“I think the intensity from the beginning of the first quarter was there. Our overall concentration was there. We knew what we needed to do, and it helps when our shots are falling as well.”
The intensity has not only been there one game and not there the others, over the last 21 games, it has been there every single night.
The Houston Rockets have won 21 straight games, and are on a 30-2 stretch as a whole.
"They can call us the worst team to win 21 games in a row, but they can never take that away from us."
The Rockets play with a chip on their shoulder. When Yao Ming went down for the season, the win streak was going to end after an impressive, but not great, run.
Dikembe Mutombo came in an showed that you should never forget the value of the blocked shot, as he has been waving that finger very often over the last few games.
Today's Must Reads
"We're in a war now."
The Rockets are playing with a bulls-eye on their back. Everybody wants to be the one to stop the second longest win streak in NBA history.
Today they play the Lakers for Western Conference supremacy. The two teams are currently tied for first place and home-court advantage in the playoffs.
"They don't play teams with a full roster."
They've played a Caron Butler-less Wizards team, a David West-less Hornets team, along with multiple other teams that didn't have an important part to their roster.
But to those who say that they don't play full teams, what about the fact that they are playing without Yao Ming, arguably the best player on the team.
"The streak is bound to end soon."
We'll find out just how good the Rockets are over the next stretch that they have to face.
Through the end of the month, the Rockets play the Lakers, Celtics, Hornets, Warriors, Suns, and Spurs.
If they make it through that stretch undefeated, we could be looking at one of the greatest basketball teams of all time.
The all-time mark for longest winning streak is 33 wins by the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Rockets will be hard pressed to make it to that level, but look for them to make some deafening noise.
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5 months ago
They'll be hard pressed to make it 22. They are playing the Lakers as I type, and are only winning by one.
If anything, turnovers will be their downfall today.
from 5 months ago
rockets pulling away, it's still early but i have a feeling we're about to see 22 in a row
from 5 months ago
Goes to show what I know about basketball...Houston blew Los Angeles out of the water by 12 points!
Good for them. I don't see them winning the next three games, though.
(But, again, what do I know?)
from 5 months ago
Yea, i didn't get to see most of the game (i hate work) but the rockets are definitely going to have a tough time in the next stretch, they are playing murderers row right now.
5 months ago
Rockets BLOW Lakers away!!
5 months ago
Not to say that I don't respect the Rockets, but I just can't take them seriously. They have looked better without their leading scorer, rebounder, and shot blocker, but I can't label them as legit contenders.
5 months ago
Houston Rockets for President!
from 5 months ago
i'm sorry to dash your hopes but i don't think an entire team can be president, but maybe just t-mac, or whoever their coach is, also (completely off the topic of the previous comment), did anybody else see the story on ESPN this morning where they asked rockets fans who the coach was and to name 2 players off the bench, and most of them couldn't do it. the rockets don't even get respect from their OWN fans, how do they expect casual fans to respect them? they gotta work on that fan base, even i kno the head coach of the Bulls is that Jim Boylan guy and Thabo Sefelosha and larry hughes both come off the bench, and that is the BULLS, not the #1 team in the stacked west.
5 months ago
It's an incredible ride, but is anyone honestly afraid to face this team in the playoffs? If I were any team in the West, Houston would be my second favourite to play after Phoenix of course.
This is no D-I-S-R-E-S-P-E-C-T, but like someone above me has said, it's hard to take them seriously. They're playing unbelievable ball, but such a run cannot be sustained in the tough grind of the playoffs where they'd be up against a better and more talented team for a 7 game series. The magic will wear off and the self-doubt will resurface.
I'm rooting for them. I want to see them continue this W-streak into 2009. But the streak is ending next game.
You can count on it =(
from 5 months ago
i guess you are a rockets fan, sorry you feel that way, the streak will probably end soon but they are a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs
5 months ago
I'm so sick of hearing how the Rockets haven't played any 'real' competition over their amazing winning streak. Simply ridiculous.
While on this streak, they've beaten 3 of the top eight in the east (as of 3/17). They didn’t play the other 5, and they beat Orlando before the streak started. True the east is weak, but you can't blame the Rockets for that.
As far as the west goes, these teams have fallen to the Rockets during the streak: Mavs, Lakers, and the Hornets. To say that these teams aren't 'real' contenders is stupid. The west simply dominates over the east.
I only mentioned 6 teams that lost to the Rockets during the streak. That leaves 14 others, and I guarantee that your so-called 'legitimate' teams have lost to one of those 14.
Furthermore, many of these wins have been dominate. They have been victories of 10 points or more. The record speaks for itself. The Rockets are playing true team basketball, and that can’t be argued. To say the Rockets aren’t a threat is to live in denial.
Suck it nay-sayers!! RECOGNIZE!!
from 5 months ago
good stats, as they say, you play the teams you are scheduled, you can't change that, and teams shouldn't get punished for that, unfortunately, they do. but thankfully there are those to show that there are plenty of good teams with weak schedules.
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