A quick disclaimer, Hollinger’s NBA Player Statistics for Power Forwards lists Dwight Howard as a power forward. Reduce all PER ranked spots by one (except for Anthony Davis) to accurately reflect positional roles.

The emergence of Terrence Jones has been a key reason for the early season success of the Rockets. The early experimentation of the Twin Towers ended in disaster. From that disaster, Jones rose like a Phoenix in the ashes of the maligned lineup. Currently Terrence Jones ranks 12^th in the NBA in PER, 15^th in true shooting percentage, 31^st in points and 17^th in rebounds. All of this is in only 24 minutes a game. For comparison’s sake, let’s look at some of the other power forwards in the 2012 draft class and see how they stack up to Terrence Jones.

Anthony Davis, the unibrow, the number one pick in the 2012 draft is averaging a dominant 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocks a game while posting a 26.4 PER. Let’s face it, Davis is a special talent and that’s why he went number one overall. Jones, still, has posted per 36-minute totals of 15 points and 10 rebounds, not far off of the mark that Anthony Davis is setting in roughly 34 minutes a game.

Thomas Robinson, the fifth pick, former King, Rocket, and current Blazer went number five overall in 2012. This season Robinson is sporting a (roughly) 16 PER, 6 points, 4 rebounds, and .2 blocks per game. Much was made of Robinson’s potential and, sadly, he has not had a chance to really showcase this talent. Houston acquired Robinson for trade purposes despite his immense potential. Robinson is only seeing 12 minutes of floor-time a night with the league darling Portland Trailblazers.

John Henson, not to be confused for a puppeteer, is a close analog for Terrence Jones. Henson is putting up 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game posting a PER of about 20. For reference, that puts Henson in the top 10 most efficient power forwards in the NBA. The Bucks sit at 4-16 but that level of efficiency is impressive for a team that could easily encourage poor shot selection and wasteful play.

The last player to have been drafted in front of Terrence is Royce White. We don’t talk about Royce White.

A look at the comparators reveals one simple fact. Jones is one of the three best power forwards from his draft class. Not only has Terrence managed to carve out a spot amongst the top players in his draft class but the top players at his position.  Jones has managed to carve out such a niche as a player with athleticism at the basket and skill from the three-point line and inward. Jones’s help-side defense and perimeter movement has been a major boost to the Rockets at times. His ability to pull opposing big men away from Dwight Howard on post ups and run the fast break has kept lanes clean for the Rockets in transition. Defensively Terrence Jones is setting the tone on a consistent basis by blowing up the highlight reel with blocks leading to dunks at the opposite end of the floor. Despite all of this the conversation revolving around the Rockets seems to center around the idea that Omer Asik needs to be dealt for a power forward. Just ask yourself one simple question.

Why? Jones is already one of the better power forwards in the league. He’s barely missing the top 10. From a wins-added standpoint Terrence Jones is 19^th among power forwards. The players ranked above Jones in this category? Kevin Love, Lamarcus Aldridge, Paul Milsap, Derrick Favors, John Henson, and Ryan Anderson. The majority of those players are considered key to their teams or immovable so long as their teams are viable playoff contenders. For the non-contenders the conversation centers around their integral nature as building blocks. None of the players who could reasonably be moved by their teams are as complementary to Howard as Jones. For example, Jared Sullinger is the only really fungible player ahead of Jones in the wins added column. Boston likes what they have in Sullinger, they’re rebuilding, and his game is similar to Jones’s with some added power and bulk.

At the end of the day, the Rockets are thriving because of the efforts of Terrence Jones. The sophomore power forward is, for all intents and purposes, a rookie on the floor. As a rookie he’s producing at a clip that, in an expanded role, could see production similar to Anthony Davis. The presence of Dwight Howard and James Harden means that Terrence Jones doesn’t need to grow as quickly as Davis nor does Jones have to produce obscene point, rebound, or block totals to contribute to this team’s winning. The situation in Houston is perfect for Jones to develop at his own pace and each step in that development is integral to Houston’s winning ways. The proposed trades by fans and various media outlets eschew that simple principle in favor of sexier names on the trade market. These names, however, are instant producers at higher usage rates, and in more minutes. Is there anything really wrong with winning and letting Terrence develop?

