Happy Thursday everyone! We're in the homestretch of the week and football is back on our TVs tonight. I'll take that combination.
Let's get right to it.
Good morning to everyone but especially to...
THE HOUSTON ROCKETS
If I gave you a million guesses (before you opened this newsletter, of course) as to who has the longest active winning streak in the NBA, you might not get it right. Well, there are only 30 teams in the NBA, so I'm exaggerating, but the answer is the Houston Rockets -- winners of SEVEN STRAIGHT after a 114-104 win over the Kevin Durant-less Brooklyn Nets last night.
Yes, it's those same Houston Rockets who lost 15 straight games immediately before this winning streak. They are the only team in NBA history to have a 15-game losing streak AND a seven-game winning streak in the same season -- let alone have one streak follow the other.
It's hard not to feel good for their coach, Stephen Silas, who was hired last year, walked right into the James Harden disaster and endured a 17-55 debut season. He and his young roster are starting to see some encouraging signs, finally.
The turnaround has been a group effort in the absence of No. 2 pick Jalen Green, writes our NBA expert Jasmyn Wimbish:
Wimbish: "It's been an impressive turnaround for the young rebuilding team, who just two weeks ago had only one win to their name this season. ... That can be attributed to guys like Garrison Mathews and Eric Gordon finding their shots from deep over the win streak, helping Houston in crucial moments. Houston's also got better performances from some of their key players like Christian Wood, Kevin Porter Jr. and Jae'Sean Tate to help lead this win streak."Honorable mentions:
And not such a good morning for...
Getty ImagesBARCELONA
This should come as no surprise, but it's still hard for me to believe it as I type it out: Barcelona is out of the UEFA Champions League following a 3-0 loss to Bayern Munich.
It's the first time since 2004 that Barcelona won't make the knockout stage. A return to competing for trophies will take time, writes our soccer guru Roger Gonzalez:
Gonzalez: "The months of atrocious planning and play with Ronald Koeman at the helm has led to this. While Barca have the name, they obviously don't have the game. This is a club in full rebuild mode looking to reach some level of competence since Lionel Messi's departure. ... [Xavi] hasn't gotten a transfer window, he hasn't had enough time to implement his strategy, and there are going to be more growing pains along the way."Being knocked out by Bayern Munich, though, added insult to injury. Bayern has outscored Barca 14-2 (!) over their last three Champions League meetings. Simply put, these are two clubs competing on completely different levels.
