Houston Rockets Blog – Page 5 – NBA Blog

The latest on a rumor involving James Harden and the Rockets

Former Houston Rockets star and current 76ers guard James Harden wasn’t exactly in the Christmas spirit as he addressed reporters Sunday after a 119-112 win over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Philadelphia’s victory was in-part overshadowed by a pregame report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that detailed Harden’s interest in a potential return to Houston in 2023. Harden was dismissive of Wojnarowski’s report when speaking with the media postgame, noting he is “excited” to be in Philadelphia.

“I’m here, we’re playing very well, I don’t know where the report came from,” Harden said. “But I’m very excited to be here. We are playing well, and we’re continuing to get better.”

On the development of Rockets rookie Jabari Smith

Via the Houston Chronicle:

The slow burn that is Jabari Smith’s rookie season with the Houston Rockets flashed some serious sparks on Sunday night.

Houston’s forward and the No. 3 pick in the 2022 NBA draft tallied 22 points and seven assists in a narrow loss to the defending champions, registering a career-high scoring night as he made things difficult for the Golden State Warriors on both ends of the floor. Smith’s first professional campaign has been uneven thus far. Sunday night was the clearest example of his All-NBA potential.

“[Those are] some of the greatest players to ever do it out there,” Smith said following Houston’s 127-120 loss. “Definitely a confidence booster going out there and knowing I can compete with some of the greatest.”

The season-best effort from Smith continued his progression on the offensive end of the floor after a slow start. Smith entered Tuesday night averaging just 10.9 points per game, fourth among all rookies. He’s shooting a paltry 33.3 percent from the floor and 30.2 percent from three, a stark contrast to his 42 percent mark from three during one season at Auburn. Smith is still getting plenty of respect from defenses as a floor spacer. But through his first 15 games, Smith struggled to convert many of his open looks.

FULL ARTICLE

Weekly Houston Rockets notes: Nov. 21, 2022

ROCKETS TEAM NOTES

KJ Martin joins Toronto’s OG Anunoby and Utah’s Lauri Markkanen as the only players to have recorded at least 18 3-pointers and 30 dunks this season… Martin ranks tied for fifth in the NBA with 32 dunks this season after finishing 15th with 114 in 2021-22.

Tari Eason is averaging 8.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.47 steals in 18.4 minutes per game… he is on pace to become the first player in NBA history to have averaged at least 8.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 1.00 spg in fewer than 19.0 mpg in a single season… Eason is tied for the most games recording multiple steals by a rookie this season with six.

Houston has shot 45.0% or better from the floor in six of the past eight games after doing so once the first nine games of the season… since the start of last season, all but three of the Rockets wins have come when shooting 45.0% or better.

The Rockets have outrebounded their opponent in seven of the past 11 games after doing so once the first six games of the season… Houston ranks fifth in rebounding differential this season (+2.7 per) after finishing last in in each of the previous two seasons.

On the Rockets after their season opener

Via the Houston Chronicle:

The Houston Rockets dropped their fifth straight season opener in Wednesday’s 117-107 loss in Atlanta.

It was a difficult shooting night for Stephen Silas’s squad, and a poor fourth quarter could be a harbinger of things to come for what is expected to be a lottery-bound team. Yet Houston’s young talent did provide some hope in the loss. Forward Jabari Smith tallied 17 points in his NBA debut, and fellow rookie Tari Eason provided a spark off the bench with eight points and seven rebounds. This season could be another slog for Rockets fans. It will be worth appreciating the little things as the team heads toward a likely 50-plus loss season…

Jabari Smith is a serious spacer: The No. 3 pick didn’t post the most efficient shooting night as he went 6-17 from the floor and 3-11 from beyond the arc, but frankly the sheer number of three-point attempts from Smith on Wednesday is an encouraging sign. Smith projects to be one of the best shooting big men in the league in the coming years, and he drained 42 percent of attempts during his lone season at Auburn. It was encouraging to see him shoot with confidence in his pro debut.

FULL ARTICLE

Young, rebuilding Rockets set to begin new season

Here’s the Houston Chronicle on the young, rebuilding Rockets as they begin the new season:

It’s hard to know what to expect from the Houston Rockets this season. Stephen Silas’s squad enters Wednesday’s opener in Atlanta following a pair of seasons near the Western Conference cellar, though this isn’t a roster bereft of talent entering 2022-23. Second-year guard Jalen Green is one of the game’s best young athletes, and he could threaten for a scoring title at some point in the 2020s. Talented guard Kevin Porter Jr. and young center Alperen Şengün both sport a degree of All-Star upside, and 2022 lottery pick Jabari Smith should make an instant impact on both ends.

This year’s Rockets team is light years away from championship contention. The play-in feels like a long shot. Yet for all its warts, this should be one of the more entertaining young teams in basketball. Projecting Houston’s performance on a given night will be no easy task.

Win or lose, there should be some fun-to-watch basketball in Houston this season.

Rockets sign Kevin Porter Jr. to contract extension

The Houston Rockets have signed guard Kevin Porter Jr. to a multi-year contract extension.

Porter Jr.’s Rockets extension is reportedly a a four-year, $82.5 million deal.

“We value the player and the person that Scoot is becoming and are eager to invest in him and his journey,” said General Manager Rafael Stone. “He’s expressed how happy he is to be with this organization and has shown his commitment to putting in the work both on and off the court. We are excited for the opportunity to continue to build something special with him.”

Per the Houston Chronicle, “the contract is fully guaranteed through the first season, another individual familiar with the deal said. In subsequent seasons, there are triggers in which those seasons would become guaranteed, allowing Porter to earn the rich contract after his rocky start in the NBA with the Cavaliers while providing the Rockets with protection.”