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When the Rockets shots aren’t falling, or the game isn’t coming easily to them, there is one maddening habit that they fail to break. The Rockets are consistently flopping and seeking a whistle to bail them out of poor shot selection. The Rockets consistently fail to establish Dwight Howard throughout the course of a game, let alone the beginning of one, and it results in reversion to old habits. The Rockets, in turn, settle for jump shots, poor drives, and panic-based turnovers. Even more maddeningly, the Rockets consistently attempt three-point shots and shy away from contact. Why, though, is this an issue?

It’s simple. The Rockets thrive on free throws, layups, and three-pointers. In their hesitance to drive or establish Dwight Howard in the post, the Rockets are abandoning their best chance to put points on the board. It really boils down to the simple fact that the Rockets will not get foul calls on three-point shots and they will not put their opponents in the penalty if they continue to seek to avoid contact. This has gotten even worse in recent games where the three-point shot becomes an obsession. The Rockets fall down on contested three’s. Not figuratively, literally. The shooter hits the deck and begs for a call. Nine times out of ten that call doesn’t come and the other team has a man advantage.

The Rockets 112-106 victory against the Spurs was the perfect opportunity for Houston to finally put their mark on the season. The Rockets played that game exactly as Daryl Morey had intended this team to play. The Rockets ran when they had the opportunity, kept pounding the ball inside, and didn’t shy away from getting to the basket. Against Utah the Rockets settled for jumpers, begged for calls, and failed to take advantage of Dwight Howard on the block. Injuries are a convenient excuse for the loss but there’s a point where these lapses can’t be forgiven. Chandler Parsons and Jeremy Lin will not solve the failure to use the post. That failure rests solely on McHale’s shoulders.

That’s not to say McHale’s coaching has been a complete nightmare this season. Jeremy Lin and Chandler Parsons will help to solve one major problem of this offense. The lack of consistent attacking is a problem that those two help to stabilize. James Harden, the most maligned Rocket in social media, is at once a savior and saboteur to the offense. His singular effort often helps propel the Rockets to victory but he also manages to shoot the team out of games when he gets complacent. That’s not even addressing his defensive woes. Ultimately, the Rockets fall victim to complacency that is more indicative of McHale’s “fast and loose” system of last season. Why is this an issue?

The majority of the roster wasn’t even present last season. NBA Players have a propensity of abandoning cohesive basketball when given the option of playing pick-up basketball. In the long-term that’s not sustainable. The Rockets offensive design lends itself well to rec-league basketball but it requires a structure; one with an offensive design and an endgame. When that endgame is abandoned the Rockets game plan falls apart. The defense goes completely absent and the efficiency the Rockets strive for causes an unmitigated collapse of the team.

On the back of this article, however, let’s not be alarmist. The Rockets are a brand new team with a brand new identity wholly separable from who they were last year. It’s a matter of time until it’s all put together and consistency gets established. The season is less than a quarter of the way over. The All-Star Break will be a fair appraisal point for the team. If the team fails to play as a cohesive unit and on a consistent basis, the Coach McHale may find himself on the hot seat in Houston. Something worth considering, however, is how much of that hot-seat is on McHale and how much of it is on his player’s free-will in abandoning the game plan?

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The Failure of the Twin Towers

Omer Asik began the season starting next to Dwight Howard. On paper this looked like an ironclad defensive front and an adequate offensive attack in the frontcourt. On paper a lot of things look great. Unfortunately for the Rockets this duo failed to produce. Asik’s production took a steep nosedive that also managed to derail his initiative. Coincidentally, it was also this failure that forced Kevin McHale to quit putting an overmatched unit on the court.  Dwight Howard’s presence on the Houston Rockets made Omer Asik’s presence in the starting lineup wholly obsolete. Asik’s presence was never going to be a productive one next to Dwight. Every productive team featuring Dwight Howard featured a stretch power forward. Asik, then, had to adjust to being a bench presence.

