Tough win to type about

Not because it was a tough game, but because I'm dumb and sliced the mess out of my index finger on my dominant right hand. As stated previously, I'm prepping for the Rodeo BBQ cook-off coming up and apparently you are not supposed to grab a knife by the blade. Good to know.

The Rockets won in fantastic team minus Alston fashion. Although Rafer shot 50% he was 3-8 at the three point line and had 6 turnovers. The 3-8 isn't that bad, but how he shot 4 of the 5 he missed are. I need the Rafer of the last 11 games back, I actually miss him. That Rafer wasn't forcing bad shots or throwing dumb passes. Last night's Rafer got a little full of himself, hopefully Tuesday he will come back to earth and realize shooting in traffic from the three is not his game. Don't get me wrong, he's been a huge part of this turnaround, I just hope he can continue that way the rest of the season, he's proved that it is within his game, and that my expectations of him are reasonable.

As for the rest of the team, everyone else played great. We shot 50% overall and 54% from behind the arc, 62% if you cut out Rafer. Seven players were in double digits and seven players had 4 or more rebounds. We shot about as well as a blind one armed child could from the free throw line at 54% but maybe we just wanted all of our shooting in the 50% range, who knows. Landry and Scola have too good of a shooting technique respectively to be shooting 50% or less from the line, by the end of the year I think that is fixed. Mostly I think it is because they are so active and they are just too tired by the time they get to the line, the form is there, the accuracy will get there I believe.

Tracy had pretty much a perfect game with 24 points on 7-13 shooting, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and only 1 turnover and 1 foul. He was driving to the hole, playing with the other guys and seemed to be smiling again. Thank you for coming back man, that's 2 games like that, and it's what I want from here on out. This Tracy doesn't lose games, I like this Tracy.

Yao was flustered for the most part but kicked the ball out well when he got it, he just had a bad game overall. These games happen for any big man, he'll bounce back. Chicago was able to get away with a lot of slapping because they have no one with height guarding him and everything happens down low in traffic. That's just the way it is.

Luis Landry was 9-15 for 23 points, 3 offensive and 6 defensive rebounds, 1 block and only 2 turnovers. They also led the league tonight in most bullshit fouls called against. They both completely deserved 1 each of their fouls, Landry slightly deserved another, and they had 5 others called they were completely phantom. It really was ridiculous, and all 5 were called by the same referee, coincidence? Maybe, but I don't think so. They were penalized for hustle and that's just not right, again, don't call something unless you actually see it.

Bobby Jackson was everything I hoped he could be when the trade was announced. He shot over 50% and had 11 high energy points to go with 2 assists. It was an impressive showing in 19 minutes. He got the team up and down the court efficiently and he drove the lane when it was there. He also doesn't have an ugly tearput in his arsenal. I hope he can keep this up for the next season and a 3rd.

Great game overall, I was proud of the guys. They didn't play extremely well, but led by 7-9 most of the game against a Bulls team that really tried hard. Luckily that team hasn't gelled yet and they are still very young. I was impressed with Noah as usual and Tyrus Thomas showed me more than I thought he would ever have. I would not expect too many more 50+% nights from Larry Hughes though.

That's 12 in a row of 16, kicking ass, and forgetting names.

Next up for the Rockets is the Washington Wi--rds, again, no Agent Zero, no A or Z, Tuesday night at 7:00PM CST at Toyota.

So I guess I predicted 16 in a row

With the Rockets winning Friday night, that would push my predicted winning streak to 16 in a row. Tonight the guys take on Chicago and try and live up to at least 12 of those. 16 would be the longest winning streak in club history, but first things first.

Chicago Bulls: 22-32 (10-18 on the road) 4-6 in their last 10

Houston Rockets: 35-20 (17-9 at home) 10-0 in their last 10

The Bulls scored 135 the Friday night against the Nuggets. The Rockets have held 8 of their last 9 opponent under 90 points, something has to give.

With the game coming up in 15 minutes I'll keep this nice and short. The Rockets have won 9 of the last 10 versus the Bulls and the last 4 overall.

My prediction? 12 in a row

For another great NBA blog, check out BlogABull, their preview is here

Rockets... Bulls... and being overlooked

Rockets riding an 11 game winning streak into the matchup with the underachieving Chicago Bulls tonight. This after beating down the New Orleans Hornets and CP3 on Friday night. Oh, and that was in New Orleans. Rockets kicking ass and taking names when they hit the road.

Tonight's mission? Stop Ben Gordon. Ben Wallace is no longer there to f--k up the Bulls' chemistry. Joakim Noah is actually going to get playing time. Fortunately we have the "Luis Landry" combination to match his energy level for 48 minutes.

Yeah, I like our rookies better than Chicago's... just look at this guy!

Scola even dresses up better than Noah. (And we do like Noah here, he just acts like a jackass sometimes!)

Meanwhile, I'd be remiss in overlooking this latest quote from the Fat Ass. Shaq to Yahoo:

“Amare Stoudemire is the best big man in the game right now,” O’Neal said. “I didn’t know he was that good. But talking to him and watching him play … he’s the best big man in the game.”

Yo, Shaq - how many times does Yao have to kick your ass before you show him some respect? It's okay, now that you are in the West again, you'll get to see Yao up close and personal a few more times each year. Next time he's going to run you over.

Ahhhh, forget Shaq. His new team just got blown out today. Again. Giving up wayyyy over 100 points. Again. Yeah, nice D there, Shaq. Time to go for an even dozen there, Yao.

It's like Gary Potter says -- harness in the good energy, block out the bad. Harness. Energy. Block. Bad. It's like a carousel. You put the quarter in, you get on the horse, it goes up and down, and around. Circular, circle. Feel it. Go with the flow. Get thee to the Happy Place, Yao!