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
bigdave
January 25th, 2010
10:45 pm
good draw and kick by Jamal…
Astro Joe
January 25th, 2010
10:45 pm
If Al doesn’t foul out, we win.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 25th, 2010
10:46 pm
CLUTCH
BONE
January 25th, 2010
10:46 pm
Finally Bibby does something
Najeh Davenpoop
January 25th, 2010
10:46 pm
Orlando has lost. Hawks are up by a game in the Southeast if they hold on.
J.J.M.
January 25th, 2010
10:46 pm
that might do it
ajw
January 25th, 2010
10:46 pm
Anybody still wish we had David Anderson?
Ree Roe
January 25th, 2010
10:47 pm
The Bibster!
-REEcently Roe!
Astro Joe
January 25th, 2010
10:47 pm
Rockets will have one more run left. I hate it when ‘Nique and Rathbun celebrate early.
niremetal
January 25th, 2010
10:47 pm
What’s Bibby good for?
Oh. Right.
ajw
January 25th, 2010
10:47 pm
Can we please get a reporter to ask about the eyebrows?
Rod from College Park
January 25th, 2010
10:47 pm
That is why Bibby is so important. I rather him take big 3’s than anyone else on the team besides Crawford.
Big Ray
January 25th, 2010
10:48 pm
bigdave ,
Yeah, but they ain’t fighting. Just discussing.
KevinA
January 25th, 2010
10:48 pm
Josh just dominating
bigdave
January 25th, 2010
10:48 pm
Bibby makes the tough lay ups…
Astro Joe
January 25th, 2010
10:49 pm
Awful shot, Joe
Sautee
January 25th, 2010
10:50 pm
Couldn’t help but notice how Adelman found 18+ minutes for HIS rookie (Budinger).
Let him play through some egregious errors too.
Big Ray
January 25th, 2010
10:50 pm
Bibby has ice water in his veins. Josh has fire in his. Memphis is wondering why they didn’t offer more than $58 million….
Big Ray
January 25th, 2010
10:51 pm
Love how Josh sets these screens for Joe, so he can pass all the way to the other side of the court to Bibby, who is not open for a good shot. sigh …
bigdave
January 25th, 2010
10:52 pm
Ray…
no no… it was on a defensive assignment… Josh has checked everyone on those and team rebounding… as he should…
J.J.M.
January 25th, 2010
10:53 pm
joshhhhhh
bigdave
January 25th, 2010
10:53 pm
great win to start a gut check week…
KevinA
January 25th, 2010
10:53 pm
Pretty nice when all 6 starters shoot well. Great win
General Larry Platt
January 25th, 2010
10:53 pm
Woody looking like a fool with his brows on the ground
Astro Joe
January 25th, 2010
10:54 pm
Kurt Rambis finds playing time for his rookies too.
J.J.M.
January 25th, 2010
10:54 pm
wow bibby should have just let him score
Astro Joe
January 25th, 2010
10:55 pm
Darn it, Woody… Josh should have been the first hawk out of the game tonight. He deserved the STAR treatment.
Taylor
January 25th, 2010
10:55 pm
RandMO in means game over!
Najeh Davenpoop
January 25th, 2010
10:56 pm
Houston fans are starting the “Yao Ming, Yao Ming Yao Ming” chant.
Big Ray
January 25th, 2010
10:56 pm
Astro,
LOL. Does Rambis have anything BESIDES rookies? Oh yeah, maybe a couple of sophomores and juniors….
Bigdave ,
Gotcha. Misunderstood….what with all the yapping people have been doing about Joe and Jamal not getting along…which is BS.
Melvin
January 25th, 2010
10:57 pm
Get the Rockets out of here… On to San Antonio… BTW, the Bulls beat the Spurs tonight. These ain’t your big Brother Spurs anymore…lol
Taylor
January 25th, 2010
10:57 pm
Streak Breakers!!!
Sautee
January 25th, 2010
10:58 pm
Last I looked, Rambis’ team wasn’t competing for a playoff spot like the Rockets are.
Big Ray
January 25th, 2010
10:58 pm
Today’s lesson for Teague: how to dribble out the clock at the end of the game. Thus endeth the lesson.
