Rocking the Lakers?
In our Q&A, Houston general manager Daryl Morey says his team is ready to beat LA.
LOS ANGELES – As he surveyed the NBA landscape, Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey holds two opinions that he does not consider to be mutually exclusive.
When it comes to predicting the next NBA champion, Morey argued that the Los Angeles Lakers “deserved to be called the favorites.” When it comes to sizing up teams that have a good shot at stopping that from happening? Morey contended, “we feel very comfortable we can beat the Lakers.”
With the Rockets dealing center Clint Capela to Atlanta in a four-team, 12-player trade that yielded Minnesota wing Robert Covington, Morey believes the Rockets have enough 3-point shooters in James Harden, P.J. Tucker, Eric Gordon, Austin Rivers, Danuel House Jr. and Covington to compensate for the size that LeBron James and Anthony Davis bring. Houston also has Russell Westbrook, who has accelerated the team’s pace with his rebounding, speed and playmaking.
“It presents some challenges for us with our size,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel conceded. “But we also feel our size presents some challenges for them as well.”
Shortly after the NBA trade deadline passed last week, Morey spoke to USA TODAY Sports explaining why he feels otherwise. Below is an edited portion of his Q&A.
What do you think the trade does?
Morey: “Covington is a guy we’ve been trying to get for a long time. (Coach) Mike (D’Antoni) has really figured out how to most maximize our two superstars and style of play. We’re excited to put it on the floor and start beating up on people.”
How did you weigh the pros and cons of trading Capela?
Morey: “Clint is a great player and great human. The reason to do this is James Harden. I think the key to winning a championship is get superstars who are great players. We have that with Westbrook and Harden, and then get the right fit and the right style around them. With Mike’s approach with shooting and space, that’s where we’re at our best. Adding a Covington where we can shore up our perimeter defense and also be a top-notch shooter is a huge part of our ability to play that way. We’re ready to go to battle.
“On offense, we think it’s a pace game, an athleticism game and it’s a shooting game. It’s spacing. It’s us having guys who are dynamic that can attack off the dribble. With defense, we think you have to start at the perimeter and be solid there. Unfortunately, rim protection is really difficult these days with the rules that they are if a guy is getting downhill. It’s very hard even if the center is back to handle that. You have to cut off penetration at the start with a strong perimeter and then get
the rebound and get out and go.”
You said two months ago you did not think you would make a deal. What changed your sentiments?
Morey: “It was really just Covington becoming available. We’ve been working on that for a long time. We thought he’d be a perfect piece to play the style we thought would be best for two superstars on our roster. Clint is an extremely good player and one we did not want to give up. But it was required in this deal.”
Where do you see the Rockets being in the mix among the other Western Conference contenders?
Morey: “We feel pretty good down the stretch to position ourselves well for the playoffs. As much as people want to say, ‘How will you handle this guy or that big guy?’ I say the other coach is even more afraid sitting there wondering how the hell are they going to play their big guy who has no one to guard.”
What were your expectations with the Harden-Westbrook pairing and how have you seen it play out?
Morey: “We’re thrilled. We wanted to get our pace up. Westbrook has single-handedly done that. If we want to play this small style, which we did, we knew we needed to have guards that could switch with Russ, Eric and James. We knew we needed to have guards who were also strong and could rebound. Obviously Russ is pretty famous for being the best rebounding guard ever probably. We have the roster to unlock how we’re playing. We have it even more now with Robert Covington. We really feel like this is the direction the NBA is going to be going. Just like everyone was scratching their heads wondering why we’re shooting 50 3s a couple of years ago and saying we can’t win anything, we almost knocked off the Warriors. Now they will wonder why they have a 5 who has no
one they can guard on the floor.” What’s the goal now for 3s? Morey: “However they get it. You’re sort of screwed guarding us. If you cut off penetration, we’re going to take a lot of 3s. You try to take away the 3-pointers, we’re going to get a lot at the rim. Hopefully how many we take is dictated by the opponent a little bit.”
Even if you like this deal, do you have any concerns moving forward beyond health?
Morey: “No, we’re comfortable with this roster, obviously. It’s very tough competition in the West. The Lakers deserve to be called the favorites. They play better than anyone to this point. They’re playing unbelievable basketball at both ends. So they’re the favorite. We’re in a group with the Clippers, Utah and Denver and the other top contenders in the West to fight with them. But we feel very comfortable we can beat the Lakers.”