Stephen Silas Appreciative For Rockets In Attendance For Early Off-Season Workouts
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Houston — The Houston Rockets are five months away from the start of the 2022-23 NBA campaign. But coach Stephen Silas has gotten a premature jump on preparations for the upcoming season.
The Rockets have nine to 10 players currently in Houston for off-season workouts, headlined by Josh Christopher, Eric Gordon, Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun. Jae'Sean Tate and K.J. Martin will join Houston's off-season workouts following their arrivals next week.
Silas has a genuine appreciation for the players who have dedicated an early portion of their off-season in hopes of lifting Houston from basketball purgatory next year. The Rockets ended the 2021-22 campaign with the league's worst record at 20-62.
"For guys to be here in early May — as much as we would like to be playing right now — we are preparing to be one of these [playoff] teams,” Silas said during the unveiling of the renovations at the Moody Community Center. "It is super important for our guys to be here right now, and it speaks to their commitment and what type of guys they are."
Houston's training program has not been lite. Assistant coach John Lucas has been at the forefront of conducting practices — which have included conditioning, on-court drills and weight training.
Sengun described Lucas' workouts as crazy and tough but has begun to notice the positive results on his game and physical conditioning. Sengun returned to Houston following a brief visit to his homeland of Turkey.
The former Turkish League MVP winner finished his rookie campaign averaging 9.6 points on 47.6 percent shooting from the field, 5.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists across 72 games.
"It means a lot to me, but it speaks to who they are,” Silas said. "I deliver the message and try to do it in a way that makes sense. I try to highlight the things they need to work on and also highlight the things they did well on this season.
"It's obvious that we need to get better, and the players that we have want that. There are not too many teams that have their players in the gym in May — especially the majority of their guys. We know what's ahead of us. And our guys are prepared for it."
Houston will receive the results of the 2022 NBA Draft lottery on Tuesday in Chicago. The Rockets are entering the lottery with the highest odds of receiving the top selection in the 2022 NBA Draft.
