Houston Rockets Preseason: Analysing John Wall’s Debut and What the Team Looks Like Without James Harden

The NBA pre-season is up and running. One team everyone’s eyes are set on is the Houston Rockets. The Rockets have been a team in turmoil after their star James Harden demanded a trade.

His off-court antics also have raised many eyebrows as he has missed multiple training sessions too. The Rockets meanwhile have brought in two other stars returning from long injury layoffs in John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins.

With Harden and PJ Tucker not playing, let’s see how Wall and Co. fared against the Chicago Bulls.

The first Pre-Season Game against the Bulls

In the first game back from their long injury layoffs, Wall and Cousins looked very impressive in the limited minutes they played. Without Harden in the picture, Wall took over as the primary ball handler.

The difference was pretty obvious as in the 18 minutes he played, Wall scored 13 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists. He even had two steals and was pivotal in finding the right passes for other teammates.

Wall also looked pretty fast on the floor. He started the night with a drive to the basket, his signature move to score. He even showed great chemistry with his former Kentucky Wildcats’ teammate, DeMarcus Cousins.

Cousins, who signed a veteran minimum with the Rockets, played only 15 minutes, but still scored 14 points with 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. He was very effective from the field too, shooting 5-7.

Apart from them, Eric Gordon looked impressive too, adding 16 points in just 20 minutes on the court. Bench players Ben McLemore and Bruno Caboclo also added 10 points and 17 points each.

The Rockets defense was also impressive, forcing 21 turnovers from the Bulls in the process and had 11 steals compared to Bulls’ 3. The Rockets had a great all-round performance in the match and deserved the blowout victory of 125-104.

The second Pre-Season Game against the Bulls

Game 2 against the Bulls was a different story all together. The Rockets came out strong from the start, but the Bulls were ready for that.

The game was pretty even initially, as both the sides looked good offensively. The Rockets were decent enough, but the Bulls just stepped up. They had more steals compared to the last match and were much more efficient in their 3-point shooting.

Bulls’ Coby White and Zach LaVine stepped and scored 20 and 23 points each. The Rockets’ offense was not as good as their first game, though. They only had 15 assists compared to their 25 last game.

In his 24 minutes on the court, John Wall scored 21 points and 4 assists. The underlying numbers were a bit underwhelming though as he shot 7-17 from the field.

Cousins also had a decent game scoring 10 points in 17 minutes on the court. But could not replicate the form of the first game as he shot 3-7 from the field.

The Rockets had a disappointing shooting performance, as their field goal percentage was around 34.5% compared to their 43.5% from the last game. The Bulls ultimately hit multiple threes in the fourth quarter and took the game away from the Rockets, defeating them 104-91.

What do these results mean for the Rockets?

The initial signs from this new look Rockets team are encouraging. Their new additions, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, looked like enormous risks when they came in, but they have looked good.

From the way Wall has played his first two games, the signs are very encouraging. He has already shown that he can be the starting point guard for the team, given his ability to distribute, and his scoring prowess.

After such a long layoff, not much was expected of DeMarcus Cousins. But his performance in the first game especially was phenomenal. Boogie showed some good performances defensively and shot well as well.

Both the players have looked good in the pre-season and look ready for the regular season. If they get more minutes, we might see a prime Wall and Cousins tearing other teams apart.

Chris Wood, their new power forward, still has not played. If he can replicate his form from last year’s tail end of the season, the Rockets front court of Boogie and Wood looks set.

The biggest question however still is whether John Wall and James Harden can fit with each other. Wall has already shown his prowess as the primary ball handler. But Harden has been the primary handler for the Rockets. It will be intriguing to see how Wall plays without the ball.

The Rockets look like a decent team, even without Harden. But they are nowhere near to a championship team without him. It remains to be seen how far Harden’s trade saga goes.