The Houston Rockets know they are going to the postseason as the NBA regular season winds down, but still unknown is who they will play in the first round.
Rockets fans are happy to see the team avoid a first-round matchup with the hated Utah Jazz. The Jazz has fallen to the eighth seed in the Western Conference, entering Monday. Houston would love to see Utah stay as the eighth seed and play the red-hot Los Angeles Lakers in the first round.
Entering Tuesday, Houston will have one game remaining in the regular season (at Dallas on Wednesday). If Houston wins out and the San Antonio Spurs lose one more game, Houston will earn the third seed.
How are the Rockets even fighting for the 3 seed? Their former star player, Tracy McGrady, hasn’t played since Feb. 9 because of a season-ending knee surgery and they traded former starting point guard Rafer Alston to the Orlando Magic.
The Rockets have been just fine since McGrady left the lineup, sporting a 22-6 record. Does that mean McGrady was the problem? No one knows for sure, but we do know Ron Artest, Yao Ming, Luis Scola and Shane Battier have all stepped up during McGrady’s absence.
Artest, who is averaging 17.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game this season entering Monday, has scored in double figures in each of his last 30 games. Yao has been healthy for almost the entire season, averaging a mere double-double (19.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game).
Despite receiving great production from the Rockets’ stars, the key to this team’s success has been the contributions it has received from lesser-known players. Aaron Brooks, Von Wafer, Carl Landry and Kyle Lowry have been huge for the Rockets all season.
Lowry, who came to Houston in the Alston trade, has split time at point guard with Brooks. The two-headed monster gives the Rockets arguably the fastest point guard tandem in the NBA. Despite the dynamic duo’s youth, both players have combined to average 18.8 points and 6.6 assists per game.
Wafer, McGrady’s replacement, and Landry have provided additional scoring for the Rockets and complemented their teammates perfectly. Wafer is a streaky shooter, but is producing 9.7 points per game. Landry, despite missing a few weeks because of a gunshot wound, has produced 9.3 points and five boards per game coming off the bench for Scola and Yao.
Houston relies on these role players to pick up the slack when Yao and Artest get in foul trouble or can’t find their shot. These players need to stay hot and continue to play meaningful minutes down the stretch so they will be prepared to live up to the fans’ expectations and advance deep into the playoffs.
The Rockets are playing well, but most fans hope they will match up with either the Portland Trail Blazers or the Hornets in the first round. The Rockets match up nicely against them and would not have to worry about the pressure of playing the more physical Jazz, which defeated Houston in the first round of the playoffs in 2007 and 2008.
The Rockets should get out of the first round for the first time since 1997 after winning in six games against either team.
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