Hawks at Rockets, AKA: Will this finally be the year they win in Houston?
Houston–The Hawks haven’t won at Houston since Feb. 25, 1999. That’s 10 straight losses. That’s pre-T-Mac and post-T-Mac. That’s with Lenny, Lon, Terry and Woody coaching the Hawks. And while this would seem to be the year for the Hawks to end the streak, with both T-Mac and Yao Ming sidelined and a considerable advantage in talent, remember the Hawks needed that Smoove tip dunk and Marvin’s 29 points to beat Houston at Philips back during their red-hot November.
The Rockets are a hard team to figure on paper. You look at their roster and there is nothing to excite you except Aaron Brooks and possibly super sixth man Carl Landry. You look deeper into the Rockets’ numbers and most are middle-of-the-pack–they share the ball fairly well and they are pretty good on the offensive boards but that’s about it. Yet they have managed to stay competitive by playing with effort and energy.
Except lately the Rockets haven’t always had good effort and energy (“This is the NBA, man”). Their six losses in 10 January games include a home defeat to the Bulls on Saturday, which came the night after they won at San Antonio. So you get a Houston Chronicle headline that reads “Rockets baffled by lack of intensity in loss to Bulls” and quotes like this one from Shane Battier:
“Our team has been very strange in respect to when you think you know, or when we have it all figured out, we lay a clunker down. And when you write us off, we come out with a great performance like (Friday) in San Antonio. I don’t have an explanation — it’s one of the most bizarre things I’ve witnessed in my nine-year career.”
So maybe the Hawks catch the Rockets on one of their weird nights. Perhaps the Hawks’ offense clicks like it did Friday vs. Charlotte, which takes the same hard-nosed approach as Houston but has better talent. And maybe, just maybe, the Hawks can finally win at Houston.
– Talk amongst yourselves, Hawks fans.
MC
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266 comments Add your comment
Big Ray
January 25th, 2010
10:18 pm
LOL@ Nire . That IS how he looks, isn’t it? LOL
Najeh Davenpoop
January 25th, 2010
10:18 pm
Marvin taking the charge. He’s played great in this half. This is EXACTLY what the Hawks need from him. He needs to be our Shane Battier.
Big Ray
January 25th, 2010
10:18 pm
Love to see Marvin doing the little things out there.
Astro Joe
January 25th, 2010
10:19 pm
These refs are AWFUL tonight.
Taylor
January 25th, 2010
10:20 pm
Need a basket here
Taylor
January 25th, 2010
10:20 pm
Got it
Big Ray
January 25th, 2010
10:21 pm
I’m sorry, I just can’t get over Woody and those….places where his eyebrows used to be. Who did that to him?
Man, I think I’m gonna have to get the secret members of the BCU (Blog Crimes Unit) back out of hiding to solve this one.
niremetal
January 25th, 2010
10:23 pm
Incredible that that was the first time the refs called a shooting foul for Joe.
Astro Joe
January 25th, 2010
10:23 pm
He shaved his hair after losing a bet… maybe it has something to do with another wager?
Big Ray
January 25th, 2010
10:23 pm
Astro Joe ,
Have to agree. Refs are definitely stinking it up.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 25th, 2010
10:23 pm
Orlando and Memphis are locked up in a tight one. As big as this victory would be anyway, it would be that much bigger obviously if Orlando loses.
D
January 25th, 2010
10:23 pm
Woodson must have lost a bet or else someone needs to tell him that his brows fell off
BONE
January 25th, 2010
10:23 pm
Big Ray, Teague shaved Woody’s eyebrows while he was sleeping becuz…. Well u know why.
Big Ray
January 25th, 2010
10:23 pm
I tell you what. Woody has his boys playing some kind of defense. Houston can’t even get a decent shot off in 24 seconds. Adelman is at a loss. It’s just damn fine defense. Even Crawford is on it. Wow.
Astro Joe
January 25th, 2010
10:26 pm
Teague would have had his shaving attempt blocked.
Did Adelamn call an end of quarter iso play?
Big Ray
January 25th, 2010
10:26 pm
Astro,
Hell, I don’t know. Maybe he bet Josh he could sniff one of Zaza’s socks and not pass out. I KNOW he lost that one….
Sautee
January 25th, 2010
10:27 pm
Mr.Potato Head has removable eyebrows. I thought you all knew that!
O'Brien
January 25th, 2010
10:27 pm
If Marvin plays like this more consistently, the Hawks will be even more dangerous.
Well, Cleveland beat Miami, and the Celtics beat the Clippers. Hawks need to win and take care of business.
Lets finish strong
Astro Joe
January 25th, 2010
10:28 pm
Mo, the most overrated defender in Hawks history.
