Bob Sura's steady hand at the point has helped revive a Rockets team that struggled to forge a coherent identity early this season. Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images

The NBA is starting to flake out as it limps toward the All-Star break. Only a few squads seem to be playing according to script, and most teams on the playoff fringe are waiting for a trade or firing to get them interested again. The only consistent thread running through every NBA city is the fact that each and every player cannot wait to get to the All-Star break, an oasis that is still a week-and-a-half away.

The Week That Was

The biggest news of the week was the unfortunate but admirable resignation from Rudy Tomjanovich as coach of the Lakers. Since making the announcement last Wednesday we've learned that there truly was less to his story that we would have guessed; he simply didn't want to deal with the pressures of the NBA lifestyle any longer. The loss obviously has left the Lakers in the lurch, though they had won the two games Rudy sat out prior to his resignation. But since Rudy T's departure, the Lakers have dropped games to San Antonio and Houston, and have a nasty road schedule ahead of them.

Champs

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Houston hasn't answered all the questions that surrounded its slow start, but it has put together a nice five-game winning streak, and seem to be having fun again. Led by the gutsy all-around play of Bob Sura and the consistent inside presence of Yao Ming, the Rox are sixth in the West and in love with life right now.

After bottoming out in mid January when they lost two of three while averaging 75.7 points per game, the Rockets have finally developed some chemistry, evident in their willingness to move the ball and light up the scoreboard -- in a relative sense -- of late. Coach Jeff Van Gundy's squad has scored more than 100 points five times in the past few weeks while reeling off eight wins in their last 10 contests. With only two road games the rest of February, the good times should continue. They had better with a rough March and April threatening to wear down Houston's veteran legs.

Chumps

We're staying in Houston with this one, to wonder if Rod Strickland needs a new contact lens prescription. After missing all three shots against the Lakers on Sunday, Strickland is shooting a healthy 15 percent (4-of-27) from the floor this season. In spite of that, the Rockets have won seven of the nine games he's appeared in, and he's dished 26 assists to seven turnovers. Still, the rotation on Strickland's shot is way off, a pretty sharp decline for a man who might be the NBA's all-time most underrated finisher (in the 6-foot-4 and under division) around the hoop.