Okay, I just spent a few hours on a plane earlier today just going through all my thoughts from last night’s game. Forgive any typos: I’m rushed to get this posted before my next flight takes off. None of these are in any particular order. Just random spewing Larry King style:

* For fans who have been following the Rockets all season, I think we’re too close to understand that this streak is bigger than we fully realize. When ESPN starts Sportscenter off with the Rockets’ streak and Jay Leno mentions it in his monologue, you know this is a much bigger deal than we have even realized…

It’s kind of like “continental drift”…like we’re on this Rocket continent that has been moving slowly along the earth’s crust surrounded by ocean waters toward a climate on the planet that fosters lush vegetation, hitting tectonic plates along the way (Hornets, Mavericks, etc.) to create high-rising mountains on its coasts. Then along come some extra-terrestrials (the mainstream media) who fly overhead, look down from their spaceship and are amazed that this part of the planet can be so fantastic. But to us here in Rocketopia, although we’re extremely grateful for this land of ours and its accomplished leaders – Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming – we realize our land has been great all along its trek, and is what we have come to expect.

* Who would have thought earlier this season that games against sub-.500 Eastern Conference teams in March would be anticipated as much as a playoff game in May?

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How sweet it is! 21 in a row! The elder statesman of the Rockets, Dikembe Mutombo, hugs Tracy McGrady after a historic game that gave the Rockets the 2nd-longest win streak in NBA history. Unfathomable.

Below, coach Rick Adelman joins his players in a moment of solidarity.

Click here for more photos from the game.

I just can’t get over what is going on with the Rockets. It’s hard for me to go to sleep, yet I know the amount of time it would take for me to write everything I’m thinking would not be good for my health, especially since I have to leave for the airport in the morning. So I hope to post more of my thoughts by late Saturday night after a long day of flying to the West Coast.

Because it’s hard for me to get to bed, I have done something unprecedented to commemorate this momentous occasion. As time-consuming as it is to do after a game, I have uploaded some of the national TV coverage from ESPN talking about the Rockets’ winning streak. Please go to the bottom of this post to see those videos (you might have to click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link). I think you’ll really like them.

But for now, I do have a few things to write:

Never in our lifetime could we see again what we have seen these past several weeks.

The Charlotte Bobcats gave everything they had Friday night to keep the Rockets from making history, a quest to become the 2nd-longest winning streak in league history — 21 in a row.

The fact Houston had to scratch and claw to get an 89-80 win makes getting the record that much sweeter. The players and fans had to sweat out every possession, the players had to overcome a 13-point deficit in the second quarter (their largest deficit during the streak), they overcame poor shooting from the field (40.9%) and very bad free throw shooting (57%), and they faced very underrated superstars in Jason Richardson (28 points) and Emeka Okafor (23 points) who wanted to show they can beat the best.

But Tracy McGrady put on an amazing display of determination and stamina, playing all 48 minutes to score 30 points on 12-of-25 shooting, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. Without him, the Rockets lose this game. Plain and simple. There were other players who stepped up, who I hope to write about on my next post to give them justice.

But first and foremost, McGrady is playing like Dwyane Wade in the NBA Finals two years ago. It’s such a beautiful thing to witness. A guy who has been much maligned in his career is proving to his critics what he’s made of. I’ve never seen a more determined McGrady in my life. His finest moments have come during this streak.

Rocket fans will never forget this streak, which may come to an end Sunday against the hyped up Lakers, even without Pau Gasol in the lineup because of a sprained ankle from Friday night. Kobe is playing out of his mind, as always. It’s going to be an awesome match-up. A game for the ages.

But a few more thoughts about this historic streak. I am ecstatic the Rockets took care of business and won every game they could have been expected to win before these next 5 games they play against playoff contenders.

I don’t think Rocket fans have felt this good since the Rockets went up 2-0 against Dallas in that playoff series 3 seasons ago. We all know how that turned out. But regardless of what happens this season with the Rockets, they have shown more determination in winning the last 9 games without Yao Ming than I have seen from a Rockets team since 1995.

