Burnt Orange.. Rockets

Happy to have Rockets fans talk hoops here. Go for it.

All I care about avoiding is juvenile Rockets-Mavs fans fights, which permeate other Longhorn boards.

I believe the proper term is Massholes.

At least that's the one I've seen used the most, so it is obviously correct.

have been nothing short of amazing. I'm a little bummed that a big part of the reason is the emergence of Scola and Landry, which cuts into Chuck Hayes' playing time. Hayes has got to be one of my favorite players. I think Hayes' amazing defensive effort and ability to fight for rebounds makes him a perfect complement to Yao, but his game hasn't improved since last year. Scola is often in the right position but doesn't have the greatest defensive skill, while Landry could get there but is much more progressed offensively than defensively at this point.

The outstanding play of Rafer is also a critical component. Keep in mind, this guy was pretty much left for dead when we traded for James and signed Francis. Now, neither is with the team, and Rafer is playing out of his mind (while we're on this subject, I'm not even convinced that Bobby Jackson is better option than Aaron Brooks, but I guess a second-team line-up that consists of Hayes at center and Luther Head at the 2 needs a bigger point than Brooks). He's got one of the best dribble-penetrations in the league, and one of my biggest complaints was that he refused to use that and instead relied too much on his mediocre outside jumper. Now he's getting to the hole a lot more often and even the jumper is falling with more regularity.

And hey, it's funny how all the folks that were calling in Houston radio shows saying that T-Mac needed to be traded (this was even happening DURING this win streak), I'd like to see this Houston team with spare parts that were bought for 60 cents on the dollar. We get it by now: he gets injured every so often, gets paid like Kobe but isn't nearly as good, and has never gotten out of the first round. But when he's on, he's still a hell of a play and one of the top 25 in this league. So let's embrace that.

I'm still not fully convinced that this team can make it out of the first round, but I'm coming around. The two West tests coming up against the Hornets and Lakers will show a lot about this new, Yao-less team.

Go Rockets!

Very very tiny devilish tools?

In H-town, and only left to go to UT-Austin.  I loved it out here, so now I reside in the Round Rock area, and it's much tougher to catch Rockets games with the Spurs being as successful as they are.  With that said, though, I HATE the Spurs, even though they don't strike me as a "hate-worthy" team, if that makes sense.  It has more to do with the rivalry than anything else.

Anyway, growing up, NBA basketball was where it was at.  Some of my greatest memories are the back to back Rockets titles in the early/ mid nineties, and I'll take it to my grave that Hakeem Olajuwon still doesn't get the credit he deserves, partially because he never sought that attention.  

Anyway, I'm very happy to see them thriving right now, even with Yao out.  I don't know if they have what is needed to win it all, but I'd like to at least see them get out of the first round and build on a successful first year under Adelman.  

to defend my Houston Texans, I will defend my Rockets to eternity.

Lets make it 18 against New Orleans. If they win tomorrow, I will recognize their streak in appropriate fashion.

... but I'm the kind that still expects them to perform like all the other Houston franchises - that is, horrendously disappointingly. These days, my big thing is McGrady.  If we're this good without Yao, imagine how good we'd be without him?  And in the playoffs?  We would be unstoppable without the guy!

ATTENTION: THIS WAS A JOKE!  GO ROCKETS, GO T-MAC!

Houston goes to 20-0 in Atlanta 83-75.

Both teams were ~33% FGM/A, and Acie Law contributed nada (0-4 FG in 10 minutes).

Box Score

Bring on the Bobcats!