Rockets like how they look after hardest practice yet at NBA bubble

“It went better than expected,” Austin Rivers said after Tuesday’s 5-on-5 work. “We actually looked good. Our defense surprised me.”

As of Tuesday, All-Star guards James Harden and Russell Westbrook have still yet to join the Houston Rockets at the NBA’s “bubble” complex near Orlando. But after the team’s fourth day of practice, the players who are there sound quite pleased with how things are going.

Houston head coach Mike D’Antoni said Tuesday’s practice was the team’s most intense yet, and the first time they did “serious five-on-five work,” referring to an intrasquad scrimmage to replicate a game setting.

“Today, we went after it pretty hard,” D’Antoni said in a Zoom session with reporters immediately following Tuesday’s practice. He continued:

I thought it was really good. I thought the defensive intensity was super. … The intensity was good from everybody. Today was a good day.

When asked if any player stood out, D’Antoni again pointed to reserve guard Eric Gordon, who appears to have finally returned to full health.

“Eric Gordon was bombing it,” D’Antoni said. “He looked really good.” D’Antoni also said that Robert Covington and others played well.

[lawrence-related id=33762]

Backup guard Austin Rivers and reserve big man Tyson Chandler also spoke after Tuesday’s practice, and each had similar assessments.

“It went better than expected,” Rivers said. “We actually looked good. Our defense surprised me. I know Rockets and defense usually don’t go hand in hand, but we were flying today.” (For the season, Houston is the NBA’s No. 2 team in net rating on offense, but No. 16 on defense.)

“I like where we’re at right now,” added Chandler. “I like the energy. Honestly, we’re a lot better than I thought we’d be. It was a long layoff.”

Chandler is the only member of the 2019-20 Rockets to have won an NBA championship, having done so in 2011 as the starting center for Dallas. When asked whether his latest Texas team could replicate that feat, the 19-year NBA veteran said Tuesday that he’s optimistic:

I think we’ve got a great shot. I really do. I really like our chances. The style of basketball that we’re playing right now, I think teams had a tough time adjusting to it. … I think if we get hot and our shooters are knocking down shots, it makes it very difficult to beat us.

Now 37 years old, the 7-foot-1 Chandler isn’t expected to be in the rotation for the Rockets, who emphasize smaller lineups.

But Chandler said Tuesday that he still has a daily presence in the locker room and in practice, where he helps the Rockets replicate how more traditional opponents might try to play them. He also isn’t ruling out the possibility that he might even return for a 20th season.

“It depends on how my body feels at the end of this run, and how successful we are,” Chandler said on whether this is his final season.

[lawrence-related id=33796]

As far as the 2019-20 Rockets, they’re well aware that even though they’re happy with their current level of play, they need the expected returns of Harden and Westbrook to contend for a title.

But Rivers said it shouldn’t be a problem integrating the stars with the group that is currently practicing. In fact, he says it could provide the Rockets with a “jolt of energy” when they arrive at a time in which the novelty of finally returning to practice is wearing off for many teams.

“Those are two of the top five players in the NBA,” Rivers said of integrating the All-Stars. “They make the game very, very easy.”

By record, the Rockets (40-24) aren’t quite to the top tier of contenders in the Western Conference such as the Los Angeles Lakers (49-14) or Clippers (44-20). But Houston has won three of its six meetings against those heavyweights, and the veteran Rockets have consistently shown an ability to play at their highest level versus elite opponents.

Assuming Harden and Westbrook return as planned, that’s why the Rockets remain very optimistic about what they can do in Florida.

“We all know there’s only three or four teams that have a realistic shot at winning [the title], and we think we’re one of those four,” Rivers said Tuesday. “We’re focused and we’re happy to be down here.”

Houston’s regular season won’t restart until Friday, July 31, which gives the former MVPs plenty of time to go through protocols and arrive before any real games are played. Westbrook is sidelined after testing positive for COVID-19, while Harden’s reason remains undisclosed.

[lawrence-related id=33933,33912]