Micro-ball Prevails Again
The Rockets report, brought to you by APG&E: Rockets defeat Lakers in Los Angeles 121-111
Feb 7, 2020, 12:53 am
The spotlight doesn't get any brighter than this. After stunningly trading away starting center Clint Capela for swingman Robert Covington, the Rockets added one more feather in their cap in regards to their micro-ball theory. Again, Houston did not play a player over 6 foot 7 and managed to do it successfully against a giant Lakers team.
The story obviously starts with how Houston performed on the glass. Conventional wisdom says the Rockets would be at a huge rebounding disadvantage against this massive Lakers team with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and JaVale McGee in the starting lineup. However, the Rockets managed to rebound pretty well as a group and only lose the rebounding battle 38-37.
And though Anthony Davis did have a dominant night (32 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 3 steals on 14 of 21 shooting from the field), Houston stayed discipline and maximized their own advantages in this matchup. For example, the Rockets forced 16 more more turnovers for the fifth game in a row and scored 26 fast break points. Houston also shot 19 of 42 from three-point range (45.2%) as compared to Los Angeles' 9 of 31 shooting from deep (29.0%).
On a night where the NBA universe predicted they'd fall flat on their face in fully adopting this experiment, they displayed what could be possible. Obviously, it's too early for anyone to have victory laps as the Rockets have only been playing this way for five games straight. The true tests will come with consistency.
Star of the game: In a game where James Harden greatly struggled (14 points on 3 of 10 shooting from the field), Russell Westbrook picked up the slack and relentlessly attacked the basket with a spaced floor. Westbrook tallied 41 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal on 17 of 28 shooting from the field and 6 of 8 shooting from the free throw line. The Lakers, as many NBA teams do, decided to trap Harden for the majority of the game, and Westbrook took hold of the lead role brilliantly tonight.
Honorable mention: You won't get many debuts as impactful as the one Robert Covington had tonight for the Rockets. Having just completed his physical in the last 24 hours and flying to Los Angeles, Covington had himself a stellar night, scoring 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting from the field and 4 of 7 shooting from beyond the arc. He was omnipresent on the defensive end with excellent rotations, weak-side defense, and deflections. Covington also had 2 steals, 2 blocks, and was a +16 in 30 minutes. He didn't get the start tonight, but he made a damn good case for why he deserves it next game.
Key moment: The story for this Rockets team over the last five games is how excellent they've been defensively in these fourth quarters. The Rockets allowed the Lakers to score only 18 points on 8 of 23 shooting from the field. The Rockets also managed to out-rebound the Lakers 14 to 9 and force them to shoot 1 for 11 from three-point range. It seems that as the game goes along, the Rockets figure out the communication and group effort required to switch and play this small. It'll be a trend to watch going forward.
Up next: The Rockets travel to Phoenix at 8:00 p.m. on Friday to play the Suns.
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If the Astros were going to win one series and lose the other on their six-game road trip out of the All-Star break, they got it right in taking two out of three games at Seattle then losing two out of three to lousy Oakland. Had they inverted those results, the Astros would not be alone atop the American League West starting this weekend’s series against the Dodgers at Minute Maid Park.
By the schedule the Astros’ sledding now gets tougher. The Dodgers are rolling toward their 11th National League West crown in 12 years, despite their pitching staff having been battered by injuries every bit as much as the Astros’. The Astros will face three rookie starters this weekend. National League Rookie of the Year candidate (non-Paul Skenes division) Gavin Stone goes Friday. Saturday it’s Justin Wrobleski making his fourth big league start, Sunday River Ryan makes his second. 325 million dollar addition Yoshinobu Yamamoto last pitched June 15. Tony Gonsolin is out for the year without throwing a pitch. Clayton Kershaw’s first pitch Thursday marks the first of his season. Tyler Glasnow’s Wednesday return from the Injured List means the Astros won’t face him this weekend.
Aside: Astros’ fan favorite Joe Kelly is back in the Dodgers’ bullpen. He was activated from the IL out of the break, so the opportunity to welcome him back to Minute Maid Park looms!
After the Dodgers, the Pirates hit town with Skenes slated to pitch Monday opposite Jake Bloss. Gulp. Hey, in one game, you never know. Skenes has been the most electric rookie pitcher since Dwight Gooden with the Mets in 1984.
