By the time he left Toyota Center on Sunday, Kyle Lowry was thrilled to mark the occasion of a career first. But it was not his first triple-double, recorded in that night's win over the Utah Jazz, that delighted him most.
The Rockets would be off Monday in the midst of another odd twist in a schedule unlike any Lowry had seen in his career.
"By the time we hit the road, it will be 17 days at home," said Lowry, who on Monday won his first NBA Player of the Week honor. "That's rare. I never had that in my career. I'm glad to have it. I'm glad it came at this time to prepare for every game and every team."
After the brutal schedule through January, the run of back-to-backs and cross-country flights for one-game road trips, the Rockets have seen the flip side in recent weeks.
They are five games into a six-game homestand, their longest of the season. With their return to the Western Conference playoff race making every game crucial, the Rockets will play just once in a six-day stretch, allowing for a rare late-season chance to rest and retool with 11 games left .
"I think it is going to be valuable," coach Rick Adelman said. "I'm going to try to really gauge what is the best time to give him rest, because we'll have plenty of practice days. The time we have on the court is going to be crucial for us just to stabilize things a little bit before we start in Miami for another three in four nights.
"This late in the season, when we practice, they have to go all out because we're not going to go extremely long. We're going to have to be efficient."
Adelman said the team will not head to Austin for a second training camp, though they would have time after Wednesday's game against Golden State , with three days off before they visit the Heat on Sunday. They will be able to work on details that often must be sacrificed during the season, from added out-of-bounds plays to drills on pick-and-roll defense.Time to experiment
With Sunday's injury to Chase Budinger, the Rockets also will explore small forward options. Budinger was upgraded on Monday from out to doubtful for Wednesday's game, and he does not seem to be headed for a long stretch out.
Still, the Rockets are bringing back Mike Harris, who was cut in the preseason after his third stint with the team, on a 10-day contract.
Adelman said he will work power forward Patrick Patterson in at small forward, as he did in training camp when Budinger was out with the first sprain of his left ankle.
Adelman also will use the time to help Goran Dragic adjust to the offense and to playing as a shooting guard in a backcourt with Lowry.
"I'm going to try a few things," Adelman said. "I'm going to look to see if there's times we can throw Patrick (at small forward). I believe he can play there. It's just offensively, how do you use him? And (Sunday) I put Goran in with Kyle and with Courtney (Lee). There is a lot on Courtney's shoulder if Chase can't play, because he's our small forward now."
It would have been all but impossible to take on all of that during earlier portions of this season's schedule. The Rockets played 17 games in January, going 6-11. They played eight games in the 16 days in February before the All-Star break, going 4-4.
They have gone 11-3 since, and after playing 19 sets of back-to-backs through March 8, have not had any during their long homestand.
The Rockets are 7-12 in the second game of back-to-backs, but playing all those games then allowed them to get the extra practice time now, when it can be most useful.
Plenty to do with days off
"It will be huge for us," Lowry said. "We're still getting Goran implemented into the flow, getting guys rest, getting back to the details we've been slipping on. The coaching staff will do a good job of watching film and getting back to us, letting us know what we need to work on.
"Every game has been tough for us. Playing, practice, playing, practice, playing, practice kind of gets to you after a while. We feel this is a good stretch for us."
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