The Houston Rockets just finished their opening back-to-back set and the news and rumors have been coming out.
Check out the latest buzz below.
Beverley May Miss Time
Patrick Beverley is being evaluated and may miss some games.
Beverley was injured in the first game last season with an abdominal injury. This season, he has suffered a hamstring injury.
A timetable for his return is expected to be announced on Friday.
Jason Terry, who would likely start if Beverley went out, said that the Rockets would be fine.
“I think between myself and Isaiah (Canaan), and we still have Troy (Daniels) to help out some, we'll be good,” Terry told the Houston Chronicle.
Beverley refused to answer questions about the injury after the game.
Howard Looking Good But Still Needs More Time
Dwight Howard has dominated both Rockets’ games so far, although they’ve been against the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz.
Still, he looks good.
“Howard was more effective in the previous two seasons in pick and roll than when catching with his back to the basket. But with the Jazz choosing not to double-team, he overwhelmed Enes Kanter inside,” the Houston Chronicle noted.
It also noted how he needs more time to recover.
“After playing limited minutes in just three preseason games, fatigue caught up to Howard a few times, especially with the game at altitude and in the second game of a back-to-back. Kevin McHale was not able to limit his stints quite as he wanted because of foul trouble.”
Rockets Visit Injured Lakers Rookie in Hospital
A few of the Rockets players went to the hospital to visit Julius Randle, the Los Angeles Lakers rookie who was hurt on opening night in the game between the two teams.
James Harden and Trevor Ariza, both starters for the Rockets, stopped by the hospital to check up on the 19-year-old, reported TMZ.
Randle broke his right tibia and underwent surgery.
“We’re told Randle was touched by the visit ... and was in good spirits overall,” the blog reported.
Randle is expected to be out for the year.
Rockets Trump Jazz in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY—Kobe Bryant might have called Dwight Howard “soft” but, just like the Lakers, the Utah Jazz had no one who could stop him.
Howard had 22 points and 10 rebounds and the Houston Rockets beat the Jazz 104-93 on Wednesday night to spoil Quin Snyder’s NBA coaching debut.
Howard made six of his first seven shots, many on spin moves for dunks. He was feeling good and it showed.
“My health is pretty good and I am moving better,” Howard said.
James Harden added 18 points and 10 assists, and Trevor Ariza had 20 points for the Rockets, who opened the season Tuesday night in Los Angeles with a 108-90 victory over the Lakers.
Howard said he knows it’s early in the season but he’s not shy about sharing the Rocket’s aim this year.
“I think all of us have one goal and that is to win a championship. You can see that. The way we talk to each other, the way we push each other,” Howard said.
Alec Burks led Utah with 18 points. Derrick Favors added 16, and Trey Burke had 15.
Houston made 14 of 27 3-point attempts and held Utah to 33 percent shooting in the final quarter. The Jazz missed 13 of their first 15 fourth-quarter attempts, and the Rockets broke open the tight game with 18-5 run.
“We set the tone defensively and then everything else took care of itself,” Ariza said. “We have pretty good basketball IQ out there so that makes it easier, but we’re still learning how each other plays.”
The Rockets led by as many 13 in the third quarter before Burke led a furious Jazz rally that drew them to 75-72 by the end of the period. The Utah point guard had nine points during the surge that had the sellout crowd on its feet.
The Jazz have been tabbed by many experts to finish at the bottom of the Western Conference but their hustle got under the skin of the Rockets at times.
“To simplify it, they got into the lane and they hit some 3s,” Snyder said. “We have got to be more one them.”
Howard committed six turnovers and fouled out late in the game. He had words for the officials as he slowly made his way to the bench.
TIP-INS
Jazz: Utah shot 60 percent in the first half and still trailed 58-50 due to the Rockets’ long-range accuracy. ... The Jazz had 13 offensive rebounds, forced 18 turnovers and led 62-44 in points in the paint but was outscored by 33 points on 3-pointers. ...Recent signee Joe Ingles had only one practice with Jazz but appeared in the second quarter and missed his only field goal.
Rockets: Papanikolaou, the Greek player in his second NBA game, made his first four 3-point attempts. .. The win marks the first time since 2008-09 that the Rockets have opened with two straight double-digit wins.
Astros, Rockets Games to Have Wider TV audience
HOUSTON—A Houston judge has approved a bankruptcy reorganization plan allowing AT&T and DirecTV to buy Comcast SportsNet Houston and convert it to Root Sports Houston, allowing Houston Astros and Rockets games to be seen by a much wider television audience.
Comcast and several cable providers including AT&T and DirecTV never agreed to carriage rights for the network, leaving the majority of Houston homes unable to watch Astros and Rockets games on television since 2012.
Judge Marvin Isgur approved the plan, which was supported by both the Rockets and Astros, on Thursday. The new network should launch next month.
The Astros issued a statement applauding the ruling and saying: “Throughout this long process, our main goal has been to provide broad coverage of Astros games for our fans throughout our region. This new network will allow us to achieve this goal.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
