Micro ball prevails again
The Rockets report, brought to you by APG&E: Rockets defeat Pelicans in Houston 117-109
Feb 2, 2020, 4:13 pm
For the second game in a row, the Rockets did not play a player taller than 6'7" for the entirety of regulation and won. For all of the skepticism its' gotten, Mike D'Antoni's new, twisted version of small ball is now 3-0. Houston has essentially forgone the rebounding battle in all games without Clint Capela in favor of forced turnovers and an extra-spaced floor and it's working.
Defensively, the Rockets had no answer for rookie Zion Williamson, who scored 21 points on 8 of 14 shooting from the field and 5 of 7 shooting from the free throw line. The Rockets threw P.J. Tucker, Eric Gordon, Ben McLemore, and James Harden on them, all with little success. Nonetheless, Houston managed to force New Orleans to shoot 10 for 33 beyond the arc and made them turn it over 21 times, which aided in their efforts to win the possession battle.
Houston's success with the small-ball unit shouldn't overshadow how hopeless Houston is long-term without this version of James Harden (40 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 blocks). Harden was attacking mismatches throughout the game and the Pelicans never really found anyone who could consistently stay in front of him. Once they finally did, his shot, which had betrayed him for the month of January, started dropping.
It'll be interesting to see if Clint Capela misses the entire stretch of games before the All-Star break and comes back rested and healthy. Considering the success they've had with it, Houston has no other choice but to continue playing this small-ball unit until teams give them a reason not to.
Star of the game: James Harden had easily his best game of the new year, tallying 40 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 blocks on 12 of 24 shooting from the field and 7-15 shooting from beyond the arc. Harden was assertive from the start of the game to the finish and confidence-wise, he looked like the Harden of old. With a spaced floor, the Pelicans had no one-on-one answer for Harden for the vast majority of the game.
Honorable mention: Russell Westbrook didn't have the same level of efficiency as he did throughout the month, so honorable mention for today goes to Ben McLemore. McLemore chipped in 22 point on 6 of 12 shooting from the field and 4 of 9 shooting from beyond the arc.
Key moment: Defensively, the Rockets really locked in in the fourth quarter, only allowing 16 points from the Pelicans while scoring 25 of their own. They seemed to get their switching down pat and by the fourth quarter, Houston was seamlessly executing their rotations on a swing. By the end of the fourth quarter, the Pelicans were actually leading 93-92, but this fourth quarter surge gave Houston a secure 8-point victory.
Up next: The Rockets finish off their homestand against the Charlotte Hornets at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
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Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
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. Click here to catch!
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