Fourteen is the magic number
Chief Achilefu
The Rockets are rolling right now and have no signs of slowing down. The acquisition of guard Bobby Jackson is a bigger move than most fans realize. He played five seasons for head coach Rick Adelman in Sacramento and looked like he never left after scoring 14 points in his Rockets debut Sunday.
The way the Rockets are playing now, they may never lose another game, but being the realist that I am, I say they’ll push their win streak to 14 games before losing to a "Jekyll and Hyde" Denver squad that beat the Boston Celtics and lost to the lowly Milwaukee Bucks in the same week. Plus, the Nuggets will have revenge on their minds after getting thrashed in Houston earlier this season. They play some of the worst defense I’ve ever seen, but you have to take any team that has Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson on it seriously.
Mavericks will do the trick
Chris Morrison
The Dallas Mavericks will end the streak at 16 games on March 6 at Dallas with newly acquired All-Star guard Jason Kidd, along with forwards Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard. It will be the second game of a back-to-back for Houston against a Dallas team that will want nothing more than to knock off the Rockets, who are on their heels in the Western Conference race.
The Denver Nuggets might not be a walk in the park, but they certainly won’t have what it takes to slow down the streaking Rockets. They are coming off two pathetic losses to the Bulls and Bucks, in which they gave up 135 and 115 points, respectively.
With that said, look for the Rockets to take their next four games against Washington, Memphis, Denver, and Indiana and then lose to the Mavericks, which will make for sweet revenge if the two teams meet in the playoffs.
Kobe should kill the streak
Jong Lee
Denver plays absolutely no defense outside of center Marcus Camby, who’s a weak side defender. The Rockets played a sloppy game against Chicago, who beat the Nuggets, on Sunday and won by 13. An unhealthy, bad-shooting Rockets team lost to Denver on the road by 1 back in December. The great defense Houston plays combined with the Rockets’ tremendous outside shooting means a Houston victory.
People think Dallas got better with the Jason Kidd trade, but the Mavericks got slower, defense is worse and they traded away the only guard that penetrated. The Rockets will play good enough defense and put up points to beat the Mavs.
The toughest game may be on March 16 when the Los Angeles Lakers visit. The Rockets have a chance to beat them, but the Lakers are the second hottest team right now, and forward/center Pau Gasol has been great for the Lakers. It pains me to say it, but the Rockets’ streak ends against guard Kobe Bryant and Los Angeles.
Jong loves Hannah Montana
Judge Dredd
Jong, Judge Dredd will give you three correct points about the Kidd trade: the Mavericks acquired the best guard in the NBA in terms of fast-break execution, Kidd gets 75 percent of his assists by penetrating and dishing. And Judge Dredd’s sources at Reliant Stadium tell him that you were the first person in line to buy Hannah Montana tickets, and they weren’t for scalping purposes, you perv.
The Mavericks didn’t get worse with the trade. And though the Rockets will face one of their toughest contests of the season March 16 against the Lakers, it’s hard to see them going nine more games without a loss. Winning 21 consecutive games is not that easy. With that said, they are most likely to drop one against the Mavericks, not the inconsistent Nuggets.
Verdict: Chris Morrison wins. And by the way, Jong, you will serve another suspension for purchasing Hannah Montana tickets for yourself. This is your second offense. There are no appeals in Judge Dredd’s court.