Now you see em, now they burnt off
January 25th, 2010
10:29 pm
NEWS: Woody is preparing to star in a new film during the all-star break with John Travolta. He’s going to play “The Black Powder” role.
Taylor
January 25th, 2010
10:30 pm
That was ugly
Astro Joe
January 25th, 2010
10:30 pm
Joe Smith still doesn’t have his legs. His shots are almost always short.
Big Ray
January 25th, 2010
10:31 pm
Ok, I love that play. The one where a guard comes out behind one of our bigs (who has the ball), gets the pass, and hits the shot off the natural screen.
Don’t know when Woody started implementing it (I think a few games ago), but I like it. Way better than…well, you know….
Big Ray
January 25th, 2010
10:31 pm
Wait, wait….I got it.
Woody shaved his eyebrows off in a bet of whether or not the Hawks would beat the Rockets on the road. If we lose, all the players (and the rest of the coaching staff) have to shave their eyebrows, too.
No wonder we’re outhustling the Rockets, lol….
niremetal
January 25th, 2010
10:33 pm
For once, that fall wasn’t just a product of Marv’s awkwardness. Even the HOU broadcasters admitted Budinger got away with a pretty heavy bump.
HawksGirl
January 25th, 2010
10:33 pm
I am hopeful that the Hawks will bring this one home finally, but the one thing I can’t just understand as I watch this game. Why do players waste their time and energy on the calls by the refs????…….I can’t recall a time that they ever change a call(*justifiable or just plain foul) based on the anger or winy fits a player displays. I could be wrong. Just not worth the techs a team can incur ….
Regroup, get focused and keep your head in the game!!! C’mon Hawks!!!
J.J.M.
January 25th, 2010
10:33 pm
memphis 96 orlando 94 1 min left magic has the ball
Astro Joe
January 25th, 2010
10:33 pm
But Ray, we ONLY run one play. There are no others… just ONE. That one play provides a basis for 6 guys to score in double digits and lead the conference in scoring. One play.
Now you see em, now they burnt off
January 25th, 2010
10:34 pm
Naw, for real Woody was smoking some heroin before the game with Marvin aka Howard the DUCK and the brows got burnt off……
Astro Joe
January 25th, 2010
10:35 pm
Maybe Al needs to play mad more often.
Rod from College Park
January 25th, 2010
10:35 pm
Please stop the iso or post Marvin plays. He is playing better. Keep letting him shoot open shots. That is his only chance. Y’all think Dominique is bad, Clyde Drexler might be worse.
Richard Pryor
January 25th, 2010
10:36 pm
WOODY,
I thought I explained to you the danger of using the stove as a lighter?!?
J.J.M.
January 25th, 2010
10:37 pm
memphis up 5 with 21 seconds left
Taylor
January 25th, 2010
10:38 pm
Magic are going to lose. Would be big if the Hawks held on here
J.J.M.
January 25th, 2010
10:38 pm
damn here comes zaza
Big Ray
January 25th, 2010
10:38 pm
Nice pass. Josh has to learn to dunk those.
Lon Kruger
January 25th, 2010
10:39 pm
WHERE ARE THE EYEBROWS?!?!?!!?
Astro Joe
January 25th, 2010
10:39 pm
Orlando has lost to a bunch of sub-par teams this season. I wonder if they are guilty of underestim… never mind.
Big Ray
January 25th, 2010
10:40 pm
Great hustle by Al, but he’s not long for this game.
Funny, Al gets called for the stuff the Rockets aren’t getting called for. Heh.
J.J.M.
January 25th, 2010
10:40 pm
jumpshots
bigdave
January 25th, 2010
10:41 pm
Josh and Jamal having words w/ each other…
Taylor
January 25th, 2010
10:42 pm
Needed that Bibby
Big Ray
January 25th, 2010
10:42 pm
Big shot by Bibby. That’s one of the things we need from him.
Astro,
I caught that comment from earlier….
Taylor
January 25th, 2010
10:42 pm
Joe ball hoggin
Najeh Davenpoop
January 25th, 2010
10:43 pm
Both teams are going really, really small right now in crunch time.
niremetal
January 25th, 2010
10:43 pm
Good D on Landry by Josh. No shame there.
J.J.M.
January 25th, 2010
10:44 pm
come on josh block them shots
bigdave
January 25th, 2010
10:44 pm
good set up by Jamal…
Najeh Davenpoop
January 25th, 2010
10:44 pm
2 straight possessions where Landry has gotten really good low post position very easily. That’s gotta change.
J.J.M.
January 25th, 2010
10:45 pm
here joe tryin 2 take over the game