3-point contest has a big fan
Rockets guard Eric Gordon did not consider his participation in the NBA All-Star 3-point competition in jeopardy when he sat out the past two games with a sore back. And with his return to the court Tuesday, he could look forward to Saturday’s competition, long an aspiration of his.
“It’s something I always dreamed about as a kid, being a part of,” Gordon said. “Now, I have my chance. I’m going to take advantage, try to win. Growing up in Indianapolis, you always see Reggie Miller in it. This is something I always wanted to be a part of.”
James Harden, a 2015 participant, was ready to bet on Gordon to become the first Rocket to win the 3-point contest.
“He’s a pretty good shooter,” Harden said. “He’s probably going to be a little nervous. As long as he focuses on his fundamentals and focuses on that rim, I like my chances with (him).”
Asked about their conversation on the subject, Gordon said, “I remember when he did it. I want to win it, though. It’s going to be fun.”
Gordon won’t tease Harden about surpassing his performance should he win.
“I feel like I’m a better shooter than him, anyway,” Gordon said.
Heat to face different Capela
When the Rockets faced the Miami Heat in January, center Clint Capela returned after missing 17 games with a fractured fibula. The time away showed, with Capela struggling through 8½ minutes and missing the three shots he took. A starter that night, he came off the bench for the next three games while the Rockets worked him back into shape.
With the Rockets facing the Heat and 7-0 center Hassan Whiteside on Wednesday, Capela will get a good gauge of how far he has come in the nearly
month of games since.
“That was my first game in a month,” Capela said. “Now, it’s nothing about that. I feel way better. I feel in shape and ready to go.
“Whiteside is a good player. It’s always good to go against a guy like that. Compared to where I was when I first played him and now is a big difference. I feel really good now and ready to go against him.”
Capela is averaging 14.6 points on 79.5 percent shooting in his past five games, moving to third in the NBA in field-goal percentage. He had scored in double figures in a career-high nine consecutive games before scoring nine points on Saturday.
Bzdelik, Spoelstra cross paths again
When Rockets assistant coach Jeff Bzdelik studies the Miami Heat, he sees some of the defensive schemes he learned under Pat Riley in his seven seasons in Miami. Lately, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra might have the same feeling when studying the Rockets, with Bzdelik calling on some of the same traps against opposing high scorers.
“We’ve been trapping lately, and it’s been effective for us,” Bzdelik said. “We’ve trapped (Russell) Westbrook at times. We trapped Kawhi Leonard at times. We trapped Kemba Walker . We trapped (Devin) Booker the other day. When you do it with the surprise element, it can be effective, and it has been for us and our guys have gained great confidence in that.
“I spent seven years with coach Riley. My desk was right next to Erik’s for six years (when Spoelstra was the Heat’s video coordinator). He’s a terrific coach. They have a great system in place. The league’s changed, so everybody adapted to the change, doing things a little bit differently. Still the same intensity; you can see they work on it on a daily basis.”