Health equals wealth?
Fertitta eager to gauge team at full strength in last 25 games
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As much as his first season as Rockets owner had been a dream, at least until its last half of basketball in the Western Conference finals against the Warriors, Tilman Fertitta did not kid himself. He knew rockier times would come, even if he did not anticipate them a season later.
It would be better to appreciate the good times than to take them for granted, knowing that change is the only constant. Now, with 25 games left in his second season, Fertitta is ready for them to change back, saying the Rockets might not have shown this season just how good they can be.
“We all thought things would be different, but at the same time I don’t think we had Chris (Paul) and Clint (Capela) and Eric (Gordon) and James (Harden) for (more than) maybe five or six games (together) all year,” Fertitta said. “Chris went out. James went out three. Chris went out again.
“The pickups we’ve had, (Iman) Shumpert and (Ken-
neth) Faried, are excellent. I think we have the scoring power. We need to work on our defense. But I still go back to what Chris has said and James has said: Somebody still has to beat us in a seven-game series, which I don’t think is going to be easy. If we play hard, I think we’re as good as anybody.”
With Capela expected to practice in Los Angeles with the intent of returning Thursday after missing 16 games with a thumb injury, the starting lineup the Rockets hope to have on the floor has been together for six games, winning five.
That does not ensure a return to good health will solve everything. That group — Harden, Paul, Capela, Gordon and P.J. Tucker — has played together for 132 minutes over 18 games, with a negative 6.4 points per 100 possessions. But it doesn’t change the hope the Rockets have now that they can finally put their threeguard lineup with Harden, Paul and Gordon on the court with Capela at center.
If Capela does return against the Lakers, the Rockets — who have had players miss a combined 149 games with injuries — will be at full strength, with greater depth after the injury-inspired additions of Austin Rivers and Faried and the trade-deadline deal for Shumpert.
“I think we all had a magic carpet ride last year,” Fertitta said. “We all want to get back on the magic carpet. We have to come out every night ready to play. We’ve just got to play hard. We’re all excited Clint is coming back. I think the next 25 games will tell us a lot. We want to win 50 games this year. We have to go 17-8. We’d love to chase down and get that three spot.”
That would top their 15-8 record this season when Capela, Harden and Paul all play. But the AllStar break might have come at the right time for the Rockets, allowing Capela to complete his recovery and the team to recharge as much as rehab after a home collapse against the Thunder and a low-energy loss at Minnesota.
“We have to be healthy,” Harden said. “We haven’t been healthy all year long. That’s something I’m excited about. We had a lot of injuries, a lot of guys in and out of the lineup. Once we get a full roster, we’re capable enough to beat anybody.
“Defensively, we haven’t been great. We’ve been having some really, really big leads but can’t sustain them. Once Clint comes back, helps our defense, rebounding and our offense, I’m pretty excited about it.”
Capela’s return might not be a panacea. The Rockets were ranked 26th defensively and 28th in defensive rebounding percentage when he went out.
He won’t, however, be the only addition.
With just 12 players on the roster, the Rockets must add two by Thursday, though they can use 10-day contracts to buy time until more players join the buyout free-agent market. Fertitta would not go into any shopping list but disputed the idea the Rockets used the trade deadline to get under the luxury tax. Though the Rockets did move James Ennis, Marquese Chriss and Brandon Knight, he said that was because they would not play down the stretch.
The Rockets’ unsuccessful effort to sign Markieff Morris, a move that would have put them above the tax line again, would support the owner’s argument. Fertitta said other moves this month could have him willingly paying the tax.
“That had no bearing whatsoever on any decision that was made,” Fertitta said. “If we could have gotten another player, somebody we were trying to pick up last week that didn’t work out for us, it would have put us back over. I still don’t know that we’ll be under when it’s all said and done.
“Daryl (Morey, the Rockets’ general manager) and his team are working it hard. Remember, not only do we have to want somebody, somebody has to want to come here. Some of these guys, they want to know what kind of minutes they’re going to get. We’re not going to tell somebody they’re going to get a lot of minutes if they aren’t. We have a pretty good rotation, with Clint coming back especially. If somebody wants 20, 25 minutes, we’re not going to lie to them and tell them that they’re going to get it if we don’t know they are.”
That points to depth the Rockets have not had all season, even with shortcomings defensively and on the boards. But Fertitta said there is enough time remaining to reach the level he expected all along.
“I don’t think anybody is happy where we are today, but we are where we are,” Fertitta said. “We have 25 games to get it together.”