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At least for a while, this season's Rockets looked like last season's.
James Harden dominated. Chris Paul was coldly efficient. Clint Capela was a lobbing force.
The offensive was launched and no one has ever wondered how he could adapt to Carmelo Anthony or if he would have a chance to be again.
The start of the race did not last. The Rockets had 24 points in the first half of the period, but in the fourth quarter, the offense was again formidable, crossing the worst quarter of the season.
They held out to win, but when they left for Denver, we did not know if Anthony would join them.
As someone who knows the thought of the team said, the Rockets "definitely rated everything".
Anthony had missed a second consecutive game with an unspecified illness. After the Rockets win, coach Mike D & # 39; Antoni said that he did not know if Anthony would play Tuesday, but when he spoke about the Rockets lean bench, he referred to the Sprained ankle and bruised knee of Clint Capela, of Gerald Green. in the first quarter, but did not mention Anthony.
Despite Daryl Morey's best pre-game efforts, the uncertainty will not stop until Anthony stops playing for the Rockets, or he decides he will not do it.
The rest of the Rockets, however, just needed to find a way, in any way, to win. The way they found was fortunately familiar, even if it did not last.
1. Rockets GM Daryl Morey did his best to say that the Rockets' early-season difficulties were not Anthony's fault. Although he is a lightning rod for criticism, no one could have thought it. The problems were too big, too common to blame the sixth man.
Along the way, Morey refuted information that it had been announced to Anthony that he would not return to the Rockets. Morey did not even go to the usual dodge that he would always look for a way to improve the team.
Morey however said that everything was being evaluated. Even if "everything" means most things, assuming that the Rockets do not make an assessment of Harden's game, it was enough to leave the door open to a decision as to whether Anthony could still fit in Rockets.
He has always had a limited role, as Dr. Antoni again emphasized on Friday when he said that Anthony 's best asset for the Rockets would be to be a substitute. But with Eric Gordon back and the Rockets using more and more their lineup of three guards, and D'Antoni springing up again on rookie Gary Clark's play, Anthony's minutes could be "in a hurry" , as Dr. Antoni said, even more.
Anthony was ready to become P.J. Tucker's replacement. This has always been understood. He even seemed to accept that James Ennis III would be the starting small striker, with his own minutes coming to power.
Anthony did not see himself waiting for the play time behind Clark, an unprepared rookie with a two-way contract that split the time with the Vipers.
The Rockets, however, seemed to have moved in that direction. They seemed ready to move on.
Morey said that they had not made that decision yet. This should probably come with a mutual decision. But when Paul said "we'll see what happens," he did not seem to be referring to when Anthony would come back.
2. The return of the Rockets offense did not last. It's likely that the night they had their best offensive quarter and half of the season, they also had their worst quarterback.
They had been so destroyed to the point of attacking that it was probably unlikely that they would all be appeased by the good feelings that come from a long firing sequence.
The Rockets have shown how they can and should play. They were aggressive and confident, moving the ball and themselves faster. There was a part of their game when they started it in the first half with 76 points. They quickly ran Capela between pick-and-roll and dribbling. They moved the ball to open the 3s. They fired with confidence that was not shaken when the Pacers made their third quarter run.
They have also demonstrated, once again, what can go wrong by letting this offensive energy pass. As on arrival in Brooklyn, the Rockets spent the fourth quarter, as if they hoped to run out of time. They made 18.8% of their shots, largely because the whole rhythm they had in the first half and of which they spoke so much has already disappeared.
As much as it has been said about the Rockets of last season, especially at the offensive, a key often overlooked is the speed with which they ended up knowing and believing who they were. They had a way of playing. It was clear and consistent. It worked almost always, but even if it was not, the Rockets generally stayed true to their style, their attitude and especially their confidence in what they were doing.
They still have a way of playing. They always shoot more than 3 than any team in the 3 – for – all age. They try to punish the switches with iso. But they often seem to wander, as they looked for ways to generate those opportunities.
There is still a lot to correct. Gordon, who achieves 23.1% of his 3, needs to find his tact. Green, when he comes back from a sprained ankle, will have to start again. Paul and Harden, as remarkable as they were in the first half, have not achieved and maintained the standards of last season.
The first step, however, could have been clear in the first half of Sunday. The Rockets are not alike often this season. At this point, the shots began to fall with the offensive potential at hand.
3. When Antoni started the season playing 10 players, some evenings at 11, he did not have to show his identity card to prove that it was him. and to go to the locker room. It did not seem to be going to last. He does not have it.
Part of that is due to an injury. The sprained ankle from Green Friday came out of the rotation. The illness and Anthony's uncertain return put a spinning back player that lasted an average of 29.2 minutes, which does not coincidentally match Ryan Anderson's first season with the Rockets.
Michael Carter-Williams has regained his planned third-guard role – a role that could replace Brandon Knight in his return from knee surgery, assuming he can escalate – the rotation of the Rockets was reduced to eight players, including two recruits. One of these rookies, Isaiah Hartenstein, played 13 minutes and will probably not play much more.
A short rotation does not necessarily mean long minutes, but if one of the eight players plays between two and four minutes, the playing time is too long for some, especially in the front zone. Tucker played 40 minutes Saturday and averages 36 per game. Clark played 33 minutes on Sunday and seems far more rooted in the rotation than Anthony.
If Anthony does not come back, a distinct possibility, the rotation that had to be unusually deep for D'Antoni's teams could be very slim. It could improve. Clark and Hartenstein could benefit from playing time. Clark has shown impressive potential in 3D. Hartenstein is only 20 years old and is a veteran of a G League season. Finally, Nene could come back.
For the moment, in a season where everything is so bad, any other loss of playing time could be devastating.
Capela had to be shaken off the ground on Sunday with a bruised knee. Although he returned and made 8 of 9 shots to score his 18 points in 29 minutes, he was considered uncertain to play Tuesday. The Rockets were not ready to handle the absence of Capela, even when the rotation had 10 members. Clark in the center might be asking too much.
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