[...] Yet, the Rockets remain convinced they have not only restocked the shelves with talent and draft picks, but they have also made progress in developing young players. “If you take a step back and look at the big picture, we feel pretty good,” Rockets general manager Rafael Stone said. “We wanted to reinfuse the organization with talented players, and I do think we have talented players. And I think when you look at those young players that have talent, they’re all improving. From that perspective, we feel pretty good. “It’s a tough league. It’s a hard season. There’s ups and downs and challenges. Improvement is not linear. It’s not to say we don’t have a bunch of challenges in front of us, but we like our young guys. We have to see how we can improve them and see if we can translate the individual improvement to team improvement over time.” [...] The greater issue has been that individual growth has not translated to team improvement. The Rockets reached the break with losses in 12 of 13 games. In the areas that often separate winning from losing — defense, turnovers and free throw shooting — the Rockets are ranked last in the NBA. “There’s been some ups and downs,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. “There’s been some uneven play. But as a whole, I like the progress of our guys. I think they’re learning. When we go through our walk-throughs, they’re much more in tune, locked in, know where they’re supposed to be. When it gets to the game sometimes it gets a little bit lost because of the speed and the randomness of what happens in an NBA game. But our guys are learning, they’re getting better. “As a coach, you’re always wanting it to be better. You want to win more games. I’m never going to be like, ‘yeah, it’s going perfect.’ It is a hard thing. I’m looking at individual progress as well because setting up the structure so they can get better is my job.” The Rockets cannot truly enjoy that growth until confirmed on scoreboards. The moments that display potential, as with the spots in the Rising Stars games claimed by three Rockets players, including two that began the season as teenagers, show promise. There is also a sense that after going through two seasons of losing, that there is a desire to stick together to cash in on the dues paid. “Nobody is going to be individually successful unless the team is successful,” Tate said. “That’s what we have to focus on, to play for each other. Nobody is trying to lose. No one is going out there to play selfish. It comes down to being a young team. It’s learning how to play the game. “I see these guys more than I see my own family. I see these guys almost every day of my life. This is my family. We’ve formed a bond. This is one of the closest teams I’ve been on. We have to keep growing and figure out how to translate that to on the court. That will happen. We’re going through growing pains. We have to look at the glass half full.” That would seem a wise way to deal with 15-43. It is also appropriate for All-Star weekend. The Rockets will not be part of Sunday’s celebration, other than when their alumni take the stage for the halftime ceremony honoring the 75th Anniversary team. The Rising Stars and Green’s place in Saturday night’s showcase bring reasons for hope, perhaps even invite optimism. With that, they are not meaningless events to the Rockets. “It means a ton,” Silas said. “It is showing that Rafael is picking the right guys. It shows that we’ve had some improvement amongst our group. “They are so different, all three of them. There is Jae’Sean who was undrafted, and nobody really knew. He played overseas and came and found his way into the lineup and couldn’t take him out. Was first-team All-Rookie last year. This is really a great moment for him. “With Al-P, we didn’t know … what we were getting, really. Scouted him a little bit … but we didn’t know he would be one of the top 12 rookies in the NBA this quickly. “Then, Jalen, before the season everybody probably would have said he’s playing in the Rising Stars game, for sure. But everybody’s been talking about his shooting slump and is he strong enough and all these other things instead of the positive parts the league saw and put him in that group of … the 12 best rookies in the NBA. I’m super excited for those three guys in particular.” That is enough for the Rockets, from the lockerroom to the offices upstairs, to feel that they are in Cleveland, too, in the hope that the weekend is a sign of better times to come. “It’s funny because I was talking to Scoot,” Silas said of Porter. “I was like, ‘One of the reasons those three guys are on the (Rising Stars) team is because of you.’ It’s the group that helped those guys be on that team. It’s not just them although they so deserve it and it’s such a great thing for them. But we should see this as organizationally really good for everybody, those three, the team as well as the organization. “Going through the growing pains is no fun. But seeing what it can be when we get there is going to be amazing.”
To this I agree with. As I posted to @AlperenSengun yesterday. Success is not going to be in big yellow flashing lights signaling, "Look At Me!" Ask the question, "would this Rockets team of today beat the Rockets team of week one?" With that in mind the competition was weaker for the most part then too. Teams are stronger now as the players are all in sync, clicking together, assimilated new players. The answer would not be both are equal....the answer would be this Rockets team would completely annihilate that Rockets team that started the season with two bigs and only running 3 or 4 plays.
JC, Sengun, and Green have the best chemistry. Doctor that lives in the same apartments says they're always together.
