[ClutchFans] Houston Rockets: What's gone right and wrong this preseason

Agreed on pretty much all accounts.

1. Capela is going to be huge for us this season. The young man is primed and ready for a break out party. We're going to be able to afford Howard missing games on a back to back. This young man knows how to role to the basket off the P/R. He pretty good at finishing around the rim. On defense, he's going to be very solid. It's going to be great having rim protection for the entire game if need be.

2. The addition of Ty will be gargantuan to our success this season. He brings so much offensively to the table. Last season we talked about having 2 legit play makers. Well clutch that dream/wish has come true. Thank you Morey. Teams will not be able to double down on Harden and we're able to keep the Beard fresh. Ty is a true PG who will make everyone better.

3. I'm starting to buy into all the hype surrounding Harrell. At first I was like the young man is going straight to the D-League. But right now we have a shortage at the PF position with Dmo recovering from his injury. I am loving Harrell energy out there and I can tell he's playing with a lot of confidence that will carry over to the regular season.

4. I think a lot of us were hoping last year would have been a breakout season for Jones. But like you said injuries derailed that notion. My thing is I can't get down on the man because he looked bad against 1 players. Even the greats had that one player who gave them the blues. Vernon Max use to terrorize Jordan and Kemp use to give The Dream hell. Plus we're talking about one preseason game. Didn't he follow that game up with a solid performance against a pretty good Miami Heat front court? Jones will be alright.

5. Joshua Smith has had a solid preseason, I wonder will he make the 15 man roster.

 

Disappointed with KJ. Doesn't seem to have developed an improved 3 pt shot, and looks for his shot a bit too much. Doesn't seem to get the game yet.

Dekker I haven't been that disappointed with. I think he has a good feel for the game. Just figuring out what he can and can't do at the NBA level. Obviously the 3pt shot isn't there. Reps can hopefully improve it. But feel for the game is something that is more natural. Destined for DLeague.

Harrell will be a fan favorite. Hopefully he gets time by mid season.

Thornton for the vet min should be very good insurance.

Beverley will look alright once he settles in next to Harden. But I do think his D has slipped. Perhaps its motivation or mentality. I remember he totally abusing Jrue Holiday during the preseason. It's not longer there.

 

I think there is no reason to panic over a pre-season in which the staff put all the emphasis on trying out new players. No need to stretch to put especially Dwight Howard and even Beverly in the ouch category.

Dwight is a seasoned long term ALL Star who has not been out played by a center in the post season in maybe ever, including last year. He can plug his All Star defense instantly into our Likewise Beverly is a proven vet who at worst is a decent third guard. He is ready to "ready roll".

In fact, overall the whole team is "ready to roll".

 

Can't be too disappointed in KJ. We signed him as insurance for if either Brew or Trev go down during the season. He's still solid defensively, and he shot the same as Brew from 3 last season. He's shooting 25% from three currently which is pretty damn bad, nit his rebounding and block numbers are impressive for a guard. Definitely room for improvement that we hopefully see during the season.

Trez is an awesome pick. Learn how to foul less and it helps solidify our 4 rotation even more.

 

I'm just going by watching the highlight videos, but I'm also excited by what I see with Harrell. He's got an energy that will prove infectious, but also seems to have big-man skills that will translate well with the bench unit. McHale may have a hard time keeping the rookie on the bench.

I'm disappointed to hear KJ McDaniels hasn't shown anything of consequence yet, but it's still early in the game for him. It won't matter too much though since the team has good depth in the wing position. Knock on wood.

But for me, the defense is a big question, particularly in the backcourt. I watched a PS highlight video of Harden and Lawson, and it naturally focused on the potent offensive output of our starting backcourt. But many of those points came off offensive transitions AFTER what appeared to be defensive breakdowns, which was a little troubling.

 

No honorable mention of Joshua "Fo Sammiches" Smith?

 

For people concerned that Dekker will be a bust. Remember, DMo was pretty bad for two years before he figured things out in his third year. DMo got significant minutes his first two years, but just wasn't ready. Remember DMo and the early foul trouble, remember rushing everything on offense? It just takes some players a little longer to make the transition to the NBA. Maybe Dekker will be a bust, or maybe he'll be a really good player. But, a few preseason games just isn't enough to know one way or another.

