My Rockets Blog Post

RocketMania1991 · Dec 3, 2009

I just quickly typed this up. I'm a senior in high school right now, and a writer for our school Newspaper. Not much had been going on recently so I decided to type this up.

It still has flaws, and grammatical errors within it, but I wanted to get peoples opinion on the topic.

http://houstonsports.wordpress.com/

It’s been a mere 38 days since the Houston Rockets opened their NBA season against the Portland Tralblazers on October 27th. Eighteen games into the season the Rockets rest at a record of 10-8, third place in the Southwest division,and if the playoffs started today the Rockets would enter as the 8th seed, and matchup with the defending world champion Los Angeles Lakers in the first round.

But, even through 18 games into the season if you ask these Rockets what their teams identity is you would get an inconclusive response.

Pre-season analysts around the sports world picked the Rockets to finish near last in the rugged Western Conference this season, and rightfully so. With the news of All-Star center Yao Ming being sidelined for the entire 2010 season,and the return of seven time All-Star Tracy Mcgrady in question the Rockets appeared an easy pick to be uncompetitive in the toughest conference in the NBA.

But adversity is no new thing to these Rockets.Through the past two years no team has handled more adversity than the Houston Rockets.

In 2008 in the midst of a heated playoff race the Rockets learned that Yao Ming would be out for the remainder of the season and playoffs. An injury that he deemed “The biggest loss of his career”. A team once picked to go far in the playoffs had now been dropped from contender to mediocrity in a span of hours. Before the Rockets team had time to even adjust,and take in the loss of their all-star center,and focal piece of their offense they had a game that night against the Washington Wizards. The Rocket were able to reel off their 13th straight win with the help of 41 year old back up center Dikembe Mutombo who would play a key role in helping the Rockets continue their surge up the Western Conference standings. After winning 12 games in a row with Yao Ming the Rockets would defy even greater odds by winning 10 more consecutive games in a row without him, running their winning streak to 22 games.The second longest streak in NBA history, before eventually losing to the eventual world champion Boston Celtics. Although the Rockets were once again dealt a first round playoff exit by the Utah Jazz lasting six games. They had shown the NBA world what they were made of.

Coming into the 2009 season the city of Houston was as hyped up about basketball as it had been since the days of Hakeem Olajuwon,and Clyde Drexler. With the off-season acquisition of the always controversial Ron Artest, and the already two current all-stars Tracy Mcgrady,and Yao Ming on the roster the team was ready to finally make it past the first round. A feat that had eluded them since the 1997 season. As the season progressed it became apparent that Mcgrady one of the key pieces to the team was being hindered by continuous ailing physical problems. Just days before the trade deadline Mcgrady announced he would be having microscopic knee surgery and remain out for the rest of the year. An announcement that created controversy all around the Rockets organization. As Mcgradys presence became non-existent on the court it was up to Yao Ming, and Ron Artest to carry the load for the rest of the season. The Rockets would finish the season with a record of 53-29, and finish 5th in the Western Conference, behind the Portland Trailblazers who they would subsequently face in the first round of the playoffs. With the pairing of Yao, and Artest in the first round the Rockets were able to clinch their first second round birth since 1997 after defeating the Trailblazers in six games.The true test for the Rockets would come in the second round as they faced the #1 seeded Los Angeles Lakers. The Rockets were able to steal game one in Los Angeles, a game many considered an unprecedented upset, but the team eventually fell to a 2-1 series deficit after the Lakers were able to steal back momentum in the series by winning consecutive games in LA and Houston. News got worse for the Rockets as center Yao Ming who had been a dominate force in the regular season, and playoffs would announce season enduring surgery due to a stress fracture in his foot. Down 2 games to one the Rocket stormed back in game four in improbable fashion. The Rockets were eventually able to push the Lakers to a game seven where they lost 89-70. The Rockets were the only team to take the Lakers to seven games, even with the loss of Yao Ming.

But who cares about the past. What’s done is done, and these Rockets realize that. They don’t want to hear the somber stories of how close they could have been, or all the what if questions that could be composed from previous seasons.

They don’t care about how the media predicts they will play, because they know their potential better than anyone else does. Predicted to win or lose they simply don’t care.

You can’t determine a team simply from looking at players stats, or win loss statistics. The Rockets have a statistic that can’t be measured by any formula or compilation of numbers, a statistic called heart. A statistic that is often not found on rosters even with the most talented of names.

The Rockets don’t need a team identity, because their identity is found within each player on their roster.The reason they are able to win is because they know their limits, and talent level.

Who says you need a proven all-star on a team to be competitive ? These Rockets have been winning consistently defying basketball tradition by spreading the ball around,and sharing the wealth.

So when you want to get a general idea of “Who are these Rockets ?” just take a look of the players on their roster, and then watch them perform on the court. That alone should make you grin,and be proud to be a Rockets fan no matter what a simple combination of statistics says.
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don grahamleone · Dec 3, 2009

this looks to be worth reading when i'm not sleepy. thanks for taking the time. i can't wait to read it.

withmustard · Dec 3, 2009

good read, make sure to combine the last two sentences with a comma in the paragraph discussing the jazz (Although......). also, when discussing the win streak, 10 consecutive wins works, adding in a row can be a bit redundant and can lose the reader. Take the comma out of (tracy mgrady and Yao ming...). U have a little trouble with punctuation. Use this to your advantage and ask a cute girl to peer edit you. Tell her you asked her because you think she's smart.

withmustard · Dec 3, 2009

oops, you're aware of the grammatical errors.

don grahamleone · Dec 3, 2009

I'm going to pick on you here, but I like where your heart is, so keep writing and keep posting the blogs:

If you are going to say, "But who cares about the past.", you really need to give that statement more credibility and not write long paragraphs about history. If you really don't care, why did you take all the effort to write it. If you do write a bunch about history, how does that pertain to today?

Just some food for thought. I look forward to reading the next one.

amaru · Dec 3, 2009

Overall a decent read.

You made some grammatical errors, but your aware of that.

The one thing that caught my attention was this:

Tracy McGrady announced he was having microscopic knee surgery in Feb.

It should read like this:

Tracy McGrady announced he was having microfracture knee surgery in Feb.

*********

Oh and second on getting a cute girl to proofread......and then asking for her number. For more proofreading help of course, nothing more.

zilches · Dec 3, 2009

Good job, but take some of the annoying commas out.

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