The Golden State Warriors (22-40) will be visitors at the Toyota Center (tip off 5:00 pm PDT) tonight when they take on the Houston Rockets (31-30) who are in the midst of what you could call a playoff hunt. Indeed, it’s difficult to state that Houston is in the thick of things despite only being two games out of the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
Why?
Because they have hit a losing streak that’s almost on par with that of the Warriors, who happen to be in tank mode.
Golden State has lost seven games in a row while Houston’s skid has reached six games. The Dubs have been defeated by good teams such as Denver, Dallas, both Los Angeles teams, San Antonio and a mediocre Portland squad, while the Rockets have faltered against Utah, Phoenix, Denver (twice), Dallas and New Orleans.
Tonight, one streak will come to an end while another one will remain alive. Given what’s at stake for Houston, one would assume that they would be able to get back to their winning ways, but then again their fans probably felt the same way prior to their game against the New Orleans Hornets last Thursday and that didn’t exactly end well for the Rockets.
The Warriors have shut down their best players and are giving the young guys a look to see if they can produce, and how their games will fit with what the team will be looking to accomplish next season. But the Rockets are actually looking to be part of the postseason; so what gives?
Michael Pina of Red 94, the Houston Rockets ESPN TrueHoop Affiliate blog, wrote an interesting piece on the Rockets’ recent collapse, here’s an excerpt:
“With no consistent presence on the interior apart from Luis Scola (who in my opinion remains underrated), the Rockets were never confused with an elite teams that gets to the free-throw line. Speedy Goran Dragic has the ability to draw contact better than almost every player in the league, but he’s human, and the toll his relatively small frame took dancing in the lane simply wasn’t sustainable. The Rockets lived and died on jump shots and threes.”
When both teams face off tonight, the end result may have some type of comedic value given the circumstances: one team trying to lose might win, while another team trying to win may in fact lose.
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