For the discerning fan, there's nothing quite like day basketball.

You're going to be tempted to watch the Texans game, but that's just going to lead to tears, and you know it.

Here's some highlights from the greatest Rocket and Raptor of all time, undoubtedly the star player for both franchises. You all know who I'm talking about:

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The Lakers are currently 17-3 and on a 10-game win streak. They also have had the vast majority of their early-season games at home. These things are related.

The Celtics are 18-4 and on a 9-game win streak. They also have had one of the weakest schedules thus far. These things are also related.

The Rockets are 13-9, and were it not for a lucky bounce on a Brandon Roy layup, they would be on a 5-game win streak. They also have had the single toughest schedule in the NBA. Similarly, the OKC Durants are 11-9 after facing the 2nd-toughest schedule. As a result, BBR ranks the Rockets as the 7th team in the NBA (OKC is 10th).

The Rockets face the 17th-ranked Toronto Raptors tomorrow night. After that, they play games against the (very strong) Nuggets and Mavericks, but it's clear that the worst part of the Rockets' schedule is over. When looking at the Rockets' schedule when it came out in the summer, my immediate reaction was that the first two months were going to be very, very difficult. That Houston has not only survived but has ended up four games over .500 is a testament to just how strong this team really is.

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Do not be fooled, Rockets fans. The Sixers may be on an 11-game losing streak, 5-17 on the season, and lodged firmly in the metaphorical Eastern Conference cellar for the time being, but they've given the Rockets hell in Philly over the past few years.

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It's been a busy few weeks, and I haven't really gotten the chance to either sit down and write or survey the basketball-related websites lately, so (if you were curious) that's why there haven't been any link posts in a while. Can't promise anything for another week or so, either, but today I've got a bit of a lull in activity, so here goes.

Dave posted earlier about the early ASG voting results. As you all know by now, T-Mac is currently second in the West's guards. I mentioned in the comments section that the typical reactions to Chinese voters would be voiced, and indeed they have been over the past two days. Over at Empty the Bench, Zachary Blott gives what I think is a pretty standard screed against foreign voters (emphasis mine):

So while T-Mac’s ego and Houston doing-fine-without-him are at a stalemate, China may be able to get him back into an NBA-sanctioned event. That’s because David Stern has been kissing China’s ass ever since Yao Ming was the #1 pick in 2002 so that the league can make a bunch of moolah off their 1.3 billion citizens.

As part of that smooch, China gets to vote for starters in the All-Star Game. From a logical standpoint, this makes no sense, and I think most fans who understand that the Eastern and Western Conferences are named after coasts in America where the game is played (plus Toronto, which is just across the border) agree. So apparently the Chinese vote as a block, and that block’s name is Yao Ming’s Houston Rockets.

Now, formal logic was never really my strength in philosophy, but I see very little "logically" wrong with allowing Chinese fans to vote. Maybe Mr. Blott refers to a conflict between a National Basketball Association allowing non-US nationals to vote for All-Stars, but that seems pretty weak, given the presence of a Canadian team and the importance of foreign fans to the league.

As for whether or not American and Canadian fans are any more astute than their Chinese counterparts, I think their voting record speaks for itself (AI started for the East last year - 'nuff said - and for the West the year before that). Fans vote for their favorite team's players. That's just how it works. This is, obviously, what the Chinese Rockets fans are doing. But the "difference" is that - boo hoo - there are a lot of Chinese fans.

Seriously, people, if this really, truly bothers you - if you are currently furiously typing away a response about how it just isn't fair that McGrady will probably end up with more votes than Brandon Roy or Tony Parker or whoever, here is my suggestion: grow up. It's the freaking All Star Game. Totally meaningless. Doesn't matter. Most fans I know don't watch it (and I've only seen maybe three in my whole life; the dunk contest is another matter). All-NBA teams are what matter for personal glory, not ASG appearances. It's just a bit of fun in the middle of the season - an opportunity to watch our favorite players go at it in the NBA equivalent of a YMCA pickup game. And if there are enough Chinese fans that want to see Tracy McGrady suit up for the Western Conference that he takes the West's 2nd Guard spot, then so be it.

Besides, he's not going to win, so why get all pissy about it now? A month from now, Chris Paul or Steve Nash will pull away, and we can all celebrate the fact that we'll finally have a real point guard starting for the first time since 2006.

More links after the jump.