This game felt like a playoff atmosphere from the beginning. The stands were full and all the fans were into it. If it could only be like that all the time when the Rockets aren’t on big winning streaks.

Okay, below are those videos I recorded from ESPN’s “NBA Fastbreak” show. The first video includes an interview of McGrady after the game in front of Houston’s fans (sounds similar to when they won an NBA championship in ‘94 and ‘95!) as well as comments from Rick Carlisle, former NBA coach with Indiana and Detroit, who gives massive props to the Rockets (if you just want to read Carlisle’s comments, please see my transcription below the video):

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Yao Ming blocks a shot by Charlotte’s Raymond Felton Sunday night where Yao recorded 3 rejections on the night. But Yao did even more damage on the offensive end, hitting 13-of-15 shots and making 8-of-8 free throws to score a season-high 34 points. He also grabbed 8 rebounds and dished 4 assists in the 85-82 victory. Click here to see more photos from the game.

The Rockets had no business winning Sunday night in Charlotte. Except for Yao Ming, who was absolutely fantastic, the Rockets shot poorly, had no production from their bench, and turned the ball over way too many times. But thanks to Tracy McGrady finally taking it to the basket in the fourth quarter (rather than settle for jumpers), and Yao’s consistency throughout the game, the Rockets pulled out an impressive 85-82 come-from-behind victory.

Yao put together a game that makes you think, at this rate, that the league MVP could be a real possibility, just like it was last season before he got hurt. Yao made an incredible 13-of-15 shots to score 34 points, making all 8 of his free throws along the way, including two FTs that put the Rockets up 83-82 with 20.4 seconds left. He also had 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks.

It was fun to watch this game because there seemed to be a large contingent of Yao fans in Charlotte, of all places, cheering Yao when he scored, more than most small market arenas that Yao visits.

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Yao skies over Charlotte’s Emeka Okafor Friday night on his way to 21 points in 25 minutes during a blowout victory over the Bobcats, 92-62. Click here for more photos.

Friday night the Rockets got payback for losing games they should have won against woeful Charlotte the past couple seasons. Sure, the Bobcats were without starting point guard Brevin Knight and Adam Morrison had another awful night shooting (1-of-11 for 2 points), but the Rockets didn’t care.

Last season they lost their only game in Charlotte, and the previous season they lost both games to them within a span of 4 days – losses that eventually affected their playoff seeding and forced them to play a much tougher Dallas Maverick team in the first round. We all know how that turned out.

The Rockets took care of business Friday night, holding the Bobcats to the lowest number of points in their three seasons by a mile (9 points), blowing them out 92-62 and holding them to 28.4% shooting.

The defense is playing like I have never seen before, holding their opponents to more than 4.5 points per game than anyone else in the league. Houston (86.52 ppg) leads San Antonio’s 91.05. Those numbers are incredible. They are second to San Antonio is average point differential per game (9.2 vs. 6.47).

What has really helped those numbers over the last week is that the Rockets held Cleveland to 63 points last Saturday night, then set their franchise record by holding Charlotte to 62 points on Friday night. We bow down to you, Jeff Van Gundy, Shane Battier, and the rest of the team.

What else can you say in a blowout win? There are no complaints from me, and you can’t say anything else to describe it other than “dominant.” Yao (21 points in 25 minutes) and T-Mac (23 points in 27 minutes) hardly played in the fourth quarter where they led by as much as 36 points.

Let’s hope this extra rest helps them in their back-to-back against Washington Saturday night. The rest they got in the fourth quarter against Golden State on Tuesday certainly didn’t help them in their awful performance Wednesday night against the Timberwolves.

Juwan Howard got lots of playing time Friday night and rebounded from his 0-for-5 shooting game against Minnesota by hitting 6-of-11 (12 points) and grabbing 6 rebounds.

The Rockets shared the ball very well, dishing out 14 assists, with T-Mac getting 5 of those. Battier had three assists, and chipped in 3 steals and 6 points. But his defensive job on Morrison was his greatest contribution, which is becoming a common theme against big-time scoreres (e.g. Lebron James).

