Celtics Land the Rockets

Last night Houston had a problem. As the luck of the Irish continues, the Boston Celtics were able to use tight D to finally ground the Rockets, with a 94-74 triumphant victory. It not only crashes T-Mac and his crew to the earth, but also continues to prove just how tough and good a contender the Celtics make for NBA champions. According to a Wall Street Journal blog, the last time the Rockets lost, the New York Giants were underdogs in the Superbowl. From there the Giants won an impressive game over the Patriots to become champions, and the Rockets began their ascension into the stratosphere, winning 22 straight. Yao Ming was also lost for the season along the way, but that didn't stop the Rockets from winning 12 games without their Great Wall. The streak lasted for an impressive 48 days and really revved up Houston fans for their team's hopes at winning a title.

Chris Sheridan of ESPNprovided the following about the streak:

“The Rockets did, after all, write their own little piece of history with the streak, accomplishing something the NBA hadn’t seen in nearly four decades,” “But that made it all the more surprising to see them wilt in the toughest test they’ve faced during the streak, a night when a national-television audience tuned in to see what all the buzz about the Rockets was about, then switched their TV sets off shaking their heads at how good the Celtics looked.”

So what we have learned is Houston can succeed without their man in the middle, Yao, and that T-Mac and his supporting cast are definite West coast contenders. We also learned that the Celtics are capable of beating any team, in any place, at any time. This will go a long way towards their momentum and championship hopes. The loss puts Houston into a tie with the Lakers for first, not too depressing for fans of the Rockets. Unfortunately, another loss or two could push them back down to the bottom tier of the Western Conference playoff teams.