That’s the obvious development in the Asik situation. Beyond that, however, we see that the situation created control on the trade market. How? The Washington Wizards reportedly engaged the Rockets in talks with the Rockets. Yes, it’s common knowledge that Omer Asik needs to be traded. It’s also common knowledge that Asik is under contract for another year, is an elite defensive center, and will command a great deal of money on the open-market. Houston rebuffed any attempts to send Emeka Okafor back to the team and the Wizards opted to acquire Marcin Gortat. Now, the Rockets are rumored to be seeking an impact player for Asik. Despite his lack of happiness, the Big Turk commands a great deal on the trade market and his status as a highly valuable and definite commodity places Houston in the driver’s seat for all trade conversations. This is considerably more attractive when you consider that the Rockets can now demand what they want for Asik and place their team in the best position to succeed.

Failure Lead to Success

Necessity is the mother of all invention, yes? This cliché gets to be cliché because it’s true. Though it’s hard to call Kevin McHale playing a stretch four next to Dwight Howard “invention.” The failure of Asik next to Howard, however, created success. Terrence Jones was given the starting power forward spot and has produced right out of the gate. As a started Terrence Jones is averaging roughly 15 points and 8 rebounds a game. In the preseason many writers assumed Dwight’s natural running mate in the frontcourt would be Jones. The emergence of Jones has further gifted the Rockets with the position of power in Asik negotiations. Any rumors of Ryan Anderson for Omer Asik are mitigated when you consider how productive the Rockets own “in-house” forward has been. There’s no need to ship out an asset to obtain a power forward now that a solution has been found. Even Donatas Motiejunas has found new purpose gaining back up power forward and center minutes. Granted, Motiejunas has a long way to go before he’s a viable option for consistent minutes, but the evolution of the Rockets roster is enticing.

Pain Is Just Weakness Leaving the Body

The most notable injury issue facing the Rockets is the bearded wonder, James Harden. Harden’s foot has been an issue for most the year. The benefit of the situation, however, has been the re-emergence of Jeremy Lin, among other things. Jeremy has showcased the fact that he’s a shooting guard at the point guard position. While Jeremy has been the focal point of the offense he has averaged over 20 points a game and shown aggression. That aggression translated to top five in the league in drives to the hoop. This time has been a major boon for the Rockets. Not only has this time showcased Jeremy and, no doubt, bolstered his confidence, but it also shows what Jeremy can produce as a featured player. Specifically, his role as a spark off the bench is perfectly modeled by his starting line up performance. This assertive and dominant Jeremy is one that needs to come off the bench.

The bench itself has shown a great deal of improvement due to injuries. In separate games the Rockets have gotten major production from Aaron Brooks, Omri Casspi, and even Donatas Motiejunas has produced in this time. The next-man up mentality is taking effect in Houston.

Conclusion

Out of the ashes of our hopes and production comes the fire of a new team. The Rockets have had to deal with early season adversity. This team, in many ways, really needed to. The Rockets entered the season with great expectations. The Rockets have struggled to find an identity and to make good on these expectations. In losing James Harden, jostling for roles, and attempting to solve their own lineup inefficiencies the Rockets, more than any other team so far, has had the most to gain from failure and injuries. If the Rockets hope to enjoy a productive season they will have to capitalize upon, learn from, and take advantage of these early season challenges and galvanize into the team we know they can be.

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Omer Asik is not above the Rockets

Quickly, identify the last malcontent to have been on the Rockets roster. Did you guess Royce White? Good. Royce joined the Houston Rockets as a rookie with anxiety disorder. The logical ends to dealing with this disorder, per his chief advocate; himself, was to dictate to the Rockets the terms of his employment. The result of this attempt to assert himself as more than the Houston Rockets was his subsequent trade to Philadelphia and, ultimately, his status as an unrestricted free agent in his second year in the NBA. Clearly Omer Asik presents a different situation. Asik has had no grandstanding, no prospects of being out of the league so quickly, and has definite value in the NBA. What the two share, however, is pride. Pride comes before the fall.

