Houston Rockets

Good, Not Great: Why Texans Need A Daryl Morey Approach To QB Position

If good is the enemy of great, the Texans are in a lot of trouble as they map out a plan to break through their second-round ceiling. Owner Bob McNair and head coach Gary Kubiak are publically saying the happy, feel-good things. "We're very close," McNair said after the loss in New England, while K ... More >>

Sources: Astros Blocked a Potential Deal That Would Have Brought CSN Houston, Rockets Games to DirecTV

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, the Houston Astros, who are part owners of Comcast SportsNet Houston along with the Houston Rockets and NBC, nixed an 11th-hour deal with DirecTV that could have put CSN Houston on the provider and delivered Rockets games to its subscribers at th ... More >>

Beat LA: Rockets Take Out Injury-Riddled Lakers to Run Streak to Five

The Rockets faced a depleted Lakers squad missing three key players including Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard Tuesday night at Toyota Center in a classic trap game. The first game of yet another five-games-in-four-nights stretch for the Rockets against a very short-handed team makes for situation Coach ... More >>

The Royce White Twitter Feed Continues Unabated After Suspension from Rockets

On the court this season, the young Houston Rockets have been a pleasant surprise. They've gone 4-0 in their last four games and are 8-2 in the last 10. They continue to dominate the eastern conference (too bad they reside in the west) and at or near the top of the NBA in several offensive categorie ... More >>

Rockets Crash Back to Earth With Losses to Division Rivals

Check out our slideshow from the Thunder game! This was not the best weekend ever for Houston sports fans. The Texans...well, let's just leave them to their misery and inevitable playoff floundering and talk about the other team that went from boom to bust, the Houston Rockets. Of course, there wer ... More >>

Rockets 120, Bulls 97: Offensive Juggernaut Routs Another Defensive Powerhouse

Don't look now, but the team no one can see on Houston TV is looking pretty damn good right about now. Winning their fourth game in a row, which included routs over the Knicks and the Grizzlies, the Rockets beat one of the best defensive teams in the league, the Chicago Bulls, by 23, at one point le ... More >>

NBA Season Jump Starts with Spate of Christmas Day Games Including the Rockets

In 2011, Christmas Day was the literal start to the NBA season thanks to a lockout that kept the season from starting for nearly two full months. Most every other year, the season starts in October, but for the casual fan, it doesn't really get going until Christmas Day. With the NFL taking the day ... More >>

Dear Santa, All I Want for Christmas in Houston Sports Is...

It's Christmas Eve, which means there are just a few hours left to submit your Christmas wish list to Santa Claus. I want to think that I've been good this year, and that Santa will get me everything that I want. So Santa, here's my list. I'll see you tonight. 15. Some of my fellow UH alums might d ... More >>

MyPlates.com Releases Fan Selected Rockets-Themed Plate; If Only They Had an Alternate Uniform Like It

For years since the re-design of the Rockets logo and uniforms, fans on message boards like ClutchFans.net have been clamoring for an alternate uniform design with a red and black color scheme. They've had throwback jerseys (ah, ketchup and mustard), but no alternates. Even the Texans have a Battle ... More >>

Daryl Morey Fires Off A Kurkjian Style Stat Dork Tweet To Defend Jeremy Lin

By any real measurement, the first season for Jeremy Lin as a Houston Rocket has been fairly pedestrian. Statistically, he has struggled shooting the basketball (.399 field goal percentage) and seen his minutes scaled back in recent weeks. Purely to the human eye, Lin has had trouble meshing with ba ... More >>

Ten Gifts for the Houston Sports Fan They are Bound to Love

When you have a sports fan in your life, I mean a serious, hard core fan, it can be tough to buy for them. Some of them seem to spend entire paychecks on sports gear and stuff related to their teams. Most have tickets games and probably have a lot of memorabilia that will sell great on Ebay someday. ... More >>

