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Rockets making surge in West thanks to recent win streak
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Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer
HOUSTON -- The Big Diesel has parked in the Valley of the Sun. Pau Gasol has relocated to Hollywood. And Damon Stoudamire, Chris Webber and Kyle Korver have found new homes with Western Conference contenders.
During the past few weeks, the entire complexion of the West has been dramatically altered by a flurry of midseason wheeling and dealing.
That's not to say the Rockets are panicking over the changes.
"We're not worried," Rockets point guard Rafer Alston said. "I like our team. We can still play with the best of them."
The Rockets are, after all, playing pretty darn good basketball of late.
Despite struggling out of the gates to begin the season, the Rockets have surged back into playoff contention and are one of the league's hottest teams.
The Rockets (31-20) have won 11 of their past 12 games and are riding a season-best seven-game winning streak. But those aren't even the most impressive numbers over Houston's current run.
Since the calendar flipped over to 2008, the Rockets have reeled off a 16-4 record. Only the Utah Jazz have fared better since New Year's Day.
The hot stretch has thrust the Rockets back into the thick of a stacked postseason race in the West. Before Sunday's action, Houston was tied with Golden State for the eighth best record in the West and was only five games behind Phoenix for the best mark in the conference.
In other words, the Rockets have made their own move in the West without acquiring a big name.
"We're more comfortable with each other," Rockets forward Shane Battier said. "It takes a while for every team to sort of come together and form their identity. We're still forming ours, but we have a better idea of what makes us successful. We've said since training camp it's going to take some time and it's nice to see the pieces are starting to come together."
The Rockets didn't have much chemistry through the first two months of the season.
With the team adjusting to a new system under Rick Adelman and Tracy McGrady in and out of the lineup with a sore knee, the Rockets were surprisingly sitting at 15-17 after a setback to Boston on Jan. 2.
But that's when things began to change. Houston has found better ball movement along with more balanced scoring. Rather than force-feeding Yao Ming or McGrady, the Rockets have attacked the weak-side of opposing defenses with increased frequency.
More importantly,
Houston has gotten back to doing what made them a playoff team last season. The Rockets are clamping down on the defensive end and controlling the boards. Before Saturday's action, Houston was second in the league in field goal percentage defense and ranked first in rebounding differential.
The Rockets have been pleased with their turnaround. But they're well aware that they can't start feeling too good about themselves.
"We're getting better and better day by day," Rockets All-Star center Yao Ming said. "But I remember the last time we talked about whether this is the best team (the Rockets) ever had when we had a 6-1 (start to the season). And then what happened?"
That's not to say the Rockets are in need of a reality check. Rather, Yao and Co. don't want to get ahead of themselves.
Houston, after all, still has some ground to make up in the West. The Rockets have passed Portland in the standings, but haven't leapfrogged over Golden State or Denver.
Considering that they're 10 games over .500 and still haven't solidified their spot among the West's top teams, the Rockets can't fall off pace now.
"We're hungry," McGrady said. "We want to continue to gain some ground on the teams that are ahead of us. It's so close. We're five games out of the first spot. We just got to keep on grinding and understand how important each game is from here on out."
Battier noted that the Rockets still have more room for improvement.
"We're still trying to get on the same page," Battier said. "We haven't figured it all out by any stretch. Every day you get closer. The question is: Do you ever reach that goal or do you ever put it all together? But you feel we're taking steps."
With talents like Shaquille O'Neal and Gasol joining contending teams, the playoff race in the Western Conference doesn't figure to get any easier. The Rockets, though, have made their own move since the beginning of the year.
Sure, Houston hasn't added a big name to their own roster in recent weeks. But the Rockets have been keeping up with the rest of the West.
"We obviously can't do a whole lot about other teams," Adelman said. "We just have to win games and see if you can get in the hunt. We've got to get to the playoffs first. The West is loaded and if you stumble somewhere in the last 30 games, you're in trouble. But if we get there, we're going to be a dangerous team."