John

Click here for the game story.

WEDNESDAY, 1/25/06 - This is going to be very short since I have been working tons of hours on a work project that is due in the next couple of days. As a result, I wasn’t able to watch the Rockets play the Charlotte Bobcats Wednesday night, which is a big sacrifice in my book. Wouldn’t you know…once I am not able to watch a Rockets game, they go off and have their biggest margin of victory this season, 102-78, over Charlotte, who have been injury-depleted themselves lately (Emeka Okafor, Gerald Wallace and Kareem Rush).

From what I read, the Rockets made sacrifices themselves with coach Jeff Van Gundy changing many of the locker room rules before the game to replicate the atmosphere the team has while on the road, and where they have a much better record: 11-13 compared to 3-13 at home. Van Gundy took away the hot buffet for their pre-game meal and had it replaced with cold sandwiches. The team lounge was locked. Injured players and ballboys, who normally don’t travel with the team, were not allowed in the locker room or allowed to sit on the bench.

Obviously, it worked. I give credit to Van Gundy for saying he DOES NOT CARE what people think about the changes.

Because the Rockets had a rare blowout victory, T-Mac didn’t have to play the fourth quarter, and still finished with 29 points. Newcomers Lonny Baxter and Chuck Hayes continue to play well, which is very encouraging. Baxter finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Hayes scored 11 and grabbed 8 boards. I don’t remember two new undrafted players making such an impact at the same time on the Rockets in a long time.

It will be interesting to see what happens when many of the Rockets’ injured players are able to return, like Bob Sura, Derek Anderson and Jon Barry. Forgetting the fact that these three guys play guard and Baxter/Hayes play forward…Sura and Barry are near the end of their career, as is Anderson (and who has been a big disappointment this year). Who knows, you might see the Rockets keep these guys on the inactive list, hope they retire in the off-season, and lock up Baxter and Hayes for the remainder of the season and maybe beyond.

Oh well…I have to get back to working on my project. Hopefully the results of my sacrifices this week will turn out the same way as it did for the Rockets Wednesday night.

John
john@YaoMingFanClub.com

To see the boxscore from the game, click here.

To read the Houston Chronicle’s article of the game, click here.

TUESDAY, 1/10/06 - Man, these summaries are getting hard to write, folks. I thought I was going to have a great story to write tonight, with heroic three-pointers from John Lucas III (his first NBA 3-pointer), Luther Head and Rafer Alston that either kept the game close or tied in a game that went two overtimes.

But with only 9 players active, it was going to be tough to win a game that went this long especially considering the pitiful way the refs were calling this game. By the time the game ended, Juwan Howard and Lonny Baxter had fouled out, leaving the Rockets with only 7 players. In addition, it had to be one of the worst officiated games I have seen in a long time.

Stromile Swift was held out because of a scratched eyeball. Of course, T-Mac is out because of back spasms, and Yao is still a few weeks from returning to action. If they had just one of those players in action, they probably would have won this game considering how scrappy the remaining players performed to keep them in this game. You have to give them credit for not giving up, and it’s nice to see young players like Lucas and Head show what they can do.

The key to losing this game for the Rockets is their failure to come up with rebounds, giving the Hornets many second chances after missed shots. They also failed to cover Primoz Brezec on two consecutive possessions in the second overtime, and he hit wide-open jumpers to stick daggers in Houston’s heart.

Other than that, I’m not going to go into the details of this game. It sucks losing and being 12-21. But I will give props to Juwan Howard for scoring 28 points (20 points in the first half) on 13-of-26 shooting, and grabbing 12 rebounds – although it was Howard who left Brezec open on both of those aforementioned jumpers.

David Wesley had a fine game, scoring 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Even Alston’s line in the boxscore looked good: 20 points and 10 assists, although he threw up some bricks late that could have given the Rockets some breathing room.

It’s good that Alston had the line he had tonight since Mike James was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week.

Can we just end this season and start over?

John
john@YaoMingFanClub.com

To see the boxscore from the game, click here.