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Schedule Out!

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by joshuaao, Jun 26, 2020.

  1. Astrodome

    Astrodome Member
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    Holy hell.
     
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  2. Nook

    Nook Member

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    Well I guess Florida will go to Biden then.
     
  3. J.R.

    J.R. Member

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    https://theathletic.com/1896596/2020/06/26/rockets-schedule-analysis-breaking-down-the-path-to-a-successful-restart



    It’s finally here, the moment you all have been waiting for.

    For all the talk from the Rockets since the hiatus about being excited to return, commitment to championship chasing and dedication for a standings climb—as high as the second seed—the work starts now.

    On Friday, the NBA released the full schedule for all 22 teams who will be involved in the league’s resumption beginning July 30. Looking at the schedule, this should be exactly what Rockets fans should want. There’s no better preparation for playoff basketball than going against the best of the best, and that’s exactly what Houston will see, playing the Bucks and Lakers in their first four games.

    All in all, be excited about a plan. As the NBA continues with its COVID-19 testing, there will be names that emerge from this as being infected. There’s going to be a natural amount of shock and worry, something the league stressed today in a media conference call. As far as the Rockets and fans are concerned there will be fingers crossed hoping for the best, while the team prepares for a challenge unseen before. Strap in.

    Who's Next? (Go, go, go)

    Dallas Mavericks | July 31 | 8:00 | ESPN
    Milwaukee Bucks | Aug 2 | 7:30 | ABC
    Portland Trail Blazers | Aug 4 | 8:00 | TNT
    Los Angeles Lakers | Aug 6 | 8:00 | TNT
    Sacramento Kings | Aug 9 | 7:00 | N/A
    San Antonio Spurs | Aug 11 | 1:00 | NBA TV
    Indiana Pacers | Aug 12 | 3:00 | NBA TV
    Philadelphia 76ers | Aug 14 | TBD | N/A

    The important thing here is to consider what the Rockets’ schedule looks like in conjunction with the other Western Conference teams that are bunched up together.

    There will be a lot of jostling for position, especially given the fact that all of the games will be played at a neutral site. Since homecourt advantage is out the window, look for teams to figure out the most conducive matchups for them and go from there. It’s not as if teams haven’t done that before, because they have. But there’s an added onus without 20,000 screaming fans, constant back-and-forth travel, and natural wear-and-tear.

    By the time the regular season games are underway, these players would have last played competitive basketball four months ago. Regardless of what the extra training camp and scrimmages look like, there will be some slow starters out of the gate. Some teams can afford to find a rhythm. The Rockets are not one of these teams. The Mavericks are literally breathing down their neck and will look for any way to avoid the Clippers and Lakers.

    Western Conference Strength of Schedule

    Team | Opp W/L | Opp win%
    Nuggets | 317-194 | 62.0
    Grizzlies | 307-203 | 60.2
    Blazers | 311-207 | 60.0
    Lakers | 281-191 | 59.5
    Suns | 307-214 | 58.9
    Rockets | 304-214 | 58.7
    Thunder | 299-216 | 58.0
    Spurs | 292-223 | 56.7
    Jazz | 286-228 | 55.6
    Mavericks | 287-230 | 55.5
    Clippers | 285-233 | 55.0
    Kings | 272-242 | 52.9
    Pelicans | 254-259 | 49.5

    Special shout out to our colleague Erik Horne for putting this together. Based on this table alone, you would assume that Houston is already at a disadvantage from a difficulty standpoint. Utah and Oklahoma City, who are fourth and fifth respectively in the standings, have easier paths to end the regular season than Houston. You can even throw in Dallas and the Clippers who also have easier remaining schedules, although the Rockets falling to seventh or catching second is probably not going to happen.

    Schedule takeaways

    1. The first game against Dallas is the most important. Not only will it be the tone-setter for the rest of the season, but the Mavericks are a game and a half behind Houston. I’m of the belief that Dallas won’t pass them in the standings, but a loss to them would certainly make things spooky.

