Houston Rockets Daily Rocket Science: Team is happy, fans are happy

The Houston Rockets are having fun doing their job. They’re winning games and playing like they care. It’s almost weird to witness. I don’t know if it’s convenient timing or if Josh Smith‘s return really did fix things, but since he made his triumphant return the team has looked like the one that was supposed to show up at the beginning of the season.

They’ll go into tomorrow’s Texas Showdown with San Antonio as the underdogs, especially with the Spurs looking to release some frustration after their embarrassing outing last night against the Warriors. However, the Rockets have already beaten the Spurs once this season and will hopefully have Dwight Howard back from his ankle injury looking to finish some alley-oops from his childhood buddy, Mr. Smith. Anything could happen and I wouldn’t rule Houston out of the fight.

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Chemistry is so valuable to a team if they have any chance of contending for a title. The Rockets have had their fair share of issues in that department this season, but have looked much better since Josh’s arrival last week. ESPN’s Calvin Watkins wrote on how the team being happy is one of the best things a fan could ask for right now. Happy players play well and and want to play well together. If Houston is to make a run, they’ll have to keep up this newfound attitude. The Rockets are happy, and that’s a good thing.

"Of course, Smith has been the undisputed champ around this place the past 48 hours. Smith scored a season-high 16 points, blocked two shots, had two steals and added two assists. There is something about Smith that brings the best out of the Rockets. His ability to pass, especially from the post, helps, along with his desire to guard anybody at any position. It gives Bickerstaff options, something all coaches want."

Gersson Rosas probably isn’t a well-known name around the Rockets fandom, and even the most die-hard fans may not know much about him. But that hasn’t stopped him from contributing to what the team has going right now. As the VP of basketball operations, Rosas has been behind many of the reshaping decisions with the roster over the years. He helped to bring in James Harden and Howard and has been a help to the Rockets in other ways as well. Now, he is a candidate for the General Manager job with the Brooklyn Nets, as per Doug Pensinger of Fox Sports. While we’ll miss him in H-town if he gets the job, he should be excited about his new opportunity. Report: Rockets, Nuggets execs candidates to become Nets GM.

"In his 13th year with the Rockets, Rosas helped reshape the roster in the post-Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady era. He replaced Karnisovas as the international player scout for USA Basketball in 2015."

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Speaking of Rockets great Tracy McGrady, ESPN is currently about halfway done releasing their list of the top 100 players in NBA history. In the most recent update, numbers 61-70, two notable Rockets were honored: Tracy McGrady at number at 63 and Dwight Howard at 67. Keep up to date with the All-Time #NBArank and enjoy reminiscing about T-Mac’s shining achievement: 13 points in 33 seconds (all too relevant with Houston facing San Antonio tomorrow night):

Ah, the memories. While it’s pretty unlikely for tomorrow’s game to include anything as incredible as that, the Rockets are most definitely poised to steal yet another game from the Spurs. It is a bit of a long shot, but I’m choosing to have confidence in the newfound swagger and excitement that Houston’s found over the past few games.

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