By revving his engine, Harden gets back in gear
LOS ANGELES — After struggling through his first three games of the season, Rockets guard James Harden has turned things around in several ways, not the least of which is hitting shots he had been missing.
“He’s making shots,” coach Kevin McHale said. “He’s being aggressive. He’s playing faster. I thought our entire team played like we had cement boots on for three games. We were just slow. You watched the film, it looked like we were sickly or something. We were so slow it was ridiculous. You just can’t play that way. He’s playing with more pace. He’s playing with more force. We got out of that doldrum, thank goodness.”
Harden put up 89 points in the games at Sacramento and Los Angeles, hitting 14 of 26 shots and five of 10 3-pointers against the Clippers on Saturday, when he picked up two fouls midway through the first quarter and a third midway through second quarter. He remained in the game to score 18 first-quarter points and 25 by halftime.
“Try to play smart and not pick up any cheap fouls and still be aggressive,” Harden said.
Hayes waived; Jones due back
With forward Terrence Jones expected back from his cut eyelid this week, the Rockets waived center/forward Chuck Hayes on Sunday.
Hayes had signed with the Rockets on Nov. 1 to help fill in with Jones out and center Dwight Howard to miss the first game of two back-tobacks. Hayes’ return to his first NBA team was always planned to be brief, with the Rockets wanting to avoid a payroll under which they would be hard-capped, limiting their ability to make moves.
Hayes played in two games but did not see action Saturday.
McHale likes Capela’s progress
Despite often matching up in the paint with one of the NBA’s top big men in the Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan, the Rockets’ Clint Capela continued to progress in his crash course as an NBA center. Capela was back in a reserve role, with Howard returning Saturday night after sitting out the first game of the weekend back-to-back.
In 19 minutes, Capela had nine points and eight rebounds at Los Angeles. He is averaging 8.6 points and 6.6 rebounds in 19 minutes per game this season.
“Clint’s been fantastic for us,” coach Kevin McHale said. “He battled in there. He got pushed out (on) one rebound, but he stood his ground more. He’s finding out you’ve got to hit first. You’ve got to carve out space. You’ve got to be big. He had a big offensive putback for us when we needed one. I couldn’t be any happier with Clint.
“As I said all along, he’s still 21. He’s still got a lot to learn. But he’s going to be a very nice player for a long time.”
Trust can go a long way
The Rockets have made up for much of the damage done by their 0-3 start with a four-game winning streak. Along with building a winning record, they believe they are now playing the way they need to be.
“We just have to continue to play this type of basketball,” center Dwight Howard said. “We’re playing together. We trust each other. We’re making plays for each other. When we do that, we have an excellent chance of winning.”
The Rockets could get forward Terrence Jones (cut right eyelid) and point guard Pat Beverley (concussion) back this week. Both are scheduled to be evaluated Monday as the team returns to practice after Sunday’s travel day.
“As we go along, we’ll try to get some rhythm and hopefully get some guys back healthy,” coach Kevin McHale said. “We have a long, long way to go.
“You’re going to have so many ups and downs in an NBA season. We were terrible for three games. Now we’re fighting our way back and trying to get better. We’ve got a couple days of practice, got to grind out. But it’s a good group.
“When things don’t work well, work harder. When things don’t go well, fight harder. They seem to embrace that. ”