2020 Preseason Schedule

With NBA players reporting Tuesday for the start of training camp, the Rockets will not have much time for a new coach, new center and retooled rotation to get ready for the season fast approaching.

While there is not much time in the radically revised 2020-21 schedule for any team to prepare, that could apply more for teams with new coaches and especially for the Rockets, whose uncertain long-term course could hinge on whether they return to the contender echelon in the Western Conference.

With 10 days before their first preseason game at Chicago, a look at the Rockets’ 10-line, 10-day to-do list:

1. Put the offseason of discontent behind them
The Rockets are confident James Harden and Russell Westbrook will be ready to move on from whatever level of dissatisfaction they had with coming back but will still need to see that for themselves. Harden has been too driven, Westbrook too competitive for there to be too much concern. But as much as they have been accustomed to being the centers of attention, there will be a different sort of focus on them. Commitment was never questioned before. The Rockets would like to see that there is no reason to wonder now.

2. Get used to changes
New coach Stephen Silas will keep much of what worked in place but wants to do some things differently. He does not have to get that all in by the time preseason games begin Dec. 11 at Chicago. He does not even have to have it all ready by the time the NBA season opens Dec. 22. But he does not have the usual preseason timetable to work with, either. Training camp “group workouts” don’t even begin until Sunday. If the Rockets practice every day, excluding game days, that allows just 12 practice days to get used to any changes. The Rockets will still do many things — iso, pick-and-roll, switching defensively — that the returning core players can execute in their sleep. But adding more ball and player movement, using Harden off the ball at times, running more reliably, and throwing in more traditional defensive coverages will all take time.

3. Get Wood working
The Rockets coveted Christian Wood not just because of his skills and their need. They considered him to be an ideal fit, bringing a mix of shooting range and pick-and-roll skills to catch and finish. Wood was a 39 percent 3-point shooter last season. He was second in the NBA in shooting percentage in the restricted area among those with 200 or more attempts, and he ranked first in points per pick-and-roll possession receiving the pass among those with at least two touches per game. But even if the skills are there, chemistry takes time. Westbrook never achieved the same chemistry with Clint Capela that Harden developed over the years. That process was slowed with Westbrook coming back from an injury and Capela eventually going out with injuries, issues that are not factors now. But it generally takes some time to be entirely in sync. Wood will also need to rapidly adjust to the Rockets’ defenses, both when switching and in protecting the rim. Much of the Rockets’ ability to return to contender status will depend on their top free-agent addition. That process begins in the 10 days before Chicago.

4. Prepare for Boogie nights
DeMarcus Cousins will return to the court after three major injuries that limited him to 30 games in the past two seasons. The physicals checked out. The eye tests show him to be fit and slim, which could only be achieved with a great deal of work even after going through one grueling rehab after another. But there is no way to be in NBA shape without playing. And as much as his skills are likely still there, rhythm and timing will take time, too. With the Warriors, after missing more than a year with his Achilles injury, he averaged 16.3 points on 48 percent shooting and 8.2 rebounds in 25.7 minutes per game while showing flashes of the old Boogie Cousins along the way. That was two injuries and 17 months ago but could indicate reasons for optimism. The Rockets must get Cousins on the floor so he can work his way through that part of his comeback and will have to be patient with the process for a player who has not played since June 2019.

5. Retool the rotation
The Rockets have seven of their nine rotation players back, but the three who have moved on — Robert Covington, Austin Rivers and Jeff Green — played significant roles. While decisions about the spot in the starting lineup that was opened when Covington was traded to the Trail Blazers will garner more attention, filling out the rotation with the bench will likely influence the decisions about the starter. With P.J. Tucker moving back to power forward, presumably either Eric Gordon or Danuel House Jr. can start at small forward. If Cousins is ready to assume center minutes, Tucker would not have to. But if Tucker has to play center, starting House could complicate things if he has to fill in for more minutes as a backup four as Tucker splits his playing time between two positions. House, Tucker and little-used Bruno Caboclo are the only players with experience playing power forward, potentially complicating the option to start Tucker and House together. With the other experienced reserves — Ben McLemore Sterling Brown, David Nwaba and Gerald Green — all wings, having Gordon off the bench could make that second unit shorter or the rotation smaller than preferred. But Gordon would likely be the top scorer for the second unit, making it tempting to return him to his sixth-man role. Either way, the Rockets will look very different off the bench no matter who takes that open spot in the starting lineup.

6. Get Gordon going
Slowed throughout the season by an injury, surgery and then rehab, Gordon struggled through what was, by far, the worst shooting season of his career. When he returned in the bubble, however, he appeared to have put all that behind him, only to get hurt again. He had his moments, especially defensively and offensively at the start of the Lakers series, in the postseason. But to be among the Western Conference contenders, the Rockets will need Gordon to get back where he had been in his first three seasons in Houston.

7. Make another House call
House left the bubble before the rest of the Rockets, a premature exit that left them shorthanded against the Lakers. That, however, also demonstrated that he remains important to a roster in need of his skills at his position. The Rockets are willing to leave House’s bubble infraction behind them, but having him take another step forward would be key to solidifying the rotation, with the hopes that some of the changes Silas has planned could especially work for House and might even work for him as they did for the Mavericks’ shooters last season.

8. Keep the comebacks coming
Nwaba and Gerald Green are coming off significant injuries. Nwaba was in the midst of his best season, making 52.1 percent of his shots and 42.9 percent of his 3s through 20 games when he went out with an Achilles injury last December. Green did not play at all last season after a preseason injury in Japan. Between Nwaba’s competing for a rotation spot or Green’s competing for a place on the roster, the condensed training camp allows little time for rust.

9. Get to the point
With Rivers gone, two of the Rockets’ three point guards — Westbrook and Harden — start. That leaves only Chris Clemons off the bench. Gordon can fill in as a backup point guard, but Silas might want to get a good idea if Clemons, in his second season, can take on a larger role on the nights one of his stars sits.

10. Check out the newbies
The Rockets will bring a large group of rookies to camp. Mason Jones is signed to a two-way contract. Jae’Sean Tate, Kenny Wooten, Trevelin Queen and Brodrick Thomas could all be competing for the other two-way deal or, in some cases, even for a roster spot. Considering there might be a place on the roster at stake, that is no small decision, even if it is far from the top priority.