The Houston Rockets 2021-22 season has gotten off to a rocky, uneventful start. After asking point guard John Wall to sit to allow their young stars to develop, and enduring several losing skids, the Rockets now sit at 10-27 and last place in the Western Conference.
While this is a developmental year for their blossoming talent, things still have not come together as planned for Houston. Last night (Jan. 1), things went awry again at halftime of their game in Houston against the Denver Nuggets. According to Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim McMahon of ESPN, third year shooting guard Kevin Porter Jr. got into a heated debate with assistant coach John Lucas at halftime.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Porter Jr. threw an undisclosed object at Lucas, and would eventually leave the arena at some point in the second half. The feud also involved young star center Christian Wood, who struggled with zero points in the first half. Wood apparently showed up late to warmups and was subsequently removed from the starting lineup. After the argument, he refused to enter the game in the second half.
The Rockets would eventually lose the game 124-111. Rockets head coach Stephen Silas did not shy away from these reports, confirming the halftime scuffle in his post-game interview: "We had a spirited debate. I have certain demands of this team as far as playing hard. ... I wasn't satisfied with the effort."
Silas also said that it was ultimately his decision to keep Wood out of the game after halftime. Porter Jr. spoke to the team after the game and offered his apologies for his attitude. However, this is not the first time KPJ has acted this way. Before being traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers last season, it was reported that he had thrown food in the locker room in a tirade after his locker had been given to newly acquired Taurean Prince.
Kevin has gotten off to a rough start in the league, which is disappointing considering his tremendous upside.