Rockets Win! And My Personal F the Haters Post

I didn't get to see the game last night, but was constantly refreshing the blackberry and seeing the dominance that is our 19 game winning streak. Apparently we couldn't shoot but again found a way to win, making Carter and Jefferson quit early which is the key to beat New Jersey. I can't recap it much more, so on to more pressing issues:

I'm still trying not to cuss, but some of the world really doesn't want me to fulfill my goal. I've heard countless times that the Rockets streak is against a bunch of patsies and isn't really that impressive. To which I say...lots of words that I can't have an almost 2 year old repeat, no matter how funny it is when he does. Seriously, the teams pretty much all play the same schedule, give it up already, just applaud them for what they've done, and that's kick a lot of butt. I've compiled some eye opening numbers below, keep in mind, these numbers are just to date and the Rockets have Atlanta and Charlotte on the schedule next and will win at least 21 in a row.

By the numbers:
19 wins in a row

10 wins in a row by double digits

7 wins in a row since our All Star center went out for the season

3rd longest winning streak in NBA history

31 losses since January 29th by teams over .500 to teams below .500

42 losses since January 29th by teams over .500 to the teams the Rockets have beat

46 wins since January 29th over teams above .500 by teamst he Rockets have beaten

2 teams that the Rockets have beaten that don't have a win over an above .500 team

4 losses since January 29th by the Spurs, Lakers, Jazz, Celtics and Pistons
5 losses since January 29th by the Warriors
6 losses since January 29th by the Magic
8 losses since January 29th by the Hornets, Nuggets and Cavaliers
9 losses since January 29th by the Suns and Raptors
10 losses since January 29th by the Mavericks
13 losses since January 29th by the Trailblazers
0 losses since January 29th by the Rockets

11 wins against teams .500 or below on way to 19 in a row by Houston in 07-08

10 wins against teams that finished .500 or below on way to 19 in a row by LA in 99-00

9 wins against teams that finished.500 or below on way to 20 in a row by Milwaukee in 70-71
6 teams in league with that finished.500 or below records when Milwaukee won 20 in a row

19 wins against teams that finished .500 or below records when LA won 33 in 71-72
14 wins against teams that finished above .500 when LA won 33 in a row
9 teams in the league that finished with .500 or below records when LA won 33

2 billion apologies owed to the Rockets for trying to denigrate their awesome streak


Yes, the Rockets have feasted a bit more than the 99-00 Lakers (by 1 game) and the 70-71 Bucks (by 2 games) in their streak but look at LA's 33 game streak. They won only 14 games over teams above .500 and won 19 over teams .500 or below. Why isn't LA's streak knocked down? That's 57% of their wins over teams .500 or below, the Rockets are getting knocked for that exact same 57%. And I don't recall the Lakers losing Wilt or Gail Goodrich or the Logo or Jim McMillan or even Elgin Baylor, Happy Hairston or Pat Riley during that stretch. The Rockets lost Yao Ming the best center in the NBA and have kept it going! And let it be known that 33 is ridiculous, even more so than 19 so in no way do I think LA's streak should be diminished, they played the teams in front of them.

So stop, think, and look at the numbers, the Rockets are making history, just enjoy it. And to all 4 of our readers, if you see someone knocking the streak, send them this post please.

Rockets Win! Next Victim? The New Jersey Nets

I didn't get to recap the game yesterday, because, well...I'm lazy. You got me, you pulled it out, I'm a lazy mofo. I had the computer up and decided to play with my son instead yesterday. So here we are, noon two days after a huge Rockets victory and I'm finally writing about it.

This streak of 18 games in a row and 9 games by double digits has been a bit odd. Mostly because the Rockets seem to just dump points on teams before you know it. I didn't get to watch the first half live on Saturday night and my DVR had some skips in the recording (I hate you Comcast), and it really pushed the point further, they'd be up 1 and then all of the sudden a minute later be up 6 or 7. It always seems to happen really quickly and the other team doesn't know what hit them. The guys just find a way to play 2-4 strong defensive possessions in a row and combine that with not missing shots themselves in their subsequent possessions.

With 8:22 left in the second the score was tied 28-28 and the Hornets didn't score until the 5:35 mark. The Rockets took that solid defense and didn't waste their offensive possessions scoring 12 unanswered points missing only one shot in that span. It was a remarkable stretch of the game, and the Hornets had no answer.

My overarching view of the game is that they really missed David West and only Chris Paul could make it happen without him. Chandler looked completely lost unless he was getting an alley-oop from CP3. The Rockets missed Landry badly as well, but decided to make 14 three pointers to compensate.

Chris Paul is a man, though he's not 40, he did everything he could to keep his team in it, but ultimately couldn't do it by himself. 37 points on15-26 shooting (and 4-4 from the line where he is a golden god) and 11 assists usually wins games, it didn't on Saturday. He's the best point guard in the league. (Note: Deron Williams is the second best, he is better in their head to head but not as good when not facing Paul) Rafer Alston was apparently trash talking the entire game, but I'm not sure about what, you don't have a guy shoot 57.6% on you and throw 11 dimes and talk trash to him. You just don't do it. Though I bet that was pretty fun to listen to.

I will give Rafer the props he deserves though. 7-13 shooting overall , 4-8 behind the arc, and (FINALLY) 2-2 from the line for 20 points deserves some accolades. He did hack Paul repeatedly though and get torched on the defensive end, so I'm going to hold back the back patting a bit.

Near the first 1/3rd of the streak I started praising McGrady for coming back to his old self, Saturday he shined like he hasn't in years. 41 points on 62% shooting and making all of his free throws is ridiculous. But he didn't stop there, he added 9 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. Tracy played defense like he actually wanted to be there and it was awesome. Now you've shown me you can do it though TMac, I want to see it every night. You're only 28 years old and should have 6 or so years left, keep it up.

Next up for the Rockets are the New Jersey Nets at 7:30PM CST in the Toyota Center. I wish I could say I'd be there, but I'll not even be able to watch it tonight. My wife got free tickets to the rodeo so that's where I'll be. Hopefully I'll be able to catch the 4th quarter on the radio on the way home.

The good guys are looking for their 19th straight victory, something only 3 teams have achieved previously in NBA history, and they get to try for it against an Eastern Conference scrub. It just so happens that the Rockets can tie the Nets of 03-04 with a 10th straight victory by double digits if they can accomplish that tonight.

New Jersey Nets: 26-37 (11-20 on the road) 3-7 in their last 10

Houston Rockets: 42-20 (23-9 at home) 10-0 in their last 10

The Nets have now lost 5 in a row and the Rockets have won 18 in a row, somehow they are both in the playoff picture of their respective conferences. When I first looked at the Nets last 5 games I thought, "Wow, they got killed by 5 good teams", then I saw this in there:

Mar 05 @MEM Loss 100-93

Ouch man, very ouch. Losing to Memphis at this point in the season? That's just not cool. It was on a back to back, so I guess I'll cut them a little slack, but still, that's hard to do.

Well, it's time to get back to what pays the bills, but...
What's my predictions? 19 in a row of at least 21