Houston Rockets Game 1 of 2015-16 Season – vs Nuggets

The Houston Rockets are another 2 months away from tipping off their 2016-17 season. While H-Town fans anxiously await seeing the reconstructed roster in action it’s the perfect time to revisit this past season.

Oct 28, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Emmanuel Mudiay (0) is defended by Houston Rockets guard Ty Lawson (3) and guard James Harden (13) in the second half on opening night at Toyota Center. Denver won 105 to 85. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Rockets added draft picks and signed free agents to improve upon an especially mediocre 41-41 campaign. Big man Dwight Howard left for Atlanta while free agents Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon, Nene Hilario and Pablo Prigioni joined Houston in free agency.

Therefore Houston hopes their free agent additions and the growth of existing assets will translate into a season similar to 2014-15. While fans wait for  October 26th opening night versus the Lakers hopefully this series will appease your cravings.

To that end, this series showcases the Rockets 82 games noting the pregame analysis, post game grades, and relevant video. Furthermore, SCS will highlight significant changes made by their opponents this summer. So, here it is – – enjoy all 82 posts as SCS takes you back over the 2015-16 season.

Game 1 – Denver Nuggets

To launch the season the Houston Rockets faced the Denver Nuggets resulting in a 105-85 loss.

Pregame Analysis:

Notably in this opening game SCS highlighted Ty Lawson facing his former team. It was also the first game for rookie Emmanuel Mudiay.

For the complete pregame analysis visit this link

Post Game Analysis:

The Rockets shot poorly with James Harden in particular having an off night shooting 6 for 21 from the field and he was abysmal from behind the arc going 2 of 12. By night’s end he had a team high 22 points and added 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. For a full recap of the Rockets production check out the box score from the game here.

Suffice to say the manner in which the Rockets lost this game raised red flags immediately in Red Nation. Here’s the link to the post game analysis.

Stat Leaders:

Danilo Gallinari scored a game high 23 points while James Harden scored 22 points. Kenneth Faried had a game high 9 rebounds as well as 3 blocks tying Gallinari in that stat.

Rockets Games vs Nuggets in 2016-17

Houston Rockets play the Denver Nuggets 4 times this season:

• December 2nd in Denver at Pepsi Center
• March 18th in Denver at Pepsi Center
• March 20th at home
• April 5th at home

Draft Picks and Summer Moves

Notably the Denver Nuggets have a deep roster full of young talent including 4 rookies. Watch for Murray and Hernangomez specifically to make a dent immediately this season. Of all the teams in the Association the Nuggets are most likely to make another move via a trade prior to season start given their horde of youthful talent.

Round 1: Jamal Murray (7), Juan Hernangomez (15), Malik Beasley (19)

Round 2: Petr Cornelie

Exiting: 

• D.J. Augustin 4-years, $29M exits for Magic

Re-upping:

• Darrell Arthur 3-years, $23M (obviously likes team direction signing reasonable contract) Mike Miller  2-year $6M deal

More Free Agent News

While free agency news develops stay in touch with SCS as the site features all 30 team signings. In addition, if you want to follow free agency closely check out SCS Free Agency Profiles for all 30 teams:

Next: Updated Free Agency Report

Next: Free Agency Profiles for all 30 Teams

Due to the large Houston Rockets fan base, SCS is always looking to add new talent to our writing team. To that end, we’re looking for individuals with a specialized focus.  Specifically, the first area  is perfect for someone who constantly surfs for breaking news on injuries, trades, insider info. Consequently this individual would select top news items providing timely quick hits to keep SCS readers in the loop.

The other writer would possess an especially strong social media background and would like to interact with Clutch City Fans. Therefore this person will promote SCS team content on facebook and twitter. As a result the successful candidate will  make sure to promote the best content coming from H-Town fans. In conclusion, if you’re a budding writer who possesses these qualities vist the SCS link, and fill out an application.