Houston Rockets Daily Rocket Science: The All-Star Edition

With the All-Star game held in Toronto, the Houston Rockets, both past and present, represented Clutch City well in the 6ix.

The 2016 All-Star Weekend came to an end Sunday, as the Western Conference dismantled the East in a 196-173 blowout. Oklahoma City Thunder’s guard Russell Westbrook led the West with 31 points, and for the second straight year took home MVP honors. The Eastern Conference was led by Indiana Pacers‘ Paul George, who scored 41 points in the loss.

In his 18th and final All-Star game, Los Angeles Lakers‘ Kobe Bryant scored 10 points, dished 7 assists, and grabbed 6 rebounds. As well as Houston Rockets‘ James Harden adding 23 points off the bench.

With four days left before the trade deadline, Space City Scoop is going to be filled with numerous rumors regarding the Rockets. Take a moment to catch up on a weekend that was filled with speculations and excitements before the Rockets returns back to the basics Friday against the Phoenix Suns.

Houston Rockets news and notes from around the web

With Dwight Howard  on the trading block, the Rockets headed into the all-star break as the most talked about team in the Association. Mike Bohn of USA Today Sports, reported that James Harden said whether Howard stays or goes, he believes the All-Star break has come at the perfect time for his team.

“It hasn’t been a distraction.”This time off will be good for us. Hopefully guys are mentally locked in and focused and ready to close the season out the right way.” Harden.

Speaking of the bearded one, while everyone is anticipating Daryl Morey to make a blockbuster trade that involves Superman, Kevin Pelton of ESPN feels that the Rockets would be better off trading James Harden instead.

"Mounting evidence suggests that the real problem isn’t Howard or any of Houston’s role players. Instead, it’s the one player the Rockets presumably wouldn’t consider trading: superstar shooting guard James Harden. As preposterous as it sounds, trading Harden might be the only way to fix a broken team."

Preposterous is right! Unless Morey can work out a trade that would welcome Stephen Curry, Russel Westbrook, or even LeBron James to Clutch City, James Harden will remain a Rocket. Plus, the Warriors, Thunder, and Cavaliers are not trading these guys any time soon.

From one great Rocket to another. In three of his five years in Houston, Tracy McGrady represented the Rockets during the midseason exhibition.Who can forget McGrady’s 36 point performance in the 122-120 lost during the 2006 All-Star game in Houston, or dishing out 11 assists during the midseason classic in 2007.

Although it was fun while it lasted, those days are long gone. However for the first time in nine years, T-Mac was part of All-Star Weekend! During the Celebrity All-Star Game on Friday, the 36 year-old and former Rocket helped lead Team Canada to a 74-64 victory over Team USA. It wasn’t McGrady’s 18 points or three air-balls that made headlines, but his attempt to recreate his famous ‘self alley-oop’.

T-Mac is kind of like your dad attempting an alley oop … (via @kev_lunas10) https://t.co/bopbX8A23t https://t.co/g4uR081N5s

— SB Nation (@SBNation) February 13, 2016

Thankfully, McGrady’s self-oop was successful, but it looked nothing like the play he pulled off 12 years ago in Los Angeles. T-mac is just a reminder that Father Time will forever remain undefeated.

Next: Should Houston Rockets Trade For Trevor Ariza?

With the trade deadline around the corner, make sure you visit Space City Scoop on a daily basis for our trade series. Each day, SCS will feature an article on who the Rockets should trade for or what it would take to part ways with the players currently on the roster. Finally, we’ll assess the Rockets and each team in the Association in terms of what their needs are, if they should be buyers or sellers, and also speculate on who would be the ideal trade target.