In a new interview, Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler identified Houston Rockets guard James Harden as the NBA’s most unstoppable player.
Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler believes Houston Rockets guard James Harden is currently the NBA’s most unstoppable player.
In a new video segment with The Players Tribune published Tuesday, here’s what what the 30-year-old Butler said when asked by the interviewer to identify the most unstoppable current player in the league:
The guy is averaging 39-and-a-half points. In the streets, that’s 40. That’s James Harden. I mean, he’s a lefty. You want a mid-range pull-up, you want a floater, you want a layup, you want a dunk, you want a free throw.
He’s legendary for his step-back. You can say that it’s a travel, you can say it’s not a travel. Ref doesn’t call it, so I’m all for it. Find a way to stop it, travel or not.
Butler was a free agent this offseason, and the Rockets initially sought to pair him with Harden. But the 6-foot-8 forward — and a native of Tomball, Texas, located just outside Houston — spurned his childhood team for Miami, where he’s averaging 18.9 points and 6.7 assists per game.
Butler and the Heat (11-4) visit Harden and the Rockets (11-6) at Houston’s Toyota Center on Wednesday night, though it’s still unclear if the four-time All-Star will actually play. He’s currently listed as questionable with an illness, as is Rockets center Clint Capela.
Jimmy Butler, however, isn't feeling well, so he's questionable for tomorrow.
Houston Rockets center Clint Capela is questionable for Wednesday’s home game against the Miami Heat with an illness.
Houston Rockets center Clint Capela is questionable for Wednesday’s home game against the Miami Heat with an illness, the team announced at Tuesday’s practice.
It would be a significant absence for the Rockets (11-6) against the Heat (11-4), who defeated Houston by 29 points earlier this month. A final decision on Capela’s availability is unlikely to be made by the team until shortly before Wednesday night’s tipoff at Toyota Center.
If Capela is unable to play, the Rockets would likely start veteran center Tyson Chandler in his place — just as they did on Nov. 15 and Nov. 16, when Capela missed a pair of games with a suspected concussion. Third-year big Isaiah Hartenstein would then be elevated to the backup role.
The Rockets did win both games, and Hartenstein was very impressive with 16 rebounds in 30 minutes at Minnesota. However, the Heat clearly represent a superior opponent relative to the Pacers and Timberwolves.
Rockets center Clint Capela is questionable to play Wednesday with an illness.
No further details regarding the nature of the 6-foot-10 center’s illness were immediately disclosed. Capela is averaging 14.6 points, 14.7 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in 31.9 minutes per game this season, and he’s currently in the middle of a historic rebounding stretch with at least 19 rebounds in seven consecutive games.
Prior to Capela’s current run, the only NBA player to have at least 19 rebounds in seven straight games was rebounding legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman, who last did it in the 1994-95 season.
The only player in Rockets franchise history to have posted averages of at least 14 points, 14 rebounds, and two blocks per game in a single season was Hakeem Olajuwon, who did it 30 years ago in the 1989-90 season.
Rockets center Clint Capela is enjoying a nearly unprecedented run of rebounding success, with 19 or more boards in seven straight games.
Houston Rockets center Clint Capela is enjoying an almost unprecedented run of rebounding success.
With 22 rebounds in Sunday’s game (box score) versus Dallas, Capela has now secured at least 19 rebounds in seven consecutive games.
The only other NBA player to post such a streak since 1976 was rebounding legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman, who last had one during the 1994-95 season.
On his Instagram account, the 6-foot-10 Capela posted a graphic of his achivement on Monday with the caption “Beyond my wildest dreams. What an honor.” He also added the #BoardMan hashtag.
Capela is currently averaging 14.6 points, 14.6 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in 31.9 minutes per game. The only player in Rockets franchise history to have posted averages of at least 14 points, 14 rebounds, and two blocks per game in a single season was Hakeem Olajuwon, who did it 30 years ago in the 1989-90 NBA season.
