The Houston Rockets are doing great despite their injuries and the news and rumors are almost continually ramping up.
Check out the latest buzz below.
Harden Leads Rockets to Great Start
James Harden is doing it all, helping the Rockets get off to a great start despite several starters missing significant time with injuries.
He ranks second in the NBA in scoring with 25.2 points a game and the Rockets are 13-4 and in second place in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference entering Wednesday’s game against league-leading Memphis.
They’ve gone 4-2 in their last six games with Dwight Howard out with a knee strain.
“We’re definitely in a good place right now,” Harden said. “Obviously we’re banged up a little right now, but we’re fighting through adversity.”
Along with Howard, the Rockets are also without point guard Pat Beverley (hamstring) and forward Terrence Jones (left leg nerve damage). Isaiah Canaan filled in nicely for Beverley but now he’s hurt, too, out indefinitely with an ankle injury.
Harden’s workload has increased with so many players injured and he is averaging more than 37 minutes a game this season. Coach Kevin McHale raved about what he has done so far, but worries about overloading him.
“He’s got a lot of responsibility on him,” McHale said. “There’s a lot of nights it’s tough. He has the ball a lot creating offense for himself and for others. He’s just got to keep hanging in there and doing it. It would be nice if we could get some of these guys healthy and give him a little bit of a rest.”
Harden, who has six 30-point games this season, chuckled and shook his head when told that McHale is concerned about his workload. The 25-year-old knows there really isn’t another option right now.
“I just go out there and not worry about it and just do my job to the best of my ability,” Harden said.
Howard has enjoyed watching Harden work.
“He’s doing a great job of getting everyone involved, finding people late in the shot clock, attacking the basket and making plays,” Howard said. “(He’s) been a little bit more scrappy. He’s rebounding, He’s doing everything.”
With both Beverley and Canaan out, the Rockets started 37-year-old point guard Jason Terry for the first time this season on Saturday in a win over the Bucks. He responded with a season-high 18 points and McHale hopes he can build on that performance to help take some pressure off of Harden.
“We’re going to have to have that,” McHale said. “We’re going to have to get him off the ball at times and other people are going to have to step up.”
Harden has been a high scorer since arriving in Houston in a trade with Oklahoma City in 2012. But this year he’s become a more complete player and has increased his numbers in rebounding (6.2 a game), assists (6.8) and steals (1.9). But perhaps more important than any of those statistics is that he’s made a conscious decision to beef up his defense after being criticized for sub-par play in that area this offseason.
Trevor Ariza, who was added before the season in part to improve Houston’s defense, has been impressed with Harden’s work defensively.
“He’s definitely putting forth an effort to get better at that,” Ariza said. “He’s the first person to say when he makes a mistake or when he slips up on an assignment ... and when you call yourself out on your mistakes, that shows improvement and that you’re willing to get better and you want to get better.”
Harden has been a leader for Houston since joining this team, but seems to have a renewed focus on helping the Rockets improve this season after last year’s first-round exit from the playoffs.
“I think this past summer really helped me out maturing as a basketball player,” he said. “Not really worrying about the things I can’t control and focusing on my teammates, my coaching staff and winning basketball games. Then everything else will fall in place.”
Howard’s Return Uncertain, Team Calls Up Capela
Houston will need Harden to continue his strong start with no timetable for the return of any of the injured starters. Howard is making progress and said Tuesday that the pain in knee is subsiding, but he doesn’t know when he'll return.
“I want to get back out there now if I could, but I don’t think it’s smart to try and rush anything,” Howard said.
“When I’m 100 percent, when I’m close to it, I'll play. I don’t want to give my teammates nothing but the best.”
Howard’s prolonged absence prompted the team to recall center Clint Capela from the D-League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
Capela, 6'10", played six games for the Vipers, averaging 9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.2 blocks in 14.1 minutes per game.
Capela has appeared in one game for the Rockets this season, recording three rebounds and one assist.
Capela was selected by the Rockets with the 25th overall pick in this year’s draft.
Capela is no Howard, but The Dream Shake blog notes he'll be better than Tarik Black and Joey Dorsey.
“Capela has the physical tools to provide what incumbents Dorsey and Black do not: rim protection, size, and length. Is he the salve that heals all wounds for the Rocket’s defense? No, but he has to be better than what they have,” it said.
