NBA UPDATE
First look at the Rockets without Harden: Results are not so bad
Jan 4, 2018, 8:11 am
Chris Paul now has to be The Man for the Rockets. Houston Rockets/Facebook
Wednesday night the Rockets took the court in Orlando with most of the league wondering exactly what a Houston squad would look like with James Harden out of the lineup for the first time this season. Harden is expected to miss an extended period of time, and their matchup with the Magic would provide them an opportunity to adjust to their new rotation before Thursday’s game against a healthy Golden State Warriors team.
A combination of strong defense by the Rockets and poor shooting from the Orlando at the outset contributed to a 25-12 first quarter. Chris Paul was now the undisputed face of the team and he went to work early, setting up open threes and dishing to center Clint Capela for easy inside points.
The real adjustment would take place at the first set of substitutions. Recently acquired shooting guard Gerald Green looked to fill in the sixth man role typically occupied by Eric Gordon, who was thrust into the starting rotation in place of Harden. He delivered, playing stingy defense and shooting 4-4 from three. Briante Weber also made a rare first half appearance, though it remains to be seen whether Weber’s usage has more to do with minutes preservation in lieu of the upcoming Warriors matchup, or this is a legitimate minutes share while Harden is out.
Late defensive switches and sloppy play from the bench allowed the Magic to cut the lead down to single digits late in the second quarter, but a late run by the starters ballooned the lead back to 55-41 by half time.
The Paul to Capela strategy would take over early in the third, and the lead would extend to more than 20 points, essentially putting the game away for good. The mop-up crew was brought in with a little under 5 minutes remaining and the Rockets would close out the game with a 116-98 victory. Green would lead the team with 27 points and 6 rebounds, followed by Capela who shot 8-12 for 21 points and 8 rebounds. Paul would add with 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 13 assists. Six Rockets players finished with double digit scoring performances.
In regards to the new-look Rockets, a few decisions stood out. Weber--typically a garbage time player--ended with 16 minutes. Tarik Black finished with 8 minutes as well. Again, it remains to be seen if this is merely a tactic employed to preserve the regular rotation for Thursday’s matchup with the Warriors or if this is how the minutes will be spread with Harden injured.
Green’s surprisingly effortless transition into a new offense has been a welcome surprise. In four games with the Rockets, he’s averaging 13.8 points per game off the bench, allowing Gordon to operate with the starters without sacrificing scoring off the bench. With small forward Luc Mbah a Moute nearing a return from a shoulder injury, Houston looks poised to withstand the loss of Harden at least for the short term.
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As players continue to arrive at Astros spring training, the updates we are receiving are very positive for the most part. Astros pitcher Lance McCullers is very optimistic about his chances to return and produce a successful and healthy season.
At this point, we'll just have to wait and see with McCullers, but it is encouraging to hear how happy he is with where he is physically. Lance pointed out that his velocity is sitting right around 90mph, which is where it was typically in spring training in previous years.
When McCullers spoke about how he would be used this season, something really stood out. He stated that he expected to continue to be used as a starter, despite GM Dana Brown talking about the possibility of Lance coming out of the bullpen.
McCullers even said he wasn't sure where that narrative is coming from, he anticipates starting because he feels like pitching in relief would be harder on his body.
The puzzling communication trend continued when Jose Altuve told reporters on Monday that the team asked him to give left field a try after the conclusion of last season.
Which doesn't line up with the reports that Altuve volunteered to move to left field in an effort to convince Alex Bregman to return to Houston after the team traded for infielder Isaac Paredes.
Speaking of Bregman, we heard reports last season that Alex wasn't happy with how he was communicated with when the team dropped him in the batting order due to his offensive struggles.
However, there is one common factor between these players. Bregman, McCullers, and Altuve are all represented by Scott Boras. It wouldn't surprise us if the reports about Altuve being willing to switch positions was actually something that was floated by Boras to increase leverage in the Bregman negotiations.
Making it seem like Houston was still interested in re-signing Bregman after seemingly filling his position with Paredes could make some sense.
Another element to consider in this communication narrative is Yordan Alvarez making his feelings known on where he hits in the batting order. Yordan didn't request to hit second or third, but he did make it clear he would like the club to pick a spot for him and leave him there.
Based on Altuve's inclination to swing at the first pitch, it wouldn't surprise us if Yordan would prefer to hit third, so he won't find himself regularly in the batter's box for the second pitch of the game.
The club has publicly stated they would like the hitters to see more pitches this season, hopefully that starts with Altuve. Opposing pitchers know Altuve's tendencies, so ambushing fastballs on the first pitch of the game is not as effective as it once was.
One final thought on the mixed signals between the players and front office. We have to take anything Dana Brown says with a grain of salt. He says a lot of things that turn out to be false, and not necessarily on purpose. This is the same guy that said Kyle Tucker would sign an extension with Houston, and Bregman was the top priority in free agency.
I think he's quickly learning that Jim Crane isn't the one that's going to have to “fasten his seatbelt.”
Be sure to watch the video above for the full discussion!
Spring training is up and running. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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