The Houston Rockets have the best winning streak in the NBA this season with 15, and the last three wins have been without star center Yao Ming.
The Houston Rockets have won a whopping 15 straight games, which is the longest winning streak by any NBA team this season and ties the longest streak for the franchise. The last time the Rockets won 15 in a row was in 1993-1994, when they won the NBA championship. Perhaps even more impressive is that the Rockets have won its last three games without star center Yao Ming, who's out for the remainder of the season with a stress fracture in his foot. The Rocket have also won 19 of its last 20 games.
Yet, much doubt remains as to whether this Rockets team can stay in playoff contention, despite being tied with the Phoenix Suns for the fifth seed. The Rockets have been criticized in recent years for not being able to get past the first round of the players. However, others suggest they simply don't have as good a lineup as many think.
Despite this on-going debate, several of Houston's players have stepped up in Yao's absence. Hard-nosed power forward Luis Scola, for example, has averaged 12.3 ppg and 7 rbpg, which is a jump over his season average of 9.1 ppg and 5.5 rbpg. 41-year-old Dikembe Mutombo, who's averaging just 1.0 ppg, 3.4 rbpg and 0.9 bspg in 10 minutes a night, has averaged 8.0 rbpg and 3.7 bspg in 21 minutes a game. Shane Battier's even stepped up his game, scoring 20 points in a win against the Denver Nuggets on March 2nd, and averaging 3.0 bspg in the past three games.
Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming have beared the brunt of most of the criticism, despite having great playoff performances in recent years. Last year, he helped the Rockets take the Utah Jazz to seven games before losing the series. They're going to have to rely on him heavily for the rest of the season and playoffs. Another big concern is his health. He has a history of missing games and the team can't afford to lose him with Yao out of action.
The Western Conference playoffs are drawing a lot of buzz with the potential ninth seed Denver Nuggets on pace to win 48 games and the tenth seed Portland Trail Blazers on pace to have a better than .500 record by the season's end. Both of these teams would miss the playoffs, which gives a clear indication of how deep the West is. Conversely, the Eastern Conference features only five teams with a better than .500 record.
