Houston Rockets: Good, Bad, Ugly From Preseason

By Duncan Smith | Oct 10, 2015

Oct 7, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) dribbles against Dallas Mavericks guard Justin Anderson (1) in the first quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports /

The Houston Rockets have a couple preseason games in the books, having split the slate so far with a 92-89 road loss to the Memphis Grizzlies and a 109-82 home win over the Dallas Mavericks. As you might imagine with sample size consisting of exactly one win and one loss, there have been some ups and downs so far at this early point in time.

The Rockets have put out somewhat different lineups in both games, and they seem to be making a concentrated effort to give the youngsters some extra time on the floor as a result. Sam Dekker and Clint Capela are leading the team in minutes played so far, with Dekker averaging 27.2 and Capela averaging 25.7 minutes per game.

ALSO ON HOOPSHABIT: 25 Best Players To Play For The Rockets

It will be interesting to see if that trend continues on Sunday against Orlando Magic.

More from Houston Rockets

With these two games in the books, and another one on deck this weekend, we’ll take a look at the good, the bad and the ugly from the Rockets’ preseason thus far.

The Good

Head coach Kevin McHale hasn’t been shy about playing the young guys so far. Clint Capela led the Rockets with 27 minutes played in the opener against the Grizzlies, and he put up a respectable line of eight points on 4-of-7 shooting and he grabbed another eight rebounds.

Against the Mavericks, Sam Dekker led the Rockets with 28 minutes, and he scored 12 points and hit five of his 10 shots from the floor. He also recorded a plus-23 net rating.

Also against the Mavs, K.J. McDaniels played 25 minutes, and he scored 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting, and he hit two of his four three-pointers. He added a nice round line with seven rebounds and five assists, but he also committed five fouls.

Not to be overshadowed, Clint Capela built on his solid preseason debut with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting and he collected 14 rebounds in 24 minutes.

Here’s hoping we’ll get to see the kids play some more minutes against Orlando.

Also in the good category, the Rockets have been stingy on defense. Houston has only surrended 87 points per game through two so far, and has held the opposition to 37.3 percent shooting from the floor.

Mind you, the Grizzlies are known for their defense, not for their shooting, and the Mavericks team that got rolled out against the Rockets on Thursday was barely an NBA-level team. However, it’s promising to see that the Rockets are playing the kind of defense they are supposed to against teams they should be able to shut down.

The bad

As solid as the Rockets shooting defense has been, the offense has barely been better from the floor. Through two games the Rockets have hit 39.6 percent of their shots, and just 25.3 percent of their three-point attempts.

That number naturally came up after dropping 109 against the Mavericks, which means that the Grizzlies held the Rockets to 36 percent from the floor, and the Rockets only hit five of their 30 three-pointers.

We can probably chalk that up to first-game jitters and rust especially considering that James Harden went 1-for-7, Patrick Beverley went 1-for-4 and Marcus Thornton went 1-for-5, but make no mistake that these overall numbers are far short of acceptable.

Expect them to increase significantly before the end of the preseason, especially since these names in particular belong to some pretty good three-point shooters.

The ugly

Fortunately, this is a really good team with high expectations for the 2015-16 season, but they are integrating some new pieces to the roster, including point guard Ty Lawson and the aforementioned young guys like Capela, Dekker and McDaniels.

Right now the ugly category remains mostly empty, but the main concern going forward will be the team’s health, much as it was last year. Rookie Montrezl Harrell has yet to play this preseason and has no timetable yet as to when he’ll be able to return to action, due to a bruised thigh.

Power forward Donatas Motiejunas has also been out since undergoing back surgery in April, and currently remains without a timetable to return as well. He won’t play in the preseason, and it’s very likely he’ll miss the season opener on Oct. 28 against the Denver Nuggets.

These injuries have forced Capela and Dekker into the extended action they’ve seen so far, so these injuries may have ultimately have a silver lining down the road, but for both the team and Harrell and Motiejunas it’s important for them to get back healthy and ready to play.

Next: NBA: 50 Greatest Players Of All Time

More from Hoops Habit

Home/Houston Rockets