Brewer ‘feeling good’ with slump in past
PORTLAND, Ore. — With his shooting slump behind him, Rockets forward/guard Corey Brewer said he never lost faith in his abilities, so his recent success did not really serve to boost his confidence.
But he has enjoyed the turnaround.
“I’m feeling good,” Brewer said after making four of five shots and scoring 10 points in Friday night’s 117-104 victory at Sacramento. “The last few games, the last five or six games, I’ve been feeling real good.
“I knew it would come. Everybody was worried about a slump, but I don’t look at it as a slump. I feel good. I feel great right now, to be honest. I’m playing real well now.”
Brewer made only three of 15 shots in a span of six games but has made 21 of 30 attempts in the six games since. His 47.7 percent shooting is the third-best accuracy on the Rockets, excluding the centers.
Harrell’s role likely unchanged
Rockets reserve center Montrezl Harrell picked up playing time for the second consecutive game Friday, but he is unlikely to become a regular part of the team’s rotation.
Harrell played against Toronto on Wednesday because coach Mike D’Antoni wanted to give his team a jolt of energy he hoped it will not usually lack.
He played for three minutes in the first half Friday when starter Clint Capela was at roughly his usual first-half playing time and second-team center Nene had three fouls.
“Not that I don’t have confidence in him,” D’Antoni said. “I have a lot of confidence in him. It’s just hard. I want to get Clint up to 30 minutes. Clint is playing as well as anybody on our team. If I get him up to 30, that leaves only 18. Now, you’re trying to split time. Is that nine minutes each, 12 minutes for one guy and six (for the other?). In special circumstances, I wouldn’t hesitate. If we’re a little sluggish, I wouldn’t hesitate … because I think he brings energy and something different. But it’s hard to play three guys in that role if one guy is taking up 30 minutes. It’s almost impossible. It’s not fair to the other two guys, actually.”
Ariza to stick with routine
A change in the Rock- ets’ game-day schedule forced forward Trevor Ariza to alter his usual morning routine Friday. That seemed to work out well since he made four of six 3-pointers in the first quarter against Sacramento, but he has no intention of making the change permanent.
Ariza normally goes through shooting drills before practices and game-day shoot-arounds, leaving the floor when the morning walk-through is complete.
Against the Kings, he did not get his customary shooting in before the shoot-around so he stayed long after most of the team was through to work on one end of the court while Corey Brewer, Sam Dekker, Clint Capela and Montrezl Harrell stayed behind for extra work with player development coach John Lucas on the other end.
If Ariza has his way, he will go back to his customary schedule.
“Right back to my normal routine,” said Ariza, who made six of 11 3-pointers against Sacramento. “Nothing changes. Same thing every day. (Friday), circumstances were different.
“I couldn’t get on the court as early as I normally do, so I had to shoot after.”