Tilman on recent struggles, injuries: 'This is nothing'

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Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta on recent struggles, injuries: 'This is nothing'

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Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta knows the importance of a fully stocked kitchen.

The Texas native and longtime Rockets fan who paid a league-record $2.2 billion to buy his favorite team in September, and who has already experienced early highs (a 25-4 start) and lows (five losses in the last six games) in this new NBA venture, made his fortune in dining. He oversees hundreds of restaurants as owner of Landry’s Inc., a company that includes well-known brands such as Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Morton’s Steakhouse and Rainforest Café. He routinely advises culinary types on his CNBC reality show, “Billion Dollar Buyer,” which starts its third season with the 60-year-old as the host on Wednesday.

As Fertitta learned en route to building a net worth of $2.7 billion, the dish can’t be done right without the right ingredients. No matter how good a recipe might be.

Which takes us to his Rockets, flying high for those first two months only to come hurling back down to earth when injuries to Chris Paul (again), Clint Capela and Luc Mbah a Moute were followed by Monday's revelation that MVP frontrunner James Harden would miss at least two weeks with a hamstring strain. All of this comes ahead of Thursday's matchup in Houston against defending champion Golden State, finally healthy now that two-time MVP Steph Curry is back from his ankle injury. The Warriors enter atop the Western Conference (29-8), ahead of Houston by just two games. This Rockets meal still has all sorts of potential, of course, but it’s not quite as tasty at the moment.

“It’s been great,” Fertitta said, speaking to USA TODAY Sports by phone before Sunday's win over the Los Angeles Lakers in which Harden was injured. “If you still look at our overall record, we’re thrilled to be where we are.

“I’m not worried about (the struggles). It’s a five-game stretch. Hopefully we have all of our downs now and we have all of our ups later. It’s amazing what injuries have to do with these teams winning and losing, too.”

Little did he know at the time how true those words would become.

Losing Harden is a brutal blow, as he was leading the league in scoring (32.3 points per game) and was third in assists (9.1 per). But coupled with the Rockets’ defensive struggles – Houston went from having the seventh-best defensive rating in the first 29 games to the second-worst in the past six games – it’s enough to make you wonder where they’ll be in the standings by the time Harden returns.

And how’s this for irony? Paul, who left the Los Angeles Clippers last summer in large part because he wanted to lighten his load as a primary playmaker, will have to resume that very role while leading a Rockets offense that is the league’s best thus far (113 points scored per 100 possessions). But as Feritta discussed, there’s still all sorts of excitement about this mixture of talent that he paid such a steep price to lead.

“I feel very fortunate that I got a great (group on the) business organization side of it, and I have a great organization all the way through to the team,” Fertitta said. “You know, everybody made trades in the offseason, and you never know how teams are going to jell. I think ours jelled better than anybody’s. It’s just, once again, everybody’s got to remember in this five-game losing streak we haven’t had mainly Capela or Chris or Luc, and we’re not a long rotation team.

“We’re mainly eight guys in our rotation, and when you lose three of them it totally affects the playing time and the rhythm and everything else. So that’s really why this doesn’t bother me. And it’s no different (than business). If you put the wrong management in a hotel or a restaurant or a casino, it doesn’t run right. This is nothing.”

As Fertitta has shown before, he has no problem being patient when it comes to Rockets goals. This, after all, is the man who tried to buy the team in 1993 only to see Les Alexander pay $85 million and barely beat him out. Now, with his vantage point so different and his massive investment on the line, the rookie owner is earning his veteran stripes.

“(Watching the Rockets as the owner is) totally different,” he said. “You’re watching every single play from the offensive side to the defensive side. You’re looking at everything, and you’re evaluating your own players. You’re evaluating your team, and so it is totally different. You’re not just a fan anymore, and having a conversation while the game is going on. You’re studying every single play. It’s work. It is work.”