Rockets Reloaded

Rockets trade Chris Paul, picks, for Russell Westbrook

Paul Muth
Jul 11, 2019, 8:35 pm

Thursday evening the Houston Rockets traded point guard Chris Paul, first-round picks in 2024 and 2026, and pick swaps in 2021 and 2025 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for all-star point guard Russell Westbrook.

Westbrook, a former teammate of James Harden, had begun trade discussions with the Thunder's front office immediately following a trade which sent MVP candidate Paul George to the Clippers in exchange for promising young point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, and even more draft picks. Realizing that the Thunder had suddenly been forced into a rebuild mode through no fault of their own, Westbrook and the Thunder sought to find an amicable solution.

The shocking move once again thrusts the Houston Rockets into title contention, as Chris Paul had begun experiencing a noticeable decline in production during his second season in the Space City. Add in the alleged friction between Paul and Harden, and suddenly the Rockets became a very interested party from the outset of Westbrook's perceived availability.

In what seemed like an uncharacteristically dormant offseason for General Manager Daryl Morey, the Rockets suddenly re-injected their team with one of the most athletic talents in the entire league. Westbrook brings a tenacity and ferocity that is beloved by the team he plays for and reviled by the opposition.

Say what you want about Westbrook's attitude or demeanor. None of that matters. The Rockets won this trade outright, and in a lopsided fashion. It was allowed to be lopsided by the Thunder out of respect to Westbrook and everything he's done for the franchise.

Houston now boasts two MVP-caliber superstars once again with a franchise that has lost none of it's starters, and has resigned every key bench piece that has helped the Rockets to the league's second best combined record throughout the past three years. And even if it all blows up in our faces, man will it be entertaining to watch.

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Houston's magic number stays at 2

Astros drop series finale to Mariners after rough start by Greinke

Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images

With their magic number at 2 to secure their spot in the 2020 MLB postseason, the Astros returned to T-Mobile Park in Seattle for this three-game series' finale and rubber game. Here are the highlights from the game:

Final Score: Mariners 3, Astros 2.

Record: 28-28, second in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Nick Margevicius (2-3, 4.57 ERA)

Losing pitcher: Zack Greinke (3-3, 4.03 ERA).

Greinke unable to complete five innings

While the Astros were being held scoreless, the Mariners were putting up runs on Zack Greinke. They took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first with back-to-back singles followed by an RBI-double with one out. Greinke would stop the damage there, then looked to settle in over the next few frames.

He allowed just one baserunner in the second through fourth innings, a one-out single in the bottom of the fourth. Then, in the fifth, the Mariners would knock him out of the game by getting a one-out single that would come around to score on a two-out RBI-double, followed by an RBI-single to extend the lead to 3-0. Greinke faced one more batter, allowing a single before Dusty Baker would take the ball and move to the bullpen. His final line: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 0 HR, 92 P.

Astros try a late rally, come up short

On the other end, the Astros were unable to break through against Nick Margevicius, getting just one hit and two walks through the first four innings. They had a chance to get on the board in the top of the fifth, starting the inning with back-to-back singles before a walk loaded the bases with one out to turn the lineup over. They'd come up empty, though, with George Springer striking out before a long flyball to center by Jose Altuve to end the inning.

After finishing the fifth for Greinke, Andre Scrubb returned for a scoreless sixth, working around a one-out walk. Still 3-0, Blake Taylor took over on the mound in the bottom of the seventh, erasing a leadoff single and two-out walk to keep Seattle from extending their lead. Houston had another chance to score in the top of the eighth, getting two runners in scoring position, but again would strand them.

Cy Sneed was the next reliever out for the Astros, working around a two-out walk to send the game on to the ninth. The Astros would avoid the shutout, getting a two-RBI single by pinch-hitting Josh Reddick in the top of the ninth to make it a one-run game at 3-2. That's as close as they'd come, though, as the Mariners would eventually get the final out to take the series and keep the Astros' magic number stagnant at 2.


Up Next: There is one series left in the regular season for Houston, and it awaits them in Arlington with a four-game series against the Rangers, who are well eliminated from playoff contention. The first of the four games will start at 7:05 PM Central on Thursday with a pitching matchup of Lance Lynn (6-2, 2.53 ERA) for Texas and Cristian Javier (4-2, 3.33 ERA) for the Astros.

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