A quick and digestible look at the most top-of-mind Rockets news of the past few days.
Houston Chronicle. Five things we learned from the Rockets’ victory over the Mavericks.
“Rockets 99, Mavericks 94 1. James Harden saw the usual extra defensive attention and was happy to move the ball and set up teammates, finding just enough perimeter shooting for the Rockets to win even with Harden 10 points shy of his league-leading average. Harden can expect more of that treatment, but has seen it often before, making his combination of scoring and playmaking more remarkable. The Rockets, however, might need more high percentage shooting around him to go with the 3-point shooting…”
ESPN Dallas. Parsons: Harden is MVP at this point.
“If Chandler Parsons had a midseason MVP vote, it would go to former teammate James Harden. ‘For sure. He’s the best player in basketball right now,’ Parsons said before his Dallas Mavericks faced Harden’s Houston Rockets on Wednesday night. ‘The things he’s doing are incredible. The scouting report is focused in on stopping him and you see he’s still getting 30 a game. It’s impressive.’ “
Sports Illustrated. Midseason grades for every NBA team.
“At a glance: Houston’s first half was all about dispelling widely-held assumptions like, “They’re dead in the water if one of their superstars gets injured” and “They can’t win with defense” and “Kevin McHale is a lame duck with a good chance to be the first coach fired” and “No analytics-minded executive would touch Josh Smith in a million years.” The Rockets really cut against the grain, surviving an extended absence from Dwight Howard thanks to MVP-level production from James Harden and some surprisingly stingy team defense…”
CBS Houston. Terrence Jones Excited to Return.
“It’s been a long time coming for Terrence Jones. He’s missed 41 games due to a nerve injury. His last game played came on November 3. Jones is making his comeback to the floor tonight against the Mavericks. But for Jones, his main worry was that he’d be out even longer…”
