Rockets Trade Russell Westbrook For John Wall & 2023 1st Round Pick

Rockets Trade Russell Westbrook For John Wall & 2023 1st Round Pick

NBA

by | Dec 3, 2020 | NBA

 

This NBA offseason has been crazy with all the new additions to teams via free agency/trade. One of the biggest names that have been in the trade talks has been Russell Westbrook who averaged 27.2 PPG, 7.9 REB, and 7.0 AST last season in Houston. The Rockets went with the small ball last season with Westbrook getting a lot more comfortable in the offense once Capella was moved to Atlanta. There was a lot of promise in his first season with his close friend James Harden as they showed great chemistry on and off the court. The Rockets weren’t able to get out of the second round of the NBA Playoffs in the bubble as they lost to the Lakers. Not long after the loss to the Lakers the Rockets were left looking for a new head coach and they moved on from Daryl Morey. The Rockets ownership stated that they want to compete for a championship with James Harden and Russell Westbrook.

 

 

The Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta made it clear that Houston has their eyes on a championship and that started with the hire of Stephen Silas. The new head coach Stephen Silas comes with 20 years of coaching experience in the NBA and he recently was coaching Luka in Dallas. There is no word on if James Harden or Russell Westbrook had any say on the hire but it was well-received around the NBA as Stephen Silas has been deserving for years. It was reported on November 11th by @ShamsCharania that Russell Westbrook wanted out of Houston. Once the word was out that Westbrook wanted to out of Houston the trade scenarios came flooding in. Many teams from the Knicks, Hornets, Cavaliers, Magic and the Wizards were in the mix for the former MVP. A lot of the trades that were coming out for Westbrook were highly disrespectful for someone of his talent but it was reported that the market for Westbrook wasn’t good. One trade that wasn’t disrespectful was the swap of John Wall and Russell Westbrook which was first reported as a possibility on November 17th. After John Wall heard about the rumors he was reported to want out of Washington.

 

 

 

 

Both Westbrook & Wall have similar games and both are explosive to the basket. Also, both Wall and Westbrook are NBA All-Stars while being great leaders/floor generals. The biggest difference with this trade is the fact that John Wall is coming off a ruptured left Achilles which is a very tough injury to come back from but John Wall is also younger than Westbrook. So now we fast forward to December 2nd as both teams resumed talks this afternoon where the once rumor became a reality. The Houston Rockets traded Russell Westbrook for John Wall as it became official. The Wizards are getting an MVP in Westbrook to pair up with Bradley Beal and the Rockets are getting a pissed off John Wall who’s ready to prove he’s still one of the best in the NBA. John Wall will be joining the Rockets after the news of one of his best friends DeMarcus Cousins just signed with them reuniting the two Wildcats in H-Town. This could be really special for the Rockets if both Cousins and Wall are healthy to pair with a lethal James Harden who’s ready for a championship like yesterday. John Wall is a pass-first guard who’s improved on his offense over the years and we will be looking for Cousins and Harden on a nightly basis now. The last season that John Wall played he was averaging 20.7 PPG and 8.7 AST and he will look to improve on those to prove the Wizards and his doubters wrong after this trade.

 

 

Check out some of John Walls open run this offseason as he’s preparing for the 2020-2021 season below

 

 

 

 

 

 

Follow Me on Twitter @TravisSingleton & Instagram @SneakerReporter

Dec 3, 2020 No Comments
Dort’s Historic Performance Not Enough As OKC Drops Game 7 To HOU (104-102)

Dort’s Historic Performance Not Enough As OKC Drops Game 7 To HOU (104-102)

Featured

by | Sep 3, 2020 | Featured, NBA

 

The Thunder and Rockets put on a show tonight in Game 7. This game was as close as it could get and down to the wire just how it’s supposed to be with a 4th and 5th seed. All series long the Rockets were leaving Lugentz Dort open and challenging him to beat them. Well, tonight the undrafted rookie made the Rockets pay big time as he finished with a career-high 30 points. Tonight Dort was shooting with confidence and he was able to attack the rim when given the chance. Tonight Lugentz Dort shot 10/21 from the field but made the best of the 3 point opportunities as he shot 6/12 for 50%. He’s the youngest player since LeBron James to score that many points in a playoff game. The Thunder took a chance on Lugentz Dort and that chance proved to pay off big time. The Thunder signed Dort to a four-year deal worth $5.4 million dollars but Dort proved that you can’t put a number on heart/energy. Tonight was all about the play of Lugentz Dort and the way he stepped up in the biggest spotlight moment. Not too many people can score 30 points in a game while holding James Harden to 17 points on the night. All series long Dort was making it tough on Harden and after tonight he’s gained a lot more fans and respect around the NBA.

