Is It Good...or Bad?

The Houston Rockets beat the Indiana Pacers on Friday night 102-99.  It was only the Rocket's second win of the season, but a nugget buried in the story by the Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen caught my eye.  The Rockets have had leads with six or fewer minutes to play in EVERY GAME this season.  Yet, they have only won twice.

So what happens to the team down the stretch?  Who is to blame?  Or is it just another case "proving" the old adage that there is no reason to watch an NBA game till the final minutes because that is when the game will be decided?

Let us start with the positive--maybe not for the Rockets, but for the league in general.  NBA games are more often evenly matched far more than their college counterparts.  (The same actually also works for the NFL compared to the top college programs for that matter.)  There are some blowouts in the NBA, but more often than one would suspect it winds up being the "underdog" team doing the blowing out. 

So back to the Rockets...what IS the deal?  Anyone who actually has suffered through the unsuccessful finishes sees a pattern emerge.  The Rocket offense goes dead.  Is it caused by defense now turned on by the foe...or an offense that stops working?  Probably a combination of both.  Yet, on the other end of the court the Rockets are often done in by one super star player--often a guard--who takes over.  The Rockets for all their balance and depth do not have a player like that they can rely on.  If the opposition takes away their passing game and forces the wrong players to take the shots before the shot clock runs out they have a great advantage.  It has paid off way more than not in the early going this year.

On another topic...I got the feeling spot checking local sports radio this week that fans (and hosts) have finally run out of things to say about the Texans.  Even in good times it is hard to come up with new topics revolving around one football team that plays once per week.  That is especially tough with the Texans who have the same problems to discuss every week.  The only answer is for the Texans to start playing like the team many thought they could be prior to the season.  Can they? 

The Astros still don't have managers for Corpus Christi or Oklahoma City for 2011.  Both are very important jobs since the manager and his coaches will be working with the players closest to the major leagues.  They have to work physically harder with the players than on the major league level.  Before home games more workouts and instruction is given than on the major league level.  That means longer hours on the field.  After games they have to file reports on game and player results.  It is a hard and often thankless job with the big club calling up players as needed regardless of what they may mean to the minor league team's chances of winning.  Fred Nelson is in charge of hiring the new skippers.  You can bet he is doing a lot of interviewing and trying to find the right men to speed the development of the system's brightest prospects--and maybe develop a diamond in the rough as well.