- For those who find their minds generally filled with all things Houston Rockets, the last week has not been so kind. Despite a promising if disappointing start against the world champions, the Rockets has consistently found itself on the wrong side of “good games”, the kinds in which leads are given up (by the Rockets) and late-game prowess comes into view (for the opponents). The saddest man in Rockets world, though, hasn’t seen the court much to see those losses firsthand. No, sophomore Jermaine Taylor can only hope to be blessed enough to be able to watch a few more losses from the bench, as his spot on the 15-man-roster of Houston seems most precarious while the Rockets looks for a way to free up a spot to usher in the Erick Dampier era. Taylor has always been a mystery to Rockets fans; whether his NCAA-leading 26.2 PPG in the 08-09 season or his miserable shooting numbers as a rookie were more indicative of his talents always lingered above any assertion that he should see more playing time. Now, his run looks to be cut short on a team on which guard depth has taken a sudden backseat to an urge to do anything (ANYTHING) possible to plug the myriad holes in Houston’s league-worst defense in the first three games. If this is it, good tidings, Jermaine Taylor. We hardly knew ye. Don’t (or for your sake, Jermaine, please do) go all Gilbert Arenas on us.
- The Rockets apparently has little-to-no-love for its late-round-pick combo guards, as Aaron Brooks watched this year’s deadline for extensions for players from the 2007 draft class come and pass yesterday, a development Brooks apparently begrudgingly expected. Why can’t the Rockets be more like the Grizzlies and mortgage the franchise for a point guard that has never particularly showed promise nor developed his game as the years have went along? Yes, when this league’s current CBA looks most friendly to smart owners trying to position themselves for future financial flexibility as they choose between giving out extensions and chancing restricted free agency, Michael Heisley and Grizzlies management (oxymoron much?) decided to hell with all that guff (I mean, it’s not like he read that that thing anyway) and threw $45 million the way of Michael Conley for the next five years. The move could cost the team the flexibility needed to resign All-Star recovering malcontent Zach Randolph and stud pivot Marc Gasol, but that’s OK because the ol’ Conley-Gay connection will still be running well into 2015. Ugh.
- A happy company apparently runs significantly better than one constantly battling existential crises, according to some numbers used in this Yahoo! feature story. This kind of mentality has pervaded sports for a very long time, especially in the NBA’s recent history as LeBron James’ faux-photo-shoots on the sidelines have been given the credit for what was likely just LeBron being an extraordinary basketball player. This Rockets team spent a lot of time in the offseason letting the media know how much it liked each other and how good the team chemistry was. A week in, I’m pretty sure the prevalent feeling among Rockets Nation is, “You can smile when you win.”
- Why don’t you, unnamed Houston Rockets fan, list some teams with which you were sincerely hoping the Houston Rockets could not be lumped going into the second week of the season? The Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers, Charlotte Bobcats and Detroit Pistons, you say? Oops.
- The folks over at Basketball Prospectus have written about some (very) early season surprises, and the Houston Rockets and its abysmal defense can both be found. Bradford Doolittle has noticed exactly how few times the Rockets has caused its opponent to cough up the ball: “Yao Ming’s return was supposed to help the Rockets recover some of their past point-prevention prowess, but he’s pretty immobile right now as he works his way back into playing shape. Houston is last in the league with an unsightly 117.1 Defensive Rating. Teams that play this fast often feed off of turnovers, and that’s been the most deficient area of Houston’s defense thus far. The Rockets are next to last in the league in forcing miscues.”
- While the Rockets may be a mess on the court this year, those thoroughly attached can take solace in the fact that in two years, the Rockets will share its own Houston-based sports television network with the Houston Astros, allowing for significantly more Rockets-related content to find its way on the demon box (or TV, for less angry folks). Say what you will about this (and, as it turns out, you are literally allowed to say anything. Unless you are mute, in which case I am sorry for typing any of this), but at least this franchise isn’t desperately trying to make sure all of its games can be watched by fans at home.
- As most NBA owners are stodgy at best and Donald Sterling at worst, a gigantic, vibrant Russian billionaire really sticks out of this crowd, and the New York Times accordingly wrote a fantastic (and fantastically long) piece about the NBA’s coolest new star, Mikhail Prokhorov.
