NBA OPENER

Great result for Rockets, but Harden-Paul pairing will be a work in progress

Oct 18, 2017, 9:18 am

Off the court, James Harden and Chris Paul have been great. They still have work to do on it. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Last night the Houston Rockets upset the Golden State Warriors 122-121 in a thrilling shootout to kick off the regular season. Free agent signings Luc Mbah a Moute and P.J. Tucker provided a great spark off the bench with 14 and 20 points respectively, to compliment reigning sixth man of the year Eric Gordon and his 24-point effort. It was a great win, and more importantly it was at least the beginning of the answer to the biggest question surrounding the Rockets all offseason:

How will Chris Paul and James Harden look on the floor together?

Well, the short answer is – at the moment – not great. Not terrible, but not great. Paul and Harden seemed to stick to what they know best, which is a lot of iso ball. If one had the ball, the other seemed to sit off in the corner and let them do their thing. Paul went 2-9 from the field (0-4 from 3-point range) for 4 points to go with 11 assists and 8 rebounds, but left the game near the end of the fourth quarter with knee soreness. Harden, meanwhile, dazzled in his debut, turning in a 27 point, 6 rebound, and 10 assist effort.

They ended the game with a combined 21 assists, but the growing pains were fairly evident. Paul found himself in rather unfamiliar territory by playing off ball the majority of the time the two shared the court.

At the moment it’s very obvious that Paul realizes that this is Harden’s team and seemed fine acquiescing the ball handling duties for the time being while he adjusts. Paul was eventually pulled out of the lineup in favor of Gordon near the end of the fourth quarter because of the knee, and when questioned by reporters in the locker room about the benching showed zero frustration. That was a good sign, because it shows that he realizes how talented the Rockets’ lineup is.

At the moment it’s simply too early to grade the Harden/Paul experiment, especially with Paul playing hurt. Injuries are going to be part of the norm with Paul, as they have been throughout his career, but when he’s healthy, he’s still one of the most dangerous point guards in the league.

I personally don’t expect there to be much of an issue. Harden and Paul are far too talented and basketball smart to not make this work.

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THE PALLILOG

Here’s a realistic path for this hot-hitting rookie to make Houston Astros roster

Justin Dirden has been impressive this spring. Composite image by Brandon Strange.

Less than three weeks to Opening Day. I’m not yet tingly, but getting there! Next week we get the NCAA Tournament as a delightful bridge to help us toward March 30. More on that next week. For now, Astros angles…

I find new General Manager Dana Brown’s general candor to date wonderfully refreshing. Be it contract negotiations, player development philosophy, or his need to not “blow the draft,” Brown conveys a confident, straight-shooting demeanor. We have to see how that holds up, but to this point he comes across impressively. Of course ultimately what matters is how the ballclub performs under his stewardship.

Brown getting a five-year contract done with Cristian Javier was nice, but it doesn’t mean it’s a failure if the Astros don’t get long term extensions done now with the more accomplished Framber Valdez and Kyle Tucker. While any fan hand-wringing on the subject is understood, it’s just not a big deal with both Valdez and Tucker under team control for three more seasons. With Javier getting 64 million dollars over five years, would Framber take 80 over five (if offered)? The rumble re: Tucker is that he seeks a decade long deal. That would be talking in the 200 million dollar range. The Astros are understandably loath to going as long as 10 years.

World Baseball Classic

A dozen members of the Astros’ organization are off to play in the World Baseball Classic, including eight pitchers. Coming off a by far career-heaviest workload in 2002, Valdez wisely decided to honor the Astros’ request that he skip the WBC. Framber can root for his native Dominican Republic which without him is still loaded with key Astros’ pitchers. Javier, Hector Neris, Bryan Abreu, and Rafael Montero all will wear the DR’s red, white and blue. So will Ronel Blanco. Jeremy Pena is one of the DR shortstops.

All the absences open up some additional spring training playing time for others, but with the Astros’ roster a pretty stacked deck, the additional playing time doesn’t give much chance for guys to deal their way on to the season opening 26 man roster. Martin Maldonado is with the Puerto Rican team, so Korey Lee and Yainer Diaz can split most of the catcher reps as they battle for the complementary catcher role. It’s more than a backup role since Maldonado shouldn’t start many more than 100 of the 162 games. It’s still very limited data to judge. Lee is thus far two for 10 with a double and a home run. Diaz is scuffling at one for 12. C.J. Stubbs has essentially no chance of getting the spot, but has impressed with five hits in 10 at bats. And if you’re wondering, yes, C.J. Stubbs is the brother of former Astros’ catching prospect Garrett Stubbs.

With the odds seemingly tipping toward Michael Brantley not quite being ready for Opening Day, the door is cracked open a little bit further for outfielder Justin Dirden. Presuming the Astros will start the season carrying 13 pitchers on the roster, the bench is four players with those spots seemingly already earmarked: the number two catcher, utility men Mauricio Dubon and David Hensley, and Jake Meyers. If Brantley opens the season on the injured list, Dirden could make the big league squad.

With Lance McCullers laid up again for who knows how long, additional opportunity and scrutiny go to rookie fifth starter Hunter Brown who had a negative outing this week. Brown failed to get an out after the first meeting, walking three batters in a row to start the second before getting the hook on Monday. No cause for alarm but a reminder that Brown had inconsistent command throughout his college and minor league careers. The Astros open the regular season playing eight consecutive days so they will need five starters the first time through. Brown’s first start should come in game number five, in which he'd face the Detroit Tigers who had an absolutely pathetic offense in 2022 and did nothing substantial to upgrade it in the offseason. Good luck A.J. Hinch. You'll need it.

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Stone Cold ‘Stros is the weekly Astro-centric podcast I am part of alongside Brandon Strange and Josh Jordan. On our regular schedule it airs live at 3PM Monday on the SportsMapHouston YouTube channel, is available there for playback at any point, and also becomes available in podcast form at outlets galore. Such as:

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