In this instance, Omer Asik’s pride after the Dwight Howard signing lead to his first request for a trade. His pride after the twin towers experiment ended in underwhelming fashion lead to his second request for a trade. His pride had lead him to take himself out of the lineup against the New York Knicks. The last time a player allowed pride to keep himself away from the Rockets he was isolated from the team until Daryl Morey could do something with him.  In this instance Asik still ahs value. He is still one of the best centers in the NBA. The unfortunate reality for him, however, is that he plays on a team with the best center in the NBA. The emergence of Terrence Jones and Omri Casspi as ideal complements to Dwight Howard limits Asik’s playing time in a major way. What it doesn’t do, however, is relegate Omer to obscurity. Asik needs to acknowledge that he can contribute to a winning team for twenty to thirty minutes a night if he can expand his offensive game to a mid-range jumper. Arguably Asik signed with the Rockets to expand his game anyhow, now’s the time to make good on that justification. If, however, Asik decides that expanding his game and earning back his minutes is beneath him he should give Royce White a call.

Asik’s value is not diminished in the slightest

It’s not. Anyone arguing otherwise is either in denial or unaware of just how much of a premium an elite defensive center is in the NBA. The Miami Heat will be the first team to inform you that an elite defensive center can solve some major problems. Roy Hibbert terrorized the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals last year. A presence such as Omer Asik could have served as a counter to Hibbert’s dominant play. Granted, the Heat advanced past the Pacers but they could have done so with fewer sleepless nights had they had a center to keep Hibbert in check. Asik’s dip in production while playing next to Dwight Howard will not register concern for most NBA executives. It stands to reason that Asik’s productivity would decrease next to an All-NBA talent like Dwight. Executives are quick to understand that Omer is more the legitimate seven-footer who averaged a double-double last season than the hapless big man playing sidekick to Superman.

This raises the question as to what the value on Asik is, however. Asik is solidly in the second mid-tier of big men in the NBA. Howard occupies a tier almost exclusively at the top. You can argue that Roy Hibbert and Marc Gasol are in or around this level as well. None are as transcendent as Dwight Howard. What Hibbert lacks in defense and rebounding Dwight has and what Gasol excels in defensively Howard can eclipse. Asik falls into the second tier with players like Robin Lopez (Yes, a center needs to rebound the ball) and Marcin Gortat; reliable starters that flash either well-rounded play or one elite skill. This won’t fetch you a superstar but it will be a strong starting point for a conversation that can lead to one.

Don’t close Asik’s coffin yet, he’s alive

The Rockets haven’t hit the point of no return in their relationship with Asik. Both parties are at an impasse but one that can be rectified. The Rockets are yet to play teams that are vulnerable to the twin towers. The Pacers, Grizzlies, and Spurs are all vulnerable to the impact of Howard and Asik. Dwight Howard’s presence mandates that more often than not a floor-stretching four will be necessary. The unfortunate implication is that Omer Asik doesn’t really have a place on the floor unless Dwight hits foul trouble. Additionally Kevin McHale’s preference for small ball will continue to raise questions about Asik’s usage. The season is young. The Rockets are 7-4 and there’s 72 games left to play. The All-Star break is still three months away. The team has come out in support of Asik as a teammate and Asik needs to reciprocate that faith by producing on the floor.

One thing is for certain, however. The Rockets are handling this Omer Asik situation properly and will make the right call when the time comes.

The post What to do with Omer Asik? appeared first on Red94 | essays and musings on the nba and houston rockets.

Put simply, Houston has an identity problem. The Rockets spent big money this off-season bringing in Dwight Howard from Los Angeles. They made their money last season as an up-tempo run and gun team that relied on James Harden. The problem this season, however, is the intersection of a past identity and a new mentality. A few stats define this Rockets team early. None of these stats are remotely positive.

