What to Watch for at Houston Rockets' 2014 Training Camp
Houston Rockets fans can rejoice as training camp approaches and the new season begins. After a long summer full of playoff and free-agent disappointments, a new year with new hope has finally arrived.
We finally got a good look at the full Rockets squad on media day. James Harden, Dwight Howard and a lot of new faces suited up for press conferences and photo shoots. The overall theme of the day was improving on defense in order to contend.
Once training camp begins, it will be interesting to see how this team will go about preparing for the regular season. In Harden and Howard's second season together, there's some pressure to make a deep playoff run, yet at the same time many expect the Rockets to fall in the standings due to the departures of Jeremy Lin, Omer Asik and Chandler Parsons.
For the next few weeks, coach Kevin McHale and his staff will have to start scheming with their new players and try to figure out the rotation. The Rockets also have a lot of young talent to develop as well as some new veterans who need to figure out their roles.
Here's a look at five things to watch for as the Rockets head into training camp.
Defensive Adjustments
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As mentioned before, it was very evident that the main theme of media day was defense.
General manager Daryl Morey told Sara Eckert of CSN Houston: "Bottom line is overall we were an average team. We want to be a top-10 team. If we can be top-10 on both sides of the ball, that’s the entry card hoping to be a team that can compete for a championship.” Morey also noted that when signing free agents, his idea was to bring in defensive-minded players.
Newcomer Trevor Ariza was brought in to replace Chandler Parsons but also to provide some much-needed perimeter defense. "I thought they were a really good team last year – scored a lot of points, didn’t really do a lot on the defensive end, but again, that takes time,” Ariza told the media. “Hopefully, we can focus on both ends instead of just one."
Ariza joining forces with former Defensive Player of the Year Howard and second team All-NBA defender Patrick Beverley makes the Rockets a formidable team defensively, improving on one of their greatest weaknesses from last season.
Even Harden wants to get in on the transition, as he informed the media. “I know I can be a really good defender," the Beard said. "Obviously at times my defense is pretty bad, but that category I know I have to be better at it, and for us to reach our potential something has to be done."
“We’ve constantly been challenging James, and he’s taken on challenges and he knows he’s got to improve in areas,” coach McHale said on Harden's defense. “There’s a lot of offensive pressure on him to deliver every single night, but you still have to play the other side."
"One nice thing about James is we don’t have to bring it up,” Morey added on the subject. “He’s the one talking about where he needs to go as a next step as a player, and he wants to continue to improve. It’s not us having to push him. It’s where he wants to go himself.”
It is very clear that this team wants to kick things up a notch on the defensive end, so now it's just a matter of execution.
Morey and his staff need to get together and come up with a scheme to make this team a strong defensive unit collectively. The talent is there with Beverley, Ariza, Howard, a newly focused Harden and an athletic Terrence Jones. It's up to the coaches to get these guys in the right places at the right times to become a stronger defensive team.
The Rockets may have given up the most points per game of any playoff team last season, but that statistic alone doesn't tell the whole story. Because the Rockets play at such a fast pace, they naturally give up more points than slower, grittier teams. However, according to Hollinger's team stats, the Rockets were actually the 12th-most efficient team defensively.
The potential is certainly there. With a new focus and some better schematics, the Rockets can easily crack their way into the top 10 of the NBA on defense in addition to their already lethal offensive attack.
The Roster Bubble
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Every year there is always a small handful of guys competing for the final spots on the roster. Training camp is a crucial time for these guys to prove their worth.
With 20 players under contract heading into camp, the Rockets have plenty of people fighting for their jobs. Let's first go ahead and determine who will clearly make the team.
At point guard, Beverley is the clear starter, and Isaiah Canaan most likely earned the backup spot after a strong showing at summer league in Vegas. For shooting guard, Harden's job is obviously safe. As far as backups go, I'd say you'd have to reserve spots for veteran Jason Terry and playoff hero/sniper Troy Daniels.
With the small forwards, Ariza is obviously getting the start. Behind him, you'd figure Francisco Garcia will get a spot as the seasoned vet. At power forward, Jones will probably hang on to his starting job, and behind him Donatas Motiejunas will surely make the team after his successful summer. And of course, at center, Dwight Howard is a given, but no one really stands out behind him.
That's 10 automatic players out of the 13 who are allowed to suit up on game days. The remaining 10 players under contract are Ish Smith, Nick Johnson, Akil Mitchell, Robert Covington, Josh Powell, Clint Capela, Jeff Adrien, Joey Dorsey, Tarik Black and Kostas Papanikolaou.