Linsanity Finally Shows Up, Rockets Lose Anyway

Jeremy Lin reminds me of an NFL quarterback. He probably didn't deserve the mounds of praise heaped on him during his transcendant run last year in New York and he hasn't deserved the beating he's taken on message boards and radio call in shows during his struggles in Houston. He didn't get signed t ... More >>

Rockets' Ups and Downs Continue Despite Coach's Return

Check out pics from Saturday's close game against the Mavs in our slideshow. Kevin McHale was emotional at times when he met with the media upon his return to the team on Saturday night after an extended absence due to the illness and tragic death of his daughter. He kept in touch with the players ... More >>

Next Five Games Will Test Young Rockets Starting Tonight Against the Lakers

With a serious tragedy behind them and injured players starting to return to the line up, the Rockets dive into a string of games against contenders and Texas rivals this week that will add yet another test to the young team's season. First up is the LA Lakers, in town tonight at Toyota Center. Des ... More >>

Royce White's Twitter Rant: 10 Ignorant Replies

"Is he worth it?" In the sports world, it's the answer to that one simple question that ultimately determines the length of a player's shelf life in whatever league he plays in. Extrapolated in more detail and reworded, is the combination of a player's skill set, salary, and performance worth whate ... More >>

Royce White Versus The Ignorant Mob

Can someone please explain to me why so many people are so pissed off at Royce White? I know why the Rockets are upset - I don't necessarily agree with the Rockets being angry with him, but I get it - but I don't get why my twitter timeline and sports radio and comment sections to stories on White w ... More >>

Airsanity: Lin and the Rockets Struggle with More Than Airballs

I once interviewed MLB writer and former Astro social media maven Alyson Footer for a story about sports radio and she gave me a fantastic quote about the media in general. "The news cycle used to be 24 hours and now it's 24 seconds," she told me. The impact that has on sports coverage means that on ... More >>

Twin Towers: A Fascinating Tale of the '80s Rockets and What Never Was

On June 5, 1986, I was barely 17 years old and on my way home from a music lesson. While cutting through a nearby neighborhood, my car, an amazingly awful pumpkin orange Datsun B-210 I bought from a friend for 500 bucks, broke down...again. Fortunately, I was only about two blocks from a schoolmate' ... More >>

James Harden Is A Houston Rocket: So, Now What?

I haven't used a Sopranos analogy in a long time, and frankly, since the series has been defunct for more than five years, I have no idea how much longer the Relevancy Police are going to allow me to do so, so if I may: Remember in the first half of Season 6 of The Sopranos, when Tony got shot in t ... More >>

The Young Ones: Rockets Season Will Be Infused With, Complicated By Youth

Back in the late '90s, when the Rockets had real championship aspirations, the team was consistently one of the oldest in the NBA. They routinely filled the end of the roster with guys like Charles Jones, who Rockets TV play-by-play man Bill Worrell affectionately called "Old Man River." By contrast ... More >>

Texans-Ravens: The 10 Best Rapper Tweets From Sunday's Game

Houston has a professional football team. They are called the Houston Texans. A lot of people like them. Some of those people are rappers. The Internet has several forms of social media. One of them is called Twitter. A lot of people use it. Some of those people are rappers. We perused Twitter dur ... More >>

Houston Sports Stories That Need Their Own ESPN #30For30 Episodes

Red-Blooded American Man's newest obsession -- behind Kate Upton -- has to be ESPN's 30 For 30 series. The sports documentary series takes on notable and not-so-notable events in sports history and gives them the 360-degree treatment. Since 30 For 30 debuted in late 2009, the directors have tackle ... More >>

Rockets Rookie Royce White Battles Anxiety in the Brutal Spotlight of Pro Sports

Imagine waking up in the middle of the night unable to breathe, feeling like you are suffering a heart attack. Your first instinct is to dial 911, but your hand is paralyzed, unable to move out of fear. You lay there, completely still, struggling with every breath without the power to speak. It's da ... More >>

Toyota Center's Gigantic New Video Board Lets You Watch All The Omer Asik You Can Take

