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Rockets Struggling With Lineup Flux; Called Cavaliers After Porter's Locker Room Outburst

February 11th, 2021 at 5:43pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Rockets have dealt with changing lineups in three straight games as they juggle the availability of their injury-prone veteran guards. Head coach Stephen Silas notes that the ongoing lineup flux has impacted potential team chemistry, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle relays.

“As far as continuity of the group and really getting a feel for where your role is and how you can be effective in the scope of the group, it does affect it quite a bit,” Silas said of the Rockets’ lineup changes.

Once word got out of swingman Kevin Porter Jr.‘s locker room outburst, which effectively doomed his time in Cleveland, the Rockets immediately called the Cavaliers about his availability, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic, who says a future second-round pick was considered a small price to pay, given Porter’s upside. “He just wants to play, hasn’t had an opportunity to really play much this season,” head coach Stephen Silas said of Porter.

Rockets Considered "Amenable" To Trading Oladipo?

February 10th, 2021 at 5:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks are among the teams keeping an eye on Bradley Beal and Victor Oladipo, Berman adds in the same story. There’s no indication that Beal will be moved by the Wizards anytime soon, but sources tell The New York Post that the Rockets are considered “amenable” to flipping Oladipo after acquiring him in January. A report last week indicated the Knicks still have interest in Oladipo after eyeing him in the offseason.

Forbes Releases 2021 NBA Franchise Valuations

February 10th, 2021 at 10:04am CST by Luke Adams

It has been an up-and-down 12 months for the NBA, which had to pause its operations for several months when its players first began testing positive for the coronavirus last March. Although the league was eventually able to play the 2020 postseason and is in the midst of its (slightly-abridged) 2020/21 regular season, fans still haven’t been able to return to arenas in many NBA cities, putting a major dent in projected revenues for the coming year.

Despite the financial challenges faced by many of the NBA’s teams, the overall value of those franchises continues to increase, according to a report from Kurt Badenhausen and Mike Ozanian of Forbes. While it’s the most modest year-over-year rise since 2010, Forbes estimates that average team values are up by about 4% from 2020.

The Knicks have become the first franchise to earn a $5 billion valuation from Forbes, with a league-high 9% increase in their value since last February. The Warriors, meanwhile, also saw their value rise by 9%, according to Forbes, surpassing the Lakers for the No. 2 spot on the annual report. The league-wide average of $2.2 billion per team in 2021 is a new record for Forbes’ valuations.

Forbes’ valuations are slightly more conservative than the ones issued by sports-business outlet Sportico last month — Sportico’s report featured an average team value of nearly $2.4 billion, with the Knicks, Warriors, and Lakers all surpassing the $5 billion threshold.

Here’s the full list of NBA franchise valuations, per Forbes:

New York Knicks: $5 billion
Golden State Warriors: $4.7 billion
Los Angeles Lakers: $4.6 billion
Chicago Bulls: $3.3 billion
Boston Celtics: $3.2 billion
Los Angeles Clippers: $2.75 billion
Brooklyn Nets: $2.65 billion
Houston Rockets: $2.5 billion
Dallas Mavericks: $2.45 billion
Toronto Raptors: $2.15 billion
Philadelphia 76ers: $2.075 billion
Miami Heat: $2 billion
Portland Trail Blazers: $1.9 billion
San Antonio Spurs: $1.85 billion
Sacramento Kings: $1.825 billion
Washington Wizards: $1.8 billion
Phoenix Suns: $1.7 billion
Utah Jazz: $1.66 billion
Denver Nuggets: $1.65 billion
Milwaukee Bucks: $1.625 billion
Oklahoma City Thunder: $1.575 billion
Cleveland Cavaliers: $1.56 billion
Indiana Pacers: $1.55 billion
Atlanta Hawks: $1.52 billion
Charlotte Hornets: $1.5 billion
Orlando Magic: $1.46 billion
Detroit Pistons: $1.45 billion
Minnesota Timberwolves: $1.4 billion
New Orleans Pelicans: $1.35 billion
Memphis Grizzlies: $1.3 billion

While most franchise values increased, that wasn’t the case across the board. The Thunder, Hawks, Hornets, Pistons, Pelicans, and Grizzlies all maintained the same value that they had in 2020. No teams decreased in value, however.

