REFUEL STATION
Wall, Cousins embrace journey back to court as Silas finally gets a chance
Wall, Cousins revel in journey back to court in preseason opener.
Before John Wall made that game-opening layup to feel as if hewas finally back, before DeMarcus Cousins put in his first 3-pointer, and then another and another, before the Rockets reveled in the start of a season, Rockets coach Stephen Silas spoke of the moment.
Nothing had come easily for the Rockets on the way to the milestone of the season’s first preseason game. Rather than deny that, or even to ignore the distraction and uncertainty that has come with James Harden’s reluctance to join them, the Rockets chose to embrace rather than ignore the difficulties if only to appreciate where the journey had led them.
So, Wall celebrated even just putting on a uniform again and thought of his mother, who had passed a year ago Saturday. Cousins reveled in the moment and cherished the messages his wife and mother had sent before Friday’s tip. Silas paused before the national anthem to look around and consider the decades of preparation and paying dues.
The monotony of preseason games and practices will likely come. The grind of a condensed regular season will follow. But for now, the revamped Rockets triumphed not just in an otherwise meaningless preseason game in an empty United Center, but by just getting to play it. They were not about to ignore what that meant.
“We have talked … about the adversity these guys have been through, and the ability to fight through the injuries or whatever,” Silas said. “Everybody has their own story, right? Even I do; 20 years as an assistant and now it’s finally here. So, really embracing the moment has been something I’ve been preaching to the guys andwe’ve been talking about quite a bit. And they’ve been doing it.
“The game has been taken away from DeMarcus and John for quite a while. So theywillhave that enthusiasm about the game.”
These days, the Rockets might have needed and especially welcomed that perspective. Whether the attitude evidenced int hep re season opener came from the influence of veterans or just the start of the season,
there was a feeling that flowed from the Rockets that’s much different from what has been thought of them in a trying offseason and start to the preseason.
“Everybody was engaged,” Cousins said. “Everybody was excited. It’s a good vibe, man. I mean, youcan see the energy from our team. You have that type of energy, it’s always a joy to go out there and play basketball and have fun.”
Cousins felt that way even before he won the opening tip. He had missed all of last season with a knee injury after playing just 30 games in the previous season while coming back from an Achilles injury.
“I haven’t had a chance
to take everything in yet,” Cousins said. “I got a really dope message from my mom and my wife before the game that kind of put a lot of things in perspective for me.
“I’m the type of guy where I never get caught up in any moment. I’m always on to the next, regardless of whether it’s good or bad. That’s just the way I go about life, so I never really get a chance to enjoy the moment or enjoy the fruits ofmy labor. The messages I got frommy ladies inmy life really touched me before the game.”
Wall allowed himself similar thoughts, the sort that normally would not accompany a veteran’s preseason game. He thought of his mother’s death, his son’s birth and “the people that’s in my corner.”
“All day, people were texting me, talking to me,” Wall said. “I have a bigger picture. That’s the reason I have this necklace on: my mom. The bigger picture for me is wishing she could be here.
“It’s weird how God works in mysterious ways, to have my first preseason game a day before a year since my mom passed. My ultimate goal was to go out there and compete at the best level, give everything I have.”
When the game began, thoughts moved to the usual considerations. But even then, Wall and Cousins, 2009-10 Kentucky teammates reunited, enjoyed renewing their on-court partnership. ToWall, setting up Cousins for pick-and-pop 3s came easily and fit in the five-out offense Silas wants. For Cousins, itwas recalling the good times at a class reunion.
“Itwas a cool feeling,” he said. “Therewas even some times I kind of had flashbacks of being back in college when I was just caught up in watching the show with John. I had a few moments waiting to see what he had up his sleeve next. I’m glad I was able to share
the floor with a guy I consider my brother. This was a perfect night.”
The demands of the preseason will take over. Silas will want better communication defensively, even more ball movement offensively. He will have to add Harden, P. J. Tucker, Christian Wood and Sterling Brown to the mix, beginning with Monday’s practice, a task that will be welcome but another challenge. But as with Cousins and Wall, he also allowed himself a moment to reflect.
“Right as the anthem started, I took a moment and just kind of looked around,” Silas said. “It was almost a surreal feeling that I was there, that I’m the coach of the Houston Rockets, which is obviously a storied franchise. But for me, in my journey, I did take that (moment.) Then it was time to get to work.”