Coach Stephen Silas appears to be safe despite the Rockets’ many struggles, as thoroughly detailed by Kelly Iko of The Athletic.
“If we’re being honest, I didn’t think Silas would survive that brutal 2-12 start to the year. It looked and felt like the walls were caving in, and we’ve seen coaches get fired at the beginning of seasons for less,” Iko wrote in his latest mailbag. “But he survived and Houston looked better over the next stretch, going 7-6 over the next 13 games. The question used the important phrase ‘in danger,’ implying Silas could lose his job sooner rather than later.
“The sense I get is there’s no rush to cut ties with Silas at this juncture. He’s always been backed by management, from winning them over in the interview process to giving him full autonomy in constructing his supporting staff. There’s a lot of love for him in the building, especially following the unfortunate passing of his father, Paul Silas.”
Iko added, however, that there is some “frustration” within the Rockets’ front office.
“Watching them play, it looks like nobody is on the same page and there’s real confusion on the floor. Players look devoid of confidence at times,” Iko wrote. “There’s no real order of operations; figuring out the flow of offense is essentially a crapshoot. They’re dead last in turnovers. Teams don’t respect them defensively. More than one opposing player has referenced the Rockets as a ‘get-right’ game.”
The Rockets (10-30) have lost nine of 10. At this point, they are very much just hoping to land the No. 1 overall pick and the right to draft Victor Wembanyama. How they go about that, and how it impacts Silas, remains to be seen.
But these rebuilding projects can often cost a coach his job, and fair or not, there’s no doubt Silas is on shaky ground.
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