[NBA.COM]Rockets Liftoff: Twenty and Counting

zazahan · Mar 13, 2008

If it is already posted, please lock up.

NBA.COM compiled many media reactions to Rocket's 20-game winning streak.

I can't post all of them, so follow the link and read them yourself

Rockets Liftoff: Twenty and Counting

SECAUCUS, N.J., March 13, 2008 -- The Houston Rockets have downed the last 20 opponents they have faced and now only two teams stand in their way from them making history, only they won't play either of them. The Rockets are currently tied with the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks for the second-longest winning streak in NBA history with 20. The only team in the league's 62 years of existence to win more than 20 in a row was the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, who ran off a streak off 33 straight victories.

Houston will get a chance to break the tie with the Bucks on Friday when it plays in Charlotte. Then the Rockets will have to beat the modern incarnation of the Lakers in L.A. on Sunday, March 16 if they hope to continue their run towards the record.

If Tracy McGrady and company do continue their winning ways, they will have a chance to draw even with the 33-game mark on April 6 in L.A. against the Clippers and then can set the new standard for a hot streak in professional basketball if they defeat the Sonics in Houston on April 9.

While it's fun to look ahead of what could be, it's also worth looking back at the 20-game stretch that the Rockets just completed. There are a few interesting parallels between Houston's current run and Milwaukee's run of 20 in a row 27 years ago.

The Bucks and the Rockets started their streaks after the New Year, win No. 1 in both cases came against the Warriors and win No. 6 in both cases came against the Hawks.

One could argue that Milwaukee's streak was more impressive because it included 10 road games, compared to only seven for the Rockets and because the Bucks' average margin of victory was 18.4 against a 12.3 average victory margin for the Rockets.

Then again, the Rockets' run is nothing to scoff at as they've come out victorious against Chris Paul and the Hornets twice, LeBron James and the Cavs twice as well as Golden State, Washington, Dallas and New Jersey - all teams who would make the playoffs if the postseason started today.

Here's a breakdown of the Rockets' and Bucks' streaks side by side and coverage around the Web reacting to Houston's achievement:

WHAT WE'RE SAYING:
NBA.com's Rob Peterson: Coach of the Year Rankings - Adelman No. 4

"As awesome as this streak has been, and as much as I want to toot my own horn regarding my preseason pick, I can't move [Rick Adelman] into the top three ... yet. Continue to win and do it without Yao, it'll be tough not to move him into the top three."
NBA.com's Maurice Brooks: Race to the MVP - McGrady No. 7

"He’ll win the MVP if: the Rockets win all of their games to end the season on an all-time best 38-game winning streak. OK, the chances of that happening aren’t likely, but McGrady is going to get a vote or two for having Houston in position to challenge for the top spot in the West. He has to overcome the fact that he has missed 15 games this season and was playing second fiddle to Yao for most of the year."
NBA.com's John Schuhmann: Power Rankings - Rockets No. 1

"The winning streak, the defense that has sparked it (100.8 rating during the streak) and Tracy McGrady's newfound leadership ability has this author thinking the Rockets could win a series this year. Sunday's showdown with the Lakers (after three games that should take the streak to 21) could convince me even more, or change my mind."
NBA.com's Dave McMenamin: Rookie Rankings - Scola No. 4, Landry No. 7

"Scola is the classic example of function trumping form. His jump shot is as ugly as a Mississippi paddlefish, his body looks more lumpy than long and lean and his haircut makes you think he should be playing tennis. But, as I've been saying all year long, he flat out gets the job done...
Landry would have moved up even further if it wasn't for a bruised right knee that's kept him out of the Rockets lineup for their last two games. He may not win Rookie of the Year, but he has set himself up to enter the 'Second Round Pick Turned Impact Player Club' currently occupied by Gilbert Arenas, Carlos Boozer, Daniel Gibson, Kyle Korver and Paul Millsap amongst others. "

WHAT THE MEDIA IS SAYING

Houston Chronicle, March 13: Ugly? This Win Was a Masterpiece

"Defense and hustle and poise kept the Rockets in a game they shouldn't have been in. Down the stretch, it was Chuck Hayes and Luis Scola scoring with offensive rebounds that got the Rockets some breathing room.
It was Shane Battier making Joe Johnson work for every shot, and Hayes going after every loose ball, every rebound.

