The Rockets, mercifully, had a week off for All-Star break meaning they weren’t able to lose any more games. But, the fun resumes Thursday night as they drag their worst record in the NBA (13-45) into the Bay Area to face the Warriors. It’s been a miserable season for this team and the front office continues to lean on the “development” excuse. If this squad is good in a couple years, we can upgrade “excuse” to “reason,” but for now, it’s all just really depressing.
With Spring Training under way for the Astros and the NFL draft just around the corner with the Texans and new head coach DeMeco Ryans selecting twice in the first round, the Rockets are likely to quickly fade back into obscurity. Given how bad they have been, that might be a good thing.
“Pray for Victor”
The thing about team owner Tillman Fertitta is that he says what he wants when he wants. That is particularly true when he is on Galveston Island where this BOI (Galveston slang for Born on the Island) is in his true element. In this case, it was the annual Mardi Gras celebration where he was interviewed by KPRC’s Frank Billingsley somewhere on or near the Strand.
In addition to whatever else he might have rambled while clutching a styrofoam cup full of, we assume, water maybe (?), he quipped “Pray for Victor.” As most NBA fans know, the consensus number one pick in this year’s draft is French big man Victor Wembanyama. He is widely considered one of the most intriguing picks since LeBron James. There is little doubt the Rockets would love to draft him and their awful record certainly gives them a fighting chance. It’s a shame they have to suck to get there and an irony that the best basketball team in Houston isn’t in Fertitta’s Toyota Center, but rather in the actual Fertitta Center on the University of Houston campus. Maybe he should have said, “Pray for Marcus.”
Silas says he, Stone, Fertitta on same page.
Speaking of the team’s effusive owner, coach Stephen Silas recently said that he, GM Rafael Stone and the owner were all on the same page regarding this Rockets team regardless of record. It strikes a very different tone from the one you might find on message boards or Twitter from fans, who seem shocked Silas has lasted this long. Clearly, no one is happy about losing and Silas may indeed be the sacrificial lamb for these losing seasons, but it seems ridiculous if not outright stupid to part ways with him now.
Very little will change this team’s losing ways at the moment. You might argue that Silas’s style is thwarting the development of the young players, but we don’t know that entirely. We see what is happening on the floor, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Silas has done, by even his own measure, a pretty poor job of helping this team get better, but it isn’t worth blowing him out in the middle of a God-awful season. If you decide to move on, do it in the offseason the right way.
All-Star weekend bust for Rockets players
It felt a bit like All-Star weekend was a microcosm of the Rockets season. There were no players – rightfully so – selected for the All-Star game itself, but several performed in the Skills Competition, Rising Stars game and Slam Dunk contest. Unfortunately, none of them performed well.
Jabari Smith, Jr. was part of Team Rookies for the Skills Competition and was summarily bounced after the first round of play. High-flying KJ Martin didn’t make it to the final in the four-man dunk contest. And neither Smith nor Alperen Sengun had a decent showing in the Rising Stars tournament. Sengun was 0-2 with no points in his one game while Smith went a combined 2-9 with 5 points in both his games. Not a great look for the team or its young players.
KPJ’s lost season
When the Rockets do hit the floor Thursday night, they will again be without Kevin Porter, Jr., who has missed nearly 20 games with an injury. This was supposed to be the season Porter established himself as the team’s point guard and helped to solidify what could have been a star backcourt. Instead, it has been a disaster with an injury mixed in.
In the offseason, Porter signed what seemed like a team-friendly extension and there is no question he has talent. But he simply isn’t a point guard, which conflicts with the team’s aspirations of Jalen Green (who will also miss Thursday’s game) as their lead guard in the two spot. Porter is averaging a career best 19 points per game but his assists, three-point percentage and effective field goal percentage are all down despite the focus of making him the floor leader.
With the addition of the lost games to injury, it feels like a bust year for KPJ and puts the Rockets in an awkward position in the offseason where a few notable point guards like Toronto’s Fred VanVleet will be on the market.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
