How Daryl Morey launched Houston Rockets to contention

HOUSTON — Daryl Morey had heard the chatter, the rumors in NBA circles that his time as Houston Rockets general manager and unofficial poster boy for the next front-office frontier might be nearing an end if he didn't turn things around soon.

But that was never the word coming from the man who had brought him to town six years ago, Rockets owner Les Alexander, so he paid it no mind and this process that would eventually pay off continued.

"I heard second hand those rumblings, and it never made sense to me," Morey tells USA TODAY Sports. "Maybe because I knew Mr. Alexander had a lot of faith in what we were doing and was really an architect in a lot of the strategy, so we were executing on a plan and the owner knew it.

"I think that, yeah, if we hadn't been able to turn the corner like we hoped, then at some point he probably says, 'Hey, I've got to change horses,' and that's fine. That's his right. I wouldn't have been bothered.

"But he had a lot of belief in us, and I don't forget that."

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Now he believes more than ever.

In less than a year, the Rockets roster has been transformed in ways even Morey never imagined. What once was a medley of mismatched players is one of the best collections of talent around. The Rockets hired Morey —then a 33-year-old, numbers-obsessed MIT business school graduate — from the Boston Celtics in 2006 with the hopes of breaking new basketball ground. Now they're looking like championship contenders for the first time since Yao Ming retired in 2011.

And Morey, whose trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder for James Harden in October 2012 sparked the turnaround and led to the signing of free agent center Dwight Howard in July, is as secure in his job as he's ever been after receiving a four-year contract extension in March.

Yet even Morey, who long had been labeled as the NBA version of baseball's Billy Beane in this "Moneyball" era of pro sports, says there is a healthy amount of luck involved.

Morey never thought a team like the Thunder, coming off an appearance in the 2012 NBA Finals, would be willing to trade a player like Harden in his prime, nor was he sure the against-the-grain strategy agreed to by all involved would pay off in the end.

But as his Twitter bio appropriately states, "Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor." And when it arrived, Morey and the Rockets were ready

Defense, bench lead Rockets past Grizzlies in preseason finale

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The last game of the preseason offered the first time this preseason that Rockets coach Kevin McHale broke his point-guard pattern.

McHale had been rotating Jeremy Lin and Pat Beverley as starters before going with Beverley to begin both games of a back-to-back in San Antonio and Memphis, seemingly showing his hand in the final game before Wednesday’s season opener.

McHale said the starting lineup did not indicate a decision had been made. But something else might have made his decision clearer than the names announced when the Rockets took the court in the final preseason games.

The results after the starters were introduced might have said as much as McHale could have. A night after the Rockets blew out the Spurs in the second half, they routed the Grizzlies in the first half, rolling to a 92-73 victory in which McHale cleared the bench before halftime.

Memphis Grizzlies’ Marc Gasol, of Spain, right, is pressured by Houston Rockets’ Patrick Beverley (2) during the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game in Memphis, Tenn., Friday, Oct. 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

The Rockets did it with Beverley setting a defensive tone, pressuring Mike Conley so incessantly and effectively that the Grizzlies could never get into their offense.
“When you have a lot of ball pressure, it always helps,” McHale said. “I thought Patrick did a really good job, real active defensively. Defense usually starts on the ball. He did a nice job of keeping pressure and being active.”

That does not necessarily make Beverley the starter, but it does point to the contrasts between McHale’s options.

The strengths of the Rockets’ point guards are so different, the choice of a starter could be as much about the rest of the rotation and when McHale wants those strengths more than about the relative abilities of the players.

Lin is a more aggressive offensive playmaker, making him a good fit with Omer Asik and Dwight Howard, who move well inside without the ball. The Howard/Asik pairing does have potential to clog the lane for a player who penetrates such as Lin, but he is a strong interior passer. He also shot well in the preseason, making 47.7 percent of his shots and 45.5 percent of his 3-pointers.

The idea that Lin is not suited to play with Howard was never accurate. Howard is not Hakeem Olajuwon, posting up inside, drawing double-teams and passing to open shooters. Howard is at his best on the move, which fits well with Lin.

Lin does not get as many possessions initiating the offense when with James Harden as without. Off the bench, Lin can be more of a focal point of the offense than as a starter and can attack the rim without as many shot blockers on the floor.

Beverley also has improved as a shooter, making him a good fit next to Harden. He is not a playmaker but is more of a catch-and-shoot-oriented point guard, having made 50 percent of his shots from inside and outside the arc in the preseason.

The combination of Beverley at the point and Howard at center (or Howard and Asik in the frontcourt) could take the Rockets from a middling defensive team to one of the league’s best. If the Rockets’ offense is going to be as strong as it has been through the preseason, achieving any improvement defensively might be the goal.

