McHale thinks vets will get up to speed
Preseason injuries slowed the process of melding Ty Lawson with James Harden in the Rockets’ backcourt and also took time away from getting ready for the start of the season. Coach Kevin McHale, however, didn’t express concern.
“Ty with his back had a limited amount of exposure as far as day after day after day of building up your body to be ready for the NBA, but he’ll be fine,” McHale said Wednesday. “He’s a veteran guy. I think all those guys, as all veterans do, were keeping a lot of horsepower in the barn. They weren’t throwing it all out there every day.
“I’m not that worried about James and Ty. I wish Clint (Capela) had more reps. I wish Montrezl (Harrell) had more reps. Pat (Beverley), Brew (Corey Brewer) and Trevor (Ariza), they’ve done most of the stuff. They haven’t missed much. They came in in great shape. They had a great camp. Everyone else is at different stages of where they need to be.”
A taste of France for Capela
If getting his first NBA start were not enough of an indication of how far Rockets second-year center Clint Capela has come, he got a reminder when he lined up for Wednesday’s opening tip.
With Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic out, Joffrey Lauvergne started for Denver, pitting Capela against someone who had been his teammate with the French club Chalon.
“Lauvergne, I know him since I was 15,” Capela, 21, said. “We used to talk a lot of (trash) sometimes. We were together a long time, six years. So yeah, it’s pretty exciting for me.”
Lauvergne, who is from Mulhouse, France, was happy to start the season against his old friend from Switzerland but disputed the idea he would talk trash in any language.
“I don’t talk trash during games,” Lauvergne said. “I’m European. I’m not American.”
Harrell wants to be himself
Rockets rookie Montrezl Harrell has over the years heard himself compared to Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried, something Harrell considers a compliment even if he will not try to emulate any particular player’s style.
“He’s definitely a guy you can look at,” Harrell said of playing against Faried. “He … plays hard every possession, goes after every rebound. He’s going to go at you 100 miles per hour all game. That’s definitely a player I was compared to coming out of college, which is definitely a huge compliment. I just stick to the things I do well. I’m not trying to go out here and be another Kenneth Faried. I’m just trying to be what Montrezl Harrell is and what he does.”
Toyota Center has new touches
Toyota Center featured some season-opening changes. On the bottom of the basket stanchion, the Rockets paid tribute to Hall of Famer Moses Malone, who died last month, with his name, number 24 and nickname, “Chairman of the Boards.” And a new banner was added for the 2014-15 Southwest Division title.