Wins over Knicks, Hawks and Jazz highlight a solid week

Eric Gordon seems to have gotten out of his scoring slump. Rockets.com

Well, last week was neat, huh?

The Rockets retired their 22 year old reputation as the only major sports team among the big three in Houston to ever claim a championship last Wednesday, after the Houston Astros won game 7 of one of the most legendary World Series battles in history.

Fitting, it would seem, that the Astros would share a similarly difficult climb as the 1993-1994 Rockets. Both teams faced two game 7 elimination games on their road to glory, with the second of each being the deciding game for the championship. So while that Rockets team may have created Clutch City, the Astros certainly lived up to the name.

With the baseball season having drawn to a close and the Texans season seemingly having taken a sharp turn down skid row, the spotlight now focuses on a Rockets team that has jumped out to a great 8-3 record to start the season. Here’s what you may have missed this past week in case you were off celebrating.

Game Nine: Rockets at New York Knicks (W, 119-97)

Overshadowed by game 7 of the World Series, the Rockets stumbled out of the gate at the beginning of the game. The Knicks held the lead throughout most of the first quarter and it seemed like there was a possibility the team would drop its third straight contest. Ryan Anderson kicked off the 2nd quarter with 7 straight points to seize a lead that would never be relinquished. With the lead as high as 29 points late in the 3rd, the Rockets gave the city of Houston enough of a point cushion to confidently turn away and watch the Astros clinch their first ever World Series Championship. James Harden dropped 31 points, followed by Anderson’s 21.

Game Ten: Rockets at Atlanta Hawks (W, 119-104)

The Atlanta Hawks drained the first shot of the game, which would turn out to be the only lead the one win team would hold all night. The Rockets blurred by the Hawks with a season-high 28 fast break points and added 16 three pointers. Eric Gordon would pour in 20 points to go with 4 steals and 5 assists. Harden would add 29 points and 11 assists. As Hawks shooting guard Kent Bazemore so eloquently put it, “They just shoot the crap out of the ball.”

Game Eleven: Rockets vs Utah Jazz (W, 137-110)

My first game at Toyota Center this season did not disappoint at all. The Jazz started hot on a 10-2 run, and that was about it. By the fourth minute of the first quarter, the Rockets had seized the lead, and it would remain that way for the entire game. Harden was absolutely white-hot on his way to a career high 56 point outing. He would chip in 13 assists as well, and Gordon drained 6 three pointers as part of his 20 point performance. At one point in the beginning of the third, the Rockets had led by as much as 32 points. This game was never a contest.

Takeaways:

It certainly looks like both the Rockets and Harden have found their tempo. In the past four games, the Rockets have averaged 120.5 points per game, while Harden alone has averaged 36.3. The past three games have been blowouts, with the average point differential of 21.3. The Rockets’ reserves have seen plenty of floor time, as a result.
Gordon’s sluggish 3-point shooting start seems to officially be a thing of the past. In the past four games, he’s fired .450 from beyond the arc, going 18-40.
The Rockets have been road warriors to start the season. Seven of their first eleven games have been away from the Toyota center, and of those the Rockets have won six.

Rockets Player of the Week (not named James Harden)

Luc Mbah a Moute. His defense is always great to see, and in the past three games he’s racked up seven steals. He understands his role, and the more I watch him, the more it looks like Daryl Morey may have found a newer model of Shane Battier. Mbah a Moute has been great off the bench to start the season.

Looking Ahead:

The Rockets finally get a little bit of rest before they take on Cleveland on Thursday, followed by yet another contest with Memphis at home Saturday and an away tilt Sunday against the Pacers. The Cavaliers have been one of the most disappointing teams to start the season, but you can never count out Lebron James. Memphis has outscored the Rockets 201-179, resulting in two of the Rockets’ three losses, so it’s tough to assume that this will be an easy contest. Indiana sits at a .500 record on the season behind Victor Oladipo’s 24 point per game average, but are 23rd in the league in points allowed. The Rockets have shown this past week that they’re starting to find their rhythm, and I expect a 2-1 week on the horizon at worst.

