Patrick Beverley has high expectations for the Houston Rockets next season, mainly because of his belief in All-Star guard James Harden. Beverley isn't the only one who understands the Rockets will go as far as Harden can take them.
Harden knows this as well, which may be one reason why he is organizing a players-only minicamp for his Rockets teammates in Miami next week via Fox 26's Mark Berman:
"James is doing everything," said Corey Brewer, Rockets guard/forward. "He is showing he wants to be a leader. He's the franchise player. He signed the extension. So it's his team, and he's doing all the right things to do what we need to do to have a chance to win championships."
...
"I've got to go down there with the fellas," Brewer said. "It's a good thing. We got to get together. Get to know each other, team camaraderie. You need that, especially now days the way the NBA is. A lot of good players, but you got to be a team.
"We want to send a message that we're ready to go. We're going to work our butts off. All the guys have been working hard this summer. Last year was a year that we didn't like. Everybody has a bitter taste in their mouth. So we can't wait to get started."
Harden is not doing new here as other team leaders often organize minicamps before training camp starts. Still, it does show initiative, and a minicamp should help the Rockets, who made some new additions with Ryan Anderson, Nene and Eric Gordon, develop better team chemistry and familiarity with one another. Plus Harden embracing his leadership role now should help him set a tone for the upcoming season.
Hopefully they're working on playing a little defense at this camp.