Of those remaining, I'd say it's almost certain that Capela will go directly to the D-League and may be joined by Mitchell and Black if they're not just cut. Also, I think it's a safe bet that Powell won't make it beyond the preseason on this roster.
So with those guys out of the picture, Smith, Covington, Johnson, Adrien, Dorsey and Papanikolaou make up the official roster bubble. Those six guys will audition for the final three roster spots at the NBA level.
It's too soon to tell, but my early prediction is that Johnson and Papanikolaou will be heading to Rio Grande with the other rooks to develop their games. The other four, however, all have what it takes to be on an NBA roster.
Covington has the best shot to make it. He's a great three-point shooter with good size for his position and is coming off his NBA D-League Rookie of the Year-winning season.
Smith is very capable if the Rockets want to have a third-string point guard dress out. Adrien averaged 7.6 boards in just under 25 minutes per game with the Milwaukee Bucks at the end of last season according to ESPN.com. Dorsey may have spent the last few seasons in Europe, but he adds size to the depth chart that the Rockets will need. One of those three will draw the short end of the stick, however.
Harden's and Howard's Leadership
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After all of the drama and fallout from Chandler Parsons signing with the Dallas Mavericks, one thing became evident: This team belongs to Harden and Howard.
“Dwight and I are the cornerstones of the Rockets," Harden said in July in an interview with The Philippine Star's Joaquin Henson. "The rest of the guys are role players or pieces that complete our team. We’ve lost some pieces and added some pieces. I think we’ll be fine next season.”
Howard agreed, telling Jonathan Landrum Jr. of the Associated Press, "We have myself and James. We have the best center and the best 2-guard in the game on the same team. It's on us."
Even though Parsons was a big piece and undoubtedly rounded out the Big Three, it's still pretty clear that Harden and Howard, the only two who have played in All-Star games and won playoff series, run the show. This year, they have to prove that they can do it together in Houston.
Some have questioned the leadership of Harden and Howard and attribute the playoff loss against the Portland Trail Blazers to a lack of chemistry. At media day, Harden addressed this issue, saying "Now we have an understanding, we know each other. We are great. We are on the same page, and we want to win.”
After missing out on Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh, the Rockets will look to the H-and-H boys to carry the load. If Houston wants to make a deep playoff run, Harden and Howard will have to lead them there.
It all starts from day one at training camp.
Young Player Development
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Heading into camp, there are a lot of young guys under contract who will get some quality time practicing with the Rockets. There are five rookies and even more sophomores on the current 20-man roster. Of those 20 players, 11 are 25 or younger.
With all of those fresh faces coming to practice every day, the coaching staff will get a good opportunity to work with each one of them to improve certain areas of their games. Even Howard still has to work with Hakeem Olajuwon from time to time, so training camp will be a valuable experience for guys like Capela before they probably end up in the D-League.
It's important for players such as Capela and Papanikolaou to get those workouts in and become acclimated to a typical NBA practice setting. It is also helpful to guys like Canaan and Daniels, who are still very young but will be taking on much bigger roles this season.
The majority of the young players under 25 will most likely end up in Rio Grande or possibly even somewhere else in the D-League or overseas, yet training camp will go a long way toward helping them begin the long journey of improving their games to get to the NBA level.
Defining Roles
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Since the Rockets have a lot of newcomers making up their second unit, the team will need to find different players to fill the roles of those who have left.
We all know Harden's and Howard's roles as the star players, one particularly on offense, the other on defense. We know Beverley is going to be an all-out hustler who gives them great defense, and we know Ariza will be the main perimeter defender and will be relied upon to knock down some threes.
The Rockets still need Jones to be an athletic spark plug alongside Dwight in the starting lineup. Once we get to the bench, however, things start to get mixed around.
Training camp is a good time to identify what to expect from certain role players. This is an important beginning part to building a rotation and figuring out playing time for each contributor.
With Jeremy Lin in Los Angeles, Canaan will step in as a backup point guard who can push the tempo and create his own scoring, yet Ish Smith may be called upon to play some tight defense when Bev needs a quick rest.
Troy Daniels should be a great floor-spacer with his shooting stroke as he was in the playoffs, yet Jason Terry may get some of those minutes because of his experience. Garcia will probably be called upon from time to time to hit some big threes in tight situations as well, and even Covington deserves a shoutout in this category.
With Omer Asik gone, Joey Dorsey may get some opportunities to come in and protect the paint. D-Mo remains in the rotation, but perhaps in a bit of a different role due to his size; he could provide another option as a scoring big man.
Adrien could get some playing time to haul in rebounds and defend talented forwards. Papanikolaou may get a shot here and there to prove his athleticism and solid shooting range for his height.
Who knows what role each guy will end up having? That's what training camp is for.
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