Now we know what the problem has been for Houston Rocket fans -- they just have not been able to get a clear view of the mediocrity on the court. Problem solved. The Rockets are unveiling a massive new scoreboard/video thingamajig which they claim "will be the largest indoor center-hung scoreboard ... More >>

Rockets Make Very Tiny, Almost Inaudible Splash with Asik Signing

My friends over on the ClutchFans.net bulletin board are fond of the phrase "making a splash" when discussing the team's moves in free agency and when they make trades. When a trade or signing is of a more minor variety, that phrase becomes a joke, often posted on the board in an almost unreadably s ... More >>

The Best Ever Houston Free Agent Signings

So the Houston Rockets have signed turnover machine/point guard/free agent Jeremy Lin to a contract, and apparently, the city of Houston is going nuts. I'm not quite ready to buy into the hype, and I'm not going to be doing any stupid puns on his name. That said, good luck to the kid and the Rockets ... More >>

Alleged Teen Rape Caught on Video

CongraduLINtions, Houston: It's a Point Guard!

Over the last few weeks -- and, frankly, for quite sometime before that -- the name Jeremy Lin has been twisted to fit any number of ridiculous puns (check out HPBasketball's Twitter feed on Tuesday for some hilarious examples), Linsanity chief among them as the young phenom brought crowds at storie ... More >>

The Knicks Play Hide-and-Seek in Order to Keep the Rockets from Signing Jeremy Lin

For every weird little occurrence in life, there seems to be an episode of Seinfeld to which you can circle back for an analogous situation. Even for something as innocuous as the Rockets' pursuit of Knicks restricted free agent guard Jeremy Lin. So here goes: Remember that episode of Seinfeld whe ... More >>

It's CompLINcated: The Continuing Saga of the Rockets Pursuit of Jeremy Lin

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the Garden (or GAH-den if you are a New Yorker), it appears the New York Knicks, who appeared to have finally re-captured the imagination of basketball fans, are close to letting point guard Jeremy Lin go and join the Houston Rockets. I'm not going to ... More >>

Eight is Enough: Rockets Logjam at Power Forward Dissected

As the Rockets head into summer league play with their ultra-young roster, a question has arisen among fans: what exactly are they going to do with eight power forwards? It's a valid question. They currently have eight guys who play the position -- some can split time at other spots, but more on tha ... More >>

Comment of the Day: Stop Hurting Our Feelings, NBA Free Agents

We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it's time we paid some damn attention to them. So we'll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning or afternoon from the previous day's work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula i ... More >>

Rockets Invent a New Type of Draft Pick Lottery Protection, So That's Something, Right?

The Rockets finished the 2011-12 NBA season with perhaps the top point guard combination in the entire league. Kyle Lowry was a borderline All-Star at midseason and one of the top all-around players at the position, not to mention a massive bargain at $5.75 million per year. When Lowry went down w ... More >>

Dragic Gone. Is It Time for Linsanity or Just Regular Old Crazy?

According to ESPN, Rockets point guard Goran Dragic has agreed to a deal with the Phoenix Suns worth $34 million over four seasons. The Rockets had reportedly realized last week that Dragic wanted much more than they were willing to offer and decided to pursue other options. Some reports suggest the ... More >>

Why the Rockets Have to Suck Before They Can Improve

For quite some time, I have resisted the sentiment that to improve in the NBA, you must first have a substantial downturn. I don't like the idea of losing on purpose. Calling it "tanking" only makes it worse. The entire concept feels like the exact opposite of what players, coaches and fans are taug ... More >>

In Like a Lamb: No Moves, No Trades for the Rockets in 2012 Draft

Pick two came and went. Then pick five. Then seven and eight and it began to dawn on Rockets fans: For all the talk of trades for Dwight Howard and moving up into the top ten of the draft, Houston, a team mired in mediocrity, would stand pat and roll the dice with picks 12, 16 and 18. In fact, there ... More >>

