Danielle Lerner

4 days ago | houstonchronicle.com | Danielle Lerner

'This ain’t that team.' Why Rockets aren’t worried by history vs. WarriorsHouston Rockets-Golden State Warriors playoff series historyHow does Houston Rockets' Amen Thompson lock in on defense? He keeps receipts. The Rockets are No. 2 in the West and ready to win now. Surprised? They aren’t. 'It’s all antics': How the Houston Rockets are preparing for the Golden State Warriors' Draymond GreenJalen Green and Alperen Şengün were faces of the Rockets' rebuild. Now they’re faces of a playoff team.

5 days ago | houstonchronicle.com | Danielle Lerner

Here we go again. That was the prevailing sentiment among Houston Rockets fans when the No. 2-seed Rockets drew the No. 7-seed Golden State Warriors as their first-round NBA playoff opponent, the fifth postseason meeting between the two teams in the last 10 years. The Warriors got the best of the Rockets in each of the four previous series, so the memories aren’t exactly positive.

1 week ago | houstonchronicle.com | Danielle Lerner

Locked in. That’s how Amen Thompson describes the state he must enter to defend the NBA’s most prolific scorers — something the Houston Rockets’ second-year guard does routinely, and exceptionally well. But beyond that, Thompson finds it difficult to put into words how it feels when he shuts down Steph Curry, or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, or Donovan Mitchell. Does he see distress reflected in their eyes? Does his heart rate accelerate with adrenaline?

1 week ago | houstonchronicle.com | Danielle Lerner

Jae’Sean Tate came to the Houston Rockets as a rookie at the dawn of the franchise’s rebuild in 2020, when the team faced an uphill climb out of the NBA’s basement. Tate himself was already an underdog who was passed over in the NBA draft and told he was too small to play in the league. In some ways, he was the perfect person to help the Rockets through uncertain times because he had already experienced hardship and enormous loss.

1 week ago | houstonchronicle.com | Danielle Lerner

Jae’Sean Tate came to the Houston Rockets as a rookie at the dawn of the franchise’s rebuild in 2020, when the team faced an uphill climb out of the NBA’s basement. Tate himself was already an underdog who was passed over in the NBA draft and told he was too small to play in the league. In some ways, he was the perfect person to help the Rockets through uncertain times because he had already experienced hardship and enormous loss.