Media day has passed, training camps have opened up, and preseason basketball has started. All indications that the 2019-20 NBA season has officially left the tarmac, particularly in the case of the Houston Rockets who have already played two preseason games while most of the league has yet to play one. As things have come underway quickly for Houston, those in the media can finally stop speculating and predicting as there's actually interesting basketball stuff to talk about.
1. The Rockets intend to play faster - a lot faster
It seemed obvious that pace would be an emphasis for this particular Rockets team once they traded for Russell Westbrook in early July, but it still stands out as quite significant. Through two preseason games, the Rockets are averaging 107.25 possessions per game, good for second among the six NBA teams that have played so far. According to NBA.com/stats, Houston was the fourth slowest team in the league last season, averaging 98.39 possessions per game. To say this is a delineation from the norm is an understatement.
Throughout training camp, the Rockets ran much more offense you'd expect to see from some of Mike D'Antoni's old Phoenix Suns teams (ex: more of the 21 series) and older Rockets teams (particularly 2016-17 - when the Rockets were third in pace). This pace of play suits Russell Westbrook and Clint Capela, both talented at running the break and getting early transition offense, but the question was always James Harden's buy-in to playing this way again. If we can take anything from preseason, it seems Harden may have re-committed to this style.
Mike D'Antoni on increased pace: "Yeah we talked about it. The biggest thing is James [Harden] looked like he wante… https://t.co/ezN1eNTNts— Salman Ali (@Salman Ali) 1569897227.0
2. Houston intends to switch less on defense
One of the biggest questions going into training camp would be how new associate head coach Elston Turner chose to run Houston's defense this season. The Rockets had already drifted away last season from some of the switching that made them so lethal defensively the year before, but it looks like they may be turning the corner completely. With the Warriors effectively decommissioned for this season, it makes sense to return to a traditional, conservative approach as it's quite effective against the majority of NBA teams.
"We're switching a little less than last year," confirmed Rockets center Isaiah Hartenstein on the first day of training camp. The Rockets simply don't have the personal to switch as much as they had in 2017-18, but if they stay true to this new conservative approach (likely a drop scheme similar to what the Utah Jazz play), there's no reason they have to be limited. Eric Gordon, P.J. Tucker, Clint Capela, and Danuel House will keep Houston respectable until the buyout market (if it comes to that).
I mentioned it today in my piece, but the #Rockets are going to switch less. They’ve been working on ICE/Blue in tr… https://t.co/wKNKkxo7On— Alykhan Bijani (@Alykhan Bijani) 1570166604.0
3. Ryan Anderson may be a rotation player for Houston
The return of Ryan Anderson has been the ultimate feel good story coming out of training camp for the Rockets, but it would be foolish to simply call it a "cute story." The Rockets aren't known for making signings just for the sake of positive PR. Anderson's ability to space the floor and provide size to an otherwise small bench unit may earn him a nice bench role for the team. Though it wasn't likely to be a problem in the first place, a positive for Houston is that Anderson seems to have bought in to whatever role Houston has for him.
Ryan Anderson on his return: "I was talking about to a couple of the guys... It feels like I never left. It's an am… https://t.co/CUGXDIltSm— Salman Ali (@Salman Ali) 1569695526.0
4. Ben McLemore has probably locked up a roster spot
At this point, it would be a surprise if 26-year-old swingman Ben McLemore isn't on the roster by the end of training camp. With only $50,000 of his contract guaranteed, McLemore signed with Houston knowing that his chances of making the roster were slim, but in just a few training camp practices and preseason games, he's proven that he could potentially bring a lot to the contending Rockets. In particular, McLemore's length (6'5" with a 6'8" wingspan) and shooting ability (37.3% from three-point range over the past five seasons) could serve him well in earning possible rotation minutes with the team.
When House missed Houston's second preseason game (minor leg injury), it was assumed a veteran like Gerald Green or Austin Rivers would take his spot. However, head coach Mike D'Antoni surprisingly went with McLemore, indicating that he has built up some trust with the coaching staff. It would be wise to not take away too much from preseason, but it's hard not to notice McLemore's play and ponder his possible utility with the team. Sometimes it takes the right team finding you before players find their role in the NBA and McLemore might have just found his.
Mike D'Antoni on Ben McLemore: "There's no reason why he's not an NBA player. And a good one."— Salman Ali (@Salman Ali) 1569896644.0
5. Coaching staff replacements and promotions
There's a good chance 80% of Rockets fans won't care about the minutiae of Houston's coaching staff, but there's been some movement outside of new associate head coach Elston Turner. For one, former Sacramento Kings assistant coach Dan Hartfield has been added to the staff to help fill in for a lot of the openings that were created this summer. Also, it appears former Rio Grande Valley head coach Matt Brasse has been moved up to the front of the bench and will help coach defense this season (coached offense last season).
