By: Kevin Kim
A quick and digestible look at the most top-of-mind Rockets news of the past few days.
Houston Chronicle. Motiejunas, Canaan carry shorthanded Rockets past Kings.
"The Sacramento Kings had everything going their way. The Rockets, however, had Donatas Motiejunas and Isaiah Canaan, and that was more than the Kings could handle as the Rockets pulled away down the stretch, 102-89, in what has become a series of short-handed, defense-first wins."
NBCSports. Rockets may bring in Al Harrington to bolster front court depth.
"Harrington has left China where he started the season and is looking for an NBA gig. The Rockets may be that team, reports Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders: According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the Houston Rockets are considering signing 16-year veteran forward Al Harrington, who was recently cut in China in order to allow him to pursue an NBA return."
And a Thanksgiving power rankings binge:
NBA.com. Rookie Rankings: Week 5.
"But 25.3 minutes off the bench for a team off to a good start, when every outcome is important in what figures to be a rush-hour traffic jam near the top of the Western Conference standings come April, is an underlined endorsement of how much the Rockets feel they can already count on [Papanikolaou]. That's a large enough role that it goes beyond McHale trying out different lineups to counter injuries. That's also a high profile that continues, enough to get Papanikolaou a spot on the Ladder despite the miserable accuracy, and because he is more than a shooter. Or non-shooter."
Sports Illustrated. NBA Power Rankings.
"Dwight Howard's absence led to two heinous losses last week -- one by 26 to the Grizzlies and the other at home against the Lakers -- but James Harden could be finding his stroke after hitting rock bottom with a six-point, 1-of-8 effort against the Grizzlies. His 32 points in a win against the Mavericks resembled last year's standard."
NBA.com. NBA Power Rankings: Week 4.
"The Rockets' defensive improvement (league-high 8.6 points per 100 possessions better than last season) achieved legitimacy with Saturday's win over the Mavs, in which they held the No. 1 offense under a point per possession without Dwight Howard. But what happened to their offense? It's scored 94 points per 100 possessions over their last eight games."
ESPN.com. Hollinger Power Rankings.
Ranked 12th...how much of that is from SoS?