Remember last year, when P.J. Tucker started the season off with a 20-point game and then didn’t reach that total again until the playoffs? No, you don’t, because that’s not the kind of thing that normal people remember if they want to live a life other than “Highlights Hermit”. But I remember, I remember that very clearly and I remember thinking “If the Rockets make Tucker into a good scorer I’m going to eat my Pop-Tart”.
I ended up eating my Pop-Tart about 10 seconds later because I couldn’t wait any more and I sensed it losing its heat, but still. I was right: Tucker remained as impotent on the offensive end as ever after that opening-night explosion.
I expect the same this year. Good on him for scoring 19 under adverse circumstances, but this doesn’t mean anything. Rockets fans will probably try to forget that this game ever happened, anyway. It featured way too much MCW and way too little of the stuff that makes the Rockets good.
Also, Carmelo Anthony is going to earn a reputation as a franchise-destroyer if this keeps up.