HOUSTON ROCKETS
Recap Rewind: Home losses to Golden State and Portland last week stretched the Rockets' losing streak to three games. A trip to the West Coast provided a cure however, as the Rockets beat the Kings in Sacramento on Sunday, and the Supersonics in Seattle on Monday.
Notable News: The 49-29 Rockets are now just a half game behind the Utah Jazz for the fourth seed in the Western Conference. These two teams will play each other in the first round, so it's a battle for homecourt advantage right now... The Rockets two big guns, Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, have both been struggling with back injuries this week. T-Mac, who is no stranger to back woes, left the Warriors game early and was inactive for the Blazers game last Friday. He returned to have an outstanding game against the Kings, scoring 40 points with 10 assists and 8 rebounds. Yao also missed the Blazers game, but returned to score 18 and grab 6 against the Kings. He's dealing with some other bumps and bruises right now, but McGrady's watching his back (no pun intended)... Looks like the Bonzi Wells experiment is over.
Fast Forward: The Rockets have a rematch with the Blazers in Portland on Wednesday. On Saturday, it's back to Houston for a meeting with the New Orleans Hornets, followed by a visit from the Phoenix Suns on Monday the 16th.