23 Dec 10Houston Rockets Fail To Launch: No One Can Defend Team's Ductile Defense

Jeff Gross/Getty ImagesSo much for lift-off.After whipping the Minnesota Timberwolves and reeling off two straight against the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks, the Houston Rockets crash landed like a shuttle with all of its engines blown out and now must digest a miserable 3-9Reebok Pittsburgh Steelers #86 Hines Ward Realtree camo Jersey
record. Houston surrendered in consecutivebeatdowns and in athree-point homedefeat that mightsting for the rest of the season.The Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder and Toronto Raptors could have been mistaken for the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets. The Rockets did not stop anyone on any ofthose squads when it counted. Shannon Brown, Steve Blake, Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry, Al Harrington, Marco Belinelli, Jason Smith, Kyle Korver, Andrea Bargnani and Linas Kleiza have each circled a common futuredate on their calendars in the previous month.None of them can wait to play the Rockets again, so they can light up the scoreboard and look good doing it. Houston, despite crippling injuries and a road-heavy earlyschedule, looks ready for Secaucus. It would be fool-hearted for the team's supporters to give up hope 12 games into an 82-date campaign. Fans believe at all costs because it is their job to do so. Management, however, must know the returns of Aaron Brooks and Yao Ming will not provide a panacea.The front office, headed by GM Daryl Morey, cannot allow the "we'll get better" charades to continue. This team has issues time will not fix. For one, the basketball and football franchisesseem to Reebok Pittsburgh Steelers James Harrison Realtree camo Jersey
be aligned when it comes tohistoric defensive ineptitude.The Rockets might not allow the equivalent of 400 passing yards per contest, but they have done enough to warrant the criticism that accompanies yielding an average of107 points on 46 percent shooting.Different week, same problem. Maybe the Texans and Rockets can commiserate together. Texans Safety Bernard Pollard, who ranks in the NFL'stop 10 in giving up bigplays that lead to touchdowns, could show Kevin Martin a thing or two about tough talk. No one seems qualified, though,to put that gab into practice, aside from a few usual suspects not talented enough to compensate for the rest of the clueless stiffs.Friday's effort was pathetic, even if the team led at several junctures and was close before the Raptors pulled away late. The Air Canada Centre has become the Rockets' version of Helga's House of Pain. Toronto, now 4-9, brought plenty of it from the start.Tonight, the Phoenix Suns bring a 6-7 record and an offense that can still pour it on, even with Amar'e Stoudemire's defection to New York, to Toyota Center. Agroinstrain will sideline Steve Nash, making reserve spark plug Goran Dragic the probable starter at point guard. Can the Rockets take advantage of some rare good fortune in their favor, or will Dragic become the latest salivating ballerto shred through a defense that might struggle in a senior citizen's league? Hell, 76-year-old Bill Russell could decideto test his skills against Houston if this continues.The man-to-man and team coverage would merit praise if the Rockets could duplicate the efforts at home versus Minnesota and at Madison Square Garden more often. Instead, those lockdown master clinics seem more like aberrations than the start of Reebok San Francisco 49ers #21 Frank GORE Realtree camo Jersey
a trend.Rick Adelman oversees the fifth most productive offense in the association, but the Rockets lack a passable go-to option on that end with Yao and Brooks unavailable. This team couldn't close a Wal-Mart or a coffee shop, much less a quarter in anNBA game.Wednesday night, it was Battier missing a free throw that would have cut the Thunder's halftime lead to seven. Then, it was Scola fouling Russell Westbrook beyond the arcbefore the second quarter buzzer sounded. The Rockets trailed by 11, 64-53, instead of eight.Friday night, Scola delivered the Rockets a brief third-quarter lead, 75-74, then the Raptors proceeded to score four straight baskets. When it comes to closing the deal, this teams squadknowsas much about that art as Steve Carell's character in the 40-Year-Old Virgin.No coach in sports history could win with this slapdash,abominable defense. Few could survive the grind with such a confused, inept crunch-time offense.Two weeks ago, Scola's fast-break layup afforded the Rockets their last fourth quarter lead in Washington, 85-84. The Wizards then mounted a killer 10-0 run with a turnover-pronerookie at the helm and a similarly horrific half-court defense.The excuses maycome flying off the shelves like popular Christmas toys. Tough schedule. The back-to-back champs were too good and experienced on opening night. Too many road contests versus ones at home.The author of the Lakers'game-winning shot was playing in his first ever regular season game in Reebok Washington Redskins #98 ORAKPO Realtree camo Jersey
purple and gold. The sleepy, unfashionably late fans, aside from the dedicatedRed Rowdies,and comical fourth-quarter lapses create a no-advantage atmosphere at Toyota Center. The Rockets have choked away final frame leads in every loss. What makes anyone think the venue matters?GiveHouston's pro basketball team a high school gym for the evening, and they will find a way to lose there, too. Thesquads atop the Western Conference havedealt with hardships, andthe disparityor varying degrees should not tilt the discussion.When the Rockets rolled into the AT&T Center without Kyle Lowryor Yao's services, and then lost Brooks at halftime, they played opposite a Spurs team missing reserve forward/centerMatt Bonner.