 

 

The Thunder had 5 players in double figures on the night and it was tough down the stretch getting good looks. OKC’s usually the clutch team down the stretch but they were only able to score 6 points in the final minutes of the game. Chris Paul finished with a triple-double of 19 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds on the night. CP3 was able to get to his spots but the ball just didn’t go in for him tonight like in previous games. Even when he’s struggling from the field Paul was able to put his team in a position to win. CP3 showed everyone that doubted him that he’s still in great shape and that he’s still as elite as ever. Chris Paul willed this team throughout the year and the last couple of plays didn’t go as OKC wanted but sometimes these moments are a great lesson. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 19 points as he was able to bounce back in this game tonight. SGA had a huge 3 pointer late in the game that put OKC up by 1 with less than a minute. SGA was aggressive tonight and attacked the paint while hitting his jumpers. All this showed was that OKC has a bright star on their hands and someone that’s not scared of the big moments. Shai came back to the NBA restart ready to go locked in but OKC just fell short this time. This was only his second season in the NBA and he put the league on notice moving forward that he’s a rising star and has so much promise.

 

 

Danilo Gallinari and Dennis Schröder played okay but if they would have added a little bit throughout the game OKC could have won. Both of them combined for 16 points on the night and weren’t playing up to the caliber they usually play at. Credit the Rockets for all the switching that they did on the defensive end. Both Gallinari and Schröder came into Game 7 averaging a combined 35 ppg so if they added a little bit more to their performance tonight things could be different. Tonight Steven Adams added 10 points and 9 rebounds as the biggest guy in this series and played very good on the rebounds all series. The Thunder had great role players and both those guys did a great job on the season and stepped up when no one even thought they could. So many people counted this OKC team out but they had 6th Man of the Year and Coach of the Year candidates. This team had a 0.2% chance to make the playoffs and they exceeded all expectations.

 

The Houston Rockets will be heading to the second round to play the LA Lakers who are well-rested waiting for them. Before they could do that the OKC Thunder gave them all they could handle in Game 7. Tonight James Harden didn’t have it going as he finished with 17 points and wasn’t able to get anything going on the offensive end. It was Harden’s defense that showed up big time as he was able to block Lugentz Dort on a 3 point attempt that sealed the game for Houston. Harden struggled but got a combined 61 points from his teammates tonight that showed up in the biggest moments(Westbrook, Covington, Gordon). Those three played lights out tonight and made some big shots down the stretch to help the Rockets get to the next round. Westbrook was able to hit on his midrange tonight and was able to attack when he wanted with smaller defenders on him. Overall the Rockets proved for this round that the small ball worked and it also could have saved Mike D’Antoni’s job as well. The Rockets will be playing the Lakers after this hard-fought series against OKC.

 

Sep 3, 2020 No Comments
CP3’s Clutch 15 PT 4th Quarter Leads OKC Thunder To Game 7 (104-100)

CP3’s Clutch 15 PT 4th Quarter Leads OKC Thunder To Game 7 (104-100)

Featured

by | Sep 1, 2020 | Featured, NBA

 

The Oklahoma City Thunder came into this game tonight knowing it was Win or Go Home. Apparently Chris Paul didn’t get the Go Home message as he came out ready to force Game 7. Charles Barkley said “He’s The Best Leader In The NBA” and tonight he proved that once again. This was truly a game of runs as the Thunder and Rockets were hitting each other with their best shots. It just so happened to be the OKC Thunder that finished the game off in excellent fashion. Tonight the Thunder were able to defend James Harden as a collective group without fouling and Lugentz Dort was a huge part of that. Last game Dort struggled from the field but tonight he had 13 huge points that helped OKC in this game. When Dort was left open he attacked the rim and forced Houston to play defense. Late in the game, Dort showed off his confidence in his offense hitting back to back 3 pointers after Chris Paul told him to keep shooting.

