A coach fired in the first few weeks of the season, a trade that blew up in their face, and a general manager that couldn't quite transfer what was on paper to the court.
Those are a few of the things that plagued the Houston Rockets throughout last season.
GM Daryl Morey believes that the franchise could head in a positive direction thanks to the four-year maximum extension James Harden received this summer and the signing of Head Coach Mike D'Antoni.
A SOUR START
The Rockets fired coach Kevin McHale after a 4-7 start to last season; that was just two-and-a-half weeks into the basketball year. Assistant coach J.B. Bickerstaff was appointed as the interim coach for the rest of the season, and the team finished 37-34 under him.
Point guard Ty Lawson was plagued by a legal issue stemming from a DUI arrest dating back to Jan. 23, 2015 in Denver. Lawson failed to perform to expectations and was waived after 53 games into the season.
Morey insisted in a spread out game, attempting three-point shots while getting Dwight Howard to the post.
The plan backfired as no one in the starting lineup shot better than 37 percent from deep and Howard's rusty post moves and woes at the free throw line kept him from being the big man Morey envisioned.
NEW COACH, NEW PLAYERS, NEW SYSTEM
Enter D'Antoni, an offensive wizard that likes to push the pace, play fast, and spread the floor open with shooters.
The signings of Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson would give the Rockets a much needed improvement from beyond-the-arc as both of them are 38% career shooters from three.
The departure of Howard does leave a hole on the defensive end, and a big one at that. Clint Capela and Nene figure to be a shoo-in for the job, despite neither of the two being the physical force that Howard was in the paint.
CHEMISTRY
It's hard to fathom a ball-dominant player like Harden absorbing the teachings of D'Antoni — according to Morey that's not one of his worries. He believes that D’Antoni and Harden will work well together, per Oliver Maroney of Basketball Insiders.
“I think the fit is excellent. They had a strong relationship from USA Basketball and their basketball philosophies mesh very well.”
“The goal is to get home court advantage in the first round, advancing deep in the playoffs from there.”
TAKEAWAYS
It's yet to be seen how this team will respond defensively. The Rockets have severe problems on the defensive end as their main cogs are known to be one-way players.
The only consistent defensive help they have are Trevor Ariza and Capela. Unless D'Antoni brings in a couple of hidden defensive gurus with him, this roster stands a slim chance to make it far in a very unforgiving Western Conference.
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