Free Throws - they are not the enemy

Hey, Houston Rockets...

I hope you were all watching last night's Memphis/Kansas game. Why? So that you will learn how freakin' important free throws are! No matter how talented or athletically superior you are to your opponent - if you can't make free throws, you will not win important games.

Remember, they are "free" for a reason.

You can't shoot 60% and still hope to win. Ask Memphis how that worked out for them.

Chuck Hayes... this does not apply to you.
Your free throw form is basically a lost cause.

For the rest of you, maybe you'll listen to MJ?



Damn I miss Yao and his 90% shooting from the charity stripe.

Maybe the Boston Globe was right after all (19-0!)

Last night, the Houston Rockets did what the New England Patriots could not - get that ever elusive 19th win (in a row). Suck on that Tom Brady and Bill Belichick! We are #1 - but you aren't! That's NINETEEN (19) WINS IN A ROW!

Fortunately for T-Mac and the Rockets, Elisha Manning is not on the regular season schedule. Though he has been showing up for a lot of basketball games lately - I think I even saw him at the Duke/UNC game!



Then again, not even Eli is a match for Luis Landry. (Come back Carl Landry - we need you. Bad! It was pretty clear we had a hole in our post offense last night!!)

What is there to say about last night's game? The Rockets could not shoot straight. They could not pass the ball. And they could not make free throws. So, they said "to hell with this, if we can't score, neither can New Jersey!" They then proceeded to shut down Jefferson. And made Vince Carter quit before the 3rd Q. VC quitting isn't exactly a surprise though - that had to be part of the gameplan.

Dikembe would not allow the Nets to score. At all.


I hesitate to write much more, because the game was really, really ugly on the offensive end. The Rockets recovered to shoot 46%, and the Nets limped to a 30% shooting game. No one player scored 20 points (T-Mac had 19 and then sat out the 4th Q). The Rockets free throw shooting was atrocious (though Tracy did go 6-7). 13-26. And we missed both of the FTs following technical fouls. Not quite a repeat of the Detroit game, but that is ugly. We cannot beat the other elite teams if we continue to shoot 50% from the FT line. It's unacceptable. Hopefully it's a byproduct of boredom from being up 20+ points every game.

Yeah, that's 10 wins in a row in double figures - tying a mark most recently matched by the Nets a handful of years ago. Impressive, indeed.

The 19 wins in a row ties the mark most recently matched by the 2000 Shaq and Kobe squad - on the way to their first of three rings (and the first of many locker room fights). Speaking of which, today is Kobe Bryant Blog Day over at Hardwood Paroxysm. Since Kobe is my current favorite player to have absolutely no connection to the Houston Rockets, I kinda sorta have to contribute. That should be posted shortly.

A 19 game winning streak (and counting) and day to write about Kobe. Awesome.

Go Rockets!

We win again! And again... and again...

That's 12!!!!!!

Rockets clearly the hottest team in the NBA right now. And with four more home games in a row, the streak could conceivably reach 16. Which would be the longest in the NBA this season, and would also be a franchise record.

Just imagine if we could shoot free throws!

or if Luther Head could learn how to make a post entry pass!

or if they'd stop calling B.S. fouls on our foreign guys!

or if Rafer would stop taking stupid shots and turning the ball over 6 times!

Go Rockets!