Disclaimer: These numbers are current as of 11/11/13 before the game against the Toronto Raptors.

The Rockets average 18.86 turnovers per game. The Rockets best rim defender is Chandler Parsons. Parsons allows only a 34.8% FG percentage at the rim. Omer Asik allows 35.6%. Opponents shoot the three-point shot at a 36% clip against them while only connecting on 32% of their shots from deep. Despite shooting poorly from deep 25% of their shots have been from three-point range (176 shots out of 704 total). The biggest impact that the Dwight Howard signing has had on the Rockets is their 69% free throw percentage. The Rockets cough the ball up on steals and blocks 15 times per game. That’s 36 overall giveaways in a game.

All hope is not lost, however. There’s more hope in what I know you readers love. Numbers! The Rockets draw 29.4 fouls per game. Hack-A-Dwight contributes to those numbers in a major way.  Houston blocks or steals 13 possessions a game. Perhaps even more encouraging, they force 29 turnovers per game. That’s 42 takeaways a game.

The problems the Rockets have, however, are very correctable. It boils down to one simple word. Aggression. Jeremy Lin touches the ball roughly 60 times a game. He drives roughly 10. 17% of his possessions result in drives. James Harden is even less encouraging. Harden touches the ball 64 times per game and 7 times per game. 11% of his touches result in drives. In the half court Dwight Howard is good for .7 points per touch. The stat favors big men but Howard is in the top 10 in the league with this stat.

These numbers all scream one real conclusion that the Rockets need to acknowledge: This is a team that is better suited to leverage Dwight Howard than it is to keep running. The Clippers game got out of control the moment the pace picked up. Houston abandoned the half court offense that built them a lead to fire up threes and run. While it jives more with the style Houston played last season, it’s not sustainable if the team wants to build a contender. Playoff games are won in the half-court. Dwight Howard is one of the best at converting in the half-court. The three point shooting slump will eventually break but the critical issue for the Rockets won’t be the law of averages. It will be the ability to integrate their three-point shooting to a Dwight-centric game.

Time heals all wounds. The Rockets are a young team feeling out chemistry right now. Tempers have flared between the Rockets backcourt and there are rumblings of potential issues between Dwight and the backcourt. A heavier integration of the pick and roll game and a more aggressive Houston Rockets team should help solve those issues. Ultimately this season’s results hinge on the ability of the Rockets to mature. If this squad can establish Dwight Howard and operate an offense based around what he does then there will be reason to get excited.

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In three games with Omer Asik Dwight Howard averaged: 12 points/14.3 Rebounds/1.6 blocks in roughly 25 minutes and 45 seconds of floor time per game. While any Lakers fan will quickly discuss how they would have been happy with that production from Dwight on a nightly basis, the Rockets have another issue to address. Omer Asik’s production… Ugh. Omer averages 3 points/5.3 rebounds/0 blocks in 23 minutes and 20 seconds or so of floor time per game. Let’s put that in perspective.

Per 36 Dwight is averaging 17.3p/20.6r/2.3 blocks. That places Dwight at his third lowest total in points per 36 production, outdoes his best per 36 rebounding totals by a whopping 6.5 rebounds per 36, and slots him in at third for blocks per 36. The numbers on Omer… are bleak. 4.7p/8.3r/0 blocks per game. These numbers would all be career lows for Omer in the per 36 analysis. What makes matters even more worse for the Rockets is that Omer Asik is an 8 million dollar player (against the cap) and one of the better centers in the NBA.

