It was the right idea but at the wrong time.
Winning 22 games in a row, the last 10 without All-Star center Yao Ming, may have proved to be the undoing of the Houston Rockets.
After soaring from also-rans to the top of the Western Conference, the Rockets have now dropped three out of their last four games, all to playoff teams by rather large margins.
The Detroit Pistons broke Houston’s 22-game streak on Tuesday with a resounding 20-point rout, winning 94-74. Then New Orleans followed up with a 21-point drubbing, 90-69, on Wednesday.
On Friday, the Rockets finally got back on the winning track, squeezing past Golden State, the eighth seed in the West, 109-106.
But tonight, Houston found themselves on the losing end of a 122-113 score at the hands of the Phoenix Suns.
Offensively, the Rockets were up to par. Tracy McGrady had 30 points and nine assists and eight rebounds while Luis Scola had 16 points and six rebounds. Rafer Alston added 15 points, Shane Battier 14 points, and Bobby Jackson, 13 points.
But where was the Rockets’ defense?
They allowed the Suns to shoot 57 percent for the game, an incredible 76 percent in the first half.
The Rockets’ defense allowed Amare Stoudemire to rack up 38 points, including a Suns record 20-for-20 from the free throw line. Stoudemire also had 13 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Shaquille O’Neal scored 23 points—the most he’s scored since coming to Phoenix—and added 13 rebounds. Raja Bell, who played for the injured Leandro Barbosa, contributed 21 points.
To be fair, the loss to the Hornets and tonight’s loss were the second games of back-to-backs. The Rockets have played four games in just five nights.
That’s enough to make any team leg-weary.
Nevertheless, the road doesn’t get much easier. The Rockets still have seven road games while playing only five at home. But only three of those road games are against quality opponents—the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, and Utah Jazz. Fortunately, they get to play Phoenix at home.
So, the question that Rick Adelman must be asking himself is whether or not the poor showing over the last four games is a result their schedule or has the team peaked way too early.
If it’s a case of the former, the Rockets can regroup and challenge both New Orleans and San Antonio for the lead in their division. But if it’s a case of the latter, then the Rockets will be fighting for their playoff lives over the next 12 games.
6 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Anonymous about 1 year ago
SUNS don't appear to have peaked YET. Each game Shaq appears to have improved over the last game. SUNS will be hot to handle for any team in the league in the playoffs. We know how good SA, Lakers, Detroit, Boston, NO, etc. are NOW and will be in the playoffs... BUT the question now is how good will the SUNS continue to get over the next 14 games?
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Joe Willett about 1 year ago
BOSTON beat the rockets, not detroit, BOSTON ended the win streak
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Paul Peszko about 1 year ago
Yes, you're right. Sorry about that.
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Lisa Jackson about 1 year ago
Another correction: Leandro Barbosa started for the injured Raja Bell. As is the case, everytime Leandro starts the game, the SUNS win. This game was no different. The Suns have a big road test ahead of them this week. Detroit (who annihilated the Suns at US Airways Center earlier this season), Boston (who lost to the Suns on the PHX court), Sixers (up and coming and 1 up on PHX in their series this season) and NJ (not much to worry about there.) If the SUNS can rack up enough wins on this week's road trip, you can't argue that they are serious contenders for the championship anymore.
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Andrew Ungvari about 1 year ago
What difference would it make, Lisa? The Suns could go 0-4 on this road trip and you'd still think they're a title contender. And don't count that NJ game as a victory just yet. The Nets are 18-18 at home and beat the Cavs and Jazz at home in the past 11 days.
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Lisa Jackson about 1 year ago
Andrew -isn't that the job of a real fan, having faith in their team? Are you saying that's wrong or a bad thing? It's not as though the Suns are a horrible team and I'm looking at them through rose-colored glasses. You know as well as I do that they have as good as a chance as any title contender team out there. To say otherwise is just plain ignorant. So your point is what exactly? I like my team? Yes, I do. No apologies from me on that one.
Isn't everyone beating the Cavs these days?
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