 

This OKC team is full of players that continue to contribute at a high level in big moments.  The big moment just so happened to be the 4th quarter in this tight game as it was CP3 time. Chris Paul finished the 4th quarter with 15 points and was able to hit a clutch shot time and time again. One of the things that OKC did down the stretch was they had Houston switch and put Covington on an island by himself against Paul. In that switch, CP3 was able to get to his spot and cook Covington with step-back 3 pointers and tough mid-range jumpers. Chris Paul willed the Thunder to victory in this game and carried OKC on his back it was as simple as that. On the night Paul finished with 28 points and put on a shooting display letting people know why he’s the highest clutch time scorer in the NBA this season.

 

 

Chris Paul didn’t just do it by himself tonight he got help from Danilo Gallinari who finished with 25 points on the night was able to execute on his matchup. When Gallinari’s hitting his shots like he did tonight the Thunder are usually in cruise control to the finish. This game was a lot tighter than OKC would have wanted but to see Gallinari get back into a shooting rhythm was a great sign heading into Game 7. Overall the Thunder played a great game and had 5 players in double figures tonight against Houston. If the Thunder can continue to get this type of output from the second unit in Game 7 it should be a great one. Chris Paul was in a zone tonight and if he can stay in that zone during Game 7 Houston might have a problem.

 

 

The Rockets played a really good game as well tonight against OKC but it came down to turnovers. In crucial moments in the game, Houston made some bad decisions or just missed one of their players on a play. Russell Westbrook took the blame for some of the turnovers as he finished with 17 points and 7 turnovers but don’t expect to see that type of performance from the Brodie in Game 7. Westbrook will bounce back and do better just like the whole Rockets team is expected too. James Harden finished the game with 32 points and was able to get anything he wanted from the field. If the other Rockets role players were hitting shots that they did in Game 5 this would have been a different outcome. Russell Westbrook’s still going to be on a minute restriction and he still has to get back after his injury. So look for Westbrook and Harden to come out very aggressive as they don’t want to lose to OKC in Game 7 on Wednesday.

 

 

 

 

 

Sep 1, 2020 No Comments
James Harden’s 31 PT Performance Leads Houston To Victory (114-80) HOU Leads Series 3-2

James Harden’s 31 PT Performance Leads Houston To Victory (114-80) HOU Leads Series 3-2

Featured

by | Aug 30, 2020 | Featured, NBA

 

Oklahoma City started the game off struggling on the offensive side. The Houston Rockets came into this game trying to exploit mismatches and they were able to do just that. The Rockets were pretty much daring Luguentz Dort to shoot the ball as they left him wide open. The last couple of games Dort was able to make the Rockets pay for giving him space but tonight it worked in Houston’s favor. Dort finished the game with 6 points on 3/16 shooting from the field. The three field goals that Dort was able to get were inside as he went 0/9 from the 3 point line. The previous games Dort was able to hit his 3 pointers and this game he wasn’t that effective on the offensive end. Lu Dort did play some good defense on Harden but he’s one of the elite scorers in the NBA and he will always find a way to get his points. James Harden finished with 31 points on the night and was able to score inside and out. Harden had his best game of the series tonight against Lu Dort as he was very efficient and made the right basketball decisions.

 

 

The Houston Rockets got a huge boost of energy as Russell Westbrook made his playoff debut tonight. Westbrook was on a minutes restriction between 22-28 minutes and finished with 7 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists in 23 minutes. You could tell that Westbrook was still trying to get his legs under him coming back from injury. Westbrook had the mid-range going for him and was able to help get his teammates involved really early in this game. The other guys on the Rockets stepped up in a big way tonight for them as Eric Gordon and Robert Covington both combined for 42 points. It looked like every single time the Rockets had to call on the bench or a role player one of those two were able to connect with instant firepower. The Rockets came out in the 2nd half on fire and the only thing that went bad for them was losing PJ Tucker. Early in the 3rd quarter on a screen, it seemed as though Schröder hit Tucker below the belt and Tucker responded with a headbutt. Both players were ejected and it looked like the Thunder’s air was let out of the balloon. The Thunder were down by 20 points when both were ejected but losing Schröder was a huge blow for OKC.

 

 

The OKC Thunder had a tough outing against the Rockets as they scored only 80 points. Dennis Schröder was the spark that OKC needed as he only had 1 point in the 1st quarter and then he finished with 19 points in the 1st half. Schröder was able to get his game going from the inside and out tonight against all the Rockets defenders. Tonight Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 4 points on the night and only took 8 shots total. The Thunder will need SGA to be a lot more aggressive if they want to continue this amazing season. The Rockets were challenging SGA on both ends and once Schröder was ejected you can tell that SGA was trying to get it going but it was too late. Chris Paul finished with 16 points on the night and he will need to be able to get his scoring going ASAP. The good thing about the NBA Playoffs is the fact that this is just one game and the Thunder will look to bounce back to get back into this game. OKC only had 4 players in double figures and they lost Dennis in the 3rd so it was really tough to come back and climb up that hill. Steven Adams is a huge mismatch and the Thunder will need to feed the big man early in Game 6 in order to stay in the series. In-Game 5 tonight Adams finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds as the Rockets can’t contain him and that’s something that everyone all around the world can notice.

