The Houston Rockets season has started dizzyingly. While the teams were resuming full rehearsals after nearly 5 months of inactivity, Houston found itself without two-star players. Russell Westbrook tested positive for COVID and delayed his arrival on the Orlando bubble. Harden has stayed away from the bubble and is expected to arrive later with Westbrook. Westbrook and Harden are the focal points of the Houston Rockets offensive. The pair is in the process of becoming the highest scoring pair since Wilt Chamberlain and Paul Azirin in 1961-62.
Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers spoke to the media about the practice without Westbrook and Harden. He talked about their first practice and said “It went better than I expected. I thought basketballs flew everywhere and that we were out of breath. In fact, we are really fine. I know that rockets and defense don’t usually go hand in hand, but today we were pretty solid on the defensive. ”
Rivers answered questions about how his team’s dynamic will change after Brodie and Harden return. “Offensively it’s very different right now because obviously we’re playing without James and Russ right now, which is most of our offense. It will be a bigger adjustment when they come here. It’s actually nice in a way that we’re starting without them just because the energy is so high right now … James and Russ will be like a whole shock of energy, get them back, and then we’ll have another good one practice and then we’ll have a day off here or there, but yes, it was great. “
Houston Rockets Losing steam in the bubble?
The Rockets have gone 8-7 in their games since the commercial deadline. Their rigid nature can be attributed to the experiment around the ball system, but there will be no time to find the perfect mix. Harden and Westbrook are at the center of their teams’ offensive attention. They are scoring an average of 61.8 points between them and will have to perform even better to compete in the Western Conference playoffs.
Westbrook led the NBA in painful spots, and Harden is well on his way to collecting a third consecutive title. None of these achievements will matter if it folds into the playoffs.
