www.rockets.com/live Media Day LIVE stream. It'll start around 12:30 like Clutch mentioned. Schedule https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CtDch9PUIAAnywu.jpg
Rockets have led the league in shooting 3s the past two years (by a huge margin). What does MDA mean we're going "to shoot more 3"? Is he talking about "evolution of his offenses" from a historical perspective, I guess, and not Rockets history.
Amen RJ! Really wish CSN-H could've worked out. CSN-H>>>>>>RSSW Root Sports Houston - your home for Rockets & Astros coverage only on game night. Anything live - press conferences, media days - cannot do!
Leslie: Great to see everybody here. Expecting a great season. I want to announce we're having Yao's jersey retirement February 2nd. Anybody have any questions? Last year at this time, you were thinking championship. What are you thinking with this squad? Very, very good. Better on both sides of the ball. Coaching staff is fabulous, a top 3 player in the league & our new guys all bought into winning. They can shoot. We have much better shooting. We'll win more games than folks anticipate. Until the season rolls on, we'll see. Harden hosting mini-camp. It was great. Shows James wants to win badly. He's a winning player. The national press knock on him is wrong. He's one of the top 3-4 players we've ever had here. Wants to win as much as Hakeem & Drexler and everyone else. What excites you about this team? Everything. Great player. What's interesting about this team is most guys are in their prime. They know what they'll do on the court.
Daryl: Excited about the season. James has shown a lot of leadership this offseason, getting players together. We've done it in the past but this is to a new level. It's also a year where I feel very good where we got players on the roster who all fit a style of play that our coaching staff is comfortable with. We've got big goals this year. Reminds me of the narrative a couple years ago of how can they survive without this player or that player that isn't here & we surprised and won at a high level and made the WCF. We'll take it a game at a time & play really hard. We upgraded our shooting. That's on me. For the style we wanted to play, we didn't have enough. Acquisition of Tyler Ennis? As folks know, guards are becoming more important in this league. We feel we have two one's in Beverley & Gordon & Harden. Past that, we have a different mix. Some vets who can help in Prigioni & Bobby Brown & younger guys in Ennis & Payton. I wanted to give coach as many options at that important position. Worried about the depth? After Eric, James & Pat, we don't have guys we know for sure. Pablo has proven himself, Bobby internationally but at their stage of their careers, hard to count on for big roles. The depth was something we were trying to shore up. Did you like him in the draft process? We target guys in the draft. He's someone we always had our eye on. His ability to pass. Good size. He has a real chance to step up. We've given coach quite a few options. At some point, we'll need someone of those four to step up. Expectations increased for Capela? For us to have the season we want (home court & deep playoff run), Clint will have to take a big step forward. It won't be easy going from 15-20 minutes to playing 25+ minutes against front line guys. It's a big step forward. It takes a toll on your body. He's added a lot of muscle. He's worked extremely hard. He can take that step forward but something we'll need, especially on defense. Starting center or competition with Nene? That's up to coach. Mike: We don't look at it like that yet. We'll see. ... Both are ready for big roles. Nene a veteran adviser to Capela? Daryl: I doubt Nene looks at it like that. He's a great veteran. The background is so good. He's a competitive guy. I do think he'll be a good role model for Clint as well. Where are things with D-Mo? That's ongoing discussions. I won't comment on it. How important might he be? Mike: He can't tell you that. We want him here as soon as we can. We'd love to have him. He'll be a big part. He does play-making we need & moves the ball. He'll be ready. How much more important for him to be here? You'd love it. I'm not worried about it. I can't control it. In December, we won't be talking about it. He'll pick it up quick. ... What do you think of James' mini-camp? Great indication that they're committed & being together & making chemistry work. Anything like that is positive. Chemistry wise, you definitely got a lot of good things. They're serious about having a great season but so are 29 other teams. We can't fool ourselves that we went to Miami, we'll be fine. It's a positive step for sure. Pieces you have to work with? Love 'em. Great opportunity. We have a lot of shooting and that cures a lot of ails. Daryl: I'm glad Matt Bullard won't win our 3pt shooting contest. ... Relationship with the Rockets front office? Oh yeah, they had a lot of things different, for the best. I've been on a lot of teams. I'm old & have been around. The info we get is a lot, is also "Wow, look at this!" Sometimes you have gut feelings and you'd like to go that way but you tip toe. Hopefully the data we get every day, that gives us more confidence. But more than that, you can tell the players the same thing and now they'll be on the same page and they're not questioning. We're showing them this is why we do this, not because we have a wild idea. We're all on the same page & want to play this way. I don't have to argue or hope they believe it. They do believe it. ...
