Houston Rockets are making history
The Houston Rockets not suffered a loss since January 29th,and they made the second longest winning streak in NBA history after they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers this afternoon 104-92 extending their winning streak to 22 games.
They are currently 11 games behind the Lakers 33 game winning steak led by Jerry West, Gail Goodrich and Wilt Chamberlain in 71′-72′. The Rockets are now approaching a 10 game winning streak without Yao Ming and will look to run the table in March. Despite all of this there are still many who question how far the Rockets can make it in the playoffs without Yao Ming down low. The Rockets have not been able to make it out of the first round of the playoffs in the Ming/McGrady Era.
With the Western Conference being so tough, the one seed will still have to play the likes of Golden State, Denver or even Dallas. With how competitive the West is seeding doesn’t even really matter at this point. From top to bottom, every team out West in the playoff picture has the chance to play in the Finals this year. The Rockets have the top seed right now but that is certainly no guarantee with the eight seed being just four games behind the top of the heap. Winning streaks and losing streaks are a fact of life in the NBA which should make for an exciting close to the NBA regular season.
Despite that the Rockets are playing fantastic basketball and have really found something special in Shane Battier, Luis Scola and Rafer Alston who are the glue that holds this team together. Not to mention you’ve got a superstar like Tracy McGrady who can score at will on any given night. I have been really impressed with the play of the Rockets, especially today when they defeated the Lakers at home in front of a raucous Houston crowd. Shane Battier and Rafer Alston were especially impressive against LA. Battier literally had a hand in Kobe’s face for every shot all game and both men along with newly aquired Bobby Jackson just rained down three pointers on the Lakers. The Lakers were without Pau Gasol and are still undoubtedly one of the favorites to win the West. With Andrew Bynum on his way back from an injured knee and Kobe on his way to a possible MVP award, the Lakers could be hoisting a trophy come June.
