MVN - Most Valuable Network

Rocket’s streak entended to XX

This one was perhaps more hard-fought, but wins are ALL going to be tough from here on out as the Houston Rockets are just a blood-red target for every opponent to knock them off their high perch.   In Atlanta, the Hawks opened up fast to a 14-4 start and kept it close til the end, but Tracy McGrady and Co. finally pulled away from a five point difference late to almost close the game out with another double-digit win.  McGrady’s shot with ten seconds left missed, and Atlanta scored making the final score 83-75.  

Not since 1971 has an NBA basketball team won twenty straight games.   The Lakers and Bucks are the only other two teams that share this distinction.  Houston plays Kobe and the Lakers on Sunday for, quite possibly, the number one seed position.

Yet, there’s still so many detractors.  So many people who call into the radio shows, email the editor, or simply write to yours truly, with questionable use at best of the Queen’s English (see comments below from previous post), and continue to berate the Rockets as a soft, talent-less team that can’t win when it counts.  Well, sure, the playoffs aren’t here yet, and TMAC has that stigma forever attached to his jersey until he gets his team to the second round, but what idiot uses that to separate himself from being able to enjoy a sporting feat not seen since..   well..   the Nixon era?     Is this Tracy-Gate?

Time out.  Folks, enjoy what you’re watching here, because I can tell you this.  Despite the absolutely unintelligent argument that Houston has played a “soft” schedule during this run, the fact remains - since every team in the NBA plays relatively the same schedule each year, why hasn’t anyone else been able to accomplish what we’re seeing happen here today?  Let’s see:  Dallas, San Antonio, LA and Phoenix - they all play Western Conference teams; the same teams Houston has during this stretch.  THEY don’t have a streak nearly this long, although San Antonio put on a pretty good stretch before finally falling recently.  Did anyone call the Spurs soft for that successful run?   Methinks some sour grapes are making their way around the country.  C’mon, this is exciting.  Had this been the Celtics on a streak like this, were you also going to say that Kevin Garnett is a chump and will eventually hack up a hair ball in the playoffs?  I think there are just some folks that can’t quite understand the big picture here. 

This is good basketball, folks.  The boys are having a lot of fun with it and even at each other’s expense.  Deke is being given the business here in this video on YouTube.   (Thanks, Dave A.)

The coming together of all the parts that Coach Adelman has massaged into a cohesive unit is nothing short of amazing; team chemistry I haven’t seen since the championship years of 94-95 with Dream and Clyde.  Luis Scola has more than earned his paycheck for his rookie year and discussions of him surpassing Kevin Durant of the Sonics for Rookie of the Year is already out on the internet. 

They say you have to have a lot of things go right for you to make it all come together for a championship season.  In recent years, it’s always been the things that have gone wrong that have kept Houston from being a contender with a rash of injuries to the star players every single year.  In 2007, you have a new coach, new system, new players.  Who would have thought you could put all that newness into a package that would produce this type of success the first year……  and without your 7′ 6″ center, to boot?

Credit to the coach and GM..     Credit to the players for stepping up.  

Someone asked me the other day if I was enjoying the ride.   Are you kidding?  I’m driving the bus, man.  I’m driving the bus and I ain’t stopping for anything or anybody. 

Oh, well, maybe for XXI.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 at 9:32 pm and is filed under Houston Rockets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.