The Houston Rockets have made history this season. They now own the second longest win streak in NBA History. They haven't lost a game since late January. They won 21 in a row. They are second only to the 1972 Los Angeles Lakers who won 33 in a row. Ironically they go for 22 in a row today against the Lakers. The reason I think that this is such a big deal is because the Rockets lost their all-star center Yao Ming in the middle of their win streak and also they have played some of the elite teams in the NBA. In the 2000's there has been only one team to win 18 or more games in a row and that was the 1999-2000 Lakers. The Rockets on paper aren't that great of a team. They have many young guys and many old guys. Their only all-star is Tracy McGrady who I believe is one of the top 10 players in the NBA. Although they do not have the star power or the talent that the other top teams have, they are playing as a team and are playing with heart. Before their win streak they were 9th in the west and now they are tied for first with the Lakers.
The game today between the Rockets and the Lakers has a lot on the line. First, it is for first place in the Western Conference. The Western Conference race is very tight. Only 8 teams make the playoffs from each conference but from 1st place to 8th place all the teams are capable of beating each other. Second, the Rockets are putting their 21 game win streak on the line against a team that holds the record for most consecutive wins. Both teams are playing without two of their superstars. The Lakers are playing without Pao Gasol, the Spanish all-star who sprained his ankle two days ago against New Orleans and the Rockets are playing without 7'6 Chinese big man Yao Ming who has a stress fracture in his foot and will not play for the rest of the season.
Many people believe that Rockets streak will end today against the Lakers because they feel that the Lakers are stronger and will outplay them. The big matchup in today's game is gonna be between Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady. They both can score 50 points each and both lead their teams. Even if the Rockets win today I don't think they will tie or break the 33 game win streak record held by the 1972 Lakers because their next 5 games are against the top 5 teams in the NBA. Besides the Lakers today, they have the Boston Celtics who are the best team in the league, the New Orleans Hornets who are number 3 in the West, then they play Golden State who is number 8 in the west, and finally they play one of my favorite teams the Phoenix Suns who are in 4th place in the Western Conference. If the Rocket's can somehow win these 5 games and extend their win streak to 26, then I think they can reach 33 because their games after that are against crappy teams like Sacramento, Minnesota, Seattle twice, and the Clippers. But you never know what can happen in the NBA. We can only wait and see.
"Basketball is the second most exciting indoor sport, and the other one shouldn't have spectators." -Dick Vertleib
Free Throws
Perfect Form
About Me
- Virgil Q
- I'm pretty sure there's a lot more to life than being really, really good looking. And I plan on finding out what that is. I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal. People know me. I'm very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany. When you look into my eyes, it'll be like the first time you heard the Beatles. I'm a man who believes in you. My life is dedicated to saying things like "YES!" and "You better believe it!" I wasn't like every other kid, you know, who dreams about being an astronaut, I was always more interested in what bark was made out of on a tree. Richard Gere's a real hero of mine. Sting. Sting would be another person who's a hero. The music he's created over the years, I don't really listen to it, but the fact that he's making it, I respect that. I care desperately about what I do.