Astro Joe
January 25th, 2010
10:58 pm
Hawks messed up their point differential average at the end of the game. I blame it on Teague.
Astro Joe
January 25th, 2010
10:59 pm
Last I looked, Hawks swept the Rockets.
Astro Joe
January 25th, 2010
11:01 pm
2-0 in Texas. Boo-yah. These are NOT last year’s Hawks.
Sautee
January 25th, 2010
11:03 pm
AJ,
Would you trade Woody for Adelman straight up?
Sautee
January 25th, 2010
11:03 pm
pssst, AJ, the correct answer is “not this year”.
kwooden1
January 25th, 2010
11:04 pm
GREAT WIN!!
Way to play tough throughout the game and have Bibby make some big 3’s. I could only listen to this game, but I hope that Teague came back and played well after getting a ear full from Woody. Nice rebounding game by J. Smith. I think the bench did a great job setting the tempo in the 2nd when the Rockets were up.
GO HAWKS!!
Freshmaker
January 25th, 2010
11:04 pm
Fire Woody.
Just kidding…great win Hawks! Been a loooong time since I’ve seen ‘em win in Houston.
Melvin
January 25th, 2010
11:04 pm
Hawks win and the Magic lose… I like it…
Big Ray
January 25th, 2010
11:05 pm
LOVE that win. Nothing to complain about, in reality. Winning heals a lot. Hawks just got a bit better on the road (where they have a winning record already), and should go into San Antonio with more confidence. They know what works. They just have to do it again.
GO HAWKS!
Love how Josh took that game over, love how Joe played well, loved Crawford’s usual spark off the bench, love Big Al’s heart. Dude only played 27 minutes with foul trouble and still nearly got that double double.
Marvin played well out there, doing the little things and hitting 3s when asked to do so. Can’t complain.
Astro Joe
January 25th, 2010
11:05 pm
I wouldn’t trade the Hawks season straight up for the Rockets season.
Sautee, you and I both know that Adelman is in a no-lose situation this year. With Yao and McGrady out, he would be a fool NOT to play his rookies. He doesn’t have the luxury of being selective. Why is it so bad that the Hawks are so deep that the #19 pick can’t find consistent minutes? The same is true for Philly with their draft pick (chosen hogher) and Henderson in Charlotte. I just don’t see how Woody needs to apologize for employing a different strategy against a coach that he just swept.
Big Ray
January 25th, 2010
11:08 pm
Ok, I wanna play too.
Last I looked, Rockets were competing for playoff position….and Chase Budinger is a rookie.
So either Adelman is an idiot who is not focused on winning games, or Budinger is just so damn good that he made Adelman play him.
Heh heh heh heh
Yes, I have a ladle as well…..
Coach D
January 25th, 2010
11:09 pm
Big Ray
January 25th, 2010
9:39 pm
A great evil has been loosed upon the Rockets. And it’s name is Josh Smith.
I thought you were gonna say, “And it’s name is Eyebrowless Woody.”
Big Ray
January 25th, 2010
11:14 pm
No, I wouldn’t trade the Hawks season for the Rockets season.
No way would we do this well with so many injuries. Imagine us losing Joe Johnson and either Josh Smith or Al Horford. Would we be sitting at 5th in our conference? Would we even have a winning record? Would Woody get as much out of the rest of his team as Adelman has gotten out of HIS? Or would there be a built in alibi, and suddenly the depth that keeps a rookie on the bench gets conveniently swept under the rug, even as claims are made that Sund hasn’t gotten Woody enough talent (or whatever other finger-pointing would come forth)?
I don’t want Woody to apologize for anything. I’m glad we’re not experiencing the injuries Houston is. I like that we’re winning. I’ll leave it at that.
GO HAWKS!
Big Ray
January 25th, 2010
11:15 pm
Coach D,
I started to say that….
Big Ray
January 25th, 2010
11:16 pm
Night y’all.
Off to surgery in the morning. Better drink all I can for the next 45 minutes….
Astro Joe
January 25th, 2010
11:17 pm
Or the Rockets are so depleted…