Portland Trail Blazers

The Rockets Are Back In The NBA Playoffs! Their Complete Rebuilding Anthology

With four games to go in the 2011-2012 season, the Rockets were coming off a 117-110 loss to Dallas, a loss in which Dirk Nowitzki provided a stark reminder to last season's Rockets team that they were devoid of a superstar caliber player by dropping 21 points on them in the fourth quarter. To call ... More >>

Goooooooal Tending: Rockets Beat Suns, Make Playoffs on Bizarre Final Play

"What a long strange trip it's been." -- The Grateful Dead It is fitting in a season as crazy as this one that the young Rockets' road to the playoffs would ultimately come down to a game, a play and a call like the ones that occurred Tuesday night at Toyota Center. All season, the Rockets have don ... More >>

Rockets Make Winning Plays Late, Beat Spurs 96-95 on Harden's Late Jumper

It's been a while since Rockets fans have experienced something like this. For those of us who have followed the Rockets for 20 or 30 years, we can remember plenty of times they rose up to make big shots against the rival San Antonio Spurs...and quite a few that went the other direction. But, Sunday ... More >>

Seven ZERO Time NBA All-Stars Who Made More in Career Earnings Than Michael Jordan

I once had a boss who told me "The only thing worse than being underpaid is being overpaid." Looking back, perhaps he was trying to send a message to me personally, but the general message was this -- making too much money makes one utterly expendable. That's a fine notion, and in most walks of li ... More >>

NBA All-Star Game: Your Prop Bets For This Weekend

Michael Jordan turns 50 this weekend, I'm not sure if you've heard. In case you missed the incessant career retrospective pieces that ran on Sportscenter or the story of MJ's renting the Museum of Fine Arts here in Houston for his birthday shindig this weekend, the most iconic team sport athlete o ... More >>

For Valentine's: The Five Best Recent Rockets Bromances

Over the years, the NBA went from a league where practically every player hated each other, to a league where they Tweet to tell how much they miss one another. Since NBA All-Star Weekend is coming to Houston, some former and present Houston Rockets may get to rekindle the flame of the bromance the ... More >>

Houston's Not The Only City Having Problems With Comcast SportsNet

The Portland Trail Blazers are in the middle of a 10-year contract with Comcast SportsNet Northwest. And so far, the only people in the CSN Northwest viewing area who can see the Trail Blazers are those people who have Comcast. Not people with Direct TV. Not people with Dish Network. Not those who m ... More >>

Five Ways You Can Help Your Buddies Without Comcast Follow the Rockets Games

The saga continues with Comcast Sportsnet. Game two of the very young NBA season is upon us and still no deals with U-Verse, DirecTV or Dish Network to carry the sports channel that is the exclusive home to the Rockets and Astros. It's difficult to say just how long it will take to get deals done. A ... More >>

Ask A Rapper: D-Risha Discusses Sports' Worst "Decisions"

The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place -- lots of times, you're even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good -- so once a week we're going to get with a rapper and ask them to explain things. Something you always wanted to ask a rapper? E-mail sheaserrano@gmail.com. ... 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 >>

Five Questions Answered About the Rest of the Rockets' Season

A buddy of mine texted me when news came of the Rockets trade of Johnny Flynn -- the guard with a name like a `40s-era movie star -- and Hasheem Thabeet to Portland for Marcus Camby and a draft pick. "This team was one Marcus Camby from being a championship contender." I responded, "Six years ago." ... 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 >>

Houston Rockets Acquire Marcus Camby And Derek Fisher. Wilford Brimley Next?