The other consideration that could help determine the Rockets’ point-guard rotation is how they fit if Lin is going to get 12 to 14 minutes as a backup shooting guard, or even more if the Rockets go even smaller with a three-guard lineup.

It could be easier to start Lin and then pull him early so he can return for Harden. Or McHale could prefer to start Beverley to have Lin check in at point and then stay in the game when Harden sits, as was the plan Friday.

Neither made McHale’s decision for him with a poor preseason. Both have excelled.

“I like what I see out there,” McHale said.

But less than a week after McHale said he has two starting point guards, he has to pick one.

Preseason: Rockets 92, Grizzlies 73

Houston Rockets 2013-14 season preview

Apr 27, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; General view of shirts on the backs of chars inside the Toyota Center before game three of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs between the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The following post was contributed by Michael Ma, FanSided’s editor for theHouston Rockets site, Space City Scoop. Be sure to visit SpaceCityScoop.com for all of your Rockets news and rumors. 

In a span of a year, the Houston Rockets have gone from a team full of unproven players, to one of the most hyped teams in the NBA. A franchise that chose to invest and move towards using analytics in 2006 when they hired MIT graduate Daryl Morey as general manager, the Rockets are coming close to building the picture perfect team that they envisioned after the departures of both Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming.

At this time one year ago, the biggest off-season moves that the Rockets made were prying away restricted free agents Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik. But just days before the regular season was set to begin, Morey pulled off a blockbuster trade that brought in James Harden from the Oklahoma City Thunder. Harden immediately signed a max contract with the Rockets worth around $80 million for 5 years, and didn’t disappoint in his first season. He finished 5th in the NBA in scoring, averaging a career high 25.9 points, and lead the Rockets to a 45-37 record, and a playoff berth where they would lose to the number 1 seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.

Aside from Harden’s rise to stardom, the Rockets were able to develop a few other young players, as they were the youngest team in the NBA. Chandler Parsons established himself as a player on the rise, as he averaged 15.5 points and 5.3 rebounds. Parsons showed out in the playoffs and caught the eyes of many, as he finished with 18.2 points and 6.5 rebounds in the 6-game series against the Thunder.

Omer Asik showed that he can be a starting center after being a backup with theChicago Bulls, averaging 10.1 points and 11.7 rebounds while starting all 82 games. Jeremy Lin recorded a fairly productive season after bursting onto the NBA scene with the New York Knicks. Lin started all 82 games, and averaged 13.4 points and 6.1 assists. An injury in the playoffs cost him his effectiveness, which lead to the rise of rookie Patrick Beverley, who averaged 11.8 points and 5.5 rebounds in the first-round series loss.

Unfortunately for Beverley, his great play was overshadowed by being involved with the play that resulted in Russell Westbrook suffering a torn meniscus.

The Rockets won the biggest free agent prize this past summer, by signing Dwight Howard. Morey’s ideal foundation of building a championship team is to have 2 top-10 players in the league, and that has been accomplished now with Harden and Howard pairing up.

Howard’s addition immediately fills several holes. While the Rockets finished 2nd in the NBA in points scored per game last season(105.5), there was no low-post presence on the offensive end. Howard’s ability to finish at the rim will allow for perimeter players to attack the rim even more ferociously, as they now have a safety outlet to dump the ball to if defenders step up to help.

The Rockets also finished near the bottom of the league in every major defensive statistic, and Howard’s commanding presence in the paint will fill that void. Add in Asik, who was a top-10 defensive center, and the Rockets should see some improvements defensively.

Depth and bench production was a bit of a weak point last season, but should not be this year. The Rockets have plenty of capable players such as Francisco Garcia, Terrence Jones, Donatas Motiejunas, Omri Casspi, Greg Smith, Ronnie Brewer, and Reggie Williams. The Rockets have the ability to play an effective 10-man rotation, which could pay huge dividends with the rapid pace that they play at.

Oct 24, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; Houston Rockets head coach Kevin McHale talks to center Dwight Howard (12) during the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at AT

Best Case Scenario

This team won 45 games, and had the chance to clinch the 6th seed in the West before losing their final two games last season. That was without Dwight Howard, or any effective low-post scorer. While Howard battled with a back injury last year, and may not start the season 100 percent healthy, the Rockets should cruise to a 50-55 win season

Morey is no stranger in making in-season trades(he’s made a deadline deal every season that he’s been the GM), and makes another one to bolster the Rockets for their potential playoff run. The Rockets win the Southwest division, get home court advantage in the first round, and soar all the way to the Western Conference Finals.

Worst Case Scenario

Injuries can always come into play, and there’s a small possibility that it could ruin the Rockets’ season. There are two different scenarios that could happen involving an injury: 1)Howard’s back issues come back during the season, and the Rockets limp to a 48-50 win season, with no home court advantage in the playoffs. Or 2)the Rockets fly through during the regular season, securing home court, but struggle with injuries in the playoffs, as they did last season, resulting in a first round exit, and another off-season filled with criticism towards Howard.