Considering that Olajuwon is a franchise icon, that would be quite an achivement for the 25-year-old big man from Switzerland.
It would also likely unlock an additional $500,000 in his contract, which Capela can earn each season if he exceeds 30% in his defensive rebounding percentage. Right now, per Basketball-Reference data, he’s at 34.5% — which is significantly above the bonus threshold.
From the #Rockets: Clint Capela (@CapelaClint) is averaging 14.1 points, 14.1 rebounds and 2.14 blocks this season… the only Rocket to have averaged at least 14.0 ppg, 14.0 rpg and 2.00 bpg in a single season was Hakeem Olajuwon (@DR34M) in 1989-90. pic.twitter.com/IXXxZcdRBe
Over his current seven-game streak, Capela is averaging 20.3 rebounds per game. That’s more than double the average of 9.6 rebounds he posted over his first eight games.
One guy who has noticed is frontcourt partner P.J. Tucker, who has seen his share of rebounds go down as Capela has picked up his pace.
In the 10 games outside of Capela’s current streak, Houston’s starting power forward is averaging 7.5 rebounds per game. However, in Capela’s run of seven consecutive games with 19 or more rebounds, Tucker’s average has been cut by almost half to 3.9 per game.
After Sunday’s game, the 34-year-old veteran acknowledged with a smile that Capela had taken many of his rebounds — but clarified that he didn’t want to change anything. Tucker said:
He steals a lot of my rebounds. Trust me, I know. Clint’s playing hard. He’s finally in shape. He’s all over the place. We’ll keep him where he’s at because he’s playing really well right now. I like it.
Clint Capela (@CapelaClint) had 20 rebounds for the sixth time in his last seven games. PJ Tucker: “He steals a lot of my rebounds. Trust me I know. Clint’s playing hard.” pic.twitter.com/yf10FGgBUE
Shortly before this current run, Capela scored a season-low five points and grabbed just seven rebounds in a 29-point Rockets loss at Miami on Nov. 3. Both Capela and the Rockets will have an opportunity to make amends in their next game, which occurs Wednesday night when the Heat (11-4) visit the Rockets (11-6) at Toyota Center in Houston.
The Rockets made just 10-of-44 three-pointers in Sunday’s loss, but they primarily blamed their leaky defense — which allowed 137 points.
The Rockets gave up 45 points to the Dallas Mavericks in Sunday’s first quarter and couldn’t overcome that early deficit in a 137-123 home defeat (box score) at Toyota Center. It’s the third straight loss for Houston (11-6) following a recent eight-game winning streak.
The Mavs (11-5) were led by 41 points and 10 assists from second-year guard sensation Luka Doncic, along with 23 points and 13 rebounds from 7-foot-3 forward Kristaps Porzingis. They led for the entire game.
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“It’s one of those games where you’ve got to force yourself to have the juice to start,” head coach Mike D’Antoni said postgame. “A 2:30 start coming back from LA [Los Angeles], an emotional game on Friday, and we were flat and they weren’t. They punched us good, and we fall all the way back. A lot of times when you do that, you run out of gas. I had to play James [Harden] extra minutes early to get us stabilized, and you then don’t have the juice to finish it off. Above all, [Dallas] played really well.”
Mike D’Antoni on today’s loss to the Mavs, in which the #Rockets fought back but couldn’t overcome an 18-point halftime deficit:
The Rockets trailed by 16 points after the first quarter and by 20 in the third quarter before making a push, clawing back to within five on two occasions early in the fourth quarter. But as D’Antoni alluded to, the Rockets spent so much energy during the comeback that they didn’t seem to have anything left down the stretch.
James Harden led the way with 32 points and 11 assists, but he made just 2-of-15 (13.3%) from behind the three-point arc. Off the bench, Ben McLemore and Austin Rivers were a combined 0-of-9 on three-pointers.
Overall, despite numerous open looks Houston made just 10-of-44 (22.7%) from three-point range — while Dallas connected on 17 of their 44 attempts (38.6%). That 21-point gap on the same number of shots was much more than the final margin between the teams.