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No, it's not this guy (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello).

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To put it simply, I think I'm done with the Texans for the year. I'll tune back in the spring to see who gets drafted, but I'm not watching this shit anymore this season. Unfortunately, the Astros are mired in suck and the Rockets' stars are injured. Not a lot to look forward to over the next few months, Houston sports-wise.

Well, I think the Rockets' start to the season has refuted a lot of that sentiment, but, as Dave is quick to note, the Rockets don't have a star on the roster right now, and the Rockets, while good, are not a team that can expect to go far in the playoffs. Now, I think the "star" epithet is largely meaningless, mostly just referring to whoever gets on ESPN highlights a lot, but it has some meaning. Typically, when people say "star," they mean someone who scores a lot. If we break this down a little further, it can be taken to mean "a player who uses a lot of possessions and converts them efficiently." There's no statistical "line" that will delineate "stars" from "great role-player," but I think we can agree that stars will show similar statistics, right?

So let's look at some numbers. Here are the statistical lines (courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com) of three NBA Power Forwards, two of whom are widely considered to be "stars" on some level. First, here are the per-36 rates:

Player A has a clear advantage in scoring over B (and, to a lesser extent, C), and smaller advantages in rebounding and blocks. However, he (as well as C) is much more turnover prone than B, and is nowhere near as skilled of a passer.

Personally, I never really liked per-minute stats. Teams play at wildly divergent paces. Still, per-minute stats capture some of the "star" qualities in a player - the ability to take a lot of shots, for instance. But let's look at per-possession stats:

Things start to look a little different. Players A and C are using similar portions of their teams' possessions, they have similar assist numbers, and are fairly close in effective Field Goal percentage and blocks. B's rebounding looks much better, his advantage in passing looks even more solid, and he is obviously the least turnover-prone. But A has the best shooting numbers, and his rapid, efficient scoring leads to massive advantages in compiled metrics like PER and O-Rating. And, by Win Shares, he has contributed the most wins in 19 games.

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I have to get to class soon, so I'm going to make this short.

Dave made a comparison between Ariza and a certain player earlier this morning, and I think it expresses a concern we've all felt: Trevor is trying to shoot the Rockets out of the game. In fact, Dwyer at BDL has explicitly said this. The argument seems to be a simple one: Ariza takes too many threes.

And yet we're faced with a dilemma: the Rockets, whom we all suspect to be geniuses or androids or something, are apparently encouraging Trevor to do these things. What's up wit dat?

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I'm going to leave the official recap to someone (Xiane?) who actually saw the second half of the game last night. Instead, I'd like to talk about a discussion that took place between myself and a few commenters over at Clips Nation. If you didn't see the game, the Rockets battled the Clippers closely for three quarters, occasionally pulling ahead but never able to totally break away, until finally the LA offense (and defense) collapsed late in the fourth to create a blowout.

So, anyways, the discussion... Basically, I responded to two things: (1) the statement (typical of most observers at this point) by Steve Perrin that Chris Kaman had a significant height advantage over Chuck Hayes, and so he should be able to dominate on offense, and (2) Steve's question about whether or not we should really believe that Daryl Morey has achieved what he has via stats, or if the Rockets' success happened as a result of the influence of traditional scouting, and so this could happen with any "traditional" team. I and the commenters went back and forth about this for a while, but I've had a few hours to let this stew in my head, and I think I can consolidate my argument better here (not that anyone really gives a shit). My point here is one that is fairly simple: we must take stats (and the statistical revolution) seriously, and I mean this in two ways.

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I'm not going to pretend that I know all that much about the Clippers this season. Here's what I do know:

The Clipshow features the 24th-best offense in the NBA this season and the 16th-best defense. As you all know, 1st-overall draft pick Blake Griffin was injured in training camp and won't return for a few more weeks. Chris Kaman started the season off with a bang, but has slowed down quite a bit from his initial pace. Eric Gordon continues to impress in his second year, while Al Thornton looks surprisingly good to start the season, though I wouldn't bet on that continuing. Despite an epic meltdown against the Grizzlies on Sunday, the Clippers have been fairly hot over the past few games.

On the Rockets' side, Carl Landry should be getting the first start of his career, though Scola will apparently be available, sporting stylish new goggles.

There. You're all caught up.

In honor of our shared history, here's Cuttino Mobley dunking on Lamar Odom.