It’s also possible that the tandem of Asik and Howard does not end up working, and Morey pulls a trade in an act of desperation. He ships Asik away for a serviceable stretch-power forward such as a Ryan Anderson, who would bring the same attributes as an Omri Casspi. The Rockets would again, become the run-and-gun team they were a year ago, with no signs of stopping anyone defensively, and will cost them in the playoffs.

Most Likely Outcome

I think the Asik/Howard combination will work, and no major trades will be made in the season. With the core that the Rockets have, it will easily be a 50-win season, and a top-4 finish in the West. With the San Antonio Spurs a year older, the Rockets will go toe-to-toe with them for the Southwest division crown.

Rocket show considerable promise in win over Spurs

SAN ANTONIO — This was, at least in style if not timing, what the Rockets imagined on that night Dwight Howard called and the Rockets’ lives so dramatically changed.

They were not thinking of an October preseason game then, but they were imagining Howard and James Harden meshing this way. They did not picture a game against a San Antonio Spurs team that did not include Kawhi Leonard, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan’s shooting touch, but they did see nights with Howard owning the lane and the boards the way he did Thursday night.

Like the Spurs, the Rockets have bigger things in mind than a promising preseason stretch. The Rockets knew that their 109-92 blowout came with all kinds of qualifiers. But for nine minutes to start the second half, they got a glimpse of what they imagined when they learned they would be putting Howard and Harden together.

Dwight Howard was hard for the Spurs to control, as he grabbed 16 rebounds and scored 15 points. (AP Photo/Bob Levey)

In that stretch, Harden easily got the ball inside to Howard and took advantage of the threat of Howard rolling on the pick-and-roll to get himself open looks. Even the pairing of Howard and Omer Asik seemed to work as it had not Monday against the Dallas Mavericks, with the Rockets’ big men providing just enough spacing for things to click offensively while locking down the lane defensively.

“There was enough room in there,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. “Guys were setting good screens. We got layups. We got dunks. We kind of did what we tried to do.”

That is the general idea, but more than at any point this season, and possibly since he left Orlando, Howard appeared confident he can get back to dominating in a pick-and-roll offense.

“The pick-and-roll, the guards attack and force the (opposing) bigs to make a decision,” Howard said. “That’s something we’re going to get better at as the season progresses. We’re just going to keep playing out of those side pick-and-rolls and force the defense to make decisions.”

Nine prime minutes

In the nine-minute stretch to start the second half, the Rockets made 14 of 17 shots, outscoring the Spurs 34-14. The half began with three Howard dunks, a Harden 3-pointer and jumper, a Chandler Parsons drive and a Parsons fast-break slam as the Rockets went more than five minutes without a missed shot, in easily their most impressive stretch of a 5-1 preseason.

“He draws so much attention,” Harden said. “There’s going to be possessions where I know I can get the pass through. There’s going to be small gaps where I try to get it to him. It’s just a matter of picking those spots and making sure it is the right pass. We just want to be more comfortable. Last year, we didn’t feed the ball a lot in the post, so the more reps we get the more comfortable we are and the better off the passing will be.”

A scoring machine

The Rockets have had other stretches in which they got on offensive rolls, but those were usually driven by hot shooting, especially from the 3-point arc. The Rockets have made 39.9 percent of their 3s in the preseason. They have been the NBA’s top scoring team in the preseason and have ranked second in field-goal percentage and 3-point percentage.

But this was more promising because the Rockets so much more effectively got Howard the ball both on the move and in the low blocks. And they did it with Howard and Asik on the floor together, offering signs that if they can click offensively with the two big men playing at the same time, they can cash in on the benefits that would come defensively and on the boards.

“I’ll continue to do what I do best — rebound, run the floor, block shots and dominate the paint,” Howard said. “That’s not going to change no matter what position I’m in. We just have to learn to play off each other. We’re two big bodies. I can move pretty well. I just use my quickness and my speed to get from box to box, use what I have to score and also play defense.

“We’re going to get better at it. We just started. We’re going to be better in February and March than we are now.”

That was what the Rockets envisioned all along, except rather than in October, February or March, they had visions of May. For nine otherwise meaningless minutes Thursday, that image became clearer.

Preseason: Rockets 109, Spurs 92

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(eric gay / Associated Press) Rockets 109, Spurs 92

James Harden (13) shoots for three-points over Danny Green.

Huston rockets-vs-san-antonio-spurs-grading-houston-rockets-performance

SAN ANTONIO -- James Harden had 22 points and 
11 assists,Dwight Howard added 15 points and 16 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets routed the San Antonio Spurs 109-92 on Thursday night.

