Month: October 2018

Rockets Look to Swing Season Momentum, Eye Focus on Defense

 The Houston Rockets will try to conjure up some winning spirits and improve to 2-4 on the young season as they play host to the Portland Trailblazers at Toyota Center on Tuesday night. Hopefully, Houston is starting to feel a sense of urgency related to the lack of communication and commitment on the defensive end, and their play tonight should emphasize the urgency felt throughout the locker room and the arena, as the team has yet to win a home game this season. Just to put things in perspective, the Rockets had 25 wins when they lost their 5^th game of the season after the team’s blazing 25-4 start to last year’s campaign. A loss tonight against Portland would put the Rockets at 1-5, taking them a mere 6 games to record 5 losses, after last year it took them more than a third of the entire season to get the 5^th L of the year. I’m expecting the Rockets to come out with the team’s hungriest, most energized game of the season as they try and put the first home W on the board. Other players will have to step up as the Beard, Ennis, Knight, and Nene remain out with injuries. Look for CP3, EG, and maybe even Carmelo Anthony, if he carries any momentum over from his biggest scoring night of the year in the previous game, to have big nights for Houston en route to a victory. The Rockets need to focus in on Blazers star Damian Lillard, who has been a Rocket killer his entire career and is off to a fast start this season. If they can contain Lillard and McCollum, as well as control the glass with improved defensive communication, Houston should finally win a game in front of what should be the most raucous, rowdiest crowd the team has played in front of this season.

Toyota Center – Houston, Texas

7 PM CT – ATT Sportsnet

Clippers Sail Past Houston, 133-113, Awaken Rockets’ Identity Crisis

 The Los Angeles Clippers did what they wanted, when they wanted, pretty much all night on Friday at Toyota Center as they beat down a Harden-less Rockets team by 20 points in Houston. Former Rocket Montrezl Harrell, who was part of the trade to bring Chris Paul to Houston, scored a career high 30 points (many of them wide-open dunks) against his former team in a game where the Rockets had no answer for Harrell inside, or anyone on the Clippers for that matter. Los Angeles’ bench alone scored a monstrous 85 points on a Rockets defense, that at best, seemed to be staring into space, searching for answers to a defensive start that is slowly becoming, historically, the worst in NBA history. The effective switch-everything defense on screens from a year ago seems to be gone, and opponents seemed to be one step ahead of the Rockets’ attempted switches on the defensive end of the floor. Maybe Trevor Ariza’s loss really WAS as impactful as some of us dreaded it might be. The lack of communication on the defensive end is glaringly obvious. The Rockets seem to be lost on every possession as they give up layup after layup, dunk after dunk, and one wide-open shot after another to their opponents. True, Houston is still dealing with injures to the likes of MVP James Harden, James Ennis, Nene, and others. However, this Rockets team is deep enough and was constructed to beat bad teams like the Clippers at home without their MVP, not get blown away by 20. Carmelo Anthony finally had a good game, but it required garbage time against inferior competition for Melo to show he can still be an effective contributor in the NBA. The injuries, new pieces, and the overlooked Jeff Bzdelik’s absence as the defensive coordinator all factor into why the Rockets are 1-4 when they haven’t even played a contender yet. A Houston Rockets team whose identity was so clear and visible to every player in the D’Antoni system last year seems to have vanished. The offense will come. The red flag in the system is the defensive end of the floor, where Ariza’s loss in free agency is shining brighter than the sun itself. There’s a quote from Ted Kotcheff’s seminal, criminally overlooked masterpiece, Wake In Fright, about a man who loses his self-identity after succumbing to a society reeling under the malign influence of its own basest impulses, that resonates when thinking of this Rockets team and the team everyone is gunning for, the Golden State Warriors. “We break the rules. But we know more about ourselves than most people.” The Warriors, in traditional basketball fans eyes, have “broken the rules” by being able to acquire five sure-fire future Hall-of-Famers in their PRIME, while no one else in the league can summon more than two. Despite this “breaking of rules”, the Warriors know and understand their identity as a team. That is never a question. I’m the LAST person who would ever root for the Warriors, but even I can admit they have the best chemistry in basketball and their identity is undeniably set in stone. The Rockets, on the other hand, have lost their identity completely, and despite keeping the competitive balance in the NBA even, they need to look in the mirror and figure out who they are as a team. The defensive switches are killing Houston on what seems like every play, and without improved communication this problem will only plunge the Rockets into a deeper early-season hole. Only 5 games into the season is still early, but if this Rockets team continues to sleep through games, when they eventually wake, it could be a frightening circumstance that may be too late to save the season. The schedule doesn’t get any easier as the Portland Trailblazers, another Western Conference playoff team from last year, rolls into town on Tuesday night. Sometimes a glaring issue isn’t complex, it’s just obvious. The Rockets obviously need to start playing better, focus on getting back to the basics of help defense, or hope a player from another city comes catering to the team’s most essential needs… or it could be a long, frightful season for the Rockets and their fans.

