Create history, as McDi said, the Rockets players have long hoped to make a name for themselves in the history books; improve their ranking, Adelman requires the players to maintain balance, the fundamental goal is to occupy the high ground in the strong western conference. On March 9th Beijing time, at home against the Hornets (42-19), the Rockets (41-20) will welcome a crucial battle to improve themselves. If they can smoothly achieve an 18-game winning streak, the Rockets can rank among the top three in the west.
Impact the Top Three in the West
The Hornets beat the Nets 107-96 on their home court on the 8th, after this win, they continued to rank third in the west while also narrowing the gap with the Rockets to one game. As previously listed statistics show, if the Rockets can defeat the opponent at home this time, their record will be even with the Hornets at 42 wins and 20 losses. According to the rule of comparing the head-to-head records between both teams this season, the Rockets, who lead 2-1, will then seize the third place in the west!
Continue Creating History
After the big win over the Mavericks 113-98, the Rockets' 17-game winning streak rose to seventh place in the league's historical winning streak rankings. If they can defeat the Hornets this time, the Rockets will further rise to fourth place in the historical rankings - tying the 18-game winning streak set by the Knicks in the 1969-70 season, the Celtics in the 81-82 season, and the Bulls in the 1995-96 season.
Although the Rockets are still far from the highest 33-game winning streak set by the Lakers in the 1971-72 season, they can still look forward - after the match against the Hornets, the Rockets will face consecutive games against the Nets, Hawks, and Bobcats, all eastern teams with less than 50% win rates. In other words, if they can successfully defeat the Hornets, the Rockets will have a complete opportunity to extend their winning streak to 21 games, thus surpassing the Bucks' 20-game winning streak in the 1970-71 season and creating the second-best consecutive winning record in league history.
Mutual Revenge Complex
The league has already listed "who can stop the Rockets' winning streak" as a hot topic. Considering the need to stand firm in the first echelon of the west, the Hornets will certainly fight hard. There is also a revenge complex between the two sides - in the last 11 matches against the Hornets, the Rockets lost 8 games, and conclusions like "fear of super guards like Paul" and "unsolvable against David West" hurt the Rockets emotionally; in their most recent matchup, the Rockets won 100-80 away against the Hornets (February 22nd), maintaining the continuation of this wave of victories and also causing the Hornets, who once occupied the top spot in the west, to suffer a 3-game losing streak, falling off the top position.
Rockets Team in Peak Form
In the blink of an eye, Yao Ming has been out for 5 games, but the Rockets have not been affected. In these 5 games, they averaged 108.6 points per game, with 25 assists, and sharing ball rights through smooth operation has become the Rockets' brilliant solution to dealing with the problem of playing without Yao. In the past 8 games, McGrady averaged 24.4 points, which was expected; Alston averaged 20.3 points in the past 3 games, scoring a season-high 24 points against the Mavericks, providing effective assistance; the inside line is particularly pleasing - Scola averaged 11.8 points per game this season, and since becoming a starter, he averaged 12.3 points in 17 games; Landry averaged 8.5 points per game this season, averaging 14 points in the past 4 games.
Hornets Star Player Likely Absent
Paul scored 25 points and had 16 assists against the Nets, rookie Julian Wright scored a career-high 20 points, but the Hornets cannot relax - All-Star David West has missed two consecutive games due to a left ankle injury and it is difficult for him to return against the Rockets. In the first two games against the Rockets this season, West averaged "20+10". Bonzi Wells has just endured the torment of ankle pain, but the Rockets must beware of his and Mike James' counterattack.
The Rockets have now won eight consecutive games by double-digit margins, continuing to refresh the team's historical record in this regard. It is expected that the Rockets will start with Mutombo, Scola, Battier, McGrady, and Alston, while the Hornets will start with Chandler, Ryan Bowen, Stojakovic, Peterson, and Paul.