Rockets stumbling at the finish
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Friday, April 9
Houston, we have, well, OK I'll say it, a problem.
The Rockets have lost five of their last six games and six of their last eight. Three of their last four wins, if you want to call them that, have come in overtime and the only one that didn't was against the Los Angeles Clippers, perhaps the worst team in the Western Conference.
With four games to play, they are two losses from falling to the eighth seed, three losses from falling completely out of the playoffs and four losses from making history.
That was the good news.
Tonight, they play against the Denver Nuggets, the team they are currently ahead of by only two games and a team they haven't beaten since Oct. 30, 2003. In case you don't remember, that was the first game of the season, and the Rockets have lost twice to them since.
"Both times they beat us, they were home with us off a back-to-back after (playing) the Lakers," Rocket point guard Steve Francis said in the Houston Chronicle. "We played a draining game on Christmas (in Los Angeles), and of course the game last week was after a prime-time game that took a long time, and guys were pretty tired. This time, both teams will travel and rest."
But that's where the similarities end. The Nuggets have won three in a row and five of their last seven as Carmelo Anthony has racked up 97 points since last Tuesday.
On Saturday, they play the Utah Jazz in Utah, a team the Rockets are currently ahead of by only 2½ games and a team they haven't beaten on the road since Feb. 12, 2003. In case you don't remember, that was last season, and the only two times the Rockets have beaten them this season was, first, in overtime in Houston, and, second, a day after the Jazz played the Grizzlies in Memphis, and that game was also in Houston.
"This is great," forward Maurice Taylor said. "This is fun. You've got to love it. You've got two teams chasing us, and we're playing those two teams. It's great."
But it gets worse.
On Monday, the Rockets play the Sonics in Seattle, a team that is no longer in the playoff hunt but a team, nonetheless, they have lost to three times in a row. In case you don't remember, the last time they beat the Sonics was April 12 of 2003. Again, that was last season.
And here's why. The Rockets may be holding opponents to only 40.9 percent shooting from the field to lead the league but, at the same time, they are allowing opponents to shoot 37.2 percent from 3-point range, which is the third-worst mark in the league.
And, in case you don't remember, the Sonics are a 3-point shooting team. In fact, they are the second-best 3-point shooting team in the league behind only the Kings.
"I think the main thing is to stay very united and together and not overly worry about everybody else -- Portland, Utah, Denver," said head coach Jeff Van Gundy. "We just have to do our job, focus on the here and now. We have to regain our defensive tenacity, rebounding intensity, and somehow try to handle the ball more carefully. The last 10 games (before Wednesday's win were) really substandard."
And then on Wednesday, the last day of the regular season, the Rockets play the Dallas Mavericks, a team that is seven games ahead of them after winning their last six in a row and a team that has beaten them twice this season already.
"I don't think we ever envisioned ourselves when we were five games up on everybody having this skid here," Eric Piatkowski said. "Now we're envisioning, if things don't go right, not even making the playoffs. So there is a little pressure. I'm looking at it like the pressure might be good, because the pressure is . . ."
It kind of drivels down from there about hope and challenges and the need to overcome obstacles and all I can remember is Van Gundy waxing biblical not three days ago.
"If we play right and we coach right, the results will start getting better," Van Gundy said a few days ago in the Houston Chronicle. "If not, we'll be part of a historic collapse, and once you face up to that fact ... No one wants to use that word, but it's on everybody's mind."
In that same article in the Houston Chronicle, they cite the Elias Sports Bureau in saying that the Rockets would be the first team since the current playoff format started in 1983-84 to miss the playoffs after being 10 games over .500 with fewer than nine games remaining.
In case you don't remember, that would make it historic.
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Friday, April 9
Houston, we have, well, OK I'll say it, a problem.
The Rockets have lost five of their last six games and six of their last eight. Three of their last four wins, if you want to call them that, have come in overtime and the only one that didn't was against the Los Angeles Clippers, perhaps the worst team in the Western Conference.
With four games to play, they are two losses from falling to the eighth seed, three losses from falling completely out of the playoffs and four losses from making history.
That was the good news.
Tonight, they play against the Denver Nuggets, the team they are currently ahead of by only two games and a team they haven't beaten since Oct. 30, 2003. In case you don't remember, that was the first game of the season, and the Rockets have lost twice to them since.
"Both times they beat us, they were home with us off a back-to-back after (playing) the Lakers," Rocket point guard Steve Francis said in the Houston Chronicle. "We played a draining game on Christmas (in Los Angeles), and of course the game last week was after a prime-time game that took a long time, and guys were pretty tired. This time, both teams will travel and rest."
But that's where the similarities end. The Nuggets have won three in a row and five of their last seven as Carmelo Anthony has racked up 97 points since last Tuesday.
On Saturday, they play the Utah Jazz in Utah, a team the Rockets are currently ahead of by only 2½ games and a team they haven't beaten on the road since Feb. 12, 2003. In case you don't remember, that was last season, and the only two times the Rockets have beaten them this season was, first, in overtime in Houston, and, second, a day after the Jazz played the Grizzlies in Memphis, and that game was also in Houston.
"This is great," forward Maurice Taylor said. "This is fun. You've got to love it. You've got two teams chasing us, and we're playing those two teams. It's great."
But it gets worse.
On Monday, the Rockets play the Sonics in Seattle, a team that is no longer in the playoff hunt but a team, nonetheless, they have lost to three times in a row. In case you don't remember, the last time they beat the Sonics was April 12 of 2003. Again, that was last season.
And here's why. The Rockets may be holding opponents to only 40.9 percent shooting from the field to lead the league but, at the same time, they are allowing opponents to shoot 37.2 percent from 3-point range, which is the third-worst mark in the league.
And, in case you don't remember, the Sonics are a 3-point shooting team. In fact, they are the second-best 3-point shooting team in the league behind only the Kings.
"I think the main thing is to stay very united and together and not overly worry about everybody else -- Portland, Utah, Denver," said head coach Jeff Van Gundy. "We just have to do our job, focus on the here and now. We have to regain our defensive tenacity, rebounding intensity, and somehow try to handle the ball more carefully. The last 10 games (before Wednesday's win were) really substandard."
And then on Wednesday, the last day of the regular season, the Rockets play the Dallas Mavericks, a team that is seven games ahead of them after winning their last six in a row and a team that has beaten them twice this season already.
"I don't think we ever envisioned ourselves when we were five games up on everybody having this skid here," Eric Piatkowski said. "Now we're envisioning, if things don't go right, not even making the playoffs. So there is a little pressure. I'm looking at it like the pressure might be good, because the pressure is . . ."
It kind of drivels down from there about hope and challenges and the need to overcome obstacles and all I can remember is Van Gundy waxing biblical not three days ago.
"If we play right and we coach right, the results will start getting better," Van Gundy said a few days ago in the Houston Chronicle. "If not, we'll be part of a historic collapse, and once you face up to that fact ... No one wants to use that word, but it's on everybody's mind."
In that same article in the Houston Chronicle, they cite the Elias Sports Bureau in saying that the Rockets would be the first team since the current playoff format started in 1983-84 to miss the playoffs after being 10 games over .500 with fewer than nine games remaining.
In case you don't remember, that would make it historic.