Rockets Limp into Rematch with Clippers, Severely Undermanned, Need Help From Supporting Cast

 It’s only been four games into the season, but people are already talking about other teams, NOT the Houston Rockets, as being the teams that are most likely to unseat Golden State from their historically overrated throne as NBA Champions. However, people don’t always know what they’re talking about. Especially when it’s from afar. True, this hasn’t been the start the Rockets or their fans had hoped for or envisioned. No one saw a weak Brandon Ingram push on Harden, either from frustration or self-awareness, after realizing he’s never going to be even close to the revolutionary player James Harden is, cause an early season ripple effect on this very young season. That play out of frustration, that’s usually seen on the streets when people quit or are tired, was the fuse that instigated the entire brawl. Sure, Rondo’s decision to spit rather than just sit really cost the Rockets. There was nothing Chris Paul could do. Anyone would have retaliated in that situation. I’m just glad PJ Tucker was there to shield him as Brandon Ingram returned to THROW PUNCHES from as he approached the spittle huddle from behind. The fact he only got 4 games is astounding, but that’s a story for another day. The real story here is that the season is barley under way and the Rockets have dealt with quite a bit through only 4 games. Chris Paul’s absence for 2 games is obviously a huge loss in leadership on and off the court because he wasn’t allowed on the bench for being suspended. Adam Silver might actually think Rondo’s spit is deadly. It’s certainly killed the aging vet’s ability to play, even play fair. It’s very unfortunate the injury bug has hit the team, but especially James Harden, who is one of the most durable players the league’s ever seen. It doesn’t help that they most important new addition to the team, James Ennis, is sidelined as well. He needs to be on the court to be fully integrated into the D’Antoni system and gain chemistry with his new teammates. All of these factors play a role into the Rockets’ current situation, along with the additions of new players, sloppy play, and an opener where Harden was bound to come out somewhat unfocused after FINALLY receiving an award he’d earned for 4 seasons in a row. So, despite being 1-3, the Houston Rockets are much deadlier than any 1-3 team I can remember, and I doubt any NBA GM would want a first round matchup again the Rockets when at full strength. Once this team gets healthy and gets the new players cohesive in D’Antoni’s lethal system, the Rockets will once again be Golden State’s biggest rival to their “title” as NBA Champions. Tonight, the squad just needs to band together, players will obviously have immense opportunities for playing time and expanded roles and they need to seize this advantage. The Los Angeles Clippers are not a great team, even though they beat the Rockets earlier this year. On defense the Rockets need to focus in on Tobias Harris, don’t be intimidated by Patrick Beverley’s defense, and they’ll get the victory. This is a rematch the Rockets should be motivated for and be able to win. Clint Capela, PJ Tucker, Eric Gordon, Carmelo Anthony, and the rest of the guys who are ready to go is more than enough to take down a Clippers squad that competes hard, but lacks talent. The Rockets just need to outmatch the Clippers’ intensity and play together, and they’ll get their first home win of the season.

 

Toyota Center – Houston, Texas

7 PM CT – ATT Sportsnet

Injuries Mount as Harden Exits Game Late as Rockets Remain Winless at Home

 Just when you thought it couldn’t get much worse, James Harden suffered a hamstring injury late in Wednesday night’s 100-89 loss to Utah, and never returned. Even with Harden, this was another game in an ugly pattern that has seen the Rockets trail their opponents for the majority of this young season. The severity is unknown, however the Rockets will exercise caution with the MVP, and certainly won’t rush him back before he’s ready. Donovan Mitchell was the best player on the floor tonight and had his first on-par game of the season, finishing with 38 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds, while the Rockets had nothing to counter the second year star’s skillset on the court. No one else on the Jazz was terribly effective, the Rockets were just outplayed by Utah on a night when they were undermanned and lost THEIR man near the end of the game. It’s been a rough start to the season, but the Rockets will have Chris Paul back for the next game against the Clippers as the Rockets try and avenge their loss to L.A.’s spit-free team Friday at Toyota Center as they try and right the ship and get their first victory of the season in front of Red Nation and the home crowd.