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post where I offered up some proposition wagers for the degenerates in the crowd who like to bet on really obscure things. (Yes, I am gazing into the mirror right now.) One of them was "Total Trades Made Before Deadline: OVER/UNDER 1 1/2" At the time, I cautiously took t ... More >>

Counting Greg Oden's Blessings

Greg Oden, in between microsurgeries.​"I'm sure he's saying, 'Why Me?' Sometimes in life, things like that happen, and you wonder why it's happening to you. Some of these injuries have occurred, not only on the floor but off the floor. There's really not an explanation for why, or sometimes ho ... More >>

Houston Rockets: Their Bench Is the Hottest Team in the Western Conference

In my season preview for the Houston Rockets, I cited the current portion of the season as the "make or break stretch" for the team -- a six-game road trip against a bunch of pretty-good-but-not-great teams followed by a six-game homestand against mostly good teams. And once the season started, and ... More >>

One Man's NBA All-Star Reserve Selections

Go ahead and chalk up the NBA All-Star Game taking place in a few weeks (Sunday, February 26, to be exact) in Orlando's Amway Center as the next "feels weird" moment of the NBA season. It feels like the season just tipped off a few weeks ago and yet here we are, about 20 games in, deciding who the b ... More >>

NBA's Marcus Camby Arrested For Weed In Pearland

Portland PDPulled over in his Porsche​Many NBA watchers wonder how the hell Marcus Camby can keep playing at the ancient age of 37. We may have our answer. And as with so many things, it's weed. Camby was arrested earlier this week in Pearland for marijuana possession, reports the Pearland J ... More >>

Top 5 Sporting Events in Memorial Day History

Ernie Banks' immortal words used to mean something each Memorial Day.​A month from now (hell, even a second after it concludes), nobody is going to remember and/or care about the Houston Astros' Memorial Day clash with the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field. Overall, it's a pretty lame sports day ... More >>

NBA Lottery -- Where Houston Rockets Point Guards Go to Die

I see disaster in your future.​"So you're saying there's a chance..." -- Lloyd Christmas Yes. 1.82 percent, to be exact. Those are the odds that the ping pong balls will fall the Houston Rockets' way tonight at the annual NBA Draft Lottery and they wind up with a top three pick. After finis ... More >>

The Chris Bosh 2010-2011 Experience (In Quotes)

Chris Bosh, on the rise​OCTOBER 27, 2009 "[Bosh] will never be the best player on a 50-win team. Sorry, someone will spend $100 M on him next spring and regret it." -- Me, in my 2009-2010 NBA preview, prior to Chris Bosh's final season in Toronto SPRING 2010 "Keep in mind, Chris -- this team ... More >>

Greg Oden -- My Plea On Behalf Of Medicine

Greg Oden has what it takes​Greg Oden likes to party. Greg Oden has been a blogger, and a pretty funny one at that. Greg Oden likes to dance...Soulja Boy...gettin' freaky...whatever. Greg Oden, back before he turned 70, was a pretty good basketball player, too. And did I mention Greg Oden ... More >>

NBA 2010-2011 Preview -- Reconstructing LeBron

Please, no more operations on Yao Ming​"What should I do?" -- LeBron James, over and over and over again his new Nike spot The fact that LeBron James is posing the question in his new Nike spot perhaps tells us that he is not completely devoid of self-awareness, as he appeared to be last summer. ... More >>

Game Time: Jenn Sterger -- Best Cast Addition To A Sitcom EVER (Favre In Charge, Season 3)

Seeing more of Brett than she wanted​The fact that I've been comparing the third season of the Brett Favre saga (heretofore referenced as Favre In Charge) to a sitcom is entirely appropriate. I don't profess to know many athletes. By and large, the ones I do know seem to be fairly normal people. ... More >>

GAME TIME: NBA Draft: 8 Winners and 8 Losers

As in most things in life, Calipari is both a winner and loser​"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2010 NBA Draft..." -- David SternI'm not going to lie, those words give me a tingly feeling every year that I hear them. It never gets old -- like reruns of The Sopanos or seeing that Bree Ol ... More >>

Game Time: For Sale -- NBA Two Guard, 30 Y/O, Excellent Condition, Trades Accepted

