National Basketball Association

Houston Rockets Daily Rockets Science: Anything for 'The Land'

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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In today’s Daily Rocket Science, the Houston Rockets will have to adjust their pregame routine for ‘The Land’.

The Houston Rockets opened their home opener Sunday night with a 93-92 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Following the win, Red Nation will have to wait two weeks before they can root for their team again.

Tonight, the Rockets will open their five-game road trip against the Cleveland Cavaliers. As the Rockets prepare to take on the defending champs, home court advantage is already working in their opponents favor.

After a day of deliberating with league officials, the Cavaliers got what they wanted. According to Chris Manning of Fear the Sword, the NBA have changed the start time to accommodate Game 6 of the World series.

Last Tuesday, the Cleveland Cavaliers bumped up the start of their ring ceremony to accommodate the Cleveland Indians and Game 1 of the World Series. Now, the Cavs are doing it again for tomorrow’s Game 6. The Cavs’ game against the Houston Rockets – which was originally scheduled for 7 p.m. – will now tip-off at 6 p.m. First pitch of Game 6 between the Indians and Chicago Cubs is scheduled for 8 p.m.

Heading into their fourth game of the season, there are a few changes Mike D’Antoni must make to have success in Houston. In order to hand the Cavaliers their first loss of the season. House of Houston‘s Bryson Jones says it’s time to unleash K.J. McDaniels.

He hustles, defends, finishes at the rim, plays better in half court sets and has athleticism that is unmatched within the guards on this team. In three games played thus far in the 2015-16 season, McDaniels has posted 22 points, five rebounds and two steals in 50 minutes of play.

Like many teams around the league, the Rockets extended rookie contracts Monday afternoon. The Rockets picked up the contract options on Clint Capela‘s and Sam Dekker‘s for the 2017-18 seasons. However, the team announced that they will pass on guard Tyler Ennis as per CBS Sports.

This doesn’t exactly mean that Ennis is definitely going elsewhere next July, but it makes it much more likely. If he does not take advantage of this early-season opportunity and prove he belongs, then the Rockets will probably go a different direction. If he thrives, then they probably won’t be able to afford him. Since Houston declined Ennis’ $2.7 million option, it is not allowed to pay him more than that in free agency. This is how the Indiana Pacers lost Solomon Hill this past offseason.

In desperate need of a point guard, perhaps it would be in Houston’s best interest to keep Ennis around.

Keep up with Space City Scoop throughout the season as we fill you in on everything Rockets. With the Rockets starting a five-game road trip, it’s going to be one wild ride.