AB of Earth Wind and Fire....

Well y'all know I can't pass up a chance to write some good things about the Rockets, so here's the latest:

First, let me say the Rockets are finally fully healthy. Rafer comes back tomorrow. Wafer, Barry and Dorsey were back tonight. ron and tracy look good. I shouldn't have to tell you this is all good news for Houston, but how good? The Rockets are 12-0 this season when scoring 100 pts or more. Dating back to the 2005 playoffs, Houston is an outstanding 49-1 when both Tmac and Yao play and they score 100+, including a current streak of 39 straight wins. Those two are healthy and playing. the Rockets' D is still top 5 and should really be top 3, but they have been scoring more by picking up the pace, which gives the opposing team extra posessions and therefore a slightly higher score. (only 4.6 pts separate #1 and #5). The're up to scoring 98 pts a game. You're probably saying, big deal, some teams score more than 105. True, but do they win? Are they dominationg? Only the Lakers, and they're an exception. They win by outscoring teams, playing "catch me if you can" basketball. While Boston plays "you're not going to catch me because I'm making you stop here" basketball, and THAT is exactly the direction Houston is heading in. Scoring has been their major problem in the past, apart from injuries of course, but now they are scoring AND continuing to defend. AKA championship basketball. Yes, i know i'm getting ahead here, but my point is they have the potential to be the Boston of the west and look to be going in the right direction. Their 4 game winning streak is nothing compare to Boston's 18 game streak. However, they have scored 108, 109, 107, and 114 points in those wins and have won by an average of 13 pts. That's something only the Lakers, Cavs, and Celtics are close to that kind of winning margin. Houston has been very vocal lately about how thye are trying to catch those teams. They know they need to play like them, dominate like them, win like them. This is definitely a good start. Now to the main feature...

AB, AB, AB, and some more AB. Yes, that would be Aaron Brooks. He's a poor man's AI who went and bought a lottery scratch off ticket and won. He's been great all year, even going as far back as the preseason. 11pts and almost 3 assists a game as a back up are not mind bloggling numbers, but let's look at what he's done since Rafer has been out (4 games).

Game 1 -18 pts and 6 asst, 2 stls
Game 2- 10 pts, 5 asst, 2 stls
Game 3- 18 pts, 5 assists, 10 REBOUNDS
Game 4 - 22 pts, 6 assts, 4 of 7 3ptrs

He's also hit 16 of 17 free throws during those 4 games and is 11 of 23 from downtown. This guy is the real deal. Rewind back to the 2007 NBA draft and Rockets' fans were wondering if the Rockets; had been drinking during the pick. The team already had Rafer and Mike James ( who they had traded for that same month). Well, as we've learned by now, don't ever question Daryl Morey's decisions. (They actually wanted Rudy Fernandez, but Phoenix swiped him at #24). So Brooks was picked at number 26. There were definitely some groans and gasps, but no real uproar because who else were they suppose to pick? The only guys drafted later who are still consistent contributors are Big Baby, Marc Gasol and Ramon Sessions, but I'm not sure any of those guys are starter material, definitely not as effective as Brooks. There's only one other guy who turned out to be that effective and a possible future starter in this league, and yes, Houston got him too (Landry). Did I mention you should never question Daryl Morey?

Brooks can shoot the ball from anywhere on the court and I do mean EVERYWHERE. He'll shoot without hesitation from 3 feet behind the 3pt line and almost tear the net off. He hits floaters, short bank shots, layups very high off the glass and of course 3 pointers and free throws. He's got extraordinary hops that allow him to hang in the air and switch from left to right or vice versa on a defender. He's lightning quick and that's an understatement. His only flaw is his court vision, at least when it comes to passing. He's so focused on finding a way to score that the few times he actually gets shut off he's not really sure where the open man is. However, he's improving with that also and he doesn't hog the ball, meaning he only pushes it when he knows he's likely to score, so there's little chance of him having to pass off, so that flaw doesn't hurt the team much. You'll definitely be hearing a lot about this guy in the future. Can this guy get into the Fly Society? Any guy who's under 6'0, weighs less than 170, and is ballin' like this deserves a spot!





Old vid, but Brooks definitely gives one of the best impressions of Deke:




Oh as for "earth wind & fire"... that's the nickname Matt Bullard gave the Rockets trio of Brooks, Hayes, and Landry. It's stuck around a bit here in Houston. I'm sure it's not difficult to figure out who is which...