Theis steals show on defense
Rockets center Daniel Theis had a season-high 18 points, leading the Rockets in scoring. The Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic had 28 points and 14 rebounds.
Yet, the most impressive part of Theis’ game on Saturday might have been his defense on Jokic.
That says a good deal about how difficult it is to defend the NBA’s reigning MVP. But when matched up with Theis, Jokic made 4 of 9 shots, with one assist and three turnovers. In the fourth quarter, he made just 1 of 5 shots with one rebound and no assists.
Theis had missed the previous two games with a sore right big toe. Of returning to face a matchup with Jokic, Rockets coach Stephen Silas said, “Welcome back.”
But Theis’ defense kept the Rockets in the game, perhaps even more than his scoring.
“He fought super hard,” Silas said. “He was in the passing lane. He was physical with him. We didn’t have to help quite as much when he was guarding him. He did a very good job. Our group did a good job. We held them to 95 points. I tried to match his minutes with Jokic.”
Theis said his scoring, on 8 of 12 shooting including the Rockets’ final field goal, a 3-pointer for a five-point lead with 2:45 left, was the result of “fresh legs after sitting out a little bit.”
He similarly would not take much credit for his defense. His teammates, however, were happy to cite his play on Jokic.
“He did a great job,” forward Jae’Sean Tate said. “That’s the MVP. He’s a big guy. DT made it as tough as possible for him. He did a great job. We have to do better and help him. I still think as a unit we have more in terms of taking it personal. We’re all capable. We have to play better on both ends. It’s going to start on the defensive end.”
Road trip adds two more firsts
Amid a road trip filled with new experiences for the Rockets’ young players, they had their first day game and will have their first back-to-back of the season. Saturday’s game in Denver started at 3 p.m. locally to be on in prime time in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The Rockets will face the Warriors in their second game in as many days on Sunday.
“There’s the early game part, which is new for us, preparing differently and not having a shootaround and having a ballroom walk-through,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. “This is our first ballroom walk-through. Trying to find the carryover from that to the court.
“This trip has been a beast. We’ve played hard all the way through. We’ve played in a way I’m proud of. We’ll learn the early game part today and the back-to-back part tomorrow.”
The Rockets hoped to have forward Danuel
House Jr. back after missing five games with a strained foot on Sunday. Getting House and Theis, who returned from a sore right big toe, could be especially valuable in the second half of the back-toback and against the thirdleading scoring bench in the NBA.
“It’s huge,” Silas said. “The experience part is super important. Having guys is important as well. Going into a back-to-back, it’s our first one, and guys have been playing 35, 36 minutes per game, having a couple extra … experienced bodies helps.”
Malone recalls own rebuilding
Nuggets coach Michael Malone was speaking of his rookie guard Bones Hyland, about the rookie mistakes he must experience and how it reminded him of his young players when he became Nuggets coach in 2015. But as he spoke of those seasons, the parallels with the even younger Rockets became clear.
“My first three years, we were not a playoff team,” Malone said. “We came really close in that third year. We were allowed the opportunity to play young guys and let them play through mistakes. Now, we raised the bar higher and higher and higher and now the expectations are a little bit crazy in my opinion, but they’re there.”
Star center Jokic, who was in his second season when Malone took over as Nuggets coach, and guard Will Barton are the only Nuggets players who have been on the team through the duration of Malone’s tenure. But he cited the lessons learned then as examples of the process for the Rockets.
“The old adage: Experience is the best teacher,” Malone said. “You have to go through a lot of growing pains. We went through three years of growing pains before we were able to see the results. Houston, Stephen Silas, they have a lot of talent over there.
“Obviously, right now, young teams turn the ball over. They turn the ball over a lot. That leads to a lot of points for their opponents. Those experiences, those failures are going to be great teachers and lessons for them. They’re hard to live through in the moment, especially for the head coach. I feel for Stephen Silas. I’ve been there. I know what he’s going through.”
The Rockets young guards struggled with their shots Saturday, with Jalen Green going 3 of 9, missing all five of his 3s, and Kevin Porter Jr. making just 2 of 15 shots. But Malone said he can see the potential.
“If (Silas) is afforded the opportunity to stay with it … Kevin Porter Jr. is going to mature,” Malone said. “That kid is a hell of a player. Jalen Green, size, shooting, fearless. Now, it’s taking all that talent and nurturing it and putting it into a semblance of a team.”