New Rockets center Christian Wood has been a revelation on offense in Houston so far, but in order to maximize his overall impact, he needs to become a more consistently reliable rim protector, as Kelly Iko of The Athletic writes.
“For us to be a great defense, it’s all about protection in the paint, protecting that rim,” Eric Gordon said on Monday. “If guards come down and they have to think about scoring over Christian Wood, that’s gonna help us.”
According to Iko, rebounding is also an area the Rockets will need to improve. When the team was playing micro-ball last season, its poor rebounding numbers were understandable, but those struggles have carried over to the early part of 2020/21, even with Wood and other big men now part of the rotation. Houston currently ranks 29th in rebounding percentage.
Here’s more on the Rockets:
- While James Harden has made it clear that he wants to be traded out of Houston, he still has to prove what sort of sacrifices he’s willing to make if he wants to win a championship, writes Howard Beck of Sports Illustrated. Some executives who spoke to Beck were skeptical that the former MVP would readily change his playing style to help a new team. “James is like Allen Iverson: He wants to win his way and put up historical numbers while he’s winning,” one veteran Eastern Conference executive said. “I would never question their desire to win, but they all want to win on their terms.”
- Ben McLemore and KJ Martin, who were self-isolating after reportedly testing positive for COVID-19, have returned to the team but are focusing on improving their conditioning and aren’t traveling to Indiana for Wednesday’s game, says Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Danuel House, who continues to be nagged by a sore back, also won’t be with the club for that game.
- In a separate article for The Houston Chronicle, Feigen takes a look at the strong start Sterling Brown has enjoyed after signing with the Rockets as a free agent in November.
- Kelly Iko and Tim Cato of The Athletic revisit Stephen Silas‘ days as an assistant coach with the Mavericks and explore how that position helped prepare him for his first head coaching job in Houston.
Siakam,Powell, Mat Thomas and 3 picks for Harden…
thats quite alot of valuable assets to give up for a player who can lead his team to win. lol wut they gunna do with two SGs they already have fred vanvleet as their primary go to shooter
Ha ha ha! A sentence with both “James Harden” and “sacrifices he’s willing to make” in it!!!
Remember when OKC was GSW before GSW? And because of Harden, it didn’t happen? Imagine the last 10 years of KD-Russ-Beard on the same team (and Ibaka too) – and it never happened all because James Harden has proven and even popularized that he doesn’t care about winning. When the league got big mad at Steph for supposedly “stealing” LeBrons “rightful titles”, it turned to promoting triple doubles in losses instead of promoting the things that teams do to win. That’s the NBA Harden created.
Harden using a cheat move and then shooting 20 FTs a game isn’t what MJ did. He couldn’t get 62 points unless he took 100 shots.
Lies. Harden wanted to stay in OKC. Their cheap owners quite reasonably didn’t want to pay him because OKC isn’t a real basketball market to fund three stars.
I called Harden to verify that but there was ….NO RING…
How did u get harden’s number? U anti harden guys are on another level mad creepy
You’re such a buzz kill
Remind me again how Curry is washed up and not a very good player. Curry’s phone rings 3 times…
He also just scored 62 points in one game
wdym @ little dunker 45 bruh u a rockets fan or something idk
OKC gave away Harden for next to nothing. Worst trade ever.
You think it would take Harden 100 shots just to get 62 points?
LD_45 is right. The Harden Haters here are totally clueless.
James Harden holds the NBA record for fewest FG attempts in a 60-point game! It was early last season against Atlanta, he went 16-24 shooting and ended up scoring 60. Curry went 18-31 and scored 62 points while taking 7 more shots and scoring just two more points.
Haters for any superstar are clueless. Imagine the crap people would have said about Jordan if social media existed back then. Doesn’t matter that he is in the GOAT conversation, people would have still spoke nonsense downplaying his greatness.
I also feel your frustration with people hating on your player. When LeBron was on the Cavaliers, people would constantly say that Kobe and Jordan are better players instead of just enjoying or acknowledging his excellence as a player. The fact that Harden scores 50+ (and on any given night) shows that he is a superstar. People will hate and say dumb stuff, but that won’t stop him from leading the league in points. When Harden (and LeBron) retire, people will (hopefully) remember them as the stars they are.