    2. Houston split the season series with the Mavericks—losing 137-123 and beating them 128-121 most recently on Jan 31 but that game has a bit of an asterisk for me. Actually, a huge asterisk. Luka Doncic didn’t play in that game. Since he’s made his way to the NBA, the Rockets have had quite the trouble with him. He’s a matchup nightmare. Kristaps Porzingis did play and dropped 35 points and 12 rebounds with relative ease, who were still testing the waters with their small-ball lineup. That’s not the case now. I do believe that Porzingis will give them fits in the first game back, but it’s important to note that the Rockets’ depth should be able to see them through. Should.

    3. Nothing says welcome back to basketball than a date with the best team in the league after a Doncic-Porzingis affair.

    4. The Milwaukee Bucks are a problem and four months away from the court won’t do anything to assuage it. Giannis is the reigning MVP and looks to be well on his way to a second. If you remember the opening game of this season, these two teams played pretty closely until the Bucks were able to pull away in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

    5. The 117-111 final score doesn’t really tell the whole story, but Brook Lopez’s 11 points all came in the final frame. His size was a huge headache for Houston no matter who attempted to bang with him in the post. Harden, Tucker, you name it. For a moment, he looked like prime Dirk. I specifically remember writing that in my notes watching it in real-time. We’ll see what Robert Covington’s presence and their new style does to combat this juggernaut.

    6. Speaking of Covington, from what I’ve been told, one of the most important parts of this second training camp is to fully incorporate him into what the team wants to do. They weren’t afforded that opportunity in February following the trade, but now with time on their hands, he’ll be able to hone in.

    7. Normally, I would give the Blazers game pause, but this game isn’t being played in Moda Center. That’s an incredible advantage Damian Lillard and company have over teams and one that the Rockets succumbed to earlier in the season. I do think that Trevor Ariza’s absence is being undersold here. He was phenomenal in their 125-112 win over Houston Jan 29 and Portland will miss his overall ruggedness and willingness to mix it up with Harden and Westbrook.

    8. Speaking of the dynamic duo, I’d expect them to come out with all guns blazing. We’ve seen all the work they’ve put in the pseudo offseason to keep their bodies in tip-top shape and all eyes will be on them in the return. Do I expect constant Harden traps? Yes. Do I expect Westbrook to continue his efficiency world tour en route to the rim? Hell yes.

    9. The Lakers are another headache but I’d add something here. Just like we spoke of Ariza’s absence being huge for the Blazers, ditto with Avery Bradley. Especially in terms of guarding Harden and Westbrook and being able to produce on the other end efficiently, Bradley was an unsung hero for this Lakers squad.

    10. The Rockets’ small ball forced the Lakers to adjust following Covington’s arrival which played right into Houston’s hands. If sizeable bigs like Dwight Howard and Javale McGee can be played off the floor, it really comes down to Anthony Davis. I say this because LeBron James is always going to get his, one way or the other. What the Rockets can do is to space out his impact over 48 minutes. What they don’t want is a barrage of Bron dunks, no-look passes and team-raising plays.

    11. I’m interested to see the impact of J.R. Smith and Dion Waiters. The last time I spoke to Smith, he was fiddling with putting his earings on while complaining about the amount of foul calls that Harden gets. He added that with the elite talent that Harden is, it’s impossible to defend if you have to worry about the officials too. I wonder how in-shape he is, and the same goes for Waiters. On a good day, both players can be killer X-factors.

    12. With all due respect to the Kings and Spurs, these teams won’t cause Houston any problems in the bubble. They just won’t. The Spurs especially won’t without the AT&T Center and LaMarcus Aldrige. Maybe you can make the argument that the Kings play fast and these eight games will be AAU-style without added noise from fans, but we can move on.

