Houston Rockets Redux: Week 15: 02/01/2015 – 02/07/2015

As Week 15 comes to a close, the Houston Rockets are undeniably winners!

In fact, they’re are an undefeated 2-0 for the week!

It was a rather light week for team that has been filled with rest which is usually the case when the NBA’s schedule does not try to conflict with the NFL’s coverage of the Super Bowl.

The Rockets weren’t perfect but they continue to find ways to win despite the challenges that face them.

The Rockets were pitted with yet another tough obstacle with announcing that Dwight Howard would be out at least a month tending to his right knee injury.

Howard had some bone marrow removed from his pelvis to inject into his knee to help it heal quicker while he’s resting up for the next month or so.

He will be re-evaluated within the next four weeks and if everything goes as planned his return could be well before the start of the playoffs.

I’m not positive if this is just a quick-fix to get him ready or a long-term solution but I just hope to see him back on the court soon.

The team continues to press on without Howard, the team is 13-5 without him, but not having around I know puts an irreplaceable voice/familiar face in the locker room.

Other than that, the Rockets are positioned quite well in the Western Conference, holding on 3rd place in the West with a 35-15 record.

It was a week that us Rockets fans could be proud of!

Let’s take a look at how they did:

Feb 4, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets forward

(5) out rebounds Chicago Bulls center

(13) in the second half at Toyota Center. Rockets won 101 tom90. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Rockets 101, Bulls 90:  This was another battle of two good teams that jockeyed back-and-forth for positioning throughout the game.  It was a game of runs to which James Harden, Donatas Motiejunas and Trevor Ariza were all key players involved.  Harden had a bad taste in his mouth from his 7-for-22 field goal shooting performance against the Bulls early last month.  The match up of the night between Harden and Jimmy Butler was as entertaining as a fan would want it to be.  But Harden took him to school as he dropped 27 points on Butler off 9-for-20 FG, 3-for-5 from the behind-the-arc and a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.  This was a game that the Rockets maintained control of despite the Bulls efforts to take the lead.  Their defense was one of the greatest efforts I’ve seen all season, there were guys going for steals, diving for loose balls, shot blocks, put-backs…you name it, the Rockets were doing it!  Ariza chipped in 20 points off 7-for-10 FG, 3-for-5 three-point FG and a perfect 3-for-3 from the free throw line. D-Mo put up 15/10 and Josh Smith gets the hustle award for that game being able to get 13 rebounds and two blocked shots in 29 minutes of action.

Feb 6, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward

(34) tries to block the shot of Houston Rockets forward

(1) in the second quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Rockets 117, Bucks 111:  The Bucks have been severely depleted with a lot of their key guys out such as rookie Jabari Parker, Zaza Pachulia and Larry Sanders.  The Bucks have continued to press on and remained right in the hunt for a playoff spot in the east with the young bunch of guys they have.  I give credit to Jason Kidd for getting the most out of what he has as far as talent on the roster.  He’s starting to make a name for himself as a coach and he always seemed to be natural at it as he was more a floor-general during his days grinding on the hardwood.  The Rockets maintained control of the game and even ran up 68 points before the end of the 1st half!  The Bucks have a lack of inside presence so the Rockets had their will and were able to do whatever they wanted.  Their shooting was just phenomenal staying within the mid-50’s to low-60’s percentile!  However, the 4th quarter was woeful for the Rockets as they missed 15 out of 19 shots and allowed the Bucks to start knocking on the door.  At 7-0 run, a 5-0 run and another 7-0 run allowed the Bucks close in within as much as three points — Rockets led 107-104 — with 3:12 left in the game.  But the team got it done from the free throw line connecting for 11 out of 14 free throws to get the job done.  Although it got close, I never had doubts that the Rockets would let this one slip away.  Sometimes it doesn’t have to look pristine as far as wins, as long as won gets them and that’s what the Rockets did.

More from Houston Rockets

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• Houston Rockets: Rest Russell Westbrook for remainder of the OKC series
• Houston Rockets: G2: What has put the team in driver’s seat against OKC

So what’s up next?  The Rockets have a little work do before the start of the All-Star break next weekend.  Tomorrow, the will face the Portland Trail Blazers in the third and last home game of a week-long home stand the Rockets have likely enjoyed.  They’ll hit the road Tuesday to take on the Phoenix Suns and face the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday and will then be off for more than a week after that.  I see the Rockets being able to handle the Rip City and the Suns but they may face match up problems with the Clippers.  They are stacked with bigs and that’s what the Rockets are limited with at the moment.  It’s certainly a reason why we haven’t figured out a way to beat them this past season.  I’m certainly hopeful that they will go 3-0 but it will likely be a 2-1 effort.

It’s going to be a fun week ahead!

Go Rockets!