Deluge of points offers taste of desired pace
The Rockets’ preseason began on Monday, but summer workout video season rolled on, too.
It was not just that the Rockets predictably ran through the Shanghai Sharks as if doing those 5-on-0 morning training camp drills, opening their preseason schedule with a 140-71 romp in which they scored the way players do when those videos hit social media in the offseason.
It was not just the fast-break alley-oop passes James Harden lobbed or the way center Clint
Capela ran the floor to dunk after dunk.
That was all to be expected and might even offer first glimpses of the Rockets’ determination to pick up the pace.
The more conspicuous reminder of summer, however, came when Harden put up the running
one-legged 3-pointer of those workout videos that made the rounds, a shot he missed but that promised to draw more attention than all the others that poured in.
“James is always trying to put something in his game,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “We’ll see, He’s so good, I don’t know if he needs it or not. What is he going to get up 20 3s, or 25? His game is pretty complete, but he keeps trying to get better, which is pretty cool.
“His step-back historically was an awful shot. He got it to where he’s making a good percentage. So, it wouldn’t surprise me if he gets that down.”
D’Antoni said Harden has taken few one-legged 3s in practices, adding that with his step-back 3, “he doesn’t need to.”
Harden agreed with that, though he did call Capela’s similar 3 launched to beat the buzzer “very, very crafty.” (Capela missed but was fouled.)
“It’s already natural,” Harden said. “It’s a shot that I work on, just like the step-back. You make shots or miss shots, I have confidence to shoot them. I don’t need it. I can create shots and shoot shots whenever I want, obviously. But I try to do it in the flow of the offense, whether it’s a step-back or one-legged shot.”
More revealing might be the way Harden pushed the Rockets to run. He looked to push the pace after most missed shots or turnovers in the first half, usually finding Capela beating the Sharks down the floor.
Some of that determination to run more often is to take advantage of Russell Westbrook’s explosiveness. But even with Westbrook sitting out while the Rockets manage his workload after arthroscopic knee surgery in May, the exhibition against a Chinese Basketball Association team showed a clear effort to play faster.
“We talked about it,” D’Antoni said. “The biggest thing is James looked like he wanted to do it. He sped it up. And Clint got out and set the pace, tone. With Russ, we’ll be quicker, but we’ve got to keep that pace, keep working on that and see if we can improve on it.”
That worked well enough for Harden to have a triple-double in the first half, finishing with 10 points, 17 assists and 12 rebounds in 21 minutes. Capela had 19 in the first half and was through for the night in 18½ minutes, scoring 25 points. Gerald Green needed just 18 minutes to score 21 points, making 7 of 8 attempts, including 5 of 6 3-pointers. But with the Sharks unable to slow the Rockets as the lead swelled to 72, the emphasis on running stood out.
“It was important, especially for me to get going pretty quick, try to get that feeling right away with James,” Capela said. “It felt pretty good tonight. I’m excited to be going also with Russ, get that connection working together, too.”
Capela said he felt as if he is moving better than last season, to the point that when asked if he was the fastest big man in the NBA, he said, “From what I saw, I think that I am.
“It’s going to make a huge difference, especially when we get stops, it’s going to get energy to our offense,” Capela said. “For our wings, whenever they run out to the corners, I’m going to put pressure on the paint and get them open shots. This is something I’m going to have to do every single game.”
There won’t be many games like Monday’s. But to the Rockets, it was a start, a noticeably fast start, even if while scoring 140 points, it was impossible to ignore the onelegged shot that missed.