When you think of the best teams in the Western Conference, the Houston Rockets don't come to
mind right away. But the Texas team has now won nine of their last ten games after dropping the New
York Knicks by a final score of 97-84.
The Rockets, now 12-8 on the season, were led by Chase Budinger's 19 points off the bench.
It's almost impossible to have escaped the saga of the Chris Paul trade(s) in the NBA but just
in case you have, here are a couple of need-to-know facts.
- Ownership of the New Orleans Hornets (Chris Paul's now former team) was sold to the NBA back in
December 2010
- Every owner in the NBA owns 1/29th of the Hornets but does not have any direct say in
day-to-day operations
- NBA commissioner David Stern had given full authority to Hornets General Manager Dell Demps to
make whatever player moves he felt were in the team's best interest
- The Hornets best player and NBA superstar Chris Paul was under contract for only one more
season
- Chris Paul recently told the Hornets he didn't want to sign with them after this season and
would like to be traded
- Rather than see the Hornets get nothing when Paul walks this summer, GM Demps worked out a
three-way trade less than two weeks ago that would have shipped Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers and
had a couple of players from the Lakers and the Houston Rockets come to the Hornets.
Nene was one of the biggest names in available in the NBA free agent market. On Tuesday, the
Denver Nuggets re-signed their starting center for $67 million over five years. A number of other
teams were interested in him including the Houston Rockets and New Jersey Nets.
Last season, the 29-year-old averaged 14.
Dynamo Press Release
Doug Hall has been named general manager of the new Houston Dynamo Stadium, it was announced
today by Bob Newman, Chief Operating Officer of AEG Facilities, operators of the 22,000-seat
stadium set to open in 2012.
"We are thrilled to have Doug join the AEG and Dynamo staff in Houston," Newman said.
Now that we know the order of the 2011 NBA Draft, it's time to start the predictions. While this
draft is considered weak, especially in the lottery, there are some teams that should really be
able to help themselves most notably the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have the first and fourth picks
in the draft!
The Houston Rockets and Rick Adelman have decided to part ways. Sources say Adelman and the
Rockets management weren't on the same page. Although the Rockets have missed the playoffs the last
two years, they are still a team that will draw plenty of interest from coaches due to their
nucleus of young talent.
The Indiana Pacers will take on the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the 2010-2011 NBA
Playoffs starting this weekend. It's interesting to look back at some other years when the Pacers
were really bad like in the 1983-1984 season. Our Midwest cousins in Indianapolis were so bad that
year, they qualified to be in a coin flip with the Houston Rockets for the rights to the first pick
of the 1984 Draft.
The new-look New York Knicks are built around Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and Chauncey
Billups. However, to become a good team, they need role players to step up and contribute. On
Thursday, Toney Douglas did just that to put it mildly. New York's backup guard buried nine
three-pointers on his way to a game-high 29 points as the Knicks demolished the Grizzlies,
120-99.
Thankfully, the NBA trade deadline is this coming Thursday. At that point, we can finally be
done with the drama surrounding Carmelo Anthony. It seems like the Carmelo Anthony trade rumors
change every hour. Carmelo is going to the Lakers! Carmelo is going to the Knicks! Carmelo is going
to the Nets!
Where will Carmelo Anthony get traded? What are the odds Carmelo Anthony ends up traded to Team
X? Who will the Denver Nuggets get in return for trading Carmelo Anthony? Thankfully, the Melo
Drama is set to end in about a week when the NBA trade deadline arrives. Until then, the Melo Drama
promises to be hot and heavy.
HOUSTON Houston Dynamo minority owner Oscar De La Hoya joined city and county officials Saturday at
the groundbreaking for the team's $95 million, soccer-specific stadium. The 22,000-seat venue is
situated near downtown within walking distance of Minute Maid Park, the Toyota Center and the
city's massive convention center.
The San Antonio Spurs are the first team to 40 wins after they defeated the Houston Rockets on
Saturday night by a final score of 108-95. The game between the two Texan teams was close
throughout before the Spurs went on a run in the fourth quarter. Now 40-7, the Spurs hold a four
and a half game lead over the Boston Celtcis for best record in the NBA.
Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers has never met a shot he didn't like. His fearlessness has
helped him win five championship rings and has him quickly rising up the NBA all-time scoring
leaderboard. Against the Sacramento Kings on Friday night, Kobe Bryant passed Hakeem Olajuwon to
move into eighth place.
Each year, Forbes comes out with a report that lists the most valuable teams in the NBA. The
2011 version of the list has one big change. Despite winning back-to-back championships, the Los
Angeles Lakers are no longer the NBA's most valuable team. Instead, that honor belongs to the New
York Knicks, who saw their franchise's value jump a whopping 12% in the last year.
