John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins made their Houston Rockets debut against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night. Wall and Cousins season debuts were delayed because both of them had to quarantine due to contract tracing.
Houston won a close game 122-119; James Harden’s two late free throws sealed the deal for the Rockets. Sacramento missed two three-point shots in the final seconds.
John Wall
Wall was traded to the Rockets for Russell Westbrook in early December. It was the first game for the former Wizards point guard in two years. Wall missed all of last season recovering from an Achilles tendon injury. He last played on December 26, 2018.
The point guard’s first basket was a left-hand dunk in transition. Wall finished with 22 points, nine assists, and six rebounds while shooting 8 for 22 from the field. Wall looked explosive on his drives to the basket and played well for a guy who has not played in an NBA game in two years.
DeMarcus Cousins
Cousins is coming off an injury as well; he missed all of last season due to a torn ACL. The injury happened before the season in a pickup basketball game.
Cousins came off the bench for the Rockets and hit his first three-point attempt. The former Sacramento King scored eight points and three assists in his first game. Cousins only played 14 minutes but was influential on the offensive end when he was on the court.
It will be interesting to see how Wall and Cousins fit with the Rockets, especially Wall and Harden’s pairing in the backcourt. Wall said post-game, he is there to make Harden’s job easier.” My job is to help James as much as possible and to try and make it easier for him.”
In the future expect Stephan Silas to play Cousins more minutes; it would be good to see him on the court with Wall and Harden to see what the three could do together. The question his how long will Harden be around.
