left the show early. Guess he doesn't like predictable endings. (and you can be sure I will post the YouTube clip of Yao gorilla dunking on Malik Rose's corpse as soon as it's online.)

Ohhhhh! And that's 4 in a row! Just as I called it a week ago. The "east coast swing" is a nice way to pick up cheap Ws.

Some game thoughts:

I told you Scola should be playing more! He was the difference in the game and negated the impact of David Lee completely.

Rafer... I gotta hand it to you. You played great in the 1st quarter. Tried everything you could to fuck it up in the third quarter (heaving 3s when Yao is killing inside is just stupid). Then you made up for it and closed out the game in the 4th with some tough defense, great passing and an actual made layup in traffic. I expect more of this from you. We can compete against anyone if you play like this.

Where the F was Aaron Brooks in the 2nd half? He killed the Knicks last time.

Bonzi? F-U. You are the reason the Rockets went from 12 up to 5 down. Nearly giving me a heart attack in the process. At least fake it like you want to play defense every now and then. You made Eddy Curry look energetic.

Shane Battier -- another solid, unsung performance that was essential to another victory. This is why we made the Rudy Gay trade. Rockets fans, always remember this.

And to the rest of the Rockets - when the 7'5" Chinese dude in the middle is scoring at will against an opponent that doesn't seem to care -- if you don't make sure he at least touches the ball on every freakin' possession -- you should all be benched. Yao could have scored 50 tonight if anyone was paying attention. I'll take the win, sure, but let's make it easy next time. Here's what he looks like. It should be easy to find him.

Go Rockets! Make it five for five on Friday! I'll be there!

Let's not start sucking each others........

Hey, Rafer, awesome f'n game man. Really. Color me momentarily impressed.

Here's the thing though -- don't let it get to your head. You still suck.

One 20 point game a 2 point victory does not an all-star make. Or even a mediocre point guard. Hell, Tony Delk once scored 53 points in a game. Tony Delk. And he kinda sucked, too.

Things to work on:

(a) Try not giving the ball back to the other team when the score is tied and you have the ball. Yes, you scored the game winning layup. But you also gave the Magic 4+ seconds to attempt to tie the game AND they even almost got a chance at a tip-in following a miss. (Remember the famous clip of Isiah -- "score is tied... either we win the game or we go to overtime") Never give the other team a chance.

(b) When you do decide to give the Magic 4+ seconds to try to tie the game, try to stay in front of the man with the ball frantically driving to the basket for a layup. You were like an air traffic controller guiding him to the rim.

(c) There's a guy named Yao who is still on your team. He's 7'5". Pass him the damn ball.

Other than that, congrats guys... 16-17 and on the way to my predicted 4 game winning streak.

Well this is a first

The Rockets just beat the Orlando Magic, win one of the four game streak that The Dream Shake has predicted. That's a rarity in itself this season, a Rockets win against a good team. But that's not the first I'm talking about. This is:

Rafer Alston had a great game. I know what you're thinking; "Holy shit someone on The Dream Shake complimented RAFER."(EDIT: It's so rare I accidentally typed Yao here last night.) And you'd be right to think that.

Rafer, I salute you (Dave hates you in every way still though, I promise). You had a wonderful game. If you want to play like that every game, I'll stop talking shit about you relentlessly. This was the Rafer we thought we were getting when we traded someone we actually liked in Mike James for you. 20 points, 7/14 including 3/4 from the three, 8 assists, only 2 TOs and 2 steals to cap it off. And on 3 of your 4 threes you had no choice with the clock winding down, and on the fourth you were wide open. Seriously man, I'm not joking, that is what I want from you night in and night out.

And just to keep the rest of the I hate Rafer Alston crowd happy, I could take a few less of your "tearputs", that is not a legitimate shot, just lay it up man.

I thought he deserved his own post, I'm proud of you Rafer.