The rookies on the Rockets didn’t get to play a lot in 2012-13, but they showed a lot of potential for the future.  23-year old point guard Patrick Beverly replaced Jeremy Lin in the playoffs and he played well for the Rockets.  Beverly played in 41 games (0 starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 17.4 minutes, 5.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.  He is going to see a spike in P.T. next year.  22-year old power forward Donatas Motiejunas played quite a bit in the middle of his rookie year for the Rockets.  He played in 44 games (14 starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 12.2 minutes, 5.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  He had 11 games with at least 10 points and 6 games with at least 5 rebounds last year for the Rockets.  The Rockets dealt for 22-year old power forward Thomas Robinson at the trade deadline, but they didn’t play him that much.  Robinson played in 19 games (0 starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 13.0 minutes, 4.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  He played in 70 games (0 starts) overall last year for the Kings and Rockets in which he averaged 15.1 minutes, 4.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  21-year old power forward Terrence Jones was buried on the depth chart for the Rockets in 2012-13.  He played in 19 games (0 starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 14.5 minutes, 5.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  24-year old center Tim Ohlbrecht played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Rockets last year and he only averaged 4.0 minutes, 1.0 point, 0.3 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  You have to wonder if 22-year old power forward Royce White will ever play in a game with the Rockets.  He played in 16 games (8 starts) in the D-League for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and he averaged 25.6 minutes, 11.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.  White only shot 44.4% from the floor and 65.9% from the free throw line in the D-League and that’s not good.  He is afraid to fly, so it’s hard to see him ever playing in the NBA if that doesn’t change in the near future.

55-year old head coach Kevin McHale had a solid 2012-13 for the Rockets.  He led them to a 45-37 (54.9%) record during the regular season and he got the Rockets to win a couple of playoff games in the first round against the heavily favored Oklahoma City Thunder.  McHale is now 79-69 (53.4%) during the regular season and 2-4 (33.3%) in the playoffs in his first two years on the job for the Rockets.  McHale is now 118-124 (48.8%) during the regular season in his first four years as an NBA head coach and he is 2-4 (33.3%) in the playoffs.  McHale had a rough time with issues of the court (the death of his daughter), so he might want to retire in the off-season….but the Rockets want him back.  Stay tuned.

The Houston Rockets finally got back to the playoffs in 2012-13.  They finished in 3rd place in the Southwest Division with a 45-37 record, 13 games behind the Spurs.  The Rockets then took the Thunder to six games, playing very tough against them before bowing out.  Here is a look at the players that made the biggest impacts for the Rockets in 2012-13, in my opinion:

TEAM MVP:  James Harden:  23-year old shooting guard James Harden turned into a full fledged superstar for the Rockets in 2012-13.  He played in 78 games (all starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 38.3 minutes, 25.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game.  Harden had 9 double-doubles and 1 triple-double for the Rockets in 2012-13.  Harden had 65 games in which he scored at least 20 points, 5 games with 10 or more rebounds, 5 games with 10 or more assists and 21 games with 3 or more steals last year.  Harden gives the Rockets a young superstar to build their team around for the future.

BIGGEST SURPRISE:  Chandler Parsons:  24-year old small forward Chandler Parsons got a shot to play full-time with the Rockets in 2012-13 and he ran with it.  Parsons played in 76 games (all starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 36.3 minutes, 15.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  He had 8 double-doubles for the Rockets last year.  He scored at least 20 points in a game 22 times last year, he had at least 5 rebounds in 44 games, 17 games with 5 or more assists and 7 games with 3 or more steals last year.  The Rockets have to be excited about Parsons’ future.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT:  Jeremy Lin:  24-year old point guard Jeremy Lin wasn’t the player the Rockets thought he would be when they signed him last summer.  He played in 82 games (all starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 32.2 minutes, 13.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game.  Lin had 9 double-doubles for the Rockets last year.  He also had 16 games with at least 20 points, 19 games with 5 or more rebounds, 56 games with 5 or more assists and 20 games with 3 or more steals in 2012-13.

The Rockets couldn’t keep up with the Thunder last night, plain and simple.  James Harden only shot 7 of 22 from the floor last night, but he still led the way for the Rockets with 26 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots.  Chandler Parsons also had a rock solid game with 25 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.  Omer Asik (13 points, 13 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots) and Francisco Garcia (11 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal in 37 minutes) also pitched in for the Rockets last night.  The Rockets are now done for the 2012-13 season as they Thunder beat them 4-2 in this series.

30-year old backup SF/SF Carlos Delfino is going to miss the rest of the playoffs due to a bone fracture in his right foot which will require surgery to repair.  Delfino played in 5 games (0 starts) in the playoffs for the Rockets and he averaged 24.0 minutes, 9.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.  Delfino also played in 67 games (5 starts) during the regular season for the Rockets in which he averaged 25.2 minutes, 10.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  This is a big loss for the Rockets’ bench moving forward.

24-year old rookie point guard Patrick Beverly played in 41 games (0 starts) for the Rockets during the regular season and he averaged 17.4 minutes, 5.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.  Beverly is really stepping up in the playoffs so far for the Rockets.  He has played in 5 games (4 starts) for the Rockets so far against the Thunder and he is averaging 33.4 minutes, 12.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  The Rockets hope that Beverly can keep up the good work as he has been solid in replacing Jeremy Lin (bruised chest) in the starting lineup.

The Rockets took it to the Thunder in Oklahoma City last night.  James Harden stuck it to his old team as he led the way for he Rockets with 31 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal last night.  Omer Asik (21 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocked shots), Francisco Garcia (18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots) and Patrick Beverly (14 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) also had rock solid games for the Rockets last night.  Chandler Parsons (10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists) and Aaron Brooks (10 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in 19 minutes) also pitched in for the Rockets.  The Rockets are still down 3-2 to the Thunder in this series.

The Rockets held off the Thunder last night to stay alive in the playoffs.  Chandler Parsons stepped up big time for the Rockets last night with 27 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists and 1 blocked shot.  Omer Asik (17 points, 14 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) and Patrick Beverly (16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) also had rock solid games for the Rockets last night.  James Harden had a night to forget as he only shot 4 of 12 from the floor and turned the ball over 10 times.  He finished up with 15 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 5 steals and 1 blocked shot.  Carlos Delfino pitched in with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 26 minutes off the bench.  The Rockets are now down 3-1 in this series.

The Rockets showed a lot of heart last night, but they just fell a tad short in the end.  James Harden led the way for the Rockets with 30 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots.  Chandler Parsons also had a rock solid game with 21 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot last night.  Francisco Garcia (18 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal and 3 blocked shots in 33 minutes) and Carlos Delfino (11 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot in 23 minutes) were solid off the bench in this game.  The Rockets are now down 3-0 to the Thunder in this series.

Starting point guard Jeremy Lin bruised his chest in Game #2 against the Thunder and he could be limited in the rest of the series.  Lin has played in 2 games (both starts) for the Rockets so far in this series against the Thunder and he is averaging 26.0 minutes, 5.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  Regardless of how much Lin can play moving forward, rookie Patrick Beverly is going to play a lot.  He has played in 2 games (1 start) against the Thunder so far in this series and he is averaging 34.5 minutes, 13.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game.  Lin needs to bite the bullet and show some toughness.