“Capela has been a defensive marvel down in the D-League. Stats in the D-League leave much to be desired, but you don’t average 3.17 blocks (8.32 blocks per 36 minutes) in 14.1 minutes, only committing 1.33 fouls per game, and not be a game-changer at the rim. He’s used his length well (even if he can be pushed around down low) on the boards (18.3 rebounds per 36).
“He should be able to immediately be a force on both those accounts, but he has some room to be a Tyson Chandler-like factor in the pick-and-role. He also does a good job of sticking to the baseline for dump offs and putbacks.”
Potential Midseason Acquisitions Include Goran Dragic
The Rockets, especially because they’re dealing with so many injuries, will be looking to make at least one deal before the trade deadline.
“We have I think the best draft pick in the league for someone to trade for (the first-round pick acquired from New Orleans). I think we have the best set of international rights held - guys to either bring over or use in a trade,” general manger Daryl Morey told the Houston Chronicle before the season started.
Those rights include nine players, and the team also holds five extra second-round picks over the next three drafts.
And they have the trade exception from the Jeremy Lin deal, although that exception has limits.
Bleacher Report has put together a short list of potential acquisitions, including swingman Corey Brewer of the Minnesota Timberwolves, who is also on the radar of several other teams including the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Ersan Illyasova of the Milwaukee Bucks is a more realistic target who would help create space for Howard with his outside shot.
The other three possibilities are: Greg Monroe of the Detroit Pistons, Paul Millsap of the Atlanta Hawks, and Goran Dragic of the Phoenix Suns.
“The Suns are currently sitting on the No. 8 seed and a 10-8 record. With the Oklahoma City Thunder getting healthy, it may only be a matter of time before Phoenix starts falling out of the playoff hunt, and that’s where things could get interesting,” Bleacher noted.
“Dragic has a player option on his contract this summer. So, if the Suns become sellers at the deadline, Dragic would go for rental value. Adding him next to Harden would work well. He can drain the deep ball and can create for himself and others. He shoots a 59.5 effective field-goal percentage on catch-and-shoots.
“He could play off Harden most of the time but also control the ball when Harden is getting trapped and Houston needs that second option. That could serve as the most important piece in a deep playoff run. That they could attain that without having to give up Patrick Beverley, whose elite defense will still be pivotal, is even better.”
Johnson to Get More Time at Point Guard
Rookie Nick Johnson has played limited minutes so far, but with both Beverly and Canaan out he spent time at practice on Monday at point guard.
Johnson split time at both guard positions with the D-League’s Vipers, as well as in the summer league for the Rockets.
But with the injuries he’s now the backup to Terry at point guard.
“I pretty much played the point in the last game, aside from when James is bringing up the ball. I definitely tried to get a few more reps there,” Johnson told the Chronicle.
Johnson was recalled from the Vipers last Monday after Beverly got injured. He averaged 21.7 points and 3.3 assists in three games with the Vipers.
“Got to get up and down, shoot a little bit,” Johnson said. “I definitely got my confidence back a little bit.”
How Montiejunas Became an Offensive Weapon
One bright spot with all the injuries has been Donatas Montiejunas.
In the five past games, he’s averaged 15 points and 8 rebounds in 33 minutes, while making almost 60 percent of his shots.
“While the sample size is still small, this is the best stretch in the career of the former first round pick, who in his first two NBA seasons hadn’t been able to secure a spot in Kevin McHale’s rotation. Motiejunas has appeared in just one of the Rockets 12 playoff games over the last two seasons, (garbage time of game 1 vs Oklahoma City in 2013) but with Dwight Howard and Terrence Jones out of the lineup, he’s been thrust into an important role, and come through in a big way,” noted CBS.
Where did the offense come from?
The forward was supposed to be a 3-point specialist when he came into the league, but is still shooting poorly from deep.
But he’s shooting the majority of his shots in the lane, and has a 48-85 mark there.
“Notice that over 73 percent of his field goal attempts are coming from the restricted area. That number is up from 49.8 percent two seasons ago,” CBS said.
“While he’s only hitting at a league-average clip, he hasn’t exactly been the beneficiary of a bunch of high percentage lobs. He’s had to make plays on his own, and has been pretty good at it.”
Motiejunas should keep getting better with the time he’s getting, and the schooling he’s no doubt getting from assistant coach Hakeem Olajuwon.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
