Houston Rockets: Still Winning Despite Battling Injuries

Photo Credit: USA Today

The Houston Rockets have gotten off to a great start even though the season hasn’t been too pretty. James Harden is the only player in the league that is at least averaging 25 points, five assists, and five boards a game, yet he is only shooting 41 percent from the field. The rest of the team around him has helped the Rockets earn a 16-4 record to date.

Houston’s other star, center Dwight Howard, has been sidelined since November 19th, but that didn’t stop the Rockets who have a 7-3 record without him. We can commend the Rockets new defensive energy, which is third in the league in points allowed per game and field-goal percentage. That new defensive mentality has been implanted this season and is probably the reason why they are winning most of their games. They haven’t had a consistent lineup/rotation all year because of injuries.

One thing a coach will tell you is it doesn’t matter who is in the game. If each player is willing to work hard defensively, you will always have a chance to win the game and that is what’s happening in Houston. The issue here is how long can this defensive act last? Point Guard Patrick Beverley has returned from missing six games due to a hamstring injury, but the point guard who was filling in for Beverley, Isaiah Canaan sprained his ankle and has been out since November 28th. Forward Kostas Papanikolaou, the emerging rookie just sprained his knee which is usually a two week recovery. On top of that former starting power forward Terrence Jones has been out since the first week of November with a nerve injury to his left leg.

Houston Rockets Head Coach Kevin Mchale recently commenting on his team’s injuries, specifically on star player Dwight Howard.  “It would be nice to get everybody else back, but that won’t be happening any time soon.” Mchale was then asked about Howard’s timetable for a return to action ““He won’t be back anytime soon….. You might as well ask me about the weather next week. I have no idea. Partly cloudy, baby.”

It sounds like Mchale is stressing about his team’s health, which is normal. But at the end of the day, his team is sitting at 16-4 and looks capable of winning every game even though they aren’t at full health. Surprisingly, this is a contending team to look out for throughout this whole season.