The Jazz had the biggest rise in the bottom half of this list, moving from 21st in 2020’s rankings to 18th this year. That’s because the team was actually sold to a new majority owner in recent months, with Ryan Smith assuming control of the franchise at its new $1.66 billion valuation.

As that Jazz example shows, the actual amount a team is sold for often exceeds Forbes’ valuation, so these figures should just be viewed as estimates.

Rockets Plan To Rest Oft-Hurt Guards On Back-To-Backs

February 9th, 2021 at 7:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Rockets will be using a strict load management-style maintenance plan for their three core guards for the indefinite future, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Houston’s starting back court tandem of John Wall and Victor Oladipo, plus sixth man Eric Gordon, will all sit for at least one game in the team’s upcoming back-to-back sets. “It’s something we’ve talked about the last three weeks or so, four weeks maybe,” head coach Stephen Silas said of the plan. “With John and Vic being primary ballhandlers, that makes it a little harder. Now, you add Eric to the mix [of players sitting], it makes it really hard.”

Jae'Sean Tate Becoming Key Role Player In Rookie Rockets Season

February 8th, 2021 at 4:25pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Undrafted Rockets rookie small forward Jae’Sean Tate, now a crucial rotation piece for a retooling Houston squad, had an interesting conversation with Kelly Iko of The Athletic, touching on his experiences in his first 22 NBA games and why he almost stopped playing basketball. The 6’4″ wing is averaging 8.5 PPG (on 52.1% shooting from the floor), 4.9 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.8 SPG and 0.7 BPG across 25.9 MPG in Houston. “He has a lot of responsibility and he has to do things right on both sides of the floor,” head coach Stephen Silas said of Tate. “He’s getting better every game and you can see it.”

Rockets Continue Struggling With Slow Starts; Must Adjust Without Christian Wood

February 7th, 2021 at 8:45pm CST by JD Shaw

The Rockets are continuing to struggle with slow starts, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes. Houston dropped a 116-106 contest to the Spurs on Saturday with another relatively slow start, causing the team to fight an uphill battle the rest of the game. The club is still 7-3 in its last 10 outings.
Houston will have to adjust without the likes of Christian Wood, who suffered a right ankle sprain last week and will be re-evaluated on a weekly basis, Feigen notes in a different story. The Rockets started DeMarcus Cousins on Saturday, who finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds. “You just go to know your personnel,” John Wall said. “It’s two different guys. It’s the game of basketball, knowing your guys and knowing where your guys like the ball and what type of position they like to be in. That’s my job, to make the game easier for him and put them in the right positions to be successful.”

Rockets Notes: Cousins, Wood, Wall, Nwaba

February 6th, 2021 at 5:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

DeMarcus Cousins showed flashes of his All-Star days when Christian Wood missed three games with a sprained right ankle in January. He’ll get a much longer chance to prove he can still be effective as a starter now that Wood is sidelined with a more severe injury, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.

Wood has been listed as week to week after spraining the ankle again Thursday in Memphis. Until he returns, the under-sized Rockets will rely heavily on Cousins, who is the only other true center on the roster. Pressed into starting duty last month, the four-time All-Star averaged 17.3 points, 14.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.

“Obviously, that helped me with my confidence going through this season,” he said. “I mean, it’s unfortunate what happened to C-Wood. I’m going to come in and do my job. That’s really all I can do, play my part and help us get another W in the win column.”