The Rockets are no strangers to making in-house promotions and it appears to be the route they went when filling out their coaching staff this season. Brasse has been with the Rockets for eight years and has worked in various capacities including as an intern, Director of Player Development, and being promoted to the Rockets coaching staff last season. Through his light-hearted demeanor and coaching prowess, he's developed a great reputation with players and coaches around the league dating back to his time with the Vipers so it's nice to see his work be rewarded.
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Through 20 games, the Houston Astros have managed just six wins and are in last place in the AL West.
Their pitching staff trails only Colorado with a 5.24 ERA and big-money new closer Josh Hader has given up the same number of earned runs in 10 games as he did in 61 last year.
Despite this, these veteran Astros, who have reached the AL Championship Series seven consecutive times, have no doubt they’ll turn things around.
“If there’s a team that can do it, it’s this team,” shortstop Jeremy Peña said.
First-year manager Joe Espada, who was hired in January to replace the retired Dusty Baker, discussed his team’s early struggles.
“It’s not ideal,” he said. “It’s not what we expected, to come out of the shoot playing this type of baseball. But you know what, this is where we’re at and we’ve got to pick it up and play better. That’s just the bottom line.”
Many of Houston’s problems have stemmed from a poor performance by a rotation that has been decimated by injuries. Ace Justin Verlander and fellow starter José Urquidy haven’t pitched this season because of injuries and lefty Framber Valdez made just two starts before landing on the injured list with a sore elbow.
Ronel Blanco, who threw a no-hitter in his season debut April 1, has pitched well and is 2-0 with a 0.86 ERA in three starts this season. Cristian Javier is also off to a good start, going 2-0 with a 1.54 ERA in four starts, but the team has won just two games not started by those two pitchers.
However, Espada wouldn’t blame the rotation for Houston’s current position.
“It’s been a little bit of a roller coaster how we've played overall,” he said. “One day we get good starting pitching, some days we don’t. The middle relief has been better and sometimes it hasn’t been. So, we’ve just got to put it all together and then play more as a team. And once we start doing that, we’ll be in good shape.”
The good news for the Astros is that Verlander will make his season debut Friday night when they open a series at Washington and Valdez should return soon after him.
“Framber and Justin have been a great part of our success in the last few years,” second baseman Jose Altuve said. “So, it’s always good to have those two guys back helping the team. We trust them and I think it’s going to be good.”
Hader signed a five-year, $95 million contract this offseason to give the Astros a shutdown 7-8-9 combination at the back end of their bullpen with Bryan Abreu and Ryan Pressly. But the five-time All-Star is off to a bumpy start.
He allowed four runs in the ninth inning of a 6-1 loss to the Braves on Monday night and has yielded eight earned runs this season after giving up the same number in 56 1/3 innings for San Diego last year.
He was much better Wednesday when he struck out the side in the ninth before the Astros fell to Atlanta in 10 innings for their third straight loss.
Houston’s offense, led by Altuve, Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker, ranks third in the majors with a .268 batting average and is tied for third with 24 homers this season. But the Astros have struggled with runners in scoring position and often failed to get a big hit in close games.
While many of Houston’s hitters have thrived this season, one notable exception is first baseman José Abreu. The 37-year-old, who is in the second year of a three-year, $58.5 million contract, is hitting 0.78 with just one extra-base hit in 16 games, raising questions about why he remains in the lineup every day.
To make matters worse, his error on a routine ground ball in the eighth inning Wednesday helped the Braves tie the game before they won in extra innings.
Espada brushed off criticism of Abreu and said he knows the 2020 AL MVP can break out of his early slump.
“Because (of) history,” Espada said. “The back of his baseball card. He can do it.”
Though things haven’t gone well for the Astros so far, everyone insists there’s no panic in this team which won its second World Series in 2022.
Altuve added that he doesn’t have to say anything to his teammates during this tough time.
“I think they’ve played enough baseball to know how to control themselves and how to come back to the plan we have, which is winning games,” he said.
The clubhouse was quiet and somber Wednesday after the Astros suffered their third series sweep of the season and second at home. While not panicking about the slow start, this team, which has won at least 90 games in each of the last three seasons, is certainly not happy with its record.
“We need to do everything better,” third baseman Alex Bregman said. “I feel like we’re in a lot of games, but we just haven’t found a way to win them. And good teams find a way to win games. So we need to find a way to win games.”