Further, the Rockets game plan revolves around the pick and roll. In fact, 85.65% of Dwight’s offense was generated at the rim in the preseason. Exactly where Kevin McHale wants to see Dwight operating. Consequently, 85.6% of Omer Asik’s offense, if you can call it that, was right at the rim as well. Asik’s efficiency is the reason for concern here. Asik was a combined 26% from the field, (4/15 overall) with 1.3 turnovers per game. Dwight, on the other hand, was 58% from the field while averaging 2.7 turnovers per game. Compare that to Asik’s 56% efficiency around the rim last season and Howard’s 64% efficiency around the rim and the Rockets have a problem. The Asik/Howard duo has cost Asik 30% from the field and Dwight became 6% less effective.

Now, on the floor, opponents shot 3-11 at the rim when Asik and Howard were on the floor together. With Asik, Howard, and Lin in the lineup the Rockets posted a 115.4 offensive rating (115.4 points per 100 possessions) and a 67.3 defensive rating (Giving up 67.3 points per 100 possessions) in their 26 minutes on the court. That is impressive work in a small sample size. Exactly what Rockets fans should expect coming into the season, really. With Dwight surrounded by a floor-spacing four like Omri Casspi the Rockets produced a 124.4 offensive efficiency rating and a 90.3 defensive efficiency rating.  The numbers, albeit cultivated from a small sample size, reflect that the Rockets will be able to weather whatever offensive stunting Asik does to the line up. However, the numbers also reveal that Houston is still capable of defending well against teams with Casspi or Francisco Garcia in at the four as well.

For the Rockets fan left wondering what to do with the Dwight Howard/Omer Asik pairing, if they want a fully functional team that maximizes its investment, the answer should be relatively clear. No. It’s not trading Asik. It’s intelligently combining minutes and ensuring 48 minutes of rim protection a night. The efficiency and devastating impact of Beverley/Howard/Asik has its worth. There will necessarily be minutes bleeding into each other between Howard and Asik and McHale’s task is to make sure those minutes run together effectively. That being said, running Howard and Asik together and hoping it works out is not the way to do it.

The post The Omer Asik – Dwight Howard Experiment appeared first on Red94 | essays and musings on the nba and houston rockets.

Experimentation

Kevin McHale was peppered with questions about his thoughts on Jeremy Lin. In a way that is truly unique to Kevin McHale, he calmly replied he had spoken to Jeremy Lin and Patrick Beverley about the situation, and that he’s looking to experiment with the line up. There’s no point in fretting about the starting point guard. Both players are having great starts to the year. Jeremy is sporting a new shooting stroke and a more decisive game. Patrick is continuing his growth and development from his first year in the NBA. The salient question, is there anything to be disappointed about? The progression of both players is critical to the success of the Houston Rockets both this season and long term. Regardless of who is starting or finishing, so long as the Rockets are winning there isn’t a controversy in Houston.

Competition

There is competition at the power forward position. While worrying about the fate of the starting point guard is premature in the preseason, it’s not too soon to slam the panic button for Donatas Motiejunas supporters. Motiejunas was the only really proven commodity heading into the preseason. He managed to stick with the roster and even start at points last season. Ideally basic defensive awareness and a familiarity with the NBA game should be observable. Unfortunately for Motiejunas, it’s conspicuously absent. Two players are currently vying for the power forward spot, though. Terrence Jones, the incumbent favorite over Motiejunas has played up to expectations. His game has looked smooth, high energy, and complementary to Dwight Howard. The dark horse candidate to keep an eye on is Omri Casspi. Casspi has had an electric start to the preseason and has most likely played his way onto a roster spot with a fair chunk of minutes.

Questions

Omer Asik continues to deal with a lingering calf injury (strain). Greg Smith has been out of the preseason so far with a hip injury as well. The best chance for the Rockets to really evaluate tough pairings with Howard was left behind in Asia, however. The Asik/Howard front court idea has been tossed around as a way to placate Asik’s deserved spot as a starter and Howard’s warranted spot as a superstar (Yes, superstar). Greg Smith, at the very least, could’ve been a sufficient analog for Omer Asik in that Asik’s offensive game is only nominally more refined than Asik’s. More importantly, you can extrapolate how Asik would have succeeded defensively based on Smith’s lapses. Rebounding-wise the two are analogous. Unfortunately Rockets fans are left scratching their head as to the possible impact of a Rockets lineup featuring Howard and Asik. If Houston hopes to compete against the likes of the Pacers and the Memphis Grizzlies then their first look at a twin towers lineup needs to come before the regular season.