    13. I want to touch on the 76ers for a bit here. I’m of the belief that they have the ability to represent the Eastern Conference in the Finals, just as they can flame out of the first round. This is a high-variance team. Hopefully, you’ve been able to keep up with the good work of Derek Bodner and Rich Hofmann, but this will be an interesting game. It’ll be the final game before postseason play and a good chance to see what mindset Houston is in. Will they come to work ready to shut up shop? Or will they succumb to Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, and “The Process”?

    14. Lastly, try and keep up with the coverage we’ll have here on The Athletic in the coming weeks and once the season starts. Games will be happening quickly, but we have you covered. Take care and wear your masks, people.
     
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  4. Andre0087

    Andre0087 Member

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    I can already see the haters adding an asterisk to this season no matter who wins.
     
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  5. ksny15

    ksny15 Member

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    I don’t see how they get thru this season. Especially in Florida lol
     
    amaru likes this.
  6. malakas

    malakas Member

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    Not in Florida anymore.
    They have almost 10.000 cases a day and they arent even in full lockdown.
    We have seen it happen again and again and everyone should know what is coming by now.
    Good luck for the NBA justifying using doctors, masks and tests while people will be droping like flies all around them.
     
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  7. YOLO

    YOLO Member

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    lol the delete eight feel left out. But but but guys don’t want to play they said.

     
    #47 YOLO, Jun 27, 2020
    Last edited: Jun 27, 2020
  8. YOLO

    YOLO Member

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    really small spreads to kick things off

     
  9. daywalker02

    daywalker02 Member

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    They have discussed it for quite some time actually, a play in tournament for the lottery winners.
     
  10. YOLO

    YOLO Member

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    In a Monday appearance on ESPN, former NBA player and current analyst Jay Williams seemed to agree with that assessment. He said:

    "If I’m Houston, I am trying to mirror and be in that bracket with the Lakers. I’m trying to be in that 4-5 range so I can be partnered with them, because I think that is the matchup they want to see in the Western Conference semifinals.

    I don’t think they want to see the Clippers until the Finals because of their wings and the way they can match up. But a bigger Lakers team, where you can involve them in a ton of PnR (pick and roll), and James Harden and Russell Westbrook get hot? That could be the matchup that you’re looking for."



    I agree with Jay here. I've liked the Lakers matchup much more compared to the Clips for awhile. I couldn't careless about the traditional size when it's one of bigger rockets strengths to take that out of the game
     
  11. Ubiquitin

    Ubiquitin Contributing Member
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    Will this be televised on ESPN or Disney or what?
     
  12. D-rock

    D-rock Member

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    ESPN and CBS have zero clue about Rockets roster/depth if article linked below is correct.

    https://spacecityscoop.com/2020/06/27/updated-houston-rockets-roster-depth-chart-final-8-games/

    PG – Russell Westbrook, Austin Rivers, Chris Clemons, Michael Frazier
    SG – James Harden, Ben McLemore, *David Nwaba, William Howard
    SF – Danuel House, Eric Gordon, Jeff Green, Thabo Sefolosha, Bruno Caboclo
    PF – Robert Covington, DeMarre Carroll, William Howard
    C – P.J. Tucker, Tyson Chandler

    Eric Gordon is SF now? Thabo, Green and Bruno should be backup 5's.

    They also have Michael Frazier listed at PG and William Howard listed under both SG and PF.
     
  13. bleedroxred79

    bleedroxred79 Member

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  14. JumpMan

    JumpMan Contributing Member
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    Disney+
     
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  15. dc rock

    dc rock Contributing Member

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    Is Bill Worrell going to be calling games?
     
  16. YOLO

    YOLO Member

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  17. YOLO

    YOLO Member

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    D-rock likes this.
  18. YOLO

    YOLO Member

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  19. daywalker02

    daywalker02 Member

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  20. HardenVolumeOne

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    kendrick Perkins pretends like he likes harden, but he is nothing more than a plant for Westbrook
     

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