Porter was acquired by Houston via trade with Cleveland on Jan. 22, 2021 and has since appeared in 87 games with 84 starts as a Rocket while averaging 15.9 points, 6.2 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 1.01 steals, and 2.4 3-pointers made. Over the past two seasons, he was one of eight players to have averaged at least 15.0 ppg, 6.0 apg, 4.0 rpg, 1.00 spg, and 2.0 3FGM, joining LaMelo Ball, Stephen Curry, Luka Dončić, James Harden, LeBron James, Kyle Lowry, and Fred VanVleet.

The Seattle native did not turn 22 years old until after last season ended. Over his 35 games played in 2021-22, Porter averaged 3.1 3FGM on 40.4% shooting and was one of five players with at least six games played over that span to have averaged at least 3.0 3FGM while shooting 40.0% or better. He also had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.54 over his final 32 games played last season, up from a 1.65 ratio his first 55 games as a Rocket.

Porter recorded 50 points and 11 assists vs. Milwaukee on April 29, 2021, becoming the fifth-youngest player to have scored 50-plus points in NBA history and he eclipsed LeBron James as the youngest to have done so while recording 10-plus assists. Porter had 30 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists vs. Sacramento on March 30, 2022, becoming the youngest Rocket to have recorded a triple-double in franchise history. He became the fourth player in NBA history under the age of 22 to have recorded both a 50-point game and a triple-double, joining LeBron James, Brandon Jennings, and Trae Young.

Rockets add Darius Days and Trhae Mitchell, waive Maurice Harkless and Theo Maledon

The Houston Rockets have claimed forward Darius Days off waivers from Miami in addition to signing free agent forward Trhae Mitchell.

And in related moves, the Rockets have waived forward Maurice Harkless and guard Théo Maledon.

Per the Houston Chronicle, “neither Maledon nor Harkless was in the team’s plans after the eight-player trade with the Thunder the Rockets made to acquire a second-round pick. The Rockets had previously waived guard Ty Jerome.”

Days (6-7, 240) was eligible for the 2022 NBA Draft following his senior season at LSU, during which he was teammates with Rockets forward Tari Eason. He was one of two Division I players to have averaged at least 13.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.50 steals and 2.0 3-pointers made in 2021-22. Days averaged 13.7 ppg and 10.0 rpg while shooting 55.6% from the floor and 37.5% from 3-point range for San Antonio at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

Mitchell (6-6, 195) was eligible for the 2020 NBA Draft following his senior season at South Alabama. He spent the past two seasons with the Rockets G League affiliate, Rio Grande Valley, and played for Houston at the 2022 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. From 2018-19 through 2019-20, Mitchell was the only Division I player to have recorded at least 800 points, 400 rebounds, 160 assists, 70 steals and 100 blocks.

Rockets sign Willie Cauley-Stein

The Houston Rockets have signed free agent center Willie Cauley-Stein.

Cauley-Stein (7-0, 240) was originally the sixth overall pick by Sacramento in the 2015 NBA Draft. In seven seasons, he has appeared in 422 games with 256 starts while averaging 8.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 22.0 minutes per game. For his career, Cauley-Stein has shot 54.4% from the floor, including 59.0% over the past three seasons.

Over a span of three seasons from 2017-18 through 2019-20, Cauley-Stein was the only player in the league to have averaged at least 11.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.0 apg and 1.00 spg in fewer than 31.0 mpg. He is the only player in the history of the University of Kentucky to have recorded career totals of at least 500 rebounds, 200 blocks and 100 steals.

Rockets notes: team faces Raptors in preseason tonight

Tonight is the second of four preseason games for the Rockets… Houston plays at Miami on Monday before wrapping up its preseason schedule at Indiana a week from now on 10/14.

Houston outrebounded San Antonio 60-44 in its preseason opener on 10/2… the Rockets outrebounded the opposition 29 times last season after doing so 19 times in 2020-21.

Jae’Sean Tate is set to return to the lineup tonight after missing the preseason opener due to injury… he is the fifth player to have reached his totals of points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and 3-pointers made through the first 148 games played of a career.

Kevin Porter Jr. had 6 assists with 2 turnovers in the preseason opener vs. San Antonio… he had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.54 over his final 32 games played last season, up from a 1.53 ratio his first 29 games played.

Rockets sign Bruno Fernando to multi-year contract

The Houston Rockets have signed center Bruno Fernando to a multi-year contract.

Per the Houston Chronicle yesterday, “Fernando’s play in Lake Charles and in Saturday’s workout in Houston did not lead to the new deal after he came to camp on an exhibit 10 contract with the Rockets always hoping to make that sort of move, the person familiar with the team’s thinking said. But Fernando’s play in summer workouts and the first week of the preseason left no questions about making the move. Fernando will sign a four-year, $11.9 million contract with the 2022-23 season guaranteed, a significant boost from not having a standard NBA deal heading into camp or the two-way contract the Rockets moved him to on Friday.”

The Rockets originally acquired Fernando as part of a trade with Boston on Feb. 10, 2022. He appeared in 10 games over the remainder of the season for Houston while averaging 6.9 points and 4.0 rebounds in 9.4 minutes per game. In a combined 30 games for the Rockets and Celtics in 2021-22, Fernando averaged 20.8 points, 13.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per 36 minutes played.

Fernando scored in double-figures in four of his 10 games as a Rocket, while recording two double-doubles. He shot 70.7% from the floor for Houston, including 8-of-8 in 23 minutes of play vs. Dallas on March 11.

Fernando was the 34th overall pick by Philadelphia in the 2019 NBA Draft following his sophomore season at the University of Maryland. This summer, he averaged 11.3 ppg and 6.3 while playing for Angola in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers.