The Streak.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Words by Scott Liu
It’s funny how all the experts keep predicting when the Rocket’s streak will end. It was supposed to come to an end in Dallas, but it didn’t. Then it was supposed to end against New Orleans in Houston, but it didn’t. There was no way it would get to 22 wins in a row on Sunday against the Lakers, but it did. Now it is supposed to end Tuesday night against Boston in Houston, I honestly believe the Rockets will win this one too; we will have to wait and see what happens. Oh I forgot, the Mavs had an excuse, Dirk was out for that game. The Hornets had one too; David West was out for that game. Let’s not forget about the Lakers, Pau Gasol was out of that game. Even though the Mavs still had Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, and Jason Terry (who lights the Rockets up almost every time they play); the Hornets still had Chris Paul, Peja Stojakovic, and Tyson Chandler; and the Lakers still had Kobe and Lamar Odem (this was the only mismatch the Lakers had and that great coach Phil Jackson wasn’t smart enough to exploit it). I would think that these teams still having that much talent on hand would be good enough to beat the Rockets, but the haters need their excuses I guess. Maybe they forgot that the Rockets are without their best player, for the rest of the season, if the Rockets lose, this won’t be their excuse, and in fact they don’t need and won’t use an excuse. I guess all the people who think 22 wins in a row is not impressive need a reason to explain why the Rockets won those games. They keep saying the Rockets haven’t beaten any good teams during the streak. They have beaten Golden State (who they hadn’t beaten in like 2 years until they became victim #1 out of 22 so far and T-Mac didn’t play in that game); they’ve beaten the Hornets twice, the Cavs twice, the Mavs, and now the Lakers. Now the experts are saying “we’ll we didn’t mean those teams, we meant the San Antonio’s, Boston’s, and Detroit’s of the league.” Now the Lakers, Mavs, Hornets, and Cavs aren’t good enough. Take it up with the NBA’s schedule makers, all the Rockets have done is beat the team they were scheduled to play for the last 22 times. Don’t be mad because it wasn’t your favorite NBA team who went on this incredible run, just sit back and appreciate the history you are witnessing, you may not see it again in professional sports in your lifetime, or you might see it next year. Stop acting as if this is an easy accomplishment, if it were, then why didn’t Magic’s Lakers, Bird’s Celtics, Isiah’s Pistons, or Jordan’s Bulls do it? Why haven’t the Spurs, Celtics, or Pistons of today had this kind of a run?
Those who doubt need to pay attention to why the Rockets are winning these games. 1st, they play relentless defense, just ask Kobe about Battier. 2nd, they play unselfish as a team. 3rd, they have a belief and confidence in themselves and their teammates. 4th, every player that hits the floor for the Rockets is a high energy player, they do not give up on any play, they get to almost all of the loose balls, and they fight hard and keep the ball alive for offensive rebounds. 5th, they have figured out Adelman’s offense, it took a while, but everyone know it would. So keep making your excuses and come up with more of them when the Rockets keep on winning. Are they a championship contender this year, maybe, but it will be a difficult road in the playoffs without Yao, but you never know what can happen, so don’t count this Rockets team out. A Lakers fan sat behind me at the Rockets game yesterday, he was full of excuses. When he was crying about Rafer Alston getting in Vujacic’s face and saying how Rafer sucked and all that, I calmly told him “he outplayed Kobe today.” He got quiet, thought about his reply for a minute and said “yeah, but they will lose in the 1st round again.” I replied “not this year, not this team, this isn’t the same group of players from last year.” He kind of looked at me frightened, like he realized I spoke the truth and that his Lakers may run into this team again in the playoffs. In fact, all the Lakers fans kept yelling after the game that the Rockets will lose in the 1st round again, to which I say “not this year, not this team.”
Hello Boston Celtics, welcome to Houston, TX where 23 in a row happens.
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Posted byEnigmatik at 9:11 PM
Labels: Houston Rockets
i guess it did end with boston. i turned on the game at the 3rd quarter, saw the score, and figured it was a wrap.