However, the Rockets were much more concerned postgame about their lethargic early defense than they were the bad shooting.
“Our defensive was not where it needed it to be from the beginning of the game,” said veteran defensive ace P.J. Tucker, who scored 16 points (7-of-10 shooting) in 36 minutes. “We knew they were one of the best first half teams in the league. We had to assert ourselves early, and we didn’t.”
P.J. Tucker on what went wrong for the #Rockets (11-6) in today’s 137-123 loss to Dallas:
“We scored 120 points, so obviously it’s defense. … Our defense has to be better. When we play great defense, we win. Period.” #OneMissionpic.twitter.com/YQZAxi3lcs
“We allowed them to do whatever they wanted to do [offensively] from the beginning of the game,” added Harden. “When you give a team like that comfort and the ability to do whatever they want, they gain confidence, and that’s what they did.”
As one might expect given the total of 123 points, the Rockets had plenty of stat-stuffers. Starting center Clint Capela had 21 points and 22 rebounds, which tied Dennis Rodman for the NBA’s longest streak (at seven games) since 1976 of consecutive games with at least 19 rebounds.
Clint Capela joins Dennis Rodman as the only players since 1976 to record 19+ rebounds in seven consecutive games. @EliasSportspic.twitter.com/kBJFGVRCSO
Danuel House Jr. returned from a one-game absence due to a sore shoulder and added 16 points, including three of Houston’s 10 three-pointers. Russell Westbrook had 27 points and six assists, and his 40% clip (2-of-5) on three-pointers was his best mark from three-point range since the season opener back on Oct. 24. Westbrook also had several acrobatic layups during Houston’s rally late in the third quarter and early in the fourth as the Rockets cut into the lead.
But none of it was enough to fully overcome the early deficit, and the Rockets are putting the blame squarely on themselves for surrendering 45 points in the first quarter.
“When you have to be perfect, it’s hard,” Rivers said. “We put ourselves in a hole to where we had to be perfect to win the game.”
Austin Rivers puts the blame on the #Rockets slow start, which had them trying to overcome an 18-point halftime deficit.
“It’s a game of runs, but when you have to be perfect, it’s hard. We put ourselves in a hole to where we had to be perfect to win the game.” #OneMissionpic.twitter.com/upPNj16Ip0
The Rockets return to action Wednesday at home versus Miami (11-4), which means it won’t be easy for Houston to snap its current three-game slide. The Heat crushed the Rockets by 29 points earlier this month, though that game was in Miami. Houston then won its next eight games.
James Harden had 37 points and 12 assists, but the Clippers went on a 10-2 run in Friday’s final minute to beat the Rockets, 122-119.
The Houston Rockets led by five points with under a minute remaining Friday night in Los Angeles, but the Clippers closed the game on a 10-2 run in the final minute to win a thriller, 122-119 (box score).
James Harden led the way for the Rockets with a game-high 37 points and 12 assists, but for a second consecutive game was limited to just 16 shot attempts. Sharpshooters Danuel House Jr. and Eric Gordon were out due to injury, and the Clippers routinely double-teamed Harden in an effort to make other Rockets beat them.
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Ultimately, the strategy paid off. Harden made 9-of-16 shots (56.3%) overall and 5-of-11 (45.5%) on three-pointers, but his teammates connected on just 10-of-32 (31.3%) from three-point range — despite numerous open looks off the Harden double-teams.
The Rockets (11-5) have now lost two consecutive games after their eight-game winning streak, with committed defensive efforts from the Nuggets and Clippers successfully forcing the ball out of Harden’s hands at critical moments of both games.
The Clippers were led in Friday’s victory by 26 points from former Rockets guard Lou Williams, with all coming in the second half. Those points included a crucial go-ahead three-pointer in the game’s final minute.
