Houston Rockets Continuing To Grow, Mold, Succeed As a Team

I know we’re only 12 games into the NBA season, but the Houston Rockets continue to amaze me.

Forget the fact that the media constantly writes off the Rockets; they keep on winning on the hardwood, and that’s all that really matters.

One game after Houston knocked off the LA Lakers on the road, they faced an uphill battle in a matchup with the Phoenix Suns at Toyota Center.

And early on, it looked like the Rockets were going to cruise to a second consecutive victory over a team with only two prior losses; unfortunately, Houston fell apart late as the Suns regained control in the fourth and final quarter to defeat the Rockets at home.

However, Houston bounced right back with a big win against Minnesota on the road just one night after falling to the Suns.

Currently, the Rockets hold a 7-5 record heading into Friday’s showdown with the league-leading Atlanta Hawks (10-2).

“I hope the guys in the locker room can look at our team and say that when we play hard and play together we can be competitive with anybody,” Houston Rockets court leader Shane Battier told Rockets.com staff writer Jason Friedman.

“I also hope that when they look at our team and our losses—and how we lost—that if we don’t bring that same energy and togetherness, we can be beaten by anybody, anywhere. That’s a lot of range of possibilities for this team but if we focus on the good and focus on staying together, I think we can be competitive.”

Battier is always right on the money when it comes to explaining the Rockets chemistry. So is he pleased with the team’s current progress?

“I would say so. For a team that had so many unknowns coming into the year, I didn’t know what to expect to tell you the truth,” Battier said. “We’re going to get better and that’s the most important thing. We’re going to be a different team two months from now but we just need to continue to grow.”

Let’s raise a glass to hoping the Rockets can continue to succeed on the hardwood as they battle the Hawks tomorrow night in Atlanta.

I have no doubt that head coach Rick Adelman, general manager Daryl Morey, and the rest of the Rockets team and staff would be more than elated with a big "W" in Georgia.

I also have no doubt that Houston’s basketball team can win on the road against big name teams like the Atlanta Hawks.

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at [e-mail]