All hail the Rockets

We have that and more in Monday’s NBA newsletter.

Mar 5, 2018, 1:01 PM UTC

Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

When we last left you, the Houston Rockets were winning every game. Friends, they are still doing that. They beat the Boston Celtics in primetime on Saturday to push their streak to 15 straight. They are now 49-13, on pace for 64 or 65 wins. If they happen to stay really hot, keep in mind that only 17 teams ever have won 66 games or more in a season. Twelve of them won the NBA Finals, and 14 made the Finals.

Tim Cato followed up his 2017 piece on the Rockets pushing the boundaries of basketball with a look at how Houston continues to redefine what is possible in the modern game.

To me the wildest thing about the Rockets is that they are actually going to finish the season having taken more threes than twos. It’s pretty crazy to see that from star players. But from an entire team? A really good team? It’s truly next level. More teams will be trying to do that in coming years, and it’s going to affect the draft and free agency in more powerful ways.

Unless the Rockets really completely flame out in the playoffs, this is the new model, even though James Harden is just as rare a talent as Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant to build around. Everyone is going to try to be more like the Rockets so long as they are the best team in the NBA.

Scores Galore ...

PHX 112, ATL 113
CHA 98, TOR 103
IND 98, WAS 95
NOP 126, DAL 109
PHI 110, MIL 118
BKN 120, LAC 123
NYK 99, SAC 102

... And So Much More

Seerat Sohi on how the Raptors trusted Dwane Casey to remake Toronto without the front office actually rebuilding the team. It worked, and Casey should be a top contender for Coach of the Year.

It remains unclear what exactly caused Jeff Teague to body check Ricky Rubio during Friday’s important Timberwolves-Jazz game, but it turned into quite an ordeal. Minnesota’s not really in a place to be kneecapping themselves like that.

Remember when J.R. Smith was mysteriously suspended for a game last week? It was because he threw a bowl of soup at assistant coach Damon Jones. You’ll be unsurprised to learn that we have questions.

I’m not going to pretend as though I watched a single second of Hawks-Suns, but apparently Taurean Prince got into an altercation with Josh Jackson and then buried a game-winner.

Skal Labissiere gets a game-winner for Sacramento. They also trolled the Jazz with Sexy Sax Man, which was a thing that I had completed excised from my memory until this weekend, so thank you Kings.

All these other tanking teams keep messing around and winning. Not the Grizzlies. No siree.

Kawhi Leonard wants more money from Jordan Brand because he is as good as the best players in the league, many of whom make a mint on sneaker deals. The problem is that those guys ... like ... move sneakers.

Oh man. Kyrie Irving was on the set of Uncle Drew when he found out he was traded. He was apparently really happy. His conversation with Rachel Nichols was really interesting.

What’s next for Sam Hinkie?

Lonzo Ball is good.

The UConn and Mississippi State women’s teams are both undefeated this season, appearing to be on a collision course for a rematch of that epic Final Four game from last spring.

Howard Megdal on the prime difficulty of figuring out if top WNBA prospects will leave college early if drafted, and a ranking of the 2018 candidates.

Kobe won an Oscar.

The Nuggets are the team getting the shortest end of the stick from the refs this season.

Could the Spurs really miss the playoffs? Probably not -- 538 has them at 65 percent to make it right now -- but they need to finish 14-5 to keep their 18-year 50-win season streak alive and that’s looking tough.