Houston Rockets Daily Rocket Science: Let’s talk about league pass

Forget the Houston Rockets 102-95 win over the Charlotte Hornets Monday night, let’s talk about local announcers.

I’m aware I’m not the only person in the media to complain about this, but the lack of subtle homerism with the local announcers is getting out of hand.

For those who are unaware, I am a native of the Carolinas (follow me on twitter to see what I think about Will Muschamp) – so I get the Hornets locally on TV. This was a blessing last night because I finally got to see Houston play on live TV.

However, the downside was I had to listen to Eric Collins, Stephanie Ready and Dell Curry. Ready does a decent job covering her homerism and her analysis is pretty astute. But it was Collins and Curry who really ground my nerves into dust near the end of the game.

“(Dwight) Howard fouling out is really what turned the game around… without him in there mucking it up with his play and his fouls… he probably would have gotten a technical because that’s just the kind of player he is…”

That is an actual quote from Curry’s mouth. I could allow the first two sentences, but the last one was just so bad. As a fan for the opposing team, it’s really a displeasure to watch.

Collins wasn’t innocent either. During what would be a double-foul on Clint Capela and Kemba Walker near the end of the game, Collins proclaimed a jump ball in what clearly wasn’t one in favor of Charlotte. Like I said, not fun to listen to.

It wasn’t long ago Tom Heinsohn got the NBA worlds feathers ruffled because he called Lebron James a crybaby. These announcers are the ones mucking up games with their blatant homerism – and the league needs to do something about it.

Houston Rockets news and notes from around the web

Enough of my gasbaggery, let’s focus on the real news of the day. In yesterday’s DRS I posted a article from CBS Houston that was very similar to this, but now that Jonathan Feigen’s saying it I will take it more seriously. Ever since the trade rumors involving nearly every key player outside of James Harden surfaced, the Rockets are now 3-0 with wins over the Los Angeles Clippers and the Hornets. If the Rockets can pull one up on the San Antonio Spurs this Christmas – there may be something to this.

Rockets report: Rumors help players to bond [Houston Chronicle – Jonathan Feigen]

"“One of your brothers is attacked or (the subject of) false rumors, you stand up for him. If you are on the court, someone knocks your teammate down, you go pick him up. Right now, our guys are lifting each other up. They could have jumped on the bandwagon of rumors. They didn’t. I think it’s great.”"

Speaking of rumors, guess who’s supposed to be on the move now? Now Corey Brewer’s name has been thrown into the trade cauldron along with Terrence Jones for guys like Markeiff Morris. The problem with Brewer is his salary – since it’s nearly doubled from last season it puts Houston over the cap, making the former Florida Gator untradable until mid-Janurary. Still, Brewer has been mostly a liability on the court and it would make sense to try and get some more value for him.

Rockets in “serious” discussions to move Corey Brewer and Terrence Jones [The Dream Shake – Darren Yuvan]

"And Corey Brewer, despite playing better of late, has been one of the most disappointing Rockets players to this point in the season. If Morey can get something useful back while at the same time ridding himself of Brewer’s offseason extension that’s looked more like a mistake every day, that’s a win for the Rockets GM."

What if I told you part of the Houston Rockets defensive woes this season was because of luck? Or the lack thereof? I’m a big advocate of Nylon Calculus and data in general; the article below makes a great point. There is a lack of consistency between good, perimeter-defense teams year-after-year. Three-point defense a product of luck? It sounds crazy, but it just might be true.

Measuring skill vs. luck in NBA defense [Nylon Calculus – Johannes Becker]

"The Houston Rockets defense is crumbling. After being the 8th best defense of last year, with a defensive rating of 103.4, they are down to a 24th this year with a defensive rating of 106.8. Twitter is full of mentions of Houston’s bad defense. But here is the thing where Charles Barkley might have been right last year: The Rockets’ defense was probably more lucky than good during the last season."

A lot of Rockets fans may still love Jeremy Lin, but I still haven’t forgotten about the 2014 playoffs against the Portland Trailblazers. So needless to say, I very much enjoyed this.

Oh boy. Harden destroys Jeremy Lin. https://t.co/L4jYWHwxvp

— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) December 22, 2015

Next: Houston Rockets: Week 9 NBA Power Rankings

Wednesday night brings the Orlando Magic, but tonight brings rest and relaxation. Some of you may have today off for the rest of the week, others may have their last day of work today. Others, like myself, may not have a day off all week. Either way, keep it safe and merry this Christmas week.