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The Longhorns host Georgia on Saturday night. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

By any measure, from the official statistics to the informal eye test, top-ranked Texas' defense has been dominant.

The Longhorns rank No. 1 in total defense and scoring defense. They are top 10 in first downs allowed, tackles for loss and passing yards. Much of that is built against opponents starting former walk-on quarterbacks ( Michigan ) and freshmen ( Mississippi State and Oklahoma.)

But the level of quarterback play Texas will face, in both talent and experience, is about to get much better over the second half of the season.

Texas hosts No. 5 Georgia on Saturday night in the first matchup of top five teams in Austin since 2006, before playing the next week at Vanderbilt. Bulldogs senior Carson Beck was a preseason first team Associated Press All-America pick, and standout Vanderbilt transfer Diego Pavia has carried the Commodores to a surprising 4-2 start, including a historic win over then-No. 1 Alabama.

Quite simply, Texas hasn't defended this caliber of quarterback all season.

Beck is a player on the doorstep of the NFL, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said.

“There's nothing in the throw game (Beck) can't do,” Sarkisian said. “He's played enough football now, too. It's kind of hard to confuse guys when they've played that much football.”

Texas (6-0, 2-0 SEC) has allowed just one team to pass for more than 200 yards this season. Beck passed for 459 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions last week in a 41-31 win over Mississippi State. His 36 completions set a Georgia record.

Even when Beck struggled early in Georgia's loss to Alabama, he rallied the Bulldogs to a late fourth-quarter lead. He finished with 439 yards in the loss where Georgia's rally ended with an Alabama interception in the end zone in the final minute.

Sarkisian recruited Beck when the Texas coach was an assistant at Alabama. Beck had initially committed to the Crimson Tide before switching to Georgia.

Beck is 18-2 in his career as a starter, and 6-2 against top 20 opponents.

The Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1) will need another exceptional game from him Saturday. A second SEC loss could threaten any chance of playing for the SEC championship, and raise the alarms on the College Football Playoff as well.

Texas has all but overwhelmed opposing quarterbacks so far.

In last week's 34-3 thrashing of rival Oklahoma, the Longhorns sacked Sooners freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. five times, and held him to 27 yards on 20 carries. Texas allowed just 225 total yards.

Hawkins was the first Sooners freshman to start at quarterback against the Longhorns in the 120-year history of the rivalry and was quickly swallowed up by a relentless pass rush.

By the numbers, the Longhorns program is on pace for a historic season. Sarkisian has said his favorite stat is points allowed, which is not many.

Texas has surrendered only three touchdowns all season. Opponents have snatched four turnovers inside Texas territory, but none have produced points.

That ability to snuff momentum can drain an opponent, Sarkisian said.

“We're so composed as a defense,” Texas safety Michael Taaffe said. “We're so confident, that no matter what happens, everything is going to be alright.”

The only time Texas has trailed this season was a 3-0 early deficit against Oklahoma. Several Longhorns starters were still on the field when the Sooners' final drive stalled at the Texas 6-yard-line as the game ended.

The stars emerging for the Longhorns have been second-year linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and freshman edge rusher Colin Simmons.

Hill leads the team in total tackles (42), sacks (4 1/2) and tackles for loss (8 1/2). His sideline-to-sideline speed and move this season from the edge to the middle of the Texas defense has drawn comparisons to former Longhorns All-American Derrick Johnson 20 years ago.

Simmons has four sacks and 7 1/2 tackles for losses, second on the team in both categories.

“Size, speed,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said in summing up the Texas defense.

“They’re the complete package on defense," Smart said. "The consistency you watch them play with, it reminds me of some of our best teams here.”By any measure, from the official statistics to the informal eye test, top-ranked Texas' defense has been dominant.