I'm sitting here smiling and shaking my head. I just finished watching the Rockets win their 22nd straight game. This is the second longest winning streak in NBA history, and after watching them beat the Lakers today and take over first place in the West, I see why - though I still have a hard time believing what I just saw, especially considering that the last 10 wins in this streak have come without Yao, and the last few without Carl Landry, their surprisingly effective rookie power forward.
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The first thing you need to realize about the Rockets is that their defense is excellent. Throughout this game, all of their players were active on the perimeter, ad Dikembe is an imposing force down low. They held Kobe to 24 points on 33 shots, which is fantastic.
Also, the whole team has a swagger to it. Bobby Jackson is looking like the dangerous scorer he was with Sacratomato, which is a bad sign for the rest of the West. Dikembe's finger has never wagged more vigorously. And at the end of today's game, as Rafer Alston was dribbling out the clock, he went a little Skip 2 My Lou on Sasha Vujacic, who didn't appreciate it and fouled him. Alston then got in his face. There was no need for it, really, but it's the kind of thing you see from a really confident team that really demoralizes its opponents. Also, you're allowed to play around a little bit in the final seconds of a game where you scored 31 points and went 8/11 from three.
And T-Mac has really raised his game and is playing at an All-Star level. If the Rockets win the West, this really confounds the MVP vote. It's probably still Kobe, but now you really have to seriously consider McGrady along with Garnett, Chris Paul, and probably Dwight Howard as well. (LeBron is not in my top 5 - the Cavs don't have nearly a good enough record considering that they're in the East.)
So how far can the Rockets go? Frankly, at this point, there's no way they're not a title contender. The stretch of games they're in now is their toughest test to date, and if they fare poorly, then I may revise that statement, but having just beaten the Lakers, they clearly deserve to be considered amongst the best of the West, which puts them amongst the best in the league. Also, no team has ever gone on a winning streak like this and not won the title. The '72 Lakers, '71 Bucks, 2000 Lakers, '96 Bulls, '70 Knicks - all champions. The '82 Celtics are the only team ever to win 18 or more and not win the title (they lost to the eventual champion Sixers in the Eastern Conference Finals that year), and the Rockets are on 22 and counting. Watch them and you'll see - this team just knows how to play basketball.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
How far can the Rockets go?
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2 comments:
T-mac's gotta be in the MVP vote, but I do disagree about Lebron not being on the list. He's having his best season to date and is single-handedly carrying a team. His presence might very well give the Cavs 35 more wins than they would have otherwise. I could see them being down with the Heat if LBJ were out for an extended period. It's hard to discount a guy who puts up 31 ppg, 7.5 apg, and 8 rpg and has single-handedly kept his team (semi) relevant. Dwight Howard's Magic aren't that much better and he has a much better supporting cast.
It is hard to discount LeBron. On the other hand, at least the Magic would make the playoffs in the West. The Cavs would be in 10th place, 4 games out of a playoff spot in the West. Howard's supporting cast might be better, but the Magic are significantly better than the Cavs. I don't think that taking a team from terrible to mediocre is good enough to earn the MVP award.
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