Rockets GM Daryl Morey Meets With The Media To Discuss The Draft (And Mention The Aborted Pau Gasol Trade A Few Times)

While the NBA Playoffs have been rolling toward their exciting conclusion in Miami and Oklahoma City, back here in Houston, the Rockets have been busy trying to figure out how they can somehow come out of the next few months of NBA player activity with a team that at least feels like a threat to mak ... More >>

Houston Rockets vs Orlando Magic

Know Your Local Media: The Chron's Eric Berger on Hurricanes, Climate Change and Evacuating Katy

Full disclosure: In 2000, I was working on a grassroots campaign supporting the arena referendum that passed and resulted in the building of Toyota Center. At the time, the Houston Chronicle's Eric Berger was covering the campaign, a less contentious follow-up to the loss suffered a year earlier tha ... More >>

Five Ways the Rockets Season And The MLB Draft Are Alike

I'll be the first to admit that while I like the game of baseball and generally keep up with it and the Astros during the season, I'm not an avid fan. I'm certainly not enough of a fan or baseball nerd to understand what the 40-round major league draft means or who is being drafted or even where the ... More >>

NBA Draft: Recent Stinkhole History To Enlighten Rocket Fans

Prior to Wednesday night's game between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics, the 27th annual NBA Draft Lottery took place, or as Rocket fans like to call it "a tradition like no other." For those Rocket fans, their 0.5 percent chance of coming away with the top pick gave the draft lottery a decide ... More >>

NBA Formalwear: Chase Budinger's NBA Socks Worn Under His Suit At Tilman Fertitta's Charity Event

On the evening of May 2, John Granato and I had the opportunity to broadcast a "very special edition" of our show on 1560 The Game live from local restaurant and casino mogul Tilman Fertitta's palatial (Understatement Adjective of the Year, by the way) estate in River Oaks. It was the annual "Gath ... More >>

Five Things for the Rockets to Consider This Offseason

Another offseason is upon us in Houston. While other teams battle it out in the playoffs, Houston Rockets fans are left to wait until next year...again. With three straight lottery seasons and only one second round appearance since 1997, it's no wonder fans are fatigued and want to see things shaken ... More >>

Rockets Mascot Gets in the Ring

The man behind Clutch takes up the fight game on the side.

Tough Week: Rockets Go from Sixth Seed to Out of the Playoffs

Remember all the warm, fuzzy feelings last week when the Rockets came home from a 4-0 road trip, knocking on the door of a good seeding in the Western Conference playoffs? It appeared this scrappy, tough team was going to defy odds and make the playoffs with no stars and their entire starting backco ... More >>

Rockets Sweep Road Trip, Bear Down on the Playoffs

Photo by Groovehouse This Rockets team, it just sneaks up on you. It's loaded with second- and third-tier players, most of whom would be backups (albeit rotation players) on good teams. They struggle with interior defense and have an unproven coach who was once a hated rival. They lost their entire ... More >>

Last Night: Maná At Toyota Center

Maná Toyota Center April 4, 2012 The last time Maná visited Houston, they sold out Toyota Center two nights in a row. The world's premier rock en español band is on the second leg of the Drama Y Luz tour, in support of their latest album of the same name. The group from the land of tequila y ma ... More >>

Picking Rockets Team of the 2000s Not an Easy Task

Throughout the course of this frustrating season, the Houston Rockets have been allowing fans to pick their choices for the starting team of the decade beginning with the 1970s and continuing with the '80s, '90s and 2000s. They had all but one of their starting five for the 2000s on had for their wi ... More >>

Houston Rockets 2009 Draft Lottery Posse -- Final Scorecard

I've mentioned this in previous posts, but one of the most amazing and envy-inducing pictures I've ever seen is a picture on Rockets general manager Daryl Morey's Mobile Uploads page on his Facebook account. It's a shot of a blackjack hand, split three times (for four hands total), with a blackjack ... More >>