What more can be said about the Rockets 22 game win streak than that it is amazing. It is the second longest win streak ever in the NBA. They also have done just under half of it without Yao. While I am not a fan of Yao, I do believe that with him in the line-up, the Rockets are a better team. Think about that. If they had Yao, they would be better than they are right now. What I have seen from the Rockets during their streak is that their defense is carrying the team. Shane Battier is possibly the best one on one defender in the NBA. Case and point is his job against Kobe. Kobe scored 24 points but on 11 of 33 shooting. The team has started playing perimeter defense which is another reason for their success. Another observation that has caught my eye is that players other than Tracy McGrady are producing. Against the Lakers, T-Mac had a horrible shooting night, but Rafer Alston picked him up with 31 points. They are winning these games as a team. It isn't one star carrying them. They have become the epitome of a team. Because they lost Yao, they have become more scrappy. The only good thing about the Yao injury, is that the team seems confident without him. They don't have to feel obligated to funnel the ball through him, which has given back-ups like Carl Landry and Bobby Jackson more minutes and production.
Tonight, they face the toughest test in trying to extend their streak. They play the Boston Celtics who boast the best record in the league. Boston played last night and came back from a large deficit to beat the defending champion Spurs. While the Rockets should win the game do to the Celtics being without Ray Allen and playing an intense game last night, the Celtics could still pull this one out. Boston is 13 and 2 in the second half of back to back games. Also, they view this road trip as playoff-like games. They want to win all of these games against the toughest Western Conference teams to prove to the doubters that they can play with and beat the cream of the crop.
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