 

This. The Rockets have two key guys at the beginning of the season with back issues in Howard and DMO, its downright scary.

 

Tell Kelvin Cato we want our money back!

 

His shot isn't great but it's not broken, so it's possible. To be honest though, I've only watched him play in the preseason and in the tournament last year, so it's not like I've been studying him for years.

 

Fair post. Dekker is a bonafide scrub and I have labeled him one ever since we drafted him. However, Morey has had worst picks like Royce WHite. Dekker is salvageable. We need to flip him for a late 2nd round or some end of bench veteran before his value goes further down the drain.

He has no single skill set good enough to contribute to the NBA for a winning team.

Don't worry about the people playing him up. They are the same kool aiders who thought Papa scrub just needed a chance or would develop after a few years in the NBA. Even the Nuggets saw nothing but bust in him and waived his a$$ off ASAP

 

Pretty spot on review.

One question that I ask myself is, why do some p0layers, like Capela, make such great strides in learning and improving when other rookies (and even 2-3 year players) and others don't? Is it work ethic? Potential? Heart? All of the above? Or even some other intangible. Some players, like Hakeem, seemed to come to camp every year with something new added to their game. Such players become "complete" players that others never reach throughout a whole career.

I thought about starting a separate thread about an issue touched upon in some comments here and what I consider the elephant in the room. An that is player health.

In a similar way to player development, some players just seem to be plagued throughout their career with injuries. A short list would include T-mac, Yao, Derrick Rose, and Greg Oden. Greg Oden is almost a worse-case example of fans thinking every year, "OK. Now this guy can start to be healthy and shine."

Having your complete roster healthy for most of the season is huge. It affects team chemistry and by extension W/L's.

Remember T-mac's back spasms? How people began to question whether or not they were real or as severe as they seemed to be? And how he took it upon himself to seek help outside the normal scheme of team "trainers?" I don't know if they guy he saw in Waco really fixed his back spasms or not. But I think, given the Rockets player's health since that time, that player health has to be scrutinized in the same way one would if the team never was good on defense.

I don't necessarily have any answers. Health and being predisposed to injury is worrisome for this franchise. Does everyone have to live on pins and needles every time D-Mo, Howard, Beverly and Jones (and others, too) are in a game? Everyone accepts that injuries are just part of the game. But is there something more, maybe even outside the box of conventional training and treatment that would improve the outcomes of recovery and prevention?

Maybe this is one area where Les Alexander could expand the paradigm and experiment with ideas and practitioners that don't fit the conventional mould.

I am curious and interested in thoughts on the subject. I'm not trying to hijack the subject of the thread. But health has been an issue all preseason. And we had such hope that this year might be different.

 

Speedy for a big man - all relative I guess

 

He's deceptive. He has long strides which look slow but cover a lot of ground in a hurry.

 

Next level stuff on that Scrooge McDuck reference, Clutch.

Dekk just needs a little time to adjust to the mental aspect of the game and build that assurance of himself. He just looked a bit lost and lacking in confidence. Once he spends some time down in RGV and gets a few games with the big boys, after that, I think he'll be fine. RGV will help him really develop that shot too, I'd bet.

Luckily, we don't need Dekker now. We need him in a couple of years when Ariza starts to decline so because there's no vacuum at the 3 spot (or small ball 4) right now, there's really no pressure on him either, which is a good place to be for a young player's development. Our staff has shown that they have the patience and know-how to grow young players into our system and into the best version of themselves, and I don't doubt they can do that again with Sam.

In terms of the preseason as a whole, Lawson and Capela are the two clear bright spots for me. With KJ, it's clear he has some really attractive skills and can be a very good player in this league, but he's going to get buried here (barring injury) so I wouldn't be surprised to see him move this year to another rebuilding type team that can give him time and is intrigued by his potential (aka his chase-downs and alley-oops). Who knows what for because there aren't a lot of holes in this team, but maybe a 4 that the Rockets like becomes available and Morey moves on that. As good as I think he could be, this probably just isn't the best place for him.

The biggest worry though, for me, is DMo. The injury came at such a bad time, and the fact that he's still out and recovering worries me. Hopefully he can get back to the player he was for stretches last season.