Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey says the unusual delay (due to COVID-19) before the 2020 NBA playoffs could be beneficial to the team’s chances of making a championship run this season.
In a Facebook Q&A with Cayleigh Griffin, the team’s courtside reporter, Morey said the multi-month hiatus could be beneficial to veterans acquired during the season. By virtue of a second training camp, they could get a new opportunity to earn the trust of head coach Mike D’Antoni and potentially work their way into Houston’s playoff rotation.
The Rockets (40-24) acquired DeMarre Carroll, Jeff Green, and Bruno Caboclo just weeks before the season’s suspension on March 12, but Green was the only one of that frontcourt trio to immediately receive a spot in the team’s new small-ball rotation.
However, the “restart” might change that dynamic, since it resets the season and puts NBA rosters back on level footing for training camp.
“We do feel like our odds have gone up with the restart,” Morey told Griffin in Thursday’s chat. “Because we probably can’t call ourselves the favorite — we just haven’t played well enough to say that — anything that adds uncertainty to the system is generally good for us.”
https://www.facebook.com/houstonrockets/videos/2736276753258833
Griffin followed up by specifically asking about the second training camp, and Morey explained how it could be an advantage:
I think that’s an edge for us. It’s one of the reasons why a stop and restart slightly favors us. … We have a very deep team. We have veterans who have not been with us all year who have contributed to very good playoff teams in the past. They probably didn’t get much of a chance to show what they could do. But with a new training camp and maybe some games before the playoffs… it gives those guys a chance to show Coach D’Antoni what they can do.
Coach likes a tight rotation in the playoffs, which I do think the evidence does support his choice there in the playoffs. But in terms of who our eight, nine, or 10 guys are going to be in the playoffs, I do think it gives those guys a chance and it gives us some potential upside.
To Morey’s point, both Green and Carroll have contributed to several playoff teams in recent seasons.
The timetable of the summer training camp remains unclear, though it needs to begin relatively soon in order to hit the league’s July target of resuming play. More clarity on the timeline could come in the days ahead, since NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has conference calls Thursday with GMs (including Morey) and Friday with team owners.
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