 

 

 

Game 6 will be on Monday as the Thunder look to climb out of this 3-2 hole against Houston.

Aug 30, 2020 No Comments
OKC Thunder Tie Series (2-2) With The Houston Rockets After Comeback Victory (117-114)

OKC Thunder Tie Series (2-2) With The Houston Rockets After Comeback Victory (117-114)

Featured

by | Aug 25, 2020 | Featured, NBA

 

This series has been a toss-up and Game 4 didn’t disappoint at all when it came to the excitement. Oklahoma City was coming into this game down 2-1 and wanted to get back in this series tonight with a big performance. This was a high scoring game but the game came down to adjustments and defense. Tonight Billy Donovan was able to make the proper adjustments in his lineup as he was able to allow his three guards to continue to attack the Rockets defense like they did in Game 3. Dennis Schröder’s seeing the basket right now bigger than the ocean as he was able to go for a playoff career-high in points tonight going for 30. Dennis has been able to bring that energy to the Thunder team on both sides of the ball and you can tell he’s got his legs back under him from missing those games outside the bubble. It didn’t matter who was in front of Dennis tonight his first step was lightning fast as he was blowing by the Rockets zone defense.  When Dennis’ playing like this on a nightly basis it’s tough for anyone to beat the Thunder because their confidence is at an all-time high. If Dennis Schröder doesn’t win the 6th Man of the Year award it would be a crime because he means that much to this Thunder team.

 

 

Chris Paul came through with another clutch performance in back to back outings and has continued to show people this isn’t a flashback. CP3 finished the game with 26 points on the night but came through in clutch time just like he’s done for OKC during the regular season. Time and time again Chris Paul continues to put his teammates in a position to win and he continues to make the smart offensive play. One thing that really helps CP3 out is the fact that he knows the D’Atoni system and he already knows what the Rockets want to run. Down the stretch, Chris was able to get to his spots and used his stepback to finish the deal against the Rockets when it counted the most. Chris Paul was in the MVP discussion all season and tonight he was able to be extremely valuable in the biggest moments of the game. Billy Donovan has shown trust and faith in his team all season and remained calm when having his three guards take it to Houston on the court. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a quiet 18 points tonight but was all over the boards as he finished with 12 rebounds. Shai is the future of this team while being able to be in the present with leaders like Chris Paul and Dennis Schröder it’s really helped his game grow on a nightly basis. When SGA plays with this type of confidence he’s one of the smoothest players and he’s gaining this playoff experience that can help moving forward in this postseason.

 

 

 

The Houston Rockets had some chances to really put the Thunder away but never capitalized on it. Houston came out the gate in the second half 8/8 from the field and was up by 15 points. James Harden has been unstoppable in this series as we know he’s going to get his points but when he goes to the bench Houston struggles. Harden was guarded by Lu Dort again tonight as he finished with 32 points and 15 assists. The Thunder can live with Harden getting his points they can’t let the other guys on the Rockets shoot with confidence. Harden has been able to get anything he wanted in this series but it’s all about making him work and OKC has done that. Jeff Green has been killing the Thunder off the bench and he finished with only 10 points tonight. Jeff Green has used the mismatch against Steven Adams to his advantage but tonight the shots he was hitting before didn’t fall.

 

 

In the last two games, Danuel House has been able to score and make the most of the open looks that he’s received in breakdowns. House finished with 21 points tonight as this series has been all about the other guys. It’s clear that Harden has done everything that he can but since Lu Dort has entered the lineup it’s been a little tougher. The Rockets ramped up some of Russell Westbrook’s work as there is hope that he will come back for Game 5. If Russell Westbrook’s available for Game 5 in this series the emotions and physical play will be enhanced as the Brodie’s coming to save the day. Russell Westbrook in this series will be a huge boost to the Rockets as they look to advance to the next round.

 

 

Game 5 is on Wednesday as the series is now tied at (2-2)

 

 

 

Aug 25, 2020 No Comments