ROCKET SCIENCE

Let's discuss the newest addition to the Houston Rockets​

Let's discuss the newest addition to the Houston Rockets​
The Rockets made a big move on Friday night.Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Christian Wood signed a three-year $41 million dollar contract with the Houston Rockets on Friday night. About five years ago, the Rockets signed Woods after going undrafted in 2015. Woods played his college basketball at UNLV before entering the NBA. After the 2015 Summer League, the Rockets waived Woods before he started his career in Philadelphia.

Woods became an NBA journeyman as he improved his game on five different teams. He played in the NBA G-League too, which helped build his confidence. The newly signed Rocket averaged 23 points per game, 11 rebounds, and two blocks in the G-League. As Woods went back and forth from the NBA to G-League, his shooting improved.

Woods shot a career-high 39 percent from the perimeter while averaging 13 points per game with the Detroit Pistons. When Andre Drummond was traded from the Pistons to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Woods increased his play tremendously. He was averaging 22 points per game, shooting 41 percent from the perimeter with 10 rebounds in 34 minutes. The Pistons only had 15 games left in the season before the NBA got furloughed because of COVID-19, so the sample size isn't huge.

Hopefully, the Rockets find a way for Russell Westbrook and James Harden to stay and play with Woods. He can stretch the floor easily because of his athletic frame at 6'10 and 7'4 wingspan. The Rockets got more than a traditional big man because of his ability to create 15 ft from the basket. Woods can also become a great pick-n-roll and pick-n-pop partner to Westbrook and Harden if they decide to stay with the Rockets. The excitement is real because of the upside and ability Woods could add to the Rockets' offense.

Even with the excitement around Woods, the Rockets are still looking to add to their depth. Recently the Rockets drafted Kenyon Martin Jr, spoke with DeMarcus Cousins, and could possibly move Westbrook to the Washington Wizards for John Wall. Stay tuned, because anything could happen at a moment's notice.

Rafael Stone has been impressive so far as GM for the Rockets, but hopefully, more moves are made as the Western Conference continues to get more difficult with the Lakers constantly improving their roster.

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We've been waiting for this! Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

The NFL Draft, NBA playoffs, and NHL playoffs all dwarf baseball in the sports pecking order this week, but that doesn’t detract from the Astros playing their best stretch of baseball in the still young season. Following up taking two of three from the previously sizzling hot Padres by sweeping the Blue Jays three straight has the Astros’ record at a just fine 13-11 as they open a three-game weekend series in Kansas City. 13-11 may not sound special, because it isn’t, but having come home from St. Louis last week with the record at 8-10 makes 13-11 a quality leap. Plus, a 13-11 pace over 162 games extrapolates to 87 wins, which last season were enough to win the American League West and for an AL Wild Card spot.

Batter up!

While no one will be confusing the potency of this Astros’ lineup with those of the 2017 or 2019 juggernauts, some welcome perking up may have kicked in, despite Yordan Alvarez still not getting rolling. After Joe Espada gave Christian Walker a “mental rest” game off Monday, Walker produced a three-hit game Tuesday and a two-hit follow-up Wednesday, including a home run. Walker’s .202 batting average and .640 OPS are still lousy, but a much lesser grade of lousy than the statistical abyss he was in starting the Toronto series. Yainer Diaz has been much worse than Walker to this point. Diaz managed at least one hit in all three games of the Jays series. Baby steps. He is still sitting on an unacceptable three walks in 78 plate appearances.

Speaking of hits and walks, Jeremy Pena carries a 14-game hitting streak into the weekend. One-quarter of the way to Joe DiMaggio’s big league record! Willy Taveras set the Astros’ record with a 30-gamer back in 2006. Pena hasn’t been crushing it during the streak, during which he has just two multi-hit games. He’s had stretches where he has hit better and slugged harder (2022 postseason anyone?), but while too small a stretch to declare a leap has been made, it is noteworthy that over the 14 games Pena has drawn six walks. That gives him eight free passes in 24 games this season. More math fun! That’s one walk drawn per three games, which over 162 games would make for 54. Last season in 157 games played Pena drew a paltry 25 walks. Add in that his defense has been superb so far this season with a number of fabulous plays made and just one error committed, and Pena could be making modest offensive improvement that makes him a meaningfully better player.

Furthermore speaking of hits and walks, it’s been a struggle on both fronts the last couple of weeks for Jose Altuve. A two-week funk does not represent a crisis, but there are troubling trends that bear watching as Altuve sets to turn 35 years old May 6. Over his last 14 games, Altuve’s OPS is a sub-Maldonadian .547. In this stretch he has two doubles as his lone extra base hits and drawn just two walks. Altuve has struck out 22 times in 24 games. Setting aside the short 2020 COVID season when Altuve never got it going, last year he had the worst strikeout percentage of his career, while his walk rate was his worst since 2015. So far this season, Altuve’s strikeout rate is more than 20 percent worse than last year’s, with his walk rate down 30 percent from 2024. He is hitting line drives at a much lower rate than ever before, and struggling to get the ball in the air. The season still isn’t 20 percent old, but since Altuve last season finished with his lowest OPS (.790, again, exempting 2020) since 2013, and his current .728 OPS is 62 points lower than that, the antennae of at least mild concern are up. This is the first season of Altuve’s five-year 125 million dollar contract extension. Remember, the Astros would not offer Kyle Tucker a contract that took him to age 35.

Bringing the heat!

Hunter Brown makes his next start Sunday in Kansas City. Good luck Royals! Until getting a doubleheader against the pathetic Rockies Thursday, K.C. was averaging under three runs per game. Brown's earned run average through five starts is 1.16! It's waaaaay early to focus on this, but the best season ERA for an Astro pitcher who qualified for the statistical lead (one inning pitched per team game played) belongs to Nolan Ryan who posted a 1.69 in the strike-shortened 1981 season. Over a full-schedule season, Justin Verlander's 1.75 in 2022 is the standard. Brown has fired 24 consecutive shutout innings. Ryan Pressly holds the Astros’ record with 38 consecutive scoreless innings pitched. Orel Hershiser set the Major League record by finishing the 1988 regular season with a ridiculous 59 straight shutout innings. Yes he won the National League Cy Young Award. The Cy Young is strictly a regular season award. Hershiser in 1988 also won the League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award, and World Series MVP.

For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.

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