- The Rockets may have a looming decision to make with regard to Briante Weber, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. Because of the 45-day limit on his two-way contract Houston may need to convert his deal into a standard one if they plan to keep featuring him while James Harden recovers from an injury.
- Houston native and recent Rockets addition Gerald Green has made an impact in his brief time with the franchise, averaging 19.8 points per game off the bench in his last five games. As Tim MacMahon of ESPN writes there wasn’t much of a market for his services prior to his signing. “No team wanted me, man. No team wanted me. No team wanted me,” Green said. “No overseas team. Not even a D-League team. So this is the only team that took a chance on me. For me, I’m just so overwhelmed and excited about the opportunity.“
The Rockets have terminated their two-way deal with point guard Demetrius Jackson, tweets Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days. As Johnson notes, Jackson has signed a 10-day contract with the Rockets. However, he does not figure into the team’s plans, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Jackson, 23, will spend time with Houston’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and appear in the G League showcase during his 10-day deal. The second-round pick (45th overall) from the 2016 NBA Draft appeared in 12 games with the Rockets this season, averaging just 0.7 PPG and 0.9 RPG. In 14 games with the Valley Vipers, Jackson has averaged 14.0 PPG and 4.1 APG in 30.9 minutes per game.
After he was waived by the Celtics in the offseason, Jackson signed a two-way deal with the Rockets, becoming the first player in franchise history to sign such a deal. Jackson saw more playing time early in the season when Chris Paul was out with injury but lagged on the depth chart behind Bobby Brown as the backup.
A number of Rockets players have seen new opportunities arise following James Harden‘s hamstring injury, among them journeyman Briante Weber and Houston native Gerald Green, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes.
The Rockets have opted to slot supersub combo guard Eric Gordon in as the starting two beside Chris Paul, allowing Weber to fill the role of primary backup point guard. Green, similarly, has seen an opening as the team’s backup shooting guard.
Green, a 31-year-old, 11-year veteran, signed with the Rockets in late December while Weber, a two-way signee, has spent the majority of the campaign with Houston’s G League affiliate in Rio Grande Valley.
Including the 27 points he dropped off the bench on Wednesday, Green is averaging 13.8 points per game for the Rockets while Weber has seen his role with the big league club grow considerably since December 22.
- New Rockets owner Tilman Feritta isn’t phased by the team’s recent slide, Sam Amick of USA Today writes. “I’m not worried about [the struggles]“, Fertitta said. “It’s a five-game stretch. Hopefully we have all of our downs now and we have all of our ups later. It’s amazing what injuries have to do with these teams winning and losing, too.”
- The Rockets have recalled little-used big man Chinanu Onuaku from the G League, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter links). It appears the team is bringing Onuaku back to the NBA for health reasons, not because he’ll get a chance to play — Feigen indicates that the secodd-year center is undergoing sinus surgery.
Chris Paul has battled some injuries in his first season with the Rockets, but the team has played exceptionally well when he has been on the court. Houston is 16-2 in games that Paul has started, and has enjoyed one of the NBA’s best backcourts when the veteran plays alongside James Harden.
The Rockets are now eligible to offer Paul, 32, an extension but the All-Star point guard has not given much thought to that possibility, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. Paul is set to hit free agency at season’s end, at which point he will face no shortage of suitors. It will be Paul’s decision to either stay in Houston or pursue other options but the team is prepared to make him a part of their future plans.
“Obviously, when we get someone as great as Chris Paul or James Harden, the plan is to keep him here,” Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said to Feigen. “He’ll have a choice when the season ends. We feel like we set things up well. It should be an easy choice for him.”
The Rockets are just two games back of the Warriors for the best record in the Western Conference and a healthy Paul — along with Harden — would go a long way to making that a strongly contested race.
- We know James Harden will be out for at least two weeks with a hamstring strain, but his exact recovery timetable remains unclear. Speaking today to reporters, including Hunter Atkins of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link), Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni suggested that Harden could miss up to four weeks. In an Insider-only piece for ESPN, Kevin Pelton examines how Harden’s absence will affect the Rockets, the NBA, and the star guard’s MVP chances.
Shooting guard Troy Daniels is one of the players the Suns could move before the trade deadline, according to Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic. Daniels is averaging 8.3 PPG off the bench this season while shooting 42.5% from long range. He is signed through next season for a very affordable $3.25MM but if rookie Davon Reed comes on strong this month, Daniels becomes expendable, Bordow continues. Veterans Tyson Chandler, Greg Monroe and Jared Dudley could also be moved during the next five weeks, Bordow adds.
In other Western Conference developments:
- The Suns have been using Devin Booker at the point during crunch times situations, Bordow notes in the same piece. Interim coach Jay Triano believes Booker could eventually become a playmaker in the mold of James Harden.
- A friendly schedule could boost the Nuggets over the two next months, as Christopher Dempsey of the team’s website points out. They play 17 of their next 25 games at home, where they have gone 12-4 this season. “Hopefully we can use January, which is a lot of home games, to kind of build and get ahead and not be two games over .500,” coach Michael Malone told Dempsey. “I’m pretty satisfied with where we are, but we have a lot of work to do.”
- Gerald Green was surprised how much he was able to contribute after signing a non-guaranteed contract with the Rockets last week, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Green scored 18 points in 27 minutes off the bench on Friday in Washington, his first NBA game since a preseason stint with the Bucks. “I am very surprised about my wind,” he told Feigen. “It’s not as bad as I thought it would be. I’m actually happy with myself about the work I’ve been putting in. That’s really been paying off.”
Rockets star guard James Harden will be sidelined at least two weeks with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, the club announced in a press release.
Harden suffered the injury on Sunday in a 148-142 double-overtime victory against the Lakers in which Harden posted 40 points and 11 assists. The release said Harden will be re-evaluated after the two-week period, which suggests he could require another week or more to get back in action.
Harden is enjoying another stellar season, averaging 32.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 9.1 APG. The Rockets snapped a five-game losing streak on Sunday and they are now two games behind the Warriors for the top spot in the Western Conference. Harden’s injury naturally decreases their chances of regaining the top spot.
In his absence, Eric Gordon and Chris Paul will have to take a bigger share of the scoring load. It also means an increased role for recently-signed Gerald Green.
- Jared Weiss at Celtics Wire chronicled the stressful 48 hours of Gerald Green‘s life, leading up his NBA return with the Rockets this week. The 10-year NBA was en route to Boston to see his sick son and after getting off the plane, he learned that the Rockets — who were in Boston to face the Celtics — needed him.
- The Rockets have been hit hard with injuries this holiday season, most prominently losing Chris Paul and Clint Capela. Matt Petersen of NBA.com writes that the Rockets have missed Capela’s large frame and budding skills throughout their five-game losing streak.