Aron Baynes scored 16 points, and Danny Green and Marco Belinelli each added 12 points in San Antonio's preseason finale. Tim Duncan had six points and eight rebounds in 23 minutes, while Tony Parker had eight points and four assists in 20 minutes.

Omri Casspi and Chandler Parsons each had 16 points and Jeremy Lin added 11. Houston closes its preseason schedule Friday at Memphis before opening the season at home Wednesday against Charlotte.

Howard and Harden played all but the final minute of the third quarter, and the Rockets outscored the Spurs 37-25 in the period.

Boris Diaw and Belinelli started for Kawhi Leonard and Green. Leonard andManu Ginobili both sat out the game to rest for San Antonio's season opener at home Wednesday against Memphis.

Jalen Rose Predicts Kevin Durant Will Join Harden and Howard in Houston ...

I hope for Jalen Rose‘s sake that he doesn’t have to travel to Oklahoma City in the near future as the former NBA player turned ESPN analyst recently appeared on Grantland’s NBA preview series and dropped a few bombshells, namely regarding the future of the Thunder.

Rose, who is plugged into the league and has at times hinted at some strange things happening that did indeed take place predicted that Kevin Durant will eventually leave the Thunder and join the Houston Rockets while Russell Westbrook will team up with former UCLA blood Kevin Love and become the new star-tandem for the Los Angeles Lakers.

It’s a pretty out there prediction, as was his earlier suggestion that Michael Jordanwould return to the hardwood for one game this season. But is it even possible?

While it’s difficult to know what team payrolls will look like in the future, what we do know is that Durant will be a free agent after the 2015-16 season. Houston will have two players under contract come the 2016 offseason, Dwight Howard and James Harden who are both worth a committed $40 million dollars. Howard does have an opt-out clause, so he could re-sign for less money if he desired, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves here.

Meanwhile, Westbrook is under contract through the 2016-17 season while Kevin Love can become a free agent after the 2014-15 season or can play out his final year and become a free agent after 2015-16, a year ahead of Westbrook. The Lakers meanwhile have zero dollars on the books past 2015-16 as of now, so while it’s technically possible it would take a lot of maneuvers and things to properly align for this scenario to unfold.

Comparing This Year's Houston Rockets to Their 1994-95 Title Teams

Former Rockets great Hakeem Olajuwon works with new Rockets big man Dwight Howard on his post game.
Bill Baptist/Getty Images

The Houston Rockets seem to have their best chance at winning a title this season since their back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995. Upon further examination, the rosters are eerily similar, which could be a sign of good things to come for Houston fans.

When the Rockets snagged Dwight Howard during free agency over the summer, they instantly became contenders. Howard added himself to a long list of great big men in Rockets history, most notably Hall of Famer and two-time champion Hakeem Olajuwon.

/Getty Images

Howard and Harden make a dynamic duo like Olajuwon and Drexler did back in the day.

Pairing up Howard with James Harden creates a lethal duo. Harden is an elite scoring guard with tremendous athleticism and a sweet shooting stroke. Ring any bells, Rockets fans? That's right, he sounds a lot like Clyde Drexler from the 1995 champion Rockets.

Not only are the two stars strikingly similar, but the supporting cast of this year's squad also has a lot in common with the former champs.

Robert Horry, the starting small forward during the championship runs, had a very similar skill set to current starter Chandler Parsons. Both guys are athletic wings who can shoot the three and cut to the basket very well. They are stat-sheet stuffers who can score, pass, rebound and defend. Parsons and Horry are the glue guys who can do a little bit of everything to help the team win.

In addition to Horry and Drexler, the 1994-95 Rockets had a plethora of three-point shooters to surround Olajuwon in the post. Guys like Kenny Smith, Scott Brooks, Tracy Murray, Vernon Maxwell and Mario Elie could all shoot well from deep. This year, the Rockets have a handful of shooters to surround Howard, such as Parsons, Harden, Francisco Garcia, Patrick Beverley, Omri Casspi and Reggie Williams.

/Getty Images

Olajuwon and Drexler paired up and brought the city of Houston its second consecutive NBA title.

The recipes for success are very common between these two teams. The 1995 Rockets used a ton of shooters to surround Hakeem as well as an elite scoring guard inDrexler. The current Rockets have a similar strategy using Howard and Harden.

Even though the 1995 Rockets only got the sixth seed, they made a terrific playoff run en route to their second consecutive championship. Houston traded for Drexler midseason and didn't get things going until the playoffs began.

Many people are worried about the Rockets' chemistry this season with all of their new players. They may not jell right away, but as long as they make the playoffs, anything can happen, just like the 1995 season.

Even if the Rockets don't win it all this year, their championship window is wide open, and they have the next several years to put together a run to bring Houston its first championship since Olajuwon and Drexler did it back in '95.