Rockets go for 18th straight against the Hornets

The Rockets are on an incredible run, the seventh best in NBA history. They have beat teams down since Yao went down, the games aren't even close. They beat the Dirk-less Mavs on Thursday night, but can they hold off the New Orleans Hornets?

The Hornets are obviously one of the best teams in the NBA and the Rockets are trying to prove that they belong in that conversation as well, even without Yao Ming. Tonight should be a true test to see if this winning with Yao is for real.

The game is at 8:30 PM ET on NBATV, so if you have NBA TV, it should be worth the time to watch.

Sweet Sixteen

"Sweet Sixteen" on MTV is the worst show ever, along to "The Hills." Though if my favorite NBA team won 16 games in a row, I would say that is pretty sweet, even if climbing the hill is going to be tough.

The Rockets set a new mark for consecutive franchise wins tonight, getting number 16 against the Pacers 117-99. They have won the last four games, by about an average of 20 points, all of which are post-Yao's injury.

During this 16 game streak the Rockets have defeated: Denver, New Orleans, Cleveland (twice), Golden State and Portland. These wins aren't all against crappy teams, and regardless of who you play, winning 16 straight is VERY difficult. The last time the Rockets lost a game was against Utah on Jan. 27, that's very impressive.

A huge test for the new look Rockets is going to be tomorrow night in Dallas, a team that has pulled off some huge winning streaks in the past few years themselves. This is more than likely not going to be a 15-20 point blowout. The Rockets have had some average or less competition in the four huge victories since Yao went down, so this is a huge test to possibly see where they're really at, plus you know the Mavs are going to be gunning to break that streak.

Should be interesting, but for now, we must admire the Rockets as one of the most impressive teams currently in the NBA, as T-Mac, Rafer Alston, Carl Landry, Luis Scola, Luther Head and the others keep up their fantastic play. Sorry, but I had to give some props to the names who have played great for them in the recent games.