The Rockets are willing to give up some of the NBA’s usual defensive advantages, such as size, rebounding, and rim protection, for the upside of being able to switch more than most teams. For that switching advantage to be realized, though, players must communicate their intentions to teammates on the floor. Tucker has cited this as a problem for Houston in the past, and in some games, it has led to too many blown assignments. But the upside of the NBA’s restart — which will occur without fans at the games — is that the lack of background noise should make it easier for players to hear on the court. https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/20...-rockets-are-communicating-better-on-defense/
Rockets have raved about their defensive intensity early in this training camp period, and the opportunity to mix in new pieces such as Carroll could be a part of the potential turnaround. “We’re actually looking well [on defense],” Carroll said. “Really well. If we can all put it together and gel and have everybody compete on the defensive end, our offense is going to take care of itself.” “Everybody on the team can shoot threes, so that’s not going to be a problem,” Carroll said Wednesday. “The main problem is we just have to be active on defense and rebound collectively, because we’re a small team. Those are things we really have to focus on.” https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/20...-rotation-demarre-carroll-focused-on-defense/
Day 9 after practice interviews: MDA, RoCo, EGo https://www.nba.com/rockets/video/t...3331860/1595193804576-coachfinalfinal-3331860
“At the end of the day, it’s about getting to an efficient, great offense,” Morey said of the Rockets, via Ben DuBose of USA Today Sports. “We’re already the second-best offense, but we can make that better, I think. We can easily be first throughout the playoffs. “Coach has put in a new offensive set, which will be interesting. I think Coach will still go into the main skillsets of our players. It’s more just a wrinkle. As usual with Mike , it’s simple stuff that’s very hard to stop.” https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-ne...fense-as-mike-dantoni-puts-new-offensive-set/
Bruno is back. Just in time, Rockets are short handed for their 1st scrimmage. With Russ and Luc unavailable, leaves Rockets with only 13 to play.
Day 10 Interviews: Coach, Rivers, House https://www.nba.com/rockets/video/teams/rockets/2020/07/20/3332955/1595272087699-mda-3332955
