Raise Your Hand If You Called 3-1...

I'm going to go ahead and guess that nobody has their hands up. That includes me. I want to be entirely frank and say that I did not see us winning 3 of 4 games to start the season. I didn't think we would make the playoffs, I thought we would struggle to score and I sure as hell didn't have us sitting at first in the Southwest Division, regardless of how many games have been played. Granted, it's only been four. There's plenty of time remaining for all three of the aforementioned problems to arise, but that's currently irrelevant. What matters right now is that the Rockets are 3-1, which, to be honest, we should have expected if only because none of us expected it. Yeah, low expectations, lots of doubters, an undermanned team comes out and proves everyone wrong. If that story sounds familiar, it's because it's the same damn story we have every year with these guys. I'm going to be the first to say that I need to learn to stop doubting this team, hope for the best and just roll with the wheels. Of the wagon. Of the Chuck-wagon. You saw what I did there, I don't even need to explain it. Aaron Brooks is averaging his 20 a game, which was to be expected, but he's also doing it within the offense and getting 8 assists a night, which I didn't believe him to be capable of doing. Ariza is scoring 20 points an outing after never averaging more than 9 a game. Because that's just how the NBA works? Because he's just tapping into his vast talent? Because basketball is more dependent on the situation than the player? Anyone? I didn't think so. Trying to make sense of what is going on is futile, just like trying to make sense of taking the Lakers to 7 games was futile, just like trying to make sense of winning 12 games in a row after losing our best player was futile.

Anyways, credit for all of this must once again go to Daryl Morey. You know your GM is good when late in the second round he picks a stringy white guy whose claim to fame is how good of a volleyball player he was and you find yourself buying into the pick. You know your GM is great when the pick actually pans out four games in to the year. Thank you, Daryl Morey, for being you. And, if you're wondering whether or not "stringy" is actually an adjective, I am too.

In other news, the Rockets play the Lakers tonight. Everyone's been making a big deal of how the Lakers have been struggling, but they're fans have been chalking it up to the absence of Pau. I'd like to point out to our friends in Hollywood that we're without Yao and Mcgrady. Oh, and the guy with the tight shorts starting at small forward for you? He's actually our second best player from last year. And you still have Vanessa Bryant. So I don't think missing out on Pau is really good enough of an excuse.

Also, just as a heads up, Budinger is out with an ankle injury and is listed as day-to-day. Ankle injuries are fickle, so here's hoping it's not to serious.

Back to talk about the game again, tonight is going to be a hell of a fight, so let's hope the good guys can keep the magic rolling. Speaking of Magic rolling, Orlando fans should probably get used to this image. There's going to be a lot of Vince Carter rolling around on the floor over the course of the next year. But to get back on topic, tonight also doubles as Ron Artest's homecoming and Ariza's first game against his old team, so let's hope their ex-guy who's now our guy destroys their guy who used to be our guy. And Kobe too. Not because he used to be on our team, but because Kobe sucks.

Pictured: The heart of the Lakers team. And Kobe.

I'd make a prediction for tonight's game, but I've pretty much given up on making predictions with this team. We've reached a point where I'm actually considering taking the most logical prediction and just going the entirely opposite way with it when it comes to the Rockets, because they clearly just don't understand the concept of not having enough talent. They don't get that you can't win games with grit, hard work and heart, that teams are never more than the sum of their parts. They don't understand that they're not supposed to be a playoff team, that second round picks who've built careers as role players don't just transform into 18-a-game guys. And, quite honestly, I'm glad they don't. Let's hear it for ignorance, let's hear it for overcoming odds and let's hear it for the Red Nation. And, as always, go Rockets.