Brooks lauds Harden’s game
For all the attention paid to the fouls guard James Harden draws, Wizards coach Scott
Brooks — Harden’s first NBA coach when they were in Oklahoma City — said teams have to not become preoccupied with foul calls.
Harden has been first or second in free throws attempted in every season since he was traded to the Rockets before the 2012-13 season.
“You can’t worry about that,” Brooks said. “The refs aren’t giving him calls. He’s getting there. You put your hands on him, he’s clever. He knows exactly what you’re doing and he’s going to go right through it. Those are fouls. Talk about his travel (against the Jazz on Monday). He traveled one time. He scored (45) points other than those (two) points he got from the travel. The guy is an amazing player. His IQ is up there, one of the tops of the league.”
Brooks said Harden had those qualities since before he was Sixth Man of the Year for him with the Thunder.
“I wish I could say I was a part of that, but he’s always been that way,” Brooks said. “He has a pace to his game and he sees the floor so well. He was always one of our best passers at a young stage of his career. It’s great.
“The guy’s a winner. He plays hard. He does a lot of great things for this organization. He deserves all the success he has because … he never missed practice. He’d be banged up, ankle twisted, back sore, bruised, but he always practiced, always played.
“He’s definitely up there. You have to have he and KD ( Kevin Durant ).I saw them both up close. James is as good as anybody in the league.”
Nene sits out against Wizards
With the Rockets playing the first game in a back-to-back, the first since Nene returned from his strained calf muscle, Nene was held out of Wednesday’s game to play Thursday in Miami.
The Rockets chose to have him play in the second half of the back-toback in part because the Wizards often go small at the center spot off the bench while the Heat use
Bam Adebayo as a backup to Hassan Whiteside. The Rockets did recall
Isaiah Hartenstein from the G League to play off the bench if the Wizards used a traditional center, with Hartenstein’s time with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers offering a chance to stay sharp for the games in which he will be needed.
“That’s the idea behind it,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “Sometimes, the traveling gets a little much. Going up and down, you can have some bad days. It’s a hard job, but somebody’s got to do it. He can do it.”
Hartenstein had not played in the Rockets’ past seven games and played just three minutes to finish the previous two games. But since he was last in the rotation, Hartenstein has stayed busy with the Vipers. In four G League games this season, Hartenstein averaged 21.5 points on 65.5 percent shooting and 15.3 rebounds in 33.5 minutes per game.
“It definitely helps confidence just knowing the scheme, getting playing time, playing a lot,” he said. “You play more freely and work on your moves down there. So, it helps a lot.
“Just knowing my conditioning now is good because I’ve been playing down there for 30 minutes, that helps a lot.”
Ariza given video tribute
The Rockets showed a video tribute for Wizards forward Trevor Ariza during the first timeout of the first quarter, with Ariza playing in Houston for the first time since he signed with the Phoenix Suns as a free agent.
Ariza was traded to the Wizards, his team before signing with the Rockets in 2009, last week and spent several minutes visiting with Rockets coach Mike
D’Antoni and other Rockets staff members before the game.
“I’d rather see him on a beach somewhere, not playing against us,” D’Antoni said. “Trevor’s a really good player in this league.”
With Otto Porter Jr. out, the Wizards immediately made Ariza a starter, but Wizards coach Scott
Brooks said the team acquired Ariza with having him start in mind.
“He’s moving,” Brooks said. “He’s running the floor. That’s what we need. That position can get a lot of shots. He moves and he runs and he comes off screens and he’s aggressive and he’s not passing up open looks.”