Laughs

The trip to Asia showed the Rockets sporting smiles along with championship caliber cohesion. The most notable story worth a laugh is Chandler Parsons’ new nickname; Gao fu shuai. Loosely translated it means “tall, rich, and handsome.” You’d be hard pressed to find people in Red Nation who disagree with such an assessment. The most important thing to take away from the smiles and laughs though, is that this team’s chemistry is already clicking and the culture in Houston looks primed for success.

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If you’re not interested in reading through any of those articles, let me give you the run-down. My promise to you is insightful analysis, a new perspective, comprehensive writing style, and a big picture perspective on some issues you may never have known you wanted it on. I’m looking forward to taking this next step forward in writing for the 2013-2014 NBA Champion Houston Rockets, and I hope you’re as excited as I am.

Of course, the personnel were different and the Hornets were now called Pelicans. James Harden’s presence as the face of the franchise wasn’t new. Dwight Howard donned the number 12 in Rockets red and even that wasn’t the departure from the familiar. The rest of the team, old and new faces alike failed to really convey a stunning change to me as well. No, this wasn’t something cosmetic. This was something felt, not something observed. Perhaps you noticed it, too. This wasn’t the Houston Rockets of old. This wasn’t McHale’s Rockets, this wasn’t Adelman’s Rockets, and this was something new. The chemistry was there, and that’s to be expected of a young and affable team. No, to be cliché and reinforce the Rockets marketing campaign, this was a new age.

Now it’s time to quantify a feeling, a task poets and bards have attempted since we put chisel to rock and pen to paper. This team was smooth, like brand new, fresh off the lot, sports car smooth. Yes, they were playing against a team that figures to struggle this year. Yes, it’s easy to look good against teams like that. No, that’s not what I’m talking about. The Rockets were moving, quickly, their passes were crisp, and their moves were decisive. This was not the reckless and sometimes tentative, up-tempo group we saw last season. Jeremy Lin attacked the rim and distributed knowing full-well what he wanted to accomplish. James Harden and Dwight Howard played the pick and roll like they had been on the same team for years. It was a seamless integration. The Rockets displayed an awe-inspiring fluidity on the floor. Dwight Howard glided through the air for rebounds and the team keyed off of that in the fast break. Chandler Parsons was filling gaps everywhere becoming the quintessential utility player. Terrence Jones began to stake his claim to the starting power forward spot by displaying a game that compliments Dwight Howard. Omri Casspi played like a man wily veteran and not a man on the fringe trying to earn a spot. He did so without disrupting the flow of the game which may have been even more impressive.  Patrick Beverley looked like a man fighting for the starting spot and not at all like a back up in the NBA. The contributors to this game just exuded competence, confidence, and skill.

That’s not to say it was all smooth sailing. Donatas Motiejunas struggled to prove his case as a starter and looked lost defensively. Terrence Jones needs to rebound stronger if he wants to create any measure of confidence in his abilities. Ronnie Brewer had a chance to showcase himself and only attempted one shot while being minimally productive. The team occasionally looked disjointed. What would you expect when Kevin McHale is attempting to figure out who is going to make the final roster?

At the end of the day, Red Nation is new this year. This isn’t the of 2009-2012 team that struggled to escape the 14th pick annually. This isn’t even the plucky squad of last season. This is a team that looks like dominance is in its make-up. A team that looks unified behind one direction, one goal, and one mindset. One thing is for certain, this year’s Houston Rockets isn’t an underdog anymore and teams will be looking to put a damper on those sky-high expectations. Dwight Howard said he’s betting 30 million dollars on the fact that the Rockets are closer to a title than the Lakers. In their first preseason game, the Rockets looked the part. This isn’t like years past. This is truly… A New Age.

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