Return Of Patrick Beverley Has Houston Rockets Soaring
By Simon Smith
Ever since guard Patrick Beverley returned to the Houston Rockets’ lineup, the team has taken off.
The Houston Rockets have found themselves with an unlikely savior to kick start their season. The Rockets commenced the season with a 6-5 record, and their output and efficiency from game-to-game was somewhat inconsistent.
But the return of guard Patrick Beverley to the starting lineup has seen the Rockets win eight of their past 10 games and showing glimpses of the potential many envisioned coming into the season.
The Rockets as a franchise underwent quite a transformation this past off-season. Signing renowned offensive guru Mike D’Antoni to be the Rockets new head coach was the first step of their summer face lift.
Next was allowing center Dwight Howard‘s to leave via free agency and sign with the Atlanta Hawks. With Howard’s departure and the booming salary cap, this ensured that the Rockets would have the cap space necessary to make some important acquisitions.
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With this newly found cap space, the Rockets went ahead and signed forward Ryan Anderson and guard Eric Gordon to multiyear deals.
D’Antoni, in conjunction with Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, foresaw a team where resident superstar guard James Harden would be flanked by the likes of prolific shooters such as Gordon and Anderson.
Under the direction of D’Antoni, Harden was now assigned as the team’s full-time point guard. Although this was a change to being a shooting guard for the first seven years of his career, Harden was coming off a season where he averaged 7.5 assists per game.
With Harden now manning the ball-handling duties full-time, Beverley has transformed himself and the Rockets in his newly found role. The attitude and intensity Beverley brings at both ends of the floor has so proven to be invaluable with this new-look Rockets team.