... is the december 26th game versus the nuggets. on the 25th the rox will automatically "get it". yao will have a 20/10 after shaq refuses to front yao. cat will have 20+ pt game and will make kobe work hard on both ends of the floor. steve will manage a 10+ assist game though payton lights his arse up for 20. all trade threads will subside, lopez will write an article on how the rox are "clicking on all cylinders", and there will be a celebration for the next 24 hours... until the rox lose the very next day to denver... where yao will shoot 4 for 5, jvg will continue to make steve something that he's not and boykins screw him over for 20, and cuttino will manage to stay the rox's most consistent player (though that's not saying a lot). last year after the hyped-up first yao/shaq matchup the rox lost the next eight of eleven games. sooooo, what are your predictions for the five games against denver, seattle, philly, utah, and golden state after the lakers game this season?
Denver is a loss for sure. Nuggets win when their opponent is playing a back-to-back game in the higher altitude climate. Tired legs and higher altitude will result in an ugly game by the Rockets. Philly is a win for sure. 76ers are too short and slow to compete against Western teams. Seattle, Utah and Golden State are questionable. Rockets have a sub-500 record against Western teams this season. They collapsed in the fourth quarter at Seattle and Utah. They nearly lost to Utah and Golden State at Toyota Center last month. It went down to the wire. It will be interesting to see how they play them.
