[ad_1]
The shorthanded Houston Rockets were good enough Thursday night to win their first game after James Harden’s trade request was granted.
The Rockets, who had just nine players available due to injuries and the imminent arrival of newcomers, capped what freshman coach Stephen Silas called “48 Crazy Hours” with a win over the route 109-105 against the San Antonio Spurs.
It was a particularly satisfying victory for a team that heard Harden, the franchise’s longtime cornerstone, publicly state that the Rockets were inadequate and could not be “fixed” after an unbalanced loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. evening, when the 2018 MVP was aware that trade negotiations had intensified and a deal could be reached soon. He was sent to the Brooklyn Nets, his favorite destination, as part of a three-team deal the next day.
The remaining Rockets responded with great determination.
“The whole team came together,” said center Christian Wood, who led the Rockets with 27 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks in the victory. “I guess you could see it as a blessing in disguise. Today we all played together. Everyone was playing hard.”
The Rockets held a team reunion – minus Harden – after their loss to the Lakers on Tuesday. They “drew the line there,” as rookie forward Jae’Sean Tate put it, vowing to cut the noise from the Harden saga and fight back after a disappointing start to the season.
“We got together, we talked about it, and it was on display tonight – just our solidarity, our dump dog mentality,” Tate said. “This is what we wanted from the start of the season. There are a lot of guys – in the squad, the staff and the general manager – everyone has so much to prove.”
The Rockets, who were 2-6 with Harden in uniform, are now 2-0 this season when the eternal MVP contender isn’t playing. They managed to win this game despite playing without any proven main ball handler with Harden gone. Commercial acquisition Victor Oladipo has yet to join the team, and John Wall (knee pain) and Eric Gordon (leg tightness) were absent due to injuries.
The nine available Rockets have a combined salary of $ 34.9 million, almost $ 6 million less than what Harden is making this season.
“Everyone on the team has confidence that we can go out on the pitch and get the job done,” said Sterling Brown, who is the minimum veteran and had 23 points and 7 rebounds in the win. “It’s just what it is. There was a lot going on in the last few years and early this year that I have no control over. … I just heard a few things and didn’t know the truth or whatever was involved.
“But it’s nothing I can control. It’s nothing that worries me. I’m worried about going out here and playing hard, winning and improving. That’s all.”
The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Tate, who played in Australia for two seasons after being undrafted in 2018, filled the void with a point-forward performance that prompted Silas to make a post-game comparison with another large-bodied southpaw, former Anthony Mason, star of the New York Knicks and Charlotte Hornets. Tate had 13 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists, becoming the Rockets’ first rookie since Steve Francis in 2000 to record a double-double in points-assists. He also made several critical defensive plays.
“He had to do a little bit of everything,” Silas said. “Whether it was starting the offense, showing the guys or making it to the top scorers, he did it all tonight. It was really fun to watch.
The Rockets played with a joy and passion they missed as Harden’s desire to be traded – as well as his efforts to achieve it, such as holding a training camp – hung over the franchise. It was a strong first step for a team that now has “real direction”, as Gordon said after the morning shoot, with the resolution of the Harden saga.
“It’s something to build on for sure,” Silas said. “We don’t want to overdo it, but it was a shorthanded, tough-minded, tough group that found a way to win without a senior ball manager on the pitch. Against a very good team. So, all of these combine to make this a special victory, but something we must build on and not just rest on.
“Spirit is something that I believe a lot in and talk about a lot, and we had spirit tonight. The guys were pulling each other out. They were resilient.”
[ad_2]
Source link