The Dream Shake

How can the Rockets #BringJimmyHome? According to multiple sources, Jimmy Butler has requested a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Jimmy Butler has requested a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves, league sources tell me and @JonKrawczynski. Butler has given Minnesota a list of one-to-three teams with whom he's open to signing extension, in anticipation of trade.— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 19, 2018 Now, the chances of the Rockets being one of those teams is definitely nonzero. I don’t see why Butler would not want to sign with a team that won 65 games last...

Here’s a way to decrease bad calls without adding too much time to the game. It’s the calm before the storm— the last couple weeks of super slow NBA news time before training camp hits— so that means we have the time, space, and freedom to basically jabber about whatever we want. It’s in that vein that we created the NBA Fix series, in which any of our writers are free to talk about a fix they’d like to see in the NBA, whether it’s realistic or not. Xiane led it off in Part One, and now, for our second installment in the NBA Fix series, I’d like to propose a system to...

James Harden has shot a boat load of threes the last two seasons. Let me begin by saying that the “all James Harden does is shoot free throws” debate is silly. Yes, he shoots a lot of free throws, but he shoots a lot of everything else too. Also, since when is drawing contact to score more efficiently not a skill? ANYWAYS- back to the main point of this article- I ran across this insane stat on Twitter that says a lot about Harden’s game. 22 players with at least 300 pull-up 3-point attempts over the last 2 seasons. pic.twitter.com/WEiuiyGXGb— John Schuhmann (@johnschuhmann)...

The Rockets just lost the man who built their defense. In some surprising news, Houston Rockets assistant coach Jeff Bzdelik, whose switch-everything scheme catapulted the Rockets to the number-six-rated defense in the league last season, has informed the team that he will retire. In a blow to the Houston Rockets, associate head coach Jeff Bzdelik -- architect of franchise's rejuvenated defense -- has informed team he's retiring, league sources tell ESPN. Bzdelik, 65, was a head coach with Nuggets in NBA and Colorado, Air Force and Wake Forest in college.— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn)...

Can you imagine if Sampson stayed healthy and stayed in Houston? The top spot on our “Could Have Beens” list goes to Ralph Sampson, the 7’4” center the Houston Rockets took with the first overall pick in the 1983 NBA Draft, and he takes the top slot over some very deserving others for two primary reasons: First, his own play, and secondly, who he was playing with. Sampson’s incredible size and unnatural agility for a man his height allowed him to burst on the NBA scene as rookie. He averaged 21 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2.4 blocks per game in his initial season, was...

The Rockets, indeed, the whole Association, should benefit from these changes. NBA FIX 1 is the first in what I hope will be a fun series on suggested, proposed, or merely longed-for fixes, or changes, to improve the game we all love. Also, it’s a bit of the other kind of fix, as we’re not into training camp yet. The NBA continues to provide generally interesting and non-depressing entertainment year-round, but this is still a bit of a dry patch. Sometimes Adam Silver hears your prayers. (Sometimes he doesn’t.) If you’ve read my writing, or comments, long enough you’ll know...

With two faces of Jordan brand and the face of Adidas on the team, there will be plenty of kicks to go around this season. If the first thought that popped in your head when Carmelo Anthony signed to the Rockets was, “more shoes,” then we should probably start hanging out. Seriously though, the signing of Melo is a huge deal for you sneaker fans. The Rockets now have three perennial brand faces on their team. This means a few things for Rockets sneakerheads: A. Plenty of great Rockets colorways. B. Even if they release a shoe not in your team’s color, you can now buy the shoe in...

Harden and Anthony show off their skills at an NYC pickup game. James Harden and Carmelo Anthony teamed up in another Chris Brickley video in their first recorded pickup game without Chris Paul. The two new teammates worked on their chemistry with Brickley, and his company Black Ops Basketball, in a game featuring NBA players Serge Ibaka, Tim Hardaway Jr., Kelly Oubre Jr., Courtney Lee, JaVale McGee, and Enes Kanter. .@JHarden13 x @carmeloanthony @Cbrickley603 pic.twitter.com/wz8xJwmBB8— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) September 12, 2018 While Harden and Anthony hooked up for...

Expect point guard guru Mike D’Antoni to use Knight differently with the Rockets, which is definitely a good thing. In a perfect world, being traded to the Rockets would be a great fit for Brandon Knight. After thriving as the unquestioned lead ball handler in Milwaukee, Knight was consistently forced to play out of position in Phoenix; often finding himself playing third banana on offense to Devin Booker and Eric Bledsoe. The fit wasn’t great. The team wasn’t either. And ultimately, Knight’s stock hit an all-time low. Theoretically, being traded to a team coached by the greatest...

These two defined a whole era of Rockets basketball. When you think of the Rockets during the 2000s, you think of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. Both of these guys are Hall-of-Famers, and rightfully so. When both of these guys were at their prime of their careers, they were some of the best players in the league. Yao made seven straight All-Star Games from 2003-2009, and T-Mac made seven straight from 2001-2007. T-Mac won two scoring titles and Yao was one of the best centers in the league during his time in the league. When the Rockets brought Yao aboard in 2002, they knew they were taking a...

How will all the new pieces fit in the Rockets’ lineup? This offseason, A LOT has happened for the Rockets. Some prominent faces are gone, and a lot of new faces have been added. For the most part, it’s been a success, and the Rockets are poised to be as good, if not better, than they were last season. Here is how the depth chart looks as of today: Guards: Chris Paul, James Harden, Eric Gordon, Michael Carter-Williams, Rob Gray, Bruno Caboclo Forwards: P.J. Tucker, Carmelo Anthony, Gerald Green, James Ennis III, Marquese Chriss, Vincent Edwards Centers: Clint Capela, Nene Hilario, Zhou...

Houston’s defensive style mixed with their elite guard play should bring out the best in Marquese Chriss. While much of the fanfare regarding the Ryan Anderson trade last week centered around Daryl Morey doing what he does and dumping the impossible, the move was actually somewhat of a rarity for the James Harden-era Rockets, as the main asset they got in return, Marquese Chriss, is still very much a project. Generally, when in pursuit of a title, the NBA’s unspoken law says to get greedy on the margins of your roster and prioritize talent above all else, but the Rockets seem to...

Daryl Morey has made acquisitions that haven’t worked, but that was before he had the NBA’s talent maximization king working under him. My first reaction when the Rockets completed their trade of Ryan Anderson for Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss was purely selfish: I was on vacation and glad that I no longer had to deal with it. My second reaction is that it’s a puzzling move considering the odds seem low that either Knight or Chriss would see the floor in a playoff matchup against the Warriors. The Rockets would, with everyone healthy, go with their three guards, and young players...

How did the “greatest free agent acquisition” in Rockets history flounder? The happiest day of the Dwight Howard era in Houston might have been the first one — July 5, 2013 — the day he signed with the Rockets. D12 signed with Houston for four year max contract with an option after the third year and vaulted Houston from “rising team” in the West to a legitimate contender to challenge the likes of Oklahoma City and San Antonio. Team owner Leslie Alexander was very enthusiastic about the Howard signing, one year after the All-Star center was traded from the Magic to the...

A Houston sports legend, “The Franchise” makes our list. The next man up on our list of Rockets “Could Have Beens” is going to resonate deeply with a lot of us. Steve Francis. “The Franchise.” Not only will Francis be remembered for what he could have been as a Rocket, but also for what he was. His career began in an odd way- one that makes you feel like he was almost destined to bust. With the second overall pick in the 1999 NBA draft, the Vancouver Grizzles selected Francis out of Maryland. The only issue was that Francis didn’t want to go to Vancouver. “I damn near...