Rockets Report
Rockets streak reaches 15 while critical matchups lie ahead
Mar 5, 2018, 8:43 am
Three tough opponents this week could put the win streak in jeopardy. Houston Rockets/Facebook
This past week was full of some great basketball. The Rockets weathered a red-hot Jazz team, exacted revenge on the Clippers (without any post game locker room visits), and finished the week with a come-from-behind statement victory against the Celtics to extend their winning streak to 15. Houston maintains the best record in the NBA, and a half game lead on the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference.
Game 60: Rockets @ Utah Jazz (W, 96-85)
Monday’s game was the definition of a trap game. It was the second game of back to back away games, with a match up two days ahead that everyone was looking forward to against the Clippers. The Rockets started off sluggish, trailing by as much as 15 in the first half. They would shake off their slow start in the second half and regain the lead late in the third. Fueled by a 15-point fourth quarter from Luc Mbah a Moute, the Rockets would eventually pull away for their 13th straight victory. This was only the 5th time Houston had been held to under 100 points, and are 2-3 in those instances. James Harden led the team with 26 points, and Chris Paul added 15.
Game 61: Rockets at L.A. Clippers (W, 105-92)
It was very apparent that this game had been circled by the Rockets and when the ball was tipped off at Staples Center Wednesday night Houston kicked the doors in with a fury. Now I could talk about Harden’s 17-point first quarter, or discuss the Clippers being outscored 34-14 in the first quarter. I could also touch on Capela’s 22-point, 14-rebound performance being a key contribution to the victory.
I could, but I won’t.
While all of those topics are compelling, none of them come close to Harden’s dismemberment of Wesley Johnson on national television:
I was watching at a local bar when Johnson skated his way to the wrong side of history. The crowd watching gave a collective “Oh!” when he dropped, and exploded when the three went in. And while Harden is no stranger to making defenders look outmatched, this play--and the utter disrespect involved with the pause--now rests among the pantheon of other great attitude moments in the NBA. I’d set it right next to Allen Iverson stepping over Tyronn Lue, and Michael Jordan finger-wagging Dikembe Mutumbo.
To dig deeper into this, I decided to take a look at the most disrespectful moments in Rockets history, and here’s a quick top five:
5. Rafer Alston ‘Skips’ on Sasha Vujacic - The former AND1 streetballer decided to dust off some moves while running the clock out and Vujacic was having nothing to do with it.
4. Harden melts Ricky Rubio’s ankles into putty - A more recent one than the others on the list, Harden put Rubio on the deck just last season before nailing a three-pointer
3. Steve Francis with the triple crossover - The only thing better than disrespecting your opponent is to do it two more times before you score.
2. Kiss of Death - Part of Houston sports lore, Mario Elie drops the three-point dagger into the Suns to eliminate them from the Western Conference finals and blows a kiss at the bench. Cold blooded.
1. Harden humiliates Wesley Johnson - as discussed above. The reactions they highlight in this link are priceless.
Harden finished with 25 points.
Game 62: Rockets vs Boston Celtics (W,123-120)
The best record in the NBA clashed with the second best team in the Eastern Conference Saturday night and we were all made better for it. In a game featuring 12 lead changes--none of which surpassing 10 points--it was all but assured that this primetime matchup would not be decided until the very end. With less than two minutes to go in the fourth, Trevor Ariza shifted into a different gear altogether and snatched the lead from the Celtics with a steal and a layup. My awkward response to the action was captured on national TV for all to see, because of course it would be. My friends may or may not have hassled me over that.
The Rockets would hold on to win one of the toughest games of their schedule in the past few weeks. Eric Gordon led the team with 29 points, draining a season high 7 three pointers. Harden added 26, while Ariza chipped in 21 points and Capela grabbed 17 rebounds.
Looking Ahead:
The remaining regular season schedule for the Rockets will be fairly difficult and it starts this week with road matchups against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Milwaukee Bucks (back-to-back), and Toronto Raptors. They finish the week against the tank-job occurring up in Dallas on Sunday before taking on more playoff caliber competition the following week.
The Rockets dropped their first games against OKC and Toronto, and squeaked a victory out against Milwaukee by 4. As much as I’d like to be wrong, the chances of the Houston’s current 15-game winning streak surviving the week look grim. I don’t see Oklahoma City beating a full strength Rockets squad, but a surging Bucks team could pounce on a road weary group and take advantage of the situation. Toronto will be a pivotal matchup as well, since--once again--we could be looking at a potential finals matchup for the second week in a row. The Dallas matchup should be an easy victory, but it’s possible that the Rockets witness their first losing streak since dropping two in a row on January 4th and 6th.
