Things we already know...

So the Rockets currently sit on a less than expected 21-14 record and are carrying a two game losing streak. With Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest as former/current All Stars, how did we get to this point?

It is undeniable that we have the BEST center in the league in Yao (or one of the best, putting aside my own bias), and that we have 2 of the Top Defenders in the league in Ron Artest and Shane Battier. However, looking at our loses there were some statistics than stood out and seemed repetitive...

1st  Loss - 103-99 Boston Celtics:

    GUARDS - Ray Allen 29 points & Rajon Rondo 10 points

    CENTER - Kendrick Perkins, 15 points

    Yao 8 pts, TMac 26 pts, Artest 15 pts, Rafer 4 pts, Brooks 12 pts

2nd Loss - 101-99 Portland TrailBlazers:

    PF - LaMarcus Alridge 27 points & 9 rebounds

    PF - Travis Outlaw 14 points & 13 rebounds

    Yao 13 pts & 6 rebounds, TMac 30 pts, Artest 9 pts, Luis-Landry 18 pts & 6 rebounds

    OutRebounded 16-5 (offensive rbnds)

3rd Loss - 111-82 Los Angeles Lakers:

    GUARDS - Kobe Bryant 23 points & Jordan Farmar 16 points

    F - Pau Gasol 20 points

    Yao 12 pts, TMac 3 pts, Artest 8 pts, Rafer 7pts, Luis-Landry 24 pts

4th Loss - 77-75 San Antonio Spurs:

    GUARD - George Hill 17 points

    F - Matt Bonner 11 points, 3/4 3pt

    Yao 13 pts, TMac 7 pts, Artest 18 pts, Luis-Landry 12 pts, Rafer DNP, Brooks 14 pts

5th Loss - 96-86 Dallas Mavericks:

    GUARDS - Jason Kidd 8 points & Jason Terry 31 points

    PF - Dirk Nowitzki 24 points

    Yao DNP, TMac 16 pts, Artest 14 pts, Luis-Landry 20 pts, Rafer-Brooks 31 pts

6th Loss - 91-90 Indiana Pacers:

   GUARDS - TJ Ford 10 points & Brandon Rush 11 points

    PFs - Danny Granger 16 points & Troy Murphy 21 points, 4/6 3pt

    Yao 19 pts, TMac DNP, Artest 19 pts, Rafer-Brooks 14 pts, Luis-Landry 30 pts

7th Loss - 104-94 Denver Nuggets:

    GUARD - Chauncey Billups 28 points, 4/9 3pt

    GUARD - JR Smith 19 points, 5/9 3pt

    Yao 18 pts, TMac DNP, Artest 13 pts, Rafer-Brooks 31 pts, Head 3 pts

8th Loss - 109-97 Memphis Grizzlies:

    PFs - Rudy Gay 20 points & Hakim Warrick 18 points & Greg Buckner 8 points

    Yao 14 pts, TMac DNP, Artest DNP, Luis-Landry 28 pts

9th Loss - 95-82 Los Angeles Clippers:

    PFs - Al Thornton, 26 points & Zach Randolph 30 points

    Yao 24 pts, TMac 19 pts, Artest DNP, Luis-Landry 13 pts

10th Loss - 99-90 Cleveland Cavaliers:

    GUARDS - Mo Williams 23 points & Daniel Gibson 11 points

    F - LeBron James 27 points & 9 rebounds

    Yao 19 pts, TMac 4 pts, Artest 14 pts, Rafer-Brooks 30 pts

11th Loss - 88-79 New Orleans Hornets:

    GUARD - Chris Paul 26 points

    Fs - David West 23 points & Rasual Butler 13 points

    Yao 19 pts, TMac 11 pts, Artest DNP, Rafer-Brooks 12 pts, Luis-Landry 19 pts

12th Loss - 89-87 Washington Wizards:

    F - Antawn Jamison 30 points

    Yao 12 pts, TMac 15 pts, Artest 20 pts, Luis-Landry 22 pts

13th Loss - 94-73 Toronto Raptors:

    CENTER - Andrea Bargnani 19 points

    Fs - Chris Bosh 19 points & Jamario Moon 7 points

    Yao 14 pts, TMac 4 pts, Artest 12 pts, Luis-Landry 10 pts

14th Loss - 103-100 Atlanta Hawks:

    CENTERS - Al Horford 10 points & Zaza Pachulia 10 points

    GUARD - Flip Murray 17 points

    F - Josh Smith 29 points

    Yao 16 pts, TMac DNP, Artest DNP, Luis-Landry 34 pts, Rafer-Brooks 19 pts

We have two weaknesses @ the Guard & PF positions. Yes, while I agree that Luis Scola and Carl Landry are formidable players and can provide a spark on offense, in a position-by-position comparison against similar players, in our loses, they have either been shut down by the competition or lacked the ability to stop the competition. They lack size against those players (Glad Mutombo's back). However, I'm not taking into consideration that Shane or Artest might have been defending those players or whether their absence impacted our defense.

Just look at the Dallas game, it's not good when the scoring output of two of our players TOGETHER is less than or equal to the output of A player from the opposing team that plays in the same position.

However, it is ok sometimes when that player is the Star of the other team. That's when our own stars are supposed to step up. So to continue "Bash T-Mac Week", in the 10 games he's played that we've lost in, he's averaging 13.5 pts, and that's ONLY because of the first two games we lost where he put up decent scores. Taken those out of the equation, he's averaging 9.8 pts in our loses when he plays, truly a waste of 21 million dollars.

Have no fear dreamshakers, we can still look on the bright side. We've yet to lose to the same team twice (although that might change on wed when we play the celtics), Crazy Pills will snap and maybe T-Mac will decide to earn his paycheck on the last half of the season...