AJC: Hawks at Rockets, AKA: Will this finally be the year they win in Houston?

[Hawksquawk]

The Hawks haven’t won at Houston since Feb. 25, 1999. That’s 10 straight losses. That’s pre-T-Mac and post-T-Mac. That’s with Lenny, Lon, Terry and Woody coaching the Hawks. And while this would seem to be the year for the Hawks to end the streak, with both T-Mac and Yao Ming sidelined and a considerable advantage in talent, remember the Hawks needed that Smoove tip dunk and Marvin’s 29 points to beat Houston at Philips back during their red-hot November.

The Rockets are a hard team to figure on paper. You look at their roster and there is nothing to excite you except Aaron Brooks and possibly super sixth man Carl Landry. You look deeper into the Rockets’ numbers and most are middle-of-the-pack–they share the ball fairly well and they are pretty good on the offensive boards but that’s about it. Yet they have managed to stay competitive by playing with effort and energy.

Except lately the Rockets haven’t always had good effort and energy (“This is the NBA, man”). Their six …

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