The Westbrook game
The Rockets report, brought to you by APG&E: Rockets defeat Timberwolves in Minnesota 131-124
Jan 24, 2020, 10:13 pm
When the Rockets acquired Russell Westbrook in July, they knew what they were getting. There would be nights where he would score 28 points on 30 shots, turn the ball over 4 times, and look like an insane person. There would also be nights where he tallies 45 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds, and a steal on good efficiency and absolutely carry Houston over the finish line. This is the Westbrook experience in a bottle and there's really no negotiating with it. It's a hell of a visual either way.
On a night where James Harden looked injured and miserable (12 points on 3 of 13 shooting from the field, 3 turnovers, and a plus-minus of -7), Westbrook took completely control of the offense and put on a clinic. Westbrook was keeping Clint Capela (18 points on 9 of 12 shooting) and shooters engaged (Eric Gordon and Austin Rivers combined for 43 points on 8 of 16 shooting from beyond the arc) while also scoring the ball with relative ease. It was as good as he looked in a regular season game all year and one of his better performances since his MVP season in 2016-17.
The Rockets are still well behind where they need to be defensively, but after the losing streak they had, a win like this matters a whole lot more than how it was carried out. Defensive ratings and point differentials be damned as they currently sit as the 6th seed in the Western Conference. At the moment, Houston needs to bag more of these victories before they refine the way they go about collecting them.
Star of the game: You won't find a stronger argument for what would be Russell Westbrook's ninth All-Star appearance than tonight. Westbrook was sensational, tallying a season-high 45 points, dishing out 10 assists, and grabbing 6 rebounds in the process on 16 of 27 shooting from the field and 13 for 13 shooting from the free throw line. In a game where James Harden was clearly battling a lower leg injury, Westbrook carried Houston over the finish line with easily his best game of the season. For all the rough games Westbrook will give you, it's important to remember that he has the capability to give you a night like this.
Russell Westbrook goes coast to coast for the and-1 layup. Westbrook has: 39 points 8 assists 5 rebounds 14-24 fr… https://t.co/IM8WCQVAn7— Salman Ali (@Salman Ali) 1579922088.0
Honorable mention: There are a couple of candidates for second place tonight, but it'll ultimately have to go to Eric Gordon who scored 27 points on 8 of 19 shooting from the field, 6 of 13 shooting from three-point range, and 5 of 7 shooting from the free throw line. After scoring a season-high 25 points on Wednesday against the Denver Nuggets, Gordon's been on a little bit of a roll from beyond the arc. It could be a random hot stretch, but it's more likely the case that Gordon is rounding into season shape after returning from his right knee arthroscopy. He won't always give Houston nights like this, but it's nice to know that it's in his capabilities.
Key moment:The Rockets came out of the gates in the third quarter a bit slow defensively, giving up a 13-4 run to give the Timberwolves a 73-67 lead. After that, the Rockets came out of the timeout and went on a 9-3 run of their own to tie the game up at 76-76. Houston ended up building on their halftime lead by outscoring Minnesota 31-24 in the third quarter and Russell Westbrook scored or assisted 19 of those 31 points.
Up next: The Rockets travel to Denver on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. to take on the Nuggets.
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It should come as no surprise that after a slow start to the season, fans and media are starting to voice concerns about the organization's leadership and direction. The latest evidence of this involved Astros adviser Reggie Jackson and the comments he made on Jon Heyman's podcast, The Show.
Jackson discussed the Astros reported interest in starting pitcher Blake Snell. He said that ultimately, Snell was looking for a deal the Astros weren't comfortable with in terms of money and structure of the contract.
Which is interesting considering the Astros were okay with paying 5-years, $95 million for closer Josh Hader, but not willing to pay Snell 2-years, $62 million. We believe the opt-outs in Snell's contract were a dealbreaker for Houston. And of course the money played a role.
However, the Astros passing on Snell is not the intriguing part of the story. It was Jackson talking about the club's power structure in the front office and how they go about making decisions.
“Being fiscally responsible is what kicked us out of the Snell deal… That's too much for him… Between the 4 or 5 people who make decisions with the Astros, we don't play that game,” said Jackson.
Based on Jackson's comments in the interview, the decision makers are Jim Crane, Dana Brown, Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, and Reggie. But not necessarily in that order. He also mentioned that they had conversations with manager Joe Espada and his staff, plus some input from the analytics department.
These comments add to the concerns we've had about the front office since Crane moved on from GM James Click and operated without a general manager for several months. Which led to the disastrous signing of Jose Abreu and to a lesser extent Rafael Montero.
Which begs the question, are the Astros in a better spot now with their front office? Many blame Dana Brown for the state of the starting rotation. While there were some red flags this spring, anticipating injuries to Jose Urquidy, Justin Verlander, and Framber Valdez is asking a lot.
But only bringing in Hader to replace all the innings left behind by Hector Neris, Phil Maton, Kendall Graveman, and Ryne Stanek always felt risky.
Finally, what can the Astros due in the short-term to weather the storm while Framber and JV rehab from injury?
And is Hunter Brown the biggest liability in the rotation?
Be sure to watch the video above for the full in-depth discussion.