Russell Westbrook scored 22 points and Clint Capela had 17 points and 19 rebounds, but both had crucial miscues in the closing seconds. With Houston in possession of the ball with about 45 seconds left and leading by two points, Capela fumbled a pass from Westbrook that otherwise would likely have led to a dunk. Westbrook then didn’t get back in transition, and Williams hit his trey off a five-on-four sequence.
Missed 3s happen.
The killer sequence was the Clippers, down 2, getting a 5 on 4 (leading to the go-ahead Lou Williams 3) because Westbrook doesn’t attempt to get back in transition. Inexcusable. pic.twitter.com/YFcOmsK6Vz
Westbrook also missed an open three-pointer of his own in the final 10 seconds, with the Rockets trailing by one. He made just one of his seven shots (14.3%) from behind the arc on Friday, and is now hovering at approximately 22% on the season.
Over his 12-year NBA career, Westbrook has shot 30.6% from three-point range. That’s below average, but it’s usually enough to keep defenders somewhat honest and not constantly helping off of him.
At current levels, though, quality defenses appear as if they’re daring Westbrook to beat them. Until he does, that’s likely to continue — and especially with Harden scoring at a historic pace.
The Rockets’ run of strong opponents continues Sunday, when Luka Doncic and the upstart Dallas Mavericks (10-5) visit Toyota Center. It’s an early afternoon tip-off at 2:30 p.m. local time in Houston.
Houston Rockets center Clint Capela is currently the first NBA player in over 15 seasons to grab 20+ rebounds in five consecutive games.
Friday’s nationally televised game between the Rockets and Clippers in Los Angeles is a showdown of stars, with perennial Most Valuable Player (MVP) candidates James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George capturing the most attention.
But don’t forget about Houston center Clint Capela.
The 25-year-old has a chance to make history Friday by becoming the first NBA player in nearly 25 years to grab 20 or more rebounds in six consecutive games. The last player to do that was Dennis Rodman, who had a seven-game streak beginning in February 1995.
Capela’s current streak of five games with 20+ rebounds is tied for the third-longest of any player since the 1983-84 season, which is the furthest back the NBA.com database goes. The last player to do that was Ben Wallace, who did so back in March 2003.
Within the Rockets franchise, he’s the first player with five straight 20+ rebound games since Hall of Famer Elvin Hayes in the 1970-71 season.
On Twitter and in interviews, the mild-mannered Capela is remaining humble through his historic run.
“I focus on defense, make stops,” Capela told the Houston Chronicle‘s Jonathan Feigen. “I feel when I put my energy on that part, it’s better for us. This is my main focus.”
It’s been a remarkable turnaround for Capela, who through six games was averaging just 8.0 rebounds in 26.3 minutes per game. Not coincidentally, the Rockets were a disappointing 3-3 in that stretch. In a pair of weekend losses on Nov. 1 and Nov. 3 at Brooklyn and Miami, head coach Mike D’Antoni played Capela less than 43 minutes combined.
We also learned shortly after that stretch that Capela suffered an offseason shoulder injury with the Switzerland men’s basketball national team, which may have contributed to his slow start.
Since then, though, the Rockets (11-4) have won eight of nine games — and Capela has gone from 8.0 rebounds in 26.3 minutes to averages of 18.6 rebounds in 34.9 minutes per game. He’s also become a better shot blocker, with his blocks rising from 1.7 in the first six games to 2.6 per game over his last seven (he missed two games with a head injury).
Clint Capela dominated the paint with 22 PTS, 20 REB & 4 BLK in Houston’s win over Portland 🚀 pic.twitter.com/iKi6dcfadY
In those first six games, the Rockets as a team ranked No. 21 in the league in total rebounds (44.0). In the nine games since, Houston has surged to 49.2 rebounds per game, which ranks third in the league and has corresponded with the uptick in their win-loss record.
As for the Clippers (10-5), they enter Friday’s game on a three-game winning streak, and they’re likely to also be out for revenge after last week’s loss in Houston. For the Rockets to compete on the road with a perceived Western Conference contender, they’ll probably need Capela to win his matchups versus Los Angeles big man such as Ivica Zubac, JaMychal Green, and Montrezl Harrell.