There’s more from Houston:

The Rockets aren’t offering a firm estimate of how much time Wood might miss, so Kelly Iko of The Athletic talked to Dr. Rajpal Brar, a physical therapist and sports scientist at 3cB Performance. “Really hard to tell severity just based on video,” Brar said. “However, if the Rockets are saying it’s a weekly eval, it’s my inclination that it’s a Grade 2 tear without any fracture (the fact he walked off was a very good indicator of the latter). Grade 2 is typically 2-3 weeks. Grade 3 is 4-6.”
John Wall has claimed leadership of the Rockets since James Harden was traded to Brooklyn last month, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston. “I feel like I’m the franchise guy now that James has left,” Wall said. “You very rarely get the opportunity to be a franchise (guy) in two different cities and two different teams. … I feel like that’s my job, to be the leader of this team.”
David Nwaba is listed as questionable for tonight against the Spurs, and the Rockets are optimistic that he’s close to returning after missing the past three games with a sprained left ankle, Feigen adds in a separate story. “He has been doing his treatment, has been working on it,” coach Stephen Silas said. “… He’s definitely moving in the right direction.”

Christian Wood To Be Re-Evaluated On Weekly Basis

February 5th, 2021 at 9:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Rockets center Christian Wood will be re-evaluated on a weekly basis for his right ankle sprain, the team announced on Friday in a press release.

He underwent an MRI on Friday after suffering the injury during the third quarter of Thursday’s game at Memphis. While the release didn’t indicate the severity of the sprain, it’s likely that Wood is facing a prolonged absence, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets.

It’s a major blow to one of the league’s hottest teams. The Rockets have won seven of their last eight games to get past the .500 mark at 11-10. Houston has a busy February schedule with 13 games remaining this month and it’s quite possible Wood will miss most or all of those games.

He sat out three games late last moth with a similar injury but otherwise, Wood has built upon his breakout season with Detroit.

Acquired by Houston in a sign-and-trade, Wood has emerged as an All-Star candidate, averaging 22.0 PPG, 10.2 RPG and 1.5 BPG through 17 games.

Without him, the team will rely more heavily on DeMarcus Cousins, Rodions Kurucs and trade candidates P.J. Tucker and Danuel House.

Rockets Fear Extended Absence For Christian Wood

February 5th, 2021 at 8:38am CST by Arthur Hill

An MRI will be conducted today on Rockets center Christian Wood, who injured his right ankle in Thursday night’s win over the Grizzlies, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

Wood had to be helped off the court after rolling the ankle on a drive to the basket during the third quarter. He split two defenders, but landed awkwardly and fell to the ground in pain. It’s the second time in less than three weeks that he has hurt the ankle. He missed three games after a similar injury on January 20, but sources tell MacMahon the Rockets are concerned it will be much longer this time.

“I don’t know,” coach Stephen Silas said after the game when asked how long Wood might be sidelined. “It didn’t look great. It was unfortunate.”

Acquired by Houston in a sign-and-trade during the offseason, Wood has emerged as an All-Star candidate, averaging 22.0 points and 10.2 rebounds through 17 games.

DeMarcus Cousins will become the Rockets’ starting center while Wood is sidelined. He was outstanding in that role in the three games Wood missed in January, averaging 17.3 points, 14.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists per night. Cousins is playing on a non-guaranteed contract that won’t become fully guaranteed until the league-wide date later this month.

Houston doesn’t have much size apart from Cousins, so the team could be looking at a roster move if Wood is forced to miss several weeks.

“It was difficult for me,” Silas said of watching the injury. “I had to like sit down and collect my thoughts and gather myself. As good as he’s been playing, I mean, really just like a breakout season and doing everything we needed him to do … Yeah, it sucks.”

Stone Proving Self With Trades

February 3rd, 2021 at 6:25pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Rockets GM Rafael Stone has exhibited an aptitude for being able to tinker with his roster quickly, Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle writes. Stone’s haul after trading away All-Star James Harden – led by wing Victor Oladipo – has impressed on the court. Houston is currently riding a six-game win streak to climb into the top eight teams within the competitive Western Conference.