Rockets Try and Shake Slow Start in WC Semifinals Rematch

 The Houston Rockets return home to Toyota Center as a much different group than the one who took the court on Opening Night a week ago. A lot can happen in an NBA week. Throw in the team that should have won last year’s Championship visibly still upset over last-season, and you’re bound to have incidents. But not many can honestly say they predicted this sort of start, despite the reasonably difficult early schedule. A blowout loss at home that felt worse than the final score depicted, LBJ’s home debut being overshadowed by another teammates spittle, brawls (old-school fisticuffs in a nod to the throwback days in the NBA, where heated rivalries led to temper –flaring incidents, that would often result in bizarre scenarios, such as Jeff Van Gundy holding onto Alonzo Mourning’s leg for dear life), another loss to THESE Clippers. The good news is that it’s still early on in the season, with only 3 games in the books, the Rockets have plenty of time to right the ship with the playoffs still months away. The bad news is, the infamous Rockets Injury Bug has already made its presence felt well throughout the roster (Ennis, Nene, Chriss, the list does go on… this is the RIB we’re talking about here, I realize all teams are affected by injuries, but I have yet to see anything rival the RIB’s tendency to show up at the WORST of times), not to mention Chris Paul’s ejection for making contact with disgraced spittle. Things aren’t going to get any easier as the Utah Jazz roll into town intent on avenging last season’s second round playoff exit at the hands of the Rockets. Worse yet, Utah is coming off their worst loss of the season, at home to a Memphis Grizzlies team that’s slowly moving from contender to rebuilder. Last year’s true rookie of the year Donovan Mitchell hasn’t even shown up yet with poor shooting. Without CP3 and James Ennis’ defense on the perimeter, Mitchell could be in line for his best game of the young season if the Rockets don’t start communicating better on the defensive end. Look out for Joe Ingles, the Aussie sharpshooter who seems to make it his seasonal mission to have his best shooting games in Houston. With all these injuries the Rockets need players to step up on the perimeter, specifically Michael Carter-Williams, who has been nothing short of a human disaster on the basketball court, Eric Gordon, who hopefully will find his shot, and the heralded Carmelo Anthony, who still looks like a deer in headlights in the Rockets system. Clint Capela needs to step his game up as well. After getting paid like the All-Star many expect him to be this year, he has a great chance to make his mark and have an early season statement game against the Stifle Tower and reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert. This is arguably the best team the Rockets have had to face yet, the Jazz should finish somewhere in the standings near New Orleans, who already had their way with the Rockets and then some on Opening Night at Toyota Center. The Jazz would love to do nothing more than make the Rockets fall to 0-2 at home, especially after they were ousted by the Houston in the Western Conference Semifinals last season. Hopefully, the Rockets will be motivated and angry from their previous loss, and will try and win their first home game for CP3 before he returns on Friday when the Rockets face a familiar early season foe, the Clippers. First, they must tune out the Jazz and get back to business by running as one.

 

Toyota Center – Houston, Texas

7 PM CT – ATT Sportsnet

Rockets’ Comeback Falls Short as Clippers Outplay Houston in L.A.

We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but most of Red Nation expected the Rockets to pull this one out. They fell behind by double digits and managed to scurry back to within 3 but it simply was not enough, as the Clippers held on to defeat the Rockets 115-112 Sunday night at Staples Center. The Rockets fall to 1-2 and return home to Toyota Center on Wednesday night to face the Utah Jazz, a team they eliminated from the playoffs last season. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going…. Lets GO ROCKETS!!!! Time to turn it up a notch to avoid falling into an early season hole.

Sans CP3, Rockets Attempt to Complete Weekend Sweep in L.A.

The Rockets look to build on their first win of the season as they attempt to go 2-0 at Staples Center over the weekend. It won’t be easy, as Chris Paul is out tonight due to his suspension from last night’s Lakers skirmish, and as we saw last season, the Rockets are not the same force, on both ends of the court, without their All-Star floor leader. The Clippers played the Rockets well last season, splitting the season series with Houston 2-2. The Clips have many former Rockets who will no doubt be looking to put in an extra special performance against their former team. Patrick Beverley, still sorely missed and adored in Houston, doesn’t take any seconds off on the court, and along with P.J. Tucker, is one of the best hustle players, and pressure-exerting perimeter defenders in the NBA. The Clippers also sport former Rockets Montrezl Harrell and Luc Mbah a Moute, who was key piece of the Rockets rotation last season, especially on the defensive end. This will be a tough challenge for the Rockets without Chris Paul, and still trying to fit their new pieces into Coach D’Antoni’s system, but they are the better team, with or without Paul. Look for Eric Gordon, starting in place of CP3, to have a big night along with Harden and co.

 

Staples Center – Los Angeles, California

8 PM CT – NBA TV, ATT Sportsnet

Rockets Fight Their Way To First Victory of Season In Glitzy Road Opener Marred By Brawl, Costly Ejections

 

It certainly wasn’t pretty, but the Rockets finally got their first win of the season. But it came at a cost. They lost Chris Paul, and he will certainly be suspended at least one game, possibly up to three. He didn’t deserve the suspension, but when two of the NBA’s smartest players go at each other, someone is bound to get unlucky, and Paul was the unfortunate recipient of this bad luck. He didn’t start the fight. Rondo didn’t even start it, although his spittle was the act that sent everyone over the edge into brawl-mode. This all began after Ingram got beat by Harden to the basket and was rightfully called for a foul, the correct call. Ingram, for some reason, didn’t take kindly to the officials’ correct call and pushed Harden unnecessarily out of frustration, which led to the biggest on-court fight the NBA’s seen in some time. Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, and Brandon Ingram were all ejected shortly after a lengthy officiating review. The Rockets managed to survive without Chris Paul and escaped The King’s home debut with a victory. Harden bounced back and was the better of the MVP hopefuls tonight as he finished with 36 points, twice as many as he had in the opener. Hopefully the brawl woke up a Rockets team that had seemed to be sleepwalking through the initial part of this season. They’re back at it tomorrow night, same place, different vibe, against the hated Clippers, who always seem to play well against Houston. Chris Paul likely won’t be available due to a suspension the NBA will probably issue tomorrow, so the Beard and the rest of the squad will have to step up and bring more to the table if the Rockets can escape Staples Center with a sweep this weekend.

Rockets Try to Bounce Back from Opener, Spoil LeBron’s Debut at Staples

 

In their first road game of the season, the Rockets will try and be better than their first game where they got stomped at Toyota Center by the Pelicans. The setting this time around will be very different, as LeBron James will play in front of the Staples Center crowd in Los Angeles for the very first time in what should be an electric atmosphere. Coming off a close opening night loss in Portland, LeBron James will no doubt have his squad ready to go as he looks to avoid a rare 0-2 start to this season. This will be a great early season test for the Rockets as the fans in L.A. are hyped about King James coming to play for the Lakers. Last year’s MVP, James Harden, will face off against the pre-season favorite for the award, LeBron James, in what should be a statement game for both players as they continue the beginning of this NBA season trying to cement their stature as the best player in basketball at the moment. Other than LeBron, this Lakers team has seen a swoon of offseason changes that have revamped the roster. The Lakers have added a crew of seasoned veterans including Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and JaVale McGee to compliment James along with the young core that still exists as LeBron moves into the latter stage of his NBA career. Hopefully, the Rockets will put Opening Night in the past, and move forward with a W in what should be an environment similar to that of a playoff game.

 

Staples Center – Los Angeles, California

9:30 PM CT – ESPN, ATT Sportsnet

Pelicans Blast Rockets, Embarrass Harden and Co. on Opening Night

Well at least that’s over with. And by that I mean the New Orleans Pelicans beat-down of the Houston Rockets on Opening Night in Toyota Center. They cruised to a 131-112 victory in a game that was never competitive. The final score actually makes it seem like the Rockets were within reach, but for most of the game it seemed as thought they trailed by 30. Harden came out like I feared he might, lazy, unfocused, his mind still on last season and the MVP award he was handed before the game from Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta. The Pelicans came out like gangbusters, intent on proving last year’s sweep was no fluke. Anthony Davis had a monster opening game in his quest to prove he belongs in among the NBA’s elite and should be one of the frontrunners for the MVP award this season. The Rockets knew what to expect from the Brow. One could even say they “contained” him. However, it was the other “bigs” they had no answer for, specifically Nikola Mirotic, who shot lights out from beyond the arc and finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds, and Julius Randle, who came off the bench to supply 25 points in 24 minutes to go along with 8 rebounds. The Rockets were manhandled on the glass, something the squad hopes to improve on, and quick, as the season moves along. Even though Harden finished 1 assist shy of a triple-double, his performance was underwhelming to say the least. He looked like he was still in offseason mode. The only real bright spots were P.J. Tucker, who was fantastic as usual on both ends of the floor, finishing with 19 points, but had little help from teammates on the defensive end. Eric Gordon did what he does and provided a spark off the bench, leading the team in scoring with 21 points. It was evident from the start that the Rockets communication on defense would be a major problem. The Pelicans screened and cut to the basket for open layups all night. Hopefully these are just growing pains that accompany teams as they adjust from one season to the next with new pieces, but the Rockets lost their most valuable defensive communicator besides PJ in Trevor Ariza. James Ennis looked hesitant, like he didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes. The same with Carmelo Anthony, who despite hitting one of his first shots, looked confused as to what his role on the team will be moving forward. I’m counting on CP3 as the team’s vocal leader to help Melo’s transition, but if Melo becomes a liability on defense like he was last night, he won’t be getting many minutes in crunch time. Hopefully this was just one of those games you forget about, and is not consistent with the rest of the season. The Rockets look to turn things around on Saturday, where the lights will be shining even brighter in LeBron James’ Lakers home debut.