Then again, Capela has won the vast majority of his personal matchups over this current run — and he’s got a shot at modern history with another 20-rebound performance. That should give him ample motivation to keep the streak going.
James Harden and Russell Westbrook had 52 combined points, but Houston missed 26 threes and had its 8-game winning streak snapped in Denver.
James Harden and Russell Westbrook combined for 52, but the Houston Rockets failed to score 100 points as a team for the first time in the 2019-20 season and had their eight-game winning streak snapped in Wednesday’s 105-95 loss (box score) in Denver.
Led by 27 points and 12 rebounds from big man Nikola Jokic and 60 paint points by the team as a whole, the Nuggets improved to 10-3 with the victory. The Rockets fell to 11-4 with the loss.
Harden led the Rockets with 27 points on 8-of-16 shooting and 4-of-8 on three-pointers, and he also had seven rebounds and seven assists. However, his eight turnovers led the team’s uncharacteristic 20 giveaways, with the Rockets struggling to counter a unique series of traps and hedges by the Nuggets against Houston ball-handlers.
Example:Nuggets sent defenders early to double on Harden isolation, but it was more so a double-team to occupy space. Primary defender was trying to take away the middle and deny him the step-back right, while the secondary defender took away space for Harden to utilize to create https://t.co/Ip16EVpye9pic.twitter.com/z3eTsSPpMH
Westbrook had 25 points and five assists, but his 2-of-9 (22.2%) showing from three-point range felt appropriate on a night that Houston made just 12-of-38 (31.6%) from behind the arc overall.
Nuggets end the Rockets 8 game winning streak with an impressive 105-95 win. It was a season low in pts for HOU. They only shot 32% from 3, committed 21 TO's & had but one sustained stretch of offensive basketball. Denver dictated pace, tempo and style of play and rightfully won.
Clint Capela (12 points, 21 rebounds) extended his streak of consecutive games with at least 20 rebounds to five, tying Elvin Hayes for the longest such streak in Rockets franchise history.
The Detroit Pistons’ Ben Wallace was the last NBA player to record five straight 20-rebound games, having done so in 2003.
#Rockets Clint Capela grabbed his 20th rebound of the game – his 5th straight game with 20 rebounds. Last #Rockets player to do so was Elvin Hayes. Last NBA player to do so was Ben Wallace (March, 2003)
Outside of Harden, Westbrook, and Capela, no Houston player in Mike D’Antoni‘s rotation scored more than six points for the game. Starting small forward Danuel House Jr. left early with left shoulder soreness after running into the 284-pound Jokic on a screen.
D’Antoni unsure if House’s shoulder popped out during the collision with Jokic. Says they’ll know more tomorrow.
The Rockets return to action Friday night in Los Angeles against Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and the rest of the star-studded Clippers. The Rockets defeated the Clippers last week in Houston.
Russell Westbrook (28/13/10) had a breakout game as Houston (11-3) extended its winning streak to eight in Monday’s home win over Portland.
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If the Houston Rockets could win seven straight games without peak Russell Westbrook, just imagine what they might can do with the version that tallied 28 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists during Monday’s 132-108 home blowout (box score) over Portland (5-9).
It’s the eighth consecutive win for the Rockets (11-3), and their second in a row by 20+ points. Superstar guard James Harden scored a game-high 36 points on an extremely efficient 11-of-19 shooting perforance, while Clint Capela returned after a two-game medical absence and grabbed 20 rebounds for his fourth straight game.
The @HoustonRockets James Harden has more points scored than minutes played in each of his last nine games, the longest such streak since the ABA-NBA merger.
But the Rockets had already become accustomed during this streak to peak performances from the likes of Capela and Harden, who might have a realistic chance to average 40 points per game.
Thus, it was the contributions from Westbrook that were most eye-opening and took Monday’s showing to a new level.
Consider the fact the Rockets had won seven straight with Westbrook — a former NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) and future Hall of Famer — not even playing that well, by his career standards.
Craziest thing about the 7-game #Rockets winning streak is that Westbrook hasn't even played that well. Entering today, he was at 40% shooting, 19% on 3s and just 5.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists.
Now add this version of Russ, with 27/11/8 in 30 minutes (so far) and three 3s? Whoa.
Of those seven prior games, the 31-year-old sat out two for planned maintenance on back-to-backs. In the five he did play, Westbrook shot just 40.0% overall and 18.5% on three-pointers, and the 6-foot-3 guard best known for averaging a triple-double in three straight seasons had tallied just 5.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.
In the game before the winning streak began — a humiliating 129-100 beatdown in Miami on Sunday, Nov. 3 — Westbrook had just 10 points (3-of-11 shooting), 6 assists, and 4 rebounds, along with a historically bad plus/minus of -46 in just 26 minutes.
That trend changed in a big way during Monday’s win, with Westbrook grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing out 10 assists in 34 minutes. He also made three shots from three-point range, and his defense helped limit Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (and Westbrook’s personal rival) to just 13 points on 4-of-15 shooting.
Quite the sequence here from Westbrook. Gets the tip in, pumps up the crowd, and pokes the ball away from Lillard to end the quarter. This is one of his best outings as a Rocket. pic.twitter.com/1TuT3m6yWu
Westbrook still struggled at times with his jump shot at 9-of-26 (34.6%) overall and 3-of-11 (27.3%) on three-pointers, but he was much more aggressive than in recent games at attacking the basket. That can clearly be seen in his heightened assist and rebound totals.
In all, the slash line of 28 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists was Westbrook’s third triple-double as a member of the Rockets, and his first since the fourth game of the season back on Oct. 30.
It was an especially perfect time for Westbrook’s breakout performance of November, since it came on his first bobblehead night at Toyota Center with his new team.
.@russwest44 put on a show on his bobblehead night!
The competition for Westbrook and the Rockets stiffens later this week, with road games looming at Denver and the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday and Friday, respectively. They’ll certainly need to play very well to extend their eight-game winning streak against a pair of perceived Western Conference contenders
Then again, perhaps the most impressive part of Houston’s current run is that it has largely taken place without Westbrook being in peak form. That’s why Monday’s blowout win over Portland — with Westbrook leading the way — was a reminder that the red-hot Rockets still have significant untapped potential.
There were 18 seconds left on the shot clock after Russell Westbrook goes coast to coast for the easy layup. Elite speed. pic.twitter.com/Z7sFdnQ9AS
Westbrook on his offensive night: "Staying with it. Playing off my defense is what I want to do. It's how I've been doing it all season long." Said he takes pride in his defense nightly. "The offense will come." #Rockets
In fact, the 24-point win over the Trail Blazers was reminiscent of something Westbrook himself said back at the team’s Media Day in late September about his new team with the Rockets.
“It’s going to be scary, that’s all I can tell you,” Westbrook said of his pairing with Harden in Houston. “It’s going to be scary. … Not for us.”
Houston Rockets starting center Clint Capela made a successful return Monday after missing two games while in the NBA’s concussion protocol.
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Houston Rockets center Clint Capela returned to the starting lineup in Monday’s home victory versus Portland after missing two games while going through the NBA’s concussion protocol.
Capela entered Monday averaging 13.4 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 30.2 minutes per game. Prior to his absence, Capela had grabbed at least 20 rebounds in three consecutive games, which no Rockets player had previously done since Moses Malone in 1982.
It didn’t take long in Monday’s game for Capela to show that he was ready to return. A pair of alley-oop slams in the first quarter off passes from James Harden served as evidence.
Capela finished with 20 rebounds for a fourth straight game, which no Rockets player had done since Elvin Hayes in January 1971. He also scored a season-high 22 points and blocked four shots (box score).
The last #Rockets player to grab 20+ rebounds in four consecutive games was Hall of Famer Elvin Hayes… in January 1971. What a run from Capela.
