The Houston Rockets season has had a difficult start. As the teams resumed full practice after nearly 5 months of inactivity, Houston found itself without two star players. Russell Westbrook tested positive for COVID and delayed his arrival in the Orlando bubble. Harden stayed away from the bubble and is expected to arrive with Westbrook later. Westbrook and Harden are the focal points of the Houston Rockets’ offense. The couple are on their way to becoming the highest-scoring duo since Wilt Chamberlain and Paul Azirin in 1961-62.
Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers spoke to the media about practicing without Westbrook and Harden. He talked about his first practice and said “It was better than I expected. I thought basketballs were going to fly everywhere and we’d be out of breath. We actually look pretty good. I know that rockets and defense don’t usually go hand in hand, but today we were quite solid on defense ”.
Rivers answered questions about how his team dynamics will change after the return of Brodie and Harden. “Offensively it’s very different right now because we are obviously playing without James and Russ right now, which is the bulk of our offense.” It will be a major adjustment when they come here. In fact, it’s kind of nice that we start without them just because the energy is so high right now … James and Russ will be like a jolt of energy, getting them back, and then we’ll have another good practice and then I’ll have a day off here or over there, but yeah, it was great. “
Does Houston Rockets lose steam in The Bubble?
The Rockets have gone 8-7 in their games since the trade deadline. Its striped nature can be attributed to the experiment around the small ball system, but there won’t be time to find the perfect match. Harden and Westbrook are the full offensive focus of their teams. They are averaging 61.8 points against each other and will have to perform even better to compete in the Western Conference playoffs.
Westbrook has led the NBA in points scored, and Harden is on track to earn a third consecutive scoring title. None of these accomplishments will matter if they retire in the playoffs.
