Wall faces emotional return to home state
After more than three years, Rockets guard and North Carolina native John Wall will play in Charlotte on Monday. It won’t be the same.
Besides the inability of friends and family to attend the game about three hours from Raleigh, N.C., with the Hornets among the teams playing with no fans in attendance because of the pandemic, too much had changed since Wall last played in Charlotte.
“It’s always great,” Wall said. “It’s a little difficult for me. It will be my first game (in North Carolina) since losing my mom, and my grandma that just passed. To play my first game back in North Carolina with them not being there (will be tough) because I’m so used to them being in the stands and cheering on and supporting me.
“It will be fun for me being back home, but I won’t be able to see family and friends because no fans are allowed. It will be a little bit of emotion, but not too much.”
Adjusting to life without Wood
Beyond seeking to make up for the scoring and defense lost with center Christian Wood out for several weeks, the Rockets will have to adjust to the differences with Wood effective in pick-and-roll and DeMarcus Cousins more often used in pick-and-pop.
“You just got to know your personnel,” said guard John Wall. “It’s two different guys. It’s the game of basketball, knowing your guys and knowing where your guys like the ball and what type of position they like to be in. That’s my job, to make the game easier for him and put them in the right positions to be successful.”
Cousins had 12 points and 11 rebounds, his fourth double-double of the season, Saturday against the Spurs. Taking 55.2 percent of his shots from beyond the 3-point line, Cousins is averaging 14.6 points, 13.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists as a starter.
“It’s going to be hard to replicate all that Christian does on both ends of the floor,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. “He has become a good defender where we can blitz some in pick-and-rolls, switch some. Then, his ability to score without a play call makes him super valuable. To replicate that is going to be super hard. We’re going to have to play a little bit faster, hopefully.
“We’re going to use Cuz in the same way, using him to draw his defender away from the hoop and allow us to drive the ball into the paint, take advantage of his shooting ability, his pick-and-pops, and then his passing ability, he is a very good passer from the high post. We’re going to take advantage of that and let him make reads, let him make decisions.
“We’re going to have to do our best to rally together and make it … good without Christian on the floor.”
Slow beginnings remain an issue
After a pair of games in which the Rockets came back from early double digit deficits to win, they said they were determined to start better and had a 48-point first quarter last week in Oklahoma City. That stood out for more than being the top-scoring opening quarter in franchise history.
The Rockets returned to their habit of starting slowly. The game against the Thunder was the only game in their past seven in which they took a lead into the second quarter.
After trailing the Spurs 29-23 after the first quarter on Saturday, the Rockets rank 25th offensively in the opening quarter this season, 22nd in net rating. Even their defense, which has been the second best in the NBA this season, is just middle of the pack in the opening quarter, ranking 17th.
“It’s kind of been a problem almost all year,” Rockets guard Eric Gordon said. “We get off to late starts and have to fight our way back. We got to dictate the game from the start. When we have a lead or we’re trying to dominate the game, it has to be from the start.”