A quick and digestible look at the most top-of-mind Rockets news of the past few days.
Houston Chronicle. Five thoughts on Rockets’ 98-92 loss to the Lakers
“The Rockets’ frontcourt issues remain clear and tough to overcome. There is no surprise that they would have difficulty without Dwight Howard, having become so dependent on Howard and James Harden. But as difficult as it was always going to be to have rookie Tarik Black and Joey Dorsey as his backups, the absence of Terrence Jones has taken a toll with no end in sight…the Rockets are getting almost no scoring from their centers and power forwards other than Howard. Rockets coach Kevin McHale said he had “no idea” how long Howard would be out. Jones is not close to a return.”
CBS Local. Breaking it down: What happened to the Rockets’ offense?
“With 2:42 to play Wednesday night at Toyota Center, James Harden drained a 20-foot step-back jumper to put the Rockets up 91-86 over the Lakers, but over their last six possessions of the game, they scored a single point and lost 98-92. I’m going to take a look at the four possessions that followed Harden’s bucket and figure what happened why they didn’t succeed, and how they could’ve. I’ve ignored the final two times the Rockets had the ball because the Lakers were up by two possessions with 22 seconds left, putting the Rockets in desperation mode.”
Grantland. Embrace the Dark Side: How the Rockets became the new Bad Boys
“Should Rockets fans be upset at how their team is viewed? Not even a little bit. Because, while it’s early and the team has had a somewhat cake schedule, and despite a recent dip in offensive punch…signs point to the Rockets being really good. And only good teams can be annoying. You know why bad teams are never annoying? Because they can be dismissed. The Rockets are just the latest example of the tension between aesthetic idealism and winning. They are this era’s version of the Bad Boys — the Stat Boys.”
USA Today. Dwight Howard investigated amid child-abuse allegations.
“Howard’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, issued a statement: ‘(The child’s mother) Royce Reed is now shopping her baseless allegations to authorities in Georgia after the Florida DCF case was closed. Even though the allegations have already been found to have no merit, when a complaint about the welfare of a child is made to law enforcement, an investigation is commenced. We are confident the Georgia authorities will reach the same conclusion as the Florida authorities. The truth is on our side.’ “
Houston Chronicle. Rockets looking to make a trade sooner rather than later.
“The Rockets have been actively seeking to deal the $8.34 million trade exception that came with the Lin trade in a change to their original strategy, according to a person familiar with their trade talks around the league…The Rockets’ strategy in current trade talks would be to add any player that could help strengthen the rotation, rather than to seek a player at a specific position…Deals for top frontcourt players that will be free agents next off-season such as Atlanta’s Paul Millsap or Detroit’s Greg Monroe are expected to be much more difficult to acquire so early in the season.”
Sports Illustrated. James Harden: Fashion Icon.
Your easter egg of the week. #5 all day.
