Way back on Jan. 27, a loss to the Utah Jazz left the Houston Rockets at 24-20, on the outside looking in at a tight playoff race in the Western Conference.
Fast forward to today, where the Rockets are the hottest team in the NBA and are in position not just to make the playoffs but to earn the conference's third seed. Thanks to a winning streak that stands at 19 games after last night's win over the New Jersey Nets, Houston is the talk of the league and appears to have sewn up a spot in the postseason.
How has a team that was once on pace to win 45 games climbed all the way up the ladder, now sitting at a record of 42-20? The Rockets have upped their defensive intensity and put forth an impressive offensive outburst on their hot streak, one that has managed to offset the loss of All-Star center and leading scorer Yao Ming.
Without Yao, the scoring burden has fallen mostly on the shoulders of Tracy McGrady, and he has delivered. The oft-injured McGrady sat out three weeks earlier in the season due to a lingering left knee problem that still has been plaguing the star guard. However, the effects of the injury have not hampered him on the court as of late, as McGrady has stepped up in all facets of his game to lead his team.
In six games without Yao, McGrady has averaged almost 26 points per game and is now tied for 14th in the league in scoring. That is not the most impressive stat however, as he has also chipped in over six assists and 5.5 rebounds per game in the span as well.
Although the Rockets seem like they need to increasingly rely on McGrady without Yao's 22 points a game, a number of other players have stepped up to help Houston continue its streak. Rafer Alston has been a catalyst for a Rockets offense that has averaged 103 points per outing over the winning streak. The point guard is averaging 12.8 points and 5.7 rebounds but has been particularly impressive in the last week, averaging over 20 points per game as his team's second option.
A pair of rookies in the frontcourt, Luis Scola and Carl Landry, have also buoyed the Rockets. Scola, a former star in Europe and stalwart of the Argentinean national team, was acquired from the San Antonio Spurs in the offseason and has been an important piece for the Rockets as a skilled rebounder who shoots with a high percentage from the floor.
Landry has just recently been seeing significant playing time in the second half of the season but has become one of the most important players on the team. Coach Rick Adelman has witnessed Landry tally 8.5 points and five rebounds a game in limited playing time, as the rookie has made the most of his minutes. Landry is also shooting an absurd 64 percent from the field, becoming a strong inside force for the Rockets while proving he is adept at notching easy buckets.
Although Houston has received quite a lift from Scola and Landry, the team will need to continue to rebound and play strong defense if it wants to parlay its regular-season success into a postseason run. In winning its last nine games by double digits, Houston has turned up its defense along to go along with its strong offense. The Rockets are now one of the best defensive teams in the league, holding opponents to just 43 percent shooting while also boasting the fourth-best opponents' scoring average in the NBA.
Much of this can be attributed to strong interior defense and the fact that the Rockets are the second-best rebounding team in the league. While Adelman's teams have traditionally been offensive powers - his Sacramento Kings led the league in scoring for three straight years during his tenure there - this Houston team will need to play tough defense to continue its success. With Shane Battier, who is acknowledged as one of the better on-the-ball defenders in the league, the Rockets at the very least have a player who matches up with some of the top scoring guards and forwards in the Western Conference.
The NBA record for consecutive wins is 33 by the 1972 Los Angeles Lakers. With a win last night, the Rockets tied the 2000 Lakers for the third-longest streak of all time. Those who knock the validity of Houston's streak need only look at victories in its last few games over a pair of contenders in the Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Hornets, in addition to wins in their last 11 road games, to see that this team is itself a legitimate threat in the West.
The Rockets are unlikely to make it to the 33-win mark, but this streak still remains the most impressive of the NBA season. Though the loss of Yao Ming will likely catch up to the Rockets come June, right now they have nothing to worry about. In fact, the only thing Houston fans have been able to complain about nowadays is a lack of respect from the rest of the league.
Note to Rockets fanatics: Everyone is quite aware of just how well your team is playing. And if Houston continues this run, anyone with their head in the sand will know soon enough.