Harden in the conversation for GOAT? Huh? The league has been around for more than 10 years. It is coming up on its 75th anniversary. There are a few more people that would rate higher than Harden.
I was talking about Jordan…
yea yea yea 16-24 and 18-31 bruh who has more rings? harden or curry? dudes been around da same amount of time as curry and still can’t bet him self together to lead his team to win more game and propel them to a championship. if their team leader goes off to strip clubs and having fun, why wont his teammates do da same? bad example for a superstar.
Curry was driving the ball to the basket he doesn’t sit outside the 3 point line and shoot like Harden did in that game. Harden was only throwing up 3 pointers. I tried calling harden about it but there is NO RING. Curry has 3 RINGS. Case close Curry is the better player.
So by your ignorant opinion Robert Horry is more than twice the player Curry will ever be, as his phone rings 7 times, right?
harden type of due who shows off his skills but doesnt use it to lead his team to win lmao.
and hes still cant lead them to a championship lmao.
This is 100% false. Say whatever you want about Harden now, but that trade was a money deal. I remember it very well. There was only a $5mil difference in negotiations for a contract. It was like $55mil the team offered vs the $60mil he wanted. They at the time were adamant that they do not go at all into the luxury tax even a little.
If they had Harden, KD, and Westbrook they would have had to go in at least a few years. That is why people made fun of the trade for years and why OKC blew a potential dynasty. The only people also who say the Warriors “stole” titles from Lebron are diehard homer fans of the Cavs or crazy Lebron fans.
Finally someone who knows what they’re talking about, and makes sense
Nobody talks like that except for playground trash-talking or in Marty McRae’s imagination. Nobody has “rightful” titles… I doubt the Cavs were ever favored over GSW.
AI & Harden… Wow… talk about legends!
You gotta win your way or it is not worthy the sacrifice!
#FreeTheBeard
You say” free the Beard” meaning you think he should be traded to another team while also saying Harden only wants to win his way, which if it is true will stop other teams from trading for him.
I know…it’s hard figuring out complicated things sometimes.
He’s confused about a Team game.
“Dude I thought he meant shave it off”. Lol
He just thinks it’s cute, but it’s still Fear the Beard!!
sure sure. look at rockets man best 2-3 team in da west bout to crack 2-4 against da pacers who knows
If you saw AI play you would know he is legendary. He had the on court speed of a guy like Westbrook in his prime, but at a much smaller size. If he played 5 or 10 years after he did AI’s game would be a lot more appreciated.
Yeah that’s exactly why I wouldn’t want him on my team. If you really look at that. Which teams would he he want to change for, at least some. And which teams would think he would for them. Harden with two yrs left on contract. May end up like Melo did.
If you don’t think Harden is getting quotes on how to cryogenically freeze himself until Las Vegas gets a team, you really aren’t following his life too closely.
The Iverson comparison is ridiculous. He took all the shots because he didn’t play with anybody else who could score.
To be fair to Harden, he originally started taking all the shots because that’s what his team told him they wanted him to do. (He very noticeably didn’t do that when playing with KD and Russ.) Then his head started to get bigger and bigger, though, so I’m not sure there’s any coming back from that.
It’s the biggest Daryl Morey red flag. And, if it weren’t for his complete rejection of defense as a part of basketball, it would be the biggest D’Antoni red flag. Which also leads to this point: We have no idea what kind of defender Harden would have been if he hadn’t played so long for a coach who explicitly did not care about his players playing defense.
The coach nothing to do with Harden’s lack of defense. He just doesn’t try. Players just blow past him on their way to an easy layup. I doubt he has ever taken a Charge.
I doubt you have watched him play in over 5 years. Harden is probably the most improved defender in the NBA over the last couple of years. You’re talking about Harden circa 2014.
