Beverley has unique job title
Pat Beverley might not consider himself a starting shooting guard.
Though James Harden runs the point on one end of the floor, Beverley defends point guards on the other. But Beverley does have a label.
“I can’t name a backup point guard better than me in the NBA,” he said. Beverley might not often be described as “a backup point guard” because he starts, but he checks into games to start the second and fourth quarters for Harden.
“It’s good,” Beverley said Friday, a day before facing the Suns’ combination of Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight. “I’m still able to learn from James, still able to learn from coach (Mike) D’Antoni. Got to give our bigs a lot of credit, Nene, Trez (Montrezl Harrell) and Clint (Capela) you can throw the ball up to. They make our lives easier.”
Asked how he should be categorized, Beverley said: “I don’t know, man. I’m just hooping. I’m just out here trying to have fun and win games.”
Sincerest form of flattery
With a few minutes between the end of the day’s video session and start of the workouts, forward Sam Dekker showed off his imitations of Ryan Anderson’s fade-away jump shot and rapid-fire pump fakes, and of Nene’s one-handed drive, much to the delight of coach Mike D’Antoni and a handful of teammates.
Anderson took a turn mimicking Nene’s drives, though found it is easier to recognize than to do.
“Nene, he has a particular style to the basket,” Anderson said. “It works, though. You can’t knock it when it works.
“I’m just jealous because he has like a 7-5 wingspan and the basketball looks like a peach in his hand; meanwhile, I can barely grip the ball.”
Dekker was a more skilled impersonator.
“I’ve always been really good at imitations, especially with baseball,” Dekker said. “I like doing it with my teammates sometimes. I did a Nene, but Nene told me not to do Nene, so I guess I’ll retire that one. I have plenty in my James (Harden) bag, but I won’t pull that out too soon.”
Gordon’s status is questionable
Guard Eric Gordon is listed as questionable to play against Phoenix with a sore lower back.
Coach Mike D’Antoni said Gordon, the Rockets’ second-leading scorer, will be a game-time decision.
“He had some (therapy),” D’Antoni said Friday. “We’ll see how he wakes up tomorrow, see how he does at shootaround.”
The Rockets are 3-2 in games Gordon has missed.
Anderson retains sense of humor
After a few self-deprecating minutes, including a theory his vertical leap decreases with his hair, forward Ryan Anderson, 28, said he has learned to not take himself too seriously, but with some uninvited help.
“You get older, you have to learn how to make fun of yourself,” Anderson said. “A guy last game yelled at me, he said, ‘Anderson, you look like a math schoolteacher.’ It’s all right. I can still play basketball.”