I am as guilty as anyone in Houston in rarely making it out to Hofheinz Arena to see the Houston Cougars play basketball. So, I am in the vast majority that missed a whale of a game Wednesday night. Houston actually beat Memphis for the first time in 12 games.There were 4063 fans in the building--less than half the capacity. They saw the Cougars win convincingly playing what many Cougar fans think was the best 40 minutes played for over 20 years.
The numbers would seem to justify that analysis. Houston took out the annual C-USA champs 92-75 with an offensive show led by Aubrey Coleman that was un-stoppable. Coleman, who has led the nation in scoring most of the season, scored 34 points while adding eight rebounds and four assists.
The win only moved the Cougars one game over .500 at 14-13 and to within one game of .500 at 6-7 in conference play. But it gave them heart and the knowledge that on a given night they can play with and beat anyone else who plays in C-USA.
Some of those "negative thinkers" might translate to meaning the team has played well below it's potential this year. Others might simply think the team rose to the occasion on this one night. In reality perhaps both ways of thinking have some merit. The bottom line is that the Cougar's win means they can't be automatically discounted when C-USA tournament play begins. That is all they can hope for.
ROCKETS NOT MAKING PROGRESS
Meanwhile, the sorry state of the Houston Rockets has not changed yet. Against Orlando the club was totally outmatched. At this moment the Rockets are playing the worst basketball in the NBA. The loss of Carl Landry is really showing. Not only is his presence inside missed, but the other half of the power forward combo--Luis Scola--has been ineffective. It wouldn't matter quite so much if the new Rockets had gotten out of the gate well. But they are all still behind the gate it seems. Hopefully, the gates will open pretty quick as the Rockets need their new players to live up to their potential or track records before it is too late.
If there is one positive out of all this--particularly the amazingly poor defense--is just may keep the "anti-Yao" crowd quiet for awhile. The Rockets have no defense in the middle with Yao Ming missing. Don't confuse athletic or jumping ability with interior defense. That is nice to have, but the Rockets had a defense "wall" inside with Yao Ming. He affects shots and makes clubs think twice about challenging. Sure, on occasion Yao Ming can be "posturized" with slams over him. But in the big picture he keeps teams honest. No one is keeping middle "honest" now.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment