Count Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta as among those bullish on his team’s chances upon the NBA’s July restart in Orlando.
Houston’s expected closing lineup of Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Eric Gordon, Robert Covington, and P.J. Tucker features players who are all at least 29 years old, and four at 30 or older.
All those veterans have played high minutes totals this season, especially Tucker and the two former MVP guards. The lone exception is Gordon, who has battled knee problems and has finally had a chance to heal.
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Thus, the Rockets could be poised to benefit more than most teams from the unusual time off before the playoffs due to this season’s COVID-19 hiatus. In a Monday appearance on flagship radio station SportsTalk 790 in Houston, the team’s owner explained his reasons for optimism:
We have as good a chance as anybody. You have Russ and James, who want this, and P.J., and Eric and Covington, it’s just a really good team. And then [Danuel] House and [Austin] Rivers. When you start looking at our eight-man rotation, you just go ‘Wow, this is pretty darn good.’
Tilman Fertitta On The Rockets Championship Anniversary https://t.co/qbbIrAmJAd
— SportsTalk 790 (@SportsTalk790) June 15, 2020
Despite the unprecedented layoff of four-plus months just before the playoffs, Fertitta believes there will be no asterisk on the NBA’s 2020 champion. In speaking to team broadcaster Matt Thomas, he said:
There is nothing gimmicky, because the teams that are going to be in the playoffs are the teams that were going to be in the playoffs [before the hiatus]. We’re doing four out of seven [series], and there’s nothing gimmicky about it.
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The NBA’s restart plan calls for games to be played at a “bubble” site near Orlando and without fans, all aimed at reducing exposure risks to COVID-19. Eight regular-season games will be played starting July 30, and the subsequent 2020 NBA playoffs will run as late as Oct. 13.
Team training camps in home markets are expected to begin on or around June 30, while July 7 appears to be the target date for teams to begin reporting to the neutral Disney complex in Florida.
The Rockets (40-24), who have already clinched a playoff spot in the Western Conference, will enter the restart tied for the West’s No. 5 spot. They can mathematically finish anywhere from No. 2 to No. 7 in the standings, which will then be used to set the bracket for the playoffs.
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