Capela’s absence traced back to a collision with Los Angeles big man JaMychal Green in the fourth quarter of last Wednesday’s win over the Clippers. Though Capela felt dizzy on the court immediately after taking a forearm to his head, the 25-year-old center clarified that he did not feel any more symptoms over the next few days.
“Right when I got hit, I felt a little bit dizzy,” Capela said to reporters before Monday’s game. “I think I took a little bit too long to get back on my feet. That’s why they had to take me back to the back.”
Clint Capela meets with the media for the first time since suffering a concussion against the Clippers pic.twitter.com/gKZ74TmhyF
Because the Rockets were in a stretch of three games in four days, the protocol made it practically impossible for the 6-foot-10 big man to return in time for either Friday’s home game against Indiana or Saturday’s game at Minnesota.
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“I was in concussion protocol, so the first day I had to do biking,” Capela said of his recovery. “The next day I was doing a workout without contact. The third and fourth days, I did more contact stuff, one-on-one with Danuel House.”
House, a 6-foot-6 swingman, was going through his own rehab process after bruising his back in last Monday’s win at New Orleans.
Danuel House (@DanuelHouseJr) back playing and back in the starting lineup after dealing with a lot of pain from his sore back and backside: “I was in a lot of pain. I could barely sleep. Couldn’t sleep on my right side..It was so tender. You couldn’t touch it.” pic.twitter.com/3irpfdi766
Both House and Capela made successful returns to Houston’s lineup versus Portland as starters, at small forward and center, respectively. Each said he was happy to be back with the team, which finished Monday with an 11-3 record and winners of eight consecutive games.
The Houston Rockets created an open roster spot Monday by waiving Ryan Anderson, and it might ultimately go to rookie Chris Clemons.
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The Houston Rockets are waiving veteran big man Ryan Anderson, as first reported Monday by The Athletic‘s Shams Charania.
The Rockets signed the 31-year-old in September to a partially guaranteed deal, but it had become increasingly clear in recent weeks that Mike D’Antoni and the Houston coaching staff did not see Anderson as a viable option.
Despite multi-game absences by frontcourt starters Clint Capela (concussion) and Danuel House Jr. (back), Anderson still didn’t receive playing time last week. Instead, D’Antoni went with frontcourt prospects Isaiah Hartenstein and Gary Clark, who had previously played for Houston’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
The Houston Rockets are waiving forward Ryan Anderson, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA@Stadium.
Any value Anderson had to the Rockets was in the form of insurance depth. But with Capela and House probable to return in Monday’s home game versus Portland, that became less important.
I thought HOU would just trade Ryno in late December when he became trade-eligible, in order to clear his entire cap hit off the books.
Instead, they will just eat his $500k cap hit before it would have started increasing next week. https://t.co/tOz5pXHqb3
Overall, Anderson played in just two games during the current 2019-20 season. In those, the 6-foot-9 forward averaged 2.5 points (28.5% shooting, 20.0% on three-pointers) and 3.5 rebounds in 7.0 minutes.
Anderson’s second stint in Houston was clearly less successful than his first. In 138 regular-season games (122 starts) during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons, a younger Anderson averaged 11.6 points (39.6% on three-pointers) and 4.8 rebounds in 27.8 minutes per game. However, his defensive mobility declined as the years progressed.
Anderson’s exit does open up a roster spot for the Rockets, though it’s unclear if they have immediate plans to use it. Houston currently has 14 players under standard contracts, along with prospect guards Chris Clemons and Michael Frazier on Two-Way deals.
According to Houston Chronicle beat writer Jonathan Feigen, the roster spot could ultimately be used to keep Clemons with the team once he runs out of NBA service days on his Two-Way contract. Clemons, a 5-foot-9 rookie guard, scored 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting in Saturday’s win over Minnesota.
No next move is imminent, but the Rockets are counting down toward when they will need the roster spot for Chris Clemons, who is on a two-way contract for now. https://t.co/Cqhk9EImBH