​First, I want to thank everyone for their reaction, positive or otherwise, to my post yesterday which chronicled the high points of the era of Tracy McGrady's Expiring Contract I seem to learn something with every new post that I generate here on Hair Balls, and yesterday I learned that there are ... More >>

The Top Ten Rockets Moments Of The Decade, For Better Or Worse

Photo by Daniel Kramer​For the Rockets, the decade of the 2000s began with Hall of Fame legend Hakeem Olajuwon starting at center. It finished with 6-foot-6 Chuck Hayes, the shortest listed starting center in NBA history.It started with promising rookie sensation and No. 2 pick Steve Francis at po ... More >>

Game Time: Areans Vs. Crittenton In Pistols...And We're Off And Running In 2010

​Happy New Year to all of you. Quick question -- what is the record for breaking a New Year's Resolution that doesn't involve alcohol, drugs or sex? Because I just ate a Chipwich for breakfast...just wondering. Well, 2010 is here, and that means we get to hit the reset button on "Surreal Story of ... More >>

Do You Believe In Miracles? Rockets Advance

May 17, 1997.Aaron Brooks and Von Wafer were in sixth grade. The Oilers were only a year removed from their Houston existence. The Texans were still more than five years from their birth. The Astros had yet to make the playoffs in the Biggio-Bagwell era. Then-President Bill Clinton was still eight m ... More >>

Rockets-Portland Game 4: Hayes Takes One For The Team

In a gritty comeback effort that epitomized a team win, it seemed only fitting that the game-winner came from a Rocket whose only contribution to the box score was a personal foul.With the Rockets clinging to a two-point lead with under 15 seconds left, Chuck Hayes read Brandon Roy's drive to the bu ... More >>

Rockets Playoff Preview: Yao, Rockets May Have Finally Landed Favorable First-Round Matchup

At least for now, the Rockets' stunning collapse might not be all bad.The negatives to the Rockets blowing a 14-point, second-half lead at Dallas on Wednesday night, coupled with New Orleans' meltdown in San Antonio, are of course falling from the No. 2 seed, losing home court advantage in the first ... More >>

One-Fifth of the Way In, Whither the Rockets?

With about 20 percent of the season concluded, the Rockets' 11-7 record appears at first blush to be maddeningly inconsistent. But I think it's a lot easier to explain than it may seem. One way to measure the future success of the team based on its current record is to look at "bad losses" - ... More >>

Houston Rockets: This Needs To Be Yao's Team

Coming off a 2-3 road trip, plus wins over OKC and the Hornets, the Rockets make me feel the same way I did a few weeks back. Good, not great. They convincingly won the games they should have, home or away (Clippers, Thunder, Suns), and lost the games they should have (Lakers and a pretty dece ... More >>

Twelve Best Sports Books of All Time

The Five Best Trades in the History of Houston Sports

Q&A with Daryl Morey: Down the Stretch They Come…

Jason Friedman's NBA Predictions: Mavs Beat the Jazz, the Suns, the Rockets and the Pistons, Take the Championship in '08

Feeling a Draft

Speculation Time

Rockets Should Improve, But Will It Matter?

The Texans and Suns Still Have Hope (But Not Much)

Hoop Dreams Come True

Fire in the Belly

Rice's new basketball director reveals the secret of his fall from NBA stardom

Inside the Glide

Hometown hoops hero Clyde Drexler airs it out in his new autobiography

College Bored

The Perfect Score adds a neat twist to the heist movie, then bungles it

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

History in the Unmaking

Drexler's has finally outgrown its 50-year-old barbecue pit

Geezer Follies

Aging and creaking, the Rockets prove better at entertainment than basketball, on and off the court

Forecast: Raining Stadiums

Forget the committee -- the city's sports future already is being negotiated by the mayor

The Man Behind Mad Max

Vernon Maxwell has made a reputation by going crazy. Now he says he wants to go straight. Really?