MEMPHIS, TENN. – If judgments should not be made from one preseason game, it might not be a tad quick to draw conclusions from one play. Still, it might be telling that Rockets coach Kevin McHale chose to begin the game the way he did.
James Harden brings up the ball and gives to Ty Lawson for an angle pick-and-roll with Dwight Howard. Lawson drives to draw the defense and passes to Trevor Ariza. When the defense closes to him, he passes to Harden for an open 3.
For all the talk of what the Rockets offense lacked and Lawson can bring, there could be few better demonstrations with Lawson breaking down the defense, the ball moving and Harden scoring on a look he did not have to create for himself.
Most of the Rockets first preseason game did not go nearly at smoothly, with the Rockets missing 3s and the Grizzlies running through turnovers for long stretches before the Grizzlies held on to knock off the Rockets, 92-89, at FedEx Forum. But there were flashes of what the Rockets have in mind, starting with the first possession of the preseason.
“If you have two attackers on both sides, you’re going to get something good,” Lawson said. “Either one of us can get a close-out because I can get in the paint, James can get in the paint, and find the right person. You can’t just load up on either one of us or I’ll be able to find him or he’ll be attacking the paint to find Trev, Dwight or T.J. (Terrence Jones) for an easy bucket.”
When the games count, the Rockets will want Harden going to the basket more often, but they can’t mind the open shots he got. He did not make many. Harden went 1 of 7 on 3s, scoring 11 points in his 21 minutes with two assists.
“We had some shots we missed,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. “For the first exhibition game, we were able to create some good shots.
“We haven’t drawn up a lot of stuff in our offense. We have a lot of different things we’re going to put in. We have a long way to go, but for the first game, there was some good stuff.”
Harden was not the only one struggling to finish. Howard was 2 of 8, scoring five points in his 24 minutes, though he did get 11 rebounds and a pair of sensational blocked shots. Jones made just 1 of 7 shots. No one made more than one 3-pointer, with the Rockets going 5 of 29 from deep. Lawson made 4 of 9 shots, missing his two 3-pointers to score 10 points in 24 minutes
“It’s (about) getting them,” Lawson said of the Rockets’ open looks. “We shot under 20 percent from 3. They were all wide open. I don’t think there was a forced shot. During the season, we’ll hit those.”
The Rockets bench did rally back from a 12-point fourth quarter deficit to tie the game late on K.J. McDaniels’ second alley-oop slam. But he and Sam Dekker each missed 3s as the Grizzlies took a four-point lead. Dekker kept the Rockets in the game with a corner 3 and the Rockets set up a possession tie with four seconds left. But the Rockets seemed to forget they needed a 3 until it was too late and time ran out.
Still, for the Rockets, the game might have been more meaningful for how it started than how it finished.
After the first possession ended with Harden’s 3, Lawson drove the baseline to set up Ariza for a corner 3. Moments later, Lawson’s penetration set up Jones inside, though Jones was tied up before he could get off his shot.
That amounted to only a glimpse of what the Rockets have in mind for their most important addition, but they seemed encouraged even by that.
“We saw some good things,” Corey Brewer said. “We had some good ball movement. We saw him attack in pick-and-roll, how he can make plays. We had a lot of open shots. We have to make some of them. But we did some good things tonight.”
MEMPHIS, TENN. – If judgments should not be made from one preseason game, it might not be a tad quick to draw conclusions from one play. Still, it might be telling that Rockets coach Kevin McHale chose to begin the game the way he did.
James Harden brings up the ball and gives to Ty Lawson for an angle pick-and-roll with Dwight Howard. Lawson drives to draw the defense and passes to Trevor Ariza. When the defense closes to him, he passes to Harden for an open 3.
For all the talk of what the Rockets offense lacked and Lawson can bring, there could be few better demonstrations with Lawson breaking down the defense, the ball moving and Harden scoring on a look he did not have to create for himself.
Most of the Rockets first preseason game did not go nearly at smoothly, with the Rockets missing 3s and the Grizzlies running through turnovers for long stretches before the Grizzlies held on to knock off the Rockets, 92-89, at FedEx Forum. But there were flashes of what the Rockets have in mind, starting with the first possession of the preseason.
“If you have two attackers on both sides, you’re going to get something good,” Lawson said. “Either one of us can get a close-out because I can get in the paint, James can get in the paint, and find the right person. You can’t just load up on either one of us or I’ll be able to find him or he’ll be attacking the paint to find Trev, Dwight or T.J. (Terrence Jones) for an easy bucket.”
When the games count, the Rockets will want Harden going to the basket more often, but they can’t mind the open shots he got. He did not make many. Harden went 1 of 7 on 3s, scoring 11 points in his 21 minutes with two assists.
“We had some shots we missed,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. “For the first exhibition game, we were able to create some good shots.
“We haven’t drawn up a lot of stuff in our offense. We have a lot of different things we’re going to put in. We have a long way to go, but for the first game, there was some good stuff.”
Harden was not the only one struggling to finish. Howard was 2 of 8, scoring five points in his 24 minutes, though he did get 11 rebounds and a pair of sensational blocked shots. Jones made just 1 of 7 shots. No one made more than one 3-pointer, with the Rockets going 5 of 29 from deep. Lawson made 4 of 9 shots, missing his two 3-pointers to score 10 points in 24 minutes
“It’s (about) getting them,” Lawson said of the Rockets’ open looks. “We shot under 20 percent from 3. They were all wide open. I don’t think there was a forced shot. During the season, we’ll hit those.”
The Rockets bench did rally back from a 12-point fourth quarter deficit to tie the game late on K.J. McDaniels’ second alley-oop slam. But he and Sam Dekker each missed 3s as the Grizzlies took a four-point lead. Dekker kept the Rockets in the game with a corner 3 and the Rockets set up a possession tie with four seconds left. But the Rockets seemed to forget they needed a 3 until it was too late and time ran out.
Still, for the Rockets, the game might have been more meaningful for how it started than how it finished.
After the first possession ended with Harden’s 3, Lawson drove the baseline to set up Ariza for a corner 3. Moments later, Lawson’s penetration set up Jones inside, though Jones was tied up before he could get off his shot.
That amounted to only a glimpse of what the Rockets have in mind for their most important addition, but they seemed encouraged even by that.
“We saw some good things,” Corey Brewer said. “We had some good ball movement. We saw him attack in pick-and-roll, how he can make plays. We had a lot of open shots. We have to make some of them. But we did some good things tonight.”