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The NFL Draft, NBA playoffs, and NHL playoffs all dwarf baseball in the sports pecking order this week, but that doesn’t detract from the Astros playing their best stretch of baseball in the still young season. Following up taking two of three from the previously sizzling hot Padres by sweeping the Blue Jays three straight has the Astros’ record at a just fine 13-11 as they open a three-game weekend series in Kansas City. 13-11 may not sound special, because it isn’t, but having come home from St. Louis last week with the record at 8-10 makes 13-11 a quality leap. Plus, a 13-11 pace over 162 games extrapolates to 87 wins, which last season were enough to win the American League West and for an AL Wild Card spot.
Batter up!
While no one will be confusing the potency of this Astros’ lineup with those of the 2017 or 2019 juggernauts, some welcome perking up may have kicked in, despite Yordan Alvarez still not getting rolling. After Joe Espada gave Christian Walker a “mental rest” game off Monday, Walker produced a three-hit game Tuesday and a two-hit follow-up Wednesday, including a home run. Walker’s .202 batting average and .640 OPS are still lousy, but a much lesser grade of lousy than the statistical abyss he was in starting the Toronto series. Yainer Diaz has been much worse than Walker to this point. Diaz managed at least one hit in all three games of the Jays series. Baby steps. He is still sitting on an unacceptable three walks in 78 plate appearances.
Speaking of hits and walks, Jeremy Pena carries a 14-game hitting streak into the weekend. One-quarter of the way to Joe DiMaggio’s big league record! Willy Taveras set the Astros’ record with a 30-gamer back in 2006. Pena hasn’t been crushing it during the streak, during which he has just two multi-hit games. He’s had stretches where he has hit better and slugged harder (2022 postseason anyone?), but while too small a stretch to declare a leap has been made, it is noteworthy that over the 14 games Pena has drawn six walks. That gives him eight free passes in 24 games this season. More math fun! That’s one walk drawn per three games, which over 162 games would make for 54. Last season in 157 games played Pena drew a paltry 25 walks. Add in that his defense has been superb so far this season with a number of fabulous plays made and just one error committed, and Pena could be making modest offensive improvement that makes him a meaningfully better player.
Furthermore speaking of hits and walks, it’s been a struggle on both fronts the last couple of weeks for Jose Altuve. A two-week funk does not represent a crisis, but there are troubling trends that bear watching as Altuve sets to turn 35 years old May 6. Over his last 14 games, Altuve’s OPS is a sub-Maldonadian .547. In this stretch he has two doubles as his lone extra base hits and drawn just two walks. Altuve has struck out 22 times in 24 games. Setting aside the short 2020 COVID season when Altuve never got it going, last year he had the worst strikeout percentage of his career, while his walk rate was his worst since 2015. So far this season, Altuve’s strikeout rate is more than 20 percent worse than last year’s, with his walk rate down 30 percent from 2024. He is hitting line drives at a much lower rate than ever before, and struggling to get the ball in the air. The season still isn’t 20 percent old, but since Altuve last season finished with his lowest OPS (.790, again, exempting 2020) since 2013, and his current .728 OPS is 62 points lower than that, the antennae of at least mild concern are up. This is the first season of Altuve’s five-year 125 million dollar contract extension. Remember, the Astros would not offer Kyle Tucker a contract that took him to age 35.
Bringing the heat!
Hunter Brown makes his next start Sunday in Kansas City. Good luck Royals! Until getting a doubleheader against the pathetic Rockies Thursday, K.C. was averaging under three runs per game. Brown's earned run average through five starts is 1.16! It's waaaaay early to focus on this, but the best season ERA for an Astro pitcher who qualified for the statistical lead (one inning pitched per team game played) belongs to Nolan Ryan who posted a 1.69 in the strike-shortened 1981 season. Over a full-schedule season, Justin Verlander's 1.75 in 2022 is the standard. Brown has fired 24 consecutive shutout innings. Ryan Pressly holds the Astros’ record with 38 consecutive scoreless innings pitched. Orel Hershiser set the Major League record by finishing the 1988 regular season with a ridiculous 59 straight shutout innings. Yes he won the National League Cy Young Award. The Cy Young is strictly a regular season award. Hershiser in 1988 also won the League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award, and World Series MVP.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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