Sleepless in Seattle
The Mariners’ unraveling has reached historic proportions. It’s not easy losing six straight matchups with the lowly Angels but the Mariners were down to the challenge and pulled it off. The M’s have stumble-bummed their way to a 9-20 record over their last 29 games. That’s actually a better winning percentage than the Astros’ had after staggering from the starting gate to a 7-19 mark. Like the Astros did, the Mariners can right their ship, though if they don’t add quality offense before Tuesday’s trade deadline it seems unlikely. Seattle has scored more than two runs in one of its last eight games, the only win among those eight when the Mariners got to Ronel Blanco and Seth Martinez Sunday to avoid an Astros’ sweep. Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers whipping up on the laughingstock Chicago White Sox this week has their World Series title defense very much alive and a threat to overtake both the Astros and Mariners.
The trade deadline is this Tuesday
Tick-tock toward Tuesday’s 5PM Central Time trade deadline. General Manager Dana Brown is on the clock. Let’s start with starting pitchers. Tarik Skubal! Garrett Crochet! Jack Flaherty! Any would be a fabulous addition. If Brown acquires one, he will have done phenomenal work cajoling the trade partner into thinking the Astros’ offer the best. Frankly it seems impossible. The Orioles are in the starting pitcher market. Their farm system runs laps around what the Astros have. Numerous other teams on the hunt for pitching have higher rated minor league talent. The Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys are having a fabulous season, but until the Astros Thursday moved up soon to be 24-year-old Jacob Melton (who was batting just .248 with a .307 on-base percentage at Double-A Corpus Christi) there was not one non-pitcher of any consequence younger than 25 on the roster. Pedro Leon, Shay Whitcomb, Will Wagner, and include Joey Loperfido: it would be shocking if any of them can be the best player in an offer good enough to land one of the potential big trade fish. All four of them wouldn’t be enough to land a Skubal or Crochet.
On the hitter side, if the Blue Jays shop Vlad Jr. and/or the Rays take offers for Paredes, of course Brown better try. Either would be a sharp upgrade over Jon Singleton, and Guerrero can’t become a free agent until after next season, with Paredes under team control through 2027. Reality check time. Seattle’s offense is in dire straits. The Mariners have four prospects rated higher than any Astros’ prospect. If the Mariners didn’t make a winning offer over what the Astros proposed, Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto would look like a timid clown.
That said, there will be several second and third tier starters and relievers moved who would boost the Astros. If Spencer Arrighetti and Jake Bloss are both still in the Astros’ starting rotation after the deadline, Dana Brown will have failed. That said, the Astros could well stand pat and win the Mild, Mild West. They could also finish third.
Go for the gold!
With the Olympics underway, a medal podium-style ranking of the Astros’ greatest trade deadline acquisitions:
No medal but cannot be omitted: Randy Johnson. It was a brief fling with “The Big Unit” in 1998 but it was spectacular. It elevated Houston as a baseball city. In 11 regular season starts Johnson went 10-1 with a 1.28 earned run average. He threw shutouts in his first four Astrodome starts. He spiked attendance like no other player in franchise history. Even though the San Diego Padres beat Johnson twice (Johnson pitched fine, the Astros scored two runs total in the two games) and bounced the Astros in a National League Division Series, and prospects Freddy Garcia and Carlos Guillen included in the deal both went on to have excellent careers, it was a trade that in hindsight you make 100 times out of 100.
Bronze: Jeff Bagwell. Reliever Larry Andersen was outstanding in helping the Boston Red Sox win the AL East in 1990, but the BoSox got swept in the ALCS and Andersen left as a free agent. Bagwell has the greatest offensive resume in Astros’ history (I know, I know, postseason aside) and is quite arguably one of the 10 greatest first basemen of all-time.
Silver: Yordan Alvarez. He has longevity to prove but to this point in his career, while not the all-around player Bagwell was, Yordan is clearly the more destructive force in the batter’s box. Throw in his three monstrously significant home runs in the 2022 Astros’ title run, and his awesome 2023 postseason, and what could still lie ahead for him and the Gold could be his if we revisit this topic 10 years from now. Imagine the Dodgers if they hadn’t gifted Yordan to the Astros for Josh Fields.
Gold: Justin Verlander. Astros’ World Series championships pre-JV, zero. With him, two. Even though his World Series resume is terrible. The finishing piece to the Astros’ initial championship winner in 2017 with a 1.06 ERA in five starts ahead of winning the 2017 ALCS MVP, a second crown in 2022, two Cy Young Awards and a Cy runner-up. Interesting decision to make for the cap on his Hall of Fame plaque. Much more body of work with the Tigers but the championships and legend cemented with the Astros.
*Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.