And then Tracy McGrady finished it off, doing what great players are supposed to do, what he has done again and again the last two months." -- Richard Justice

New York Newsday, March 13: Why the Rockets are This Good

"Hired at 35 with a computer science degree from Northwestern and an MBA from M.I.T., Morey lacked the PhD in NBA. But his "Moneyball" approach has worked, and the Knicks should be considering someone of his ilk if and when they replace Isiah Thomas." -- Ken Berger
Baltimore Sun, March 13: Houston Rockets in Rarified Air

"Like just about everyone else who keeps an eye on the NBA, I figured when Yao Ming made his usual early exit that the Houston Rockets would pretty much pack it in, especially since they play in the Western Conference, where you could win 60 percent of your games and still not make the playoffs." -- Bill Ordine
Toronto Star, March 13: Morey's 'Moneyball' Approach Paying Off

"It's far too early to tell not only how serious a championship threat the Rockets can be, but how influential Morey's stat-engrossed approach can become. He has said the Rockets have invested millions in everything from the massive computer servers required to store the hours and hours of digital video from which statistical trends are mined, to the analysts who do the prospecting. And if Morey has hit on something revolutionary, nobody is expecting him to share the wealth of proprietary data." -- Dave Feshuk
Houston Chronicle, March 12: Good and Twenty

"Theirs is just a regular-season accomplishment, but it is an accomplishment that puts the Rockets in company with the greatest teams and players there have ever been. When other teams put runs together and the charts start coming out of the greatest winning streaks in NBA history, these Rockets will be there, again and again, as it has been for the Lakers and Bucks of another generation." -- Jonathan Feigen

WHAT MULTI-SPORT WEBSITES ARE SAYING

ESPN.com, March 13: Twenty Story: The Worst Win, The Best Of Times

"Part of being a great team is the ability to win when you're not at your best.
And Wednesday night, the Rockets were most definitely not at their best. Houston trailed by double digits five minutes into the game, scored a season-low 32 points in the first half, and shot 33 percent from the field and 65 percent from the free-throw line. Yet for the 20th time in a row, they won, beating Atlanta 83-75. " -- John Hollinger

FOX Sports.com, March 11: Oden's Down, but Blazers Not Quite Out

"Nobody could have seen this coming when they were struggling to stay over .500 before the first of the year. But by the end of January, they gained the kind of momentum that few teams ever find. They haven’t lost since Jan. 27 to the Utah Jazz and since Jan. 4, they are 28-3, winning 23 of 24 and going from 10th in the West to just a game out of first (they are in third)." -- Mike Kahn
ESPN.com, March 13: Rookie Watch: Another Rockets rookie turning heads

"Luis Scola has had such an impact on the Rockets this season that he deserves to be No. 1 on our list for at least one week. And like Al Horford, our previous No. 1, Scola does things to help his team win that do not show up on any stat sheet. Consider the Rockets' first basket against the Nets on Monday night: Scola set three screens, tried to set two more but was turned down by a teammate (meaning the dribbler drove opposite the screen), and then made a beautiful post move for an easy bucket after an effective post up and attack dribble. There's not another rookie in this class who would be as productive and meaningful for Houston as Scola is, and his role in the Rockets' 19-game winning streak deserves some recognition." -- David Thorpe
CBS Sportsline.com, March 12: Always Overlooked, Houston Coach Adelman Just Continues to Win

"Quick. Name the top 15 coaches of all-time in the NBA. You probably thought of Red Auerbach and Pat Riley and Larry Brown and Phil Jackson and Jerry Sloan and Jack Ramsay.
If you mentioned Rick Adelman, you're in the minority. " -- Kerry Eggers

WHAT BLOGS ARE SAYING

Ball Don't Lie: Rockets' 'Moneyball' Approach Paying Dividends
SLAM Online: Houston Making History
Bleacher Report: The Great Tracy McGrady
The Dream Shake: Rockets/Hawks - the Best of Both Worlds!
AOL NBA Fanhouse: Rockets Fans Go (a Little Too) Crazy
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thelasik · Mar 13, 2008

I wonder how many times "Rocket Liftoff" has been used when the Rockets are doing well. Likewise "Houston, we have a problem" for when they are sucking.

zazahan · Mar 13, 2008

Check out the last one in "WHAT BLOGS ARE SAYING".

Rockets Fans Go (a Little Too) Crazy

Matt Watson criticized Bill Worrell's "finest hour" statement, and said the 20-game winning streak is not nearly as impressive as an NBA title.

He also mentioned Mr. Luke's 'That's My Team' video and Fran Blinebury's blog.

So finally a hater that is reluctant to join the bandwagon?

What the Rockets are doing right now is just nuts. Everybody -- everybody -- wrote them off when Yao Ming went down, and yet now, they're one of just four teams in NBA history to ever win 20 games in a row, and the other three all went on to win an NBA title ... and yet here I am about to be a big downer.

I can't say one thing bad about how the team is playing, but the fans are definitely going a little overboard. Putting down some beats on YouTube to honor the home team? I can dig that. Penning a weird celebratory mash-up of the Gettysburg Address? I wouldn't have done it, but okay, sure, I can appreciate the effort.

But when you start talking like the announcer in the video above and say you've never been prouder of the franchise and that "this is their finest hour?" Yeah, you officially need some perspective. For someone who claims to remember covering Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, he apparently doesn't recall what happened in 1994 and 1995. Yes, bunches of consecutive regular-season wins are dandy, but they're not nearly as impressive as an NBA title.
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RoxSqaud · Mar 13, 2008

I think we are getting a pretty good bit of media...........Will be happy when it slows down..........But dont want it to...............I never want to lose again......"Impossible in Nothing"

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[NBA.COM]Rockets Liftoff: Twenty and Counting

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