Beware the Ides of December

In fact, beware the whole damn month. This is going to be a tough one. The Rockets are only 3-4 over the last couple of weeks, but the notable part of that record is that they lost to every really good team they faced in that span - and they will face a bunch more in December.

To begin with, December will be a busier than average month with 16 games, 10 of those on the road. It will include 5 back-to-backs, 4 of which are road games. They face teams with a combined record (as of today) of 141-135. Subtract New Jersey's woeful 0-17 from that and you've got a tough row to hoe. They will face Portland, Denver, Dallas (twice), Orlando and Cleveland (twice) this month. Most of the other opponents are mediocre, but they won't play many dogs with fleas.

December will tell the tale of the season for Houston. So here's the prognosis: If they beat every team they face that is currently under .500 and lose the rest, they will go 8-8 and I will consider it a very succesful month. Any better than that and I may have to get my hopes up for the Rockets to make the playoffs.