The PALLILOG
Charlie Pallilo: If the Rockets beat the Raptors, how long will this streak go on?
Mar 9, 2018, 6:31 am
James Harden and the Rockets could carry this winning streak a long way. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
A serious threat to the Rockets’ 17 game winning streak looms Friday night at Toronto. The Raptors aren’t ABC, ESPN, or TNT darlings. Toronto doesn’t count in the Nielsen ratings. What the Raptors are is elite. The Rockets don’t have the best home record in the NBA. The Warriors don’t either. The Raptors do (27-5). So if the Rockets run their winning streak to 18 -- while it would be silly to wonder if the Rockets are going to lose again this season -- viewed on a game-by-game basis they shouldn’t lose again this season. Simply meaning that unless James Harden and or Chris Paul are out hurt or resting the Rockets will definitely be favored in all remaining games.
IF they beat Toronto, taking the streak to 19 is a slam dunk at Dallas Sunday. Faded San Antonio would be probable victim number 20 Monday, the Clippers number 21 on Thursday. That would give the Rockets a chance to match the 10 years old franchise-record winning streak of 22, at New Orleans. The Pelicans are the last team to beat the Rockets.
The Rockets started the season 25-4, then lost five in a row; since that losing skid they are 26-4. They are on pace to win 65 games. Yet if they were only 16-1 over their last 17 games, they would be behind Golden State in the Western Conference standings. To use a boxing analogy the Rockets and Warriors are Ali and Frazier in their primes, the rest of the West is a bunch of Butterbeans.
Tough road for Francis
A pretty compelling read from former Rocket Steve Francis this week in a piece he wrote for The Players’ Tribune website. Some harrowing details of spending part of his youth as a real-life version of one of the corner kids on the brilliant HBO series of a few years back The Wire. Chunks of Francis’s post-NBA life have been a mess: alcohol problems, arrests, and some jail time. I suppose the article should be taken with grains of salt, but Francis seems to be in a much better life place now.
Keuchel wants the ball
Quick props to Dallas Keuchel for honestly admitting he “wasn’t happy by any means” that A.J. Hinch opted for Justin Verlander as the Astros’ opening day starting pitcher. Why should he be? Keuchel has been a stud three of the last four years, and pitched the Astros to victory each of the last three openers with them twice winning by shutout. Verlander is an unassailable choice. Keuchel was respectful, humorous, and forthright in saying what we should hope to hear from any proud and accomplished competitor.
State of tournament teams in Texas
NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday is almost here. UH knows it’s in. Texas A&M is almost certainly in. Texas is iffy and frankly doesn’t look like it belongs. Baylor’s case is shaky as well. TCU is likely to be dancing for the first time in 20 years. Texas Tech is the best team in the state. All six making the field of 68 would double the Lone Star State participation level of a year ago.
Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State are in separate semifinals of the Southland Conference Tournament in Katy, and another Texas representative could emerge from the SWAC Tournament playing out at the Delmar Center Friday and Saturday nights. The second semifinal has Texas Southern vs. Prairie View A&M. Mike Davis has taken the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament three of the last four years; PV has made the Tourney only once in school history (a mere 58 point loss to Kansas in 1998). TSU has seven overall NCAA games to its name, all losses. But once Texas Southern came very close to pulling off what would have been one of the all-time stunners.
In 1995 the Tigers were assigned as 15th seeded designated lambs to be slaughtered by the defending national champion 2nd seeded Arkansas Razorbacks. The Midwest sub-regional site was Austin. Most of the first half went as expected, Nolan Richardson’s Hogs blew out to a 17 point lead. Then TSU clawed back within 11 at the half, before slapping a 17-2 run on the Hogs to start the second half and taking a 52-48 lead. For all but the Pig Sooie shouters it was a blast to watch. Unless specifically rooting for the favorite it’s natural to pull for a huge underdog, plus fans of the other schools in the building were all charged up by the possibility of having the Hogs taken out.
Arkansas led 79-76 in the last 10 seconds when their consensus All-America Corliss Williamson foolishly fouled TSU guard Randy Bolden on a three point attempt. Bolden hit the first two free throws but missed the third leaving it 79-78 Arkansas. Razorback guard Corey Beck then gagged two free throws with three seconds left, but TSU was unable to get a shot up before the buzzer.
Buzzer beaters
1. I’d sign up in a sec for year-round Daylight Saving Time. 2. New Texans’ GM Brian Gaine better come out swinging when free agency starts Wednesday. 3. Best things with peanut butter on a sandwich: Bronze-jelly Silver-marshmallow Gold-banana.
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It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
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