Considering how bad he was defensively, that is not a ringing endorsement. It is all relative. You can be the most improved, and still be in the bottom 25%.
wassup curry hater imagine tslkimng bout a guy who puts up so many triple doubles and shots but can’t help his team win lmao
Knicks were looking at Woods hard last yr. So I checked out his videos hard. Definitely saw talent there. Offensively he was sound for his size. His attitude and confidence was right. Even though it was a 20 gm stretch. You could see real potential there. But the thing was, what I saw. Was more a center than a 4. Not quite AD and Woods is 6’11”. So I’m thinking we have a C in Mitch. Although Woods could play some 4 in a twin tower set. He’d probably be best for Knicks as sixth man. Mitch does still have foul issues. So it could work. I just wouldn’t overpay for him. Considering we lucked out with Toppin, a real 4. Was probably best for us to look at other positions. Woods is a good signing for Rockets cause he can play center He’s a mobile big on offense. And his shot is solid and could get better. Offensively he is looking real good. Defensively he needs work. Don’t ever see him as rim protector. But you can also protect it with good position. Good team D is good D position too. What Rockets can do to help with that. Is play Cousins with him some. Better yet is get an athletic 4 who can block and play D. Like a Nerlens Noel. This way you help him with his weakness. Always a good idea to have a bench, a player. That can fill some starters weaknesses. Especially helping your big guard the middle. D is half the game. Where you don’t have to be top 10 if your offense is top 10. You at least have to be respectable. And be able to make stops. Close gms are won by big shots and making stops. Woods is best move Rockets made. Even if he is overpaid a bit.
Overpaid a bit? He’s getting just $13.7M/year. He’s underpaid, not overpaid.
The contract is actually ok. What I meant is Rockets overpaid a bit to get him. They gave up Covington to Blazers. Then #1pick (Stewart), Ariza for Woods. Plus 41 mill guaranteed over 3 yrs. They rolled the dice on him. I said it was a good pickup. They couldn’t sign him as FA. They took a chance and gave up a lot. It looks good right now. But I would give it a yr before I start buying his shorts. So I do think they overpaid a bit. Is what I meant
Dude I remember when he was being shopped. You never once talked about him. Not once. I was only one pushing him cause I knew Knicks had scouted him. So I checked him out and posted that he should be checked out. There were a few here who talked, mostly Pistons fans. So now your not only a fan but the President of the Wood fan club. Relax dude he’s still learning to play D. Give him a yr before you elope lol.
Awesome seeing Christian Wood doing his thing. Kid has worked really hard to get where he is. So many teams gave up on him.
I may not be a huge die hard fan of the Rockets since I liked whatever team Charles Barkley played on during my youth. When Barkley played his last game in Houston, I stuck with the Rockets (even though I have some love for the Phoenix Suns as a second favorite team) as my team. I root on the Rockets as a die hard fan and supporter of the team even through this drama with Harden. Only time I become a Suns fan is when they play the Spurs, Lakers, Warriors, or Rockets are out of the playoffs and Suns are in. We all have that one team we “fall back on”.
With that said, Barkley and Harden come from the same mold. Both wanted the ball in their hands and run the team. Barkley was more “cocky” and played honorable defense, that is the only difference between the two. Both haven’t won a championship even with “elite” stars playing alongside them. CP3, Westbrook, etc have played along side Harden and improved their odds. But Harden worried more about offensive numbers than a team effort. Similar to Barkley who played with several “elite” players from Philly to Houston. Barkley should have had a ring with Clyde and Hakeem, but decided to shoot some free throws after a win during a playoff series. This resulted in a “unexplained” injury for the series and remainder of the playoffs. Barkley cared about showing off like Harden does. As long as Harden is in Houston, Rockets will NEVER win a championship with him.
I love Harden and his desire to win, but his mindset is not in the right place and definitely doesn’t fit the mold of a TRUE Rocket. Clyde and Hakeem are just prime examples of teamwork. If it wasn’t for MJ, those two would have had more Championships. One of the greatest duo’s during the 90s, behind MJ/Pippen.
If Eric Gordon would lose a little bit of weight and Harden as well. If players would listen to the coach they would also have a better defense. Absolutely ridiculous. Wood can try his best but that’s not his strength. They should have picked up Collins from Atlanta when they flipped Capela.
ikr. demarcus cousins bruh dis dude is past his prime shoudl have picked up collins i agree. hes more athletic and versalite than cousins and less injury prone one of da best pick and roll dominators