The team also officially promoted Jack Easterby as well

Bill O'Brien now Texans General Manager in addition to head coach

Cody Stoots
Jan 28, 2020, 3:50 pm
Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Bill O'Brien has a new placard on his desk.

New title for O'Brien and his unofficial assistant GM

As seen above the Texans have named Bill O'Brien as the general manager in addition to his role as the team's head coach. O'Brien joins his former boss Bill Belichick as one of the members of the NFL coaching community who also has the decision-making powers.

Jack Easterby, who also previously worked with the New England Patriots, now has an official title too. It was widely believed he had heavy input on the team in his past year with the team.

This had been coming

It would be interesting to know if this was something known in the building by the team or just assumed. Either way, something long whispered, came to fruition.

With the amount of front office talent that has left the organization in the past year there was some belief O'Brien was consolidating his power. Today, he has all the power in the organization.

Business as usual, with the titles

SB Nation Radio NFL Insider Adam Caplan told me teams have treated the situation in Houston as if O'Brien was the Texans general manager since Brian Gaine was fired by the team.

Now O'Brien has the title with the work. He is in charge of the team from a management perspective, he is the head coach, and he calls the plays for the teams.

How does this work?

HoustonTexans.com

I don't think it does work. I don't see it. SB Nation Radio NFL Insider Adam Caplan told me the expectation from the league is O'Brien will do whatever he has to do to keep his job.

O'Brien did a ton this past offseason and yet the team regressed in many areas. Without a regular slate of draft picks and quite a few of their own players set to hit free agency the Texans are in a tough spot.

Short of O'Brien really taking the next step along with a few of his key players and some solid and smart spending the Texans might have hit their ceiling in 2019. If that's the case, O'Brien could theoretically survive a similar campaign in 2020. But, there are no more excuses. O'Brien has nobody to blame but himself now.

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Rocket Science

How the Rockets small-ball rotation keeps working

Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Even though the Rockets got out rebounded this past weekend by the Dallas Mavericks and Milwaukee Bucks, they still came out victorious. With the small-ball rotation, the Rockets are 8-2 against the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers, Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks, and Milwaukee Bucks.

The Rockets are suffering on the rebounding side, but this offense has allowed them to score more points. They are much faster in transition because of Robert Covington and Jeff Green. This team can spread the floor more because of the space. This allows their shooters to get more open. With having Russell Westbrook on the Rockets, he can create plays for wide open shooters. As defensive zones collapse on Westbrook, he is able to get the ball out to James Harden, Ben McLemore, and PJ Tucker.

Before the All-Star break, the Rockets were averaging 118.2 points per game and their winning percentage was .630%. After the break, including bubble play, the Rockets are averaging 121 points per game and winning percentage is now .667% because of the small man rotation.

The Rockets are ranked number one in offensive scoring in the NBA. They put up 42 points in the first quarter against the Mavericks last Friday. The Rockets scored a total of 153 points to beat the Mavericks in overtime. They outscored the second highest team in the NBA, the Milwaukee Bucks, to get win on Sunday night. The Rockets went on a 14-6 run with three minutes left in the game. Their best weapon as a team, is to outscore the opposing opponent.

With the Rockets small-ball rotation, they are able wear defenses down. Harden and Westbrook are always playing Mike D'Antoni's system at a high tempo. The Rockets are ranked third in transition offense this season. This allows them win close games because the other team is tired.

Daryl Morey about a week ago cracked a joke on the Denver Nuggets big man starting five.

Morey even still feels confident about the smallball rotation. He made a great statement on July 15, 2020. He believes it is helping Westbrook a lot.

"Obviously, we're playing small but people forget that unlocked Russell a lot on the offensive end and James on the offensive end. But it also unlocked us on the defensive end. Not many guards average in their career multiple times over 10 rebounds a game," as Morey explained to Anthony Duckett of FanSided. "And the fact that Eric [Gordon] is thick and strong and James allows us to play this way. Everyone makes it sounds like it's a gimmick but really [it’s]the best way to play. And what I love about coach [D'Antoni] is that he recognizes that and is able to optimize that."

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