A busy weekend caused me to miss blogging about Friday nights game against the Memphis Grizzlies so let me start with that. I would say that even without Yao Ming (set to have surgery today) the Houston Rockets were favored to win against what’s left of the Grizzlies after all the trades. The Rockets jumped out to a 20 point lead after the first quarter again fueled by great defense. McGrady led all scorers with 25 points and Mutombo continued doing what he does best and recorded 4 blocked shots for the second game in a row. The real story here was Luis Scola and Carl Landry. The 2 rookies combined for 30 points and 8 rebounds filing in nicely for the 20+/10+ void that Yao’s injury has created. Scola also had 5 steals and Shane Battier added 4 blocked shots of his own… did I mention the Rockets are a solid defensive team? Once again there were 6 Rockets that put up double digit scoring. It wouldn’t stop there however, with 14 wins in a row in the record books Houston looked to tie a franchise record against the Nuggets Monday night.
In the Rockets opinion they have nothing to prove. They understand that people are dismissing them as contenders in the West despite the fact they hold the leagues season best winning streak record. This game was for a little pride and a whole lot of confidence. Houston seems to agree with the saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Now that’s not to say that there is no room for improvement but the Rockets, yet again, focused on their blistering defense and got everyone involved… something that has worked well for the Rockets in the absence of Yao. Tracy McGrady provided the usual scoring lift that we have come to expect from him in these past few games, once again leading all scorers with 22 points. Shane Battier was the difference maker in this game however. Battier is known around the league as a quality defender, probably the Rockets best defender. So night in night out Shane is faced with guarding the opposing teams top player and tonight was no different. Not only did Battier hold All-Star Carmelo Anthony to 19 points he also added 20 points of his own to go along with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocked shots.
Houston now sits on the verge of setting a new franchise record for longest winning streak and plays the Indiana Pacers Wednesday night followed by the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday. What Houston can’t do is think that the Pacer game will be a “gimme” just because Indiana has a losing record. The Rockets must remain focused for the remainder of the season in order to make great things happen, Rick Adelman knows this and I’m sure the rest of the Rockets do as well.
With the West being as volatile as it is the Rockets now find themselves tied for 5th place with the Phoenix Suns. On ESPN.com the Rockets are ranked number 5 in the power rankings and NBA.com has them listed as the number 2 team in the league ahead of the Lakers. Here’s some interesting stats for you: The Rockets are 14-0 since Luis Scola has become our starting forward and 19-1 when Carl Landry plays 10 minutes or more.
