A quick and digestible look at the most top-of-mind Rockets news of the past few days.
SB Nation. James Harden is playing good defense and the Rockets are rolling.
“Making fun of James Harden’s defense is easy. He’s been comically bad on many occasions. It’s so easy to make fun of Harden’s defense that even Harden himself does it. But something funny is happening this season: Harden is leading the league in defensive win shares. At 1.04, he’s ahead of Tim Duncan (1.03) and Kawhi Leonard, Marc Gasol and Trevor Ariza (all at 0.93).”
Houston Chronicle. No Dwight? No problem as Rockets rally past Parsons, Mavs.
And for all the boos directed all night at Parsons in his first game back since defecting to the Dallas Mavericks, the cheers after his foul and Harden’s three-point play echoed until the Rockets had taken a 95-92 win with a stunning late run Saturday night. ‘I turned around and I saw them running in transition,‘ Harden said. ‘As I looked up, there was just Chandler, but he wasn’t square. He was kind of still running back. I felt like I had an advantage on him, and I just took it.‘
ESPN Dallas-Fort Worth. Rockets 95, Dallas 92: Houston matches Dallas’s rally.
“The Toyota Center crowd, which included a surprising number of empty seats for a game between rivals who are Western Conference contenders, welcomed Parsons with loud boos during pregame introductions. Houston fans booed every time Parsons touched the ball. A lot of Rockets fans did show some love midway through the third quarter, when a Parsons video tribute played on the big screens during a timeout, thanking him for “three great seasons in Houston.” Parsons had eight points on 3-of-9 shooting and seven rebounds.”
ESPN. Dwight Howard out indefinitely.
“There is no timetable for Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard’s return after he underwent platelet-rich plasma therapy to treat his strained right knee, coach Kevin McHale said before Saturday night’s 95-92 win against the Dallas Mavericks. Dwight Howard underwent platelet-rich plasma therapy to treat his strained right knee. It was the second consecutive game missed by Howard, who warmed up before Wednesday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers before it was determined minutes before tip-off that he could not play.”
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