<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/grizzlies-news-josh-christopher-is-ready-for-a-new-opportunity-with-memphis-exclusive');   ga('set', 'title', 'Josh Christopher is ready for a new opportunity with the Grizzlies [Exclusive]');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Christopher-1.jpg"></figure><h1>Josh Christopher is ready for a new opportunity with the Grizzlies [Exclusive]</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-08-03T18:32:13-07:00">August 3rd, 6:32pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-08-03T18:32:13-07:00">August 3rd, 6:32pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is based in Los Angeles and currently covers basketball at every level from NBA/WNBA to men/women college and boys/girls high school.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Finding success in the NBA is all about fit and opportunity. Sometimes talent doesn’t matter as much as being able to find the right team. Sometimes players get drafted to the right team from the get-go. Other times it takes a bit longer and several teams later. When the Houston Rockets drafted Josh Christopher in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft, they knew they were getting a very talented player. But flash forward to this offseason and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grizzlies-news-land-ex-first-round-pick-in-dillon-brooks-sign-and-trade-with-rockets" rel="noopener">they decided</a> to trade Josh Christopher to the Memphis Grizzlies in the deal that landed them Dillon Brooks.</p><p>That’s the nature of the business though and now after two seasons in the NBA, Christopher <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/rockets/news/houston-rockets-josh-christopher-trade-roster-moves-memphis-grizzlies" rel="noopener">is on a new team</a> with a new system to learn and new teammates to get to know. It’s a radical change for him in that the Rockets had been among league’s bottom dwellers during his time with the team and the Grizzlies have their sights set on becoming title contenders.</p><p>With his time with the Rockets in the rearview, he’s relishing this new opportunity and is looking forward to what happens next.</p><p>“I tend to try not to move with emotion dealing with basketball,” Christopher told ClutchPoints. “I had a real good connection with the team, it was more so for opportunity. I’m just excited for whatever is next.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Josh Christopher has the potential to be one of the best players in the NBA someday. </p><p>The Rockets got an athletic, high motor, ball handling and scoring guard. This guy has BEEN league ready. </p><p>🎥 <a href="https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@houstonrockets</a> <a href="https://t.co/iOJ6VJGoKD">pic.twitter.com/iOJ6VJGoKD</a></p><p>— Ball Don't Stop (@balldontstop) <a href="https://twitter.com/balldontstop/status/1427391519716085764?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 16, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>While the trade with the Grizzlies represents a new opportunity for Josh Christopher, nothing is set in stone, nothing is guaranteed. The Grizzlies currently have 17 players under contract including Christopher. That’s not counting second round pick GG Jackson who showed enough promise during Summer League that it’s hard to envision him being left off the Grizzlies roster this upcoming season.</p><p>The Grizzlies do have one two-way contract spot available with the other two spots going to Vince Williams Jr. and Jacob Gilyard. It’s highly likely that Jackson is given the third two-way contract spot. That still leaves the Grizzlies two players over the 15-man maximum with all 17 of those players on guaranteed deals. It’s going to be up to Josh Christopher to try and beat somebody out and earn a spot on the regular season roster. He’s confident in his abilities and confident he can help the Grizzlies this season.</p><p>“I can bring everything, I’m a two-way player,” Christopher said. “I’ve been working on my jump shot obviously, so being able to spot up, and then play defense as well. At the same time I use my creative abilities to play ball and really just affect the game and affect winning.”</p><p>The Grizzlies are a team that takes pride on the defensive end of the court. This past season, they were top three in the league in defensive rating. They were top ten in opponents points per game. That’s one key aspect where Josh Christopher can stand out and make his case for a roster spot. He’s been a good on-ball defender during his first couple of seasons in the NBA even if there is room for improvement on that end.</p><p>Most recently, Christopher made an appearance at the famed Drew League pro-am in Los Angeles where he was matched up against Chicago Bulls guard Dalen Terry for much of the game. Christopher took that challenge on and displayed very good on-ball defensive skills. He has the size and mobility to be a defensive force on the wings. The tools are there for him to be able to guard both guard positions and small forward.</p><p>Christopher’s defensive mindset began when he was forced to as a kid playing against his siblings, and it’s something he’s carried with him ever since.</p><p>“They always say defense wins championships. I have brothers that I grew up playing against and I’m the youngest. So for me to get the ball I always had to get a stop, and that’s just kind of been instilled in me for a while,” Christopher said. “And I’m athletic. When I was in high school I was always kind of playing the five a little bit so I was kind of rim protecting. I think it stemmed down from that too.”</p><p>Each summer, the Drew League is graced with some of the top professional, college and even high school basketball players in the country. While many of them have local ties, there’s a good number of players from out the area and out of state that come for the competition. The league has grown in popularity over time</p><p>On this particular weekend, Christopher found himself opposite Bulls teammates DeMar DeRozan and Dalen Terry. While DeRozan and Terry ultimately got the win, Christopher kept his team in the game and even powered them to a near double-digit lead at one point thanks to his offensive arsenal. His slashing ability and his three-point shot were on full display.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">josh christopher was cooking! <a href="https://t.co/6lebzZCVVS">pic.twitter.com/6lebzZCVVS</a></p><p>— chris (@k1szn_) <a href="https://twitter.com/k1szn_/status/1686228321527328768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 1, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>For Christopher, the Drew League represents a chance to showcase everything he’s been working on in anticipation of the 2023-24 season.</p><p>“Really just do the things that I’ve been working on in the summertime,” Christopher said. “If I’m able to do that, to get reps up and get my cardio in and prepare for the season, and just play basketball in the city that I’m from and have fun, then I’m good.”</p><p>Josh Christopher is still on his rookie scale contract, and if he makes the team this season and sticks for the whole year, the Grizzlies have a team option for the 2024-25 season. He knows this is a pivotal year for him, one that could really decide what his future is in the NBA. Although a lot can happen between now and the start of the season, for now, he’s coming to camp ready to compete and show that he belongs.</p><p>“I just want to establish myself,” Christopher said. “They always say your third year is a very pivotal year which it is for me now too. So just to be able to establish myself and really find a home.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Josh Christopher is ready for a new opportunity with the Grizzlies [Exclusive]

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '');   ga('set', 'title', 'Josh Christopher revels in his first NBA start for the Rockets');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Rockets-Josh-Christopher.jpeg"></figure><h1>Josh Christopher revels in his first NBA start for the Rockets</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-12-19T06:44:03-08:00">December 19th, 6:44am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-12-19T06:45:20-08:00">December 19th, 6:45am</time><address><a>Salman Ali</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>As the Houston Rockets beat the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night, the story was obviously Garrison Mathews. Mathews had just signed his first long-term NBA contract hours earlier and had a strong game to follow it up. What got swept underneath the rug, however, was Rockets rookie Josh Christopher starting in his first NBA game. It wasn’t a ceremonial start either, as the swingman tallied 10 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, and 1 steal on 4 of 6 shooting from the field. Christopher was also 2 of 3 from three-point range on Saturday.</p><p>Kevin Porter Jr., Jalen Green, and Armoni Brooks were all unavailable to play so Christopher had to step in. He’d actually found his way into the rotation as of late, playing a secondary ball handling roll off the bench. After the Rockets fell to the Knicks on Thursday night, Stephen Silas talked about Christopher becoming a more permanent fixture in the rotation. Silas also said that Christopher would be playing more minutes at point guard, making Saturday an obvious first test.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">KJ bringing down the HAMMER! 🔨 <a href="https://t.co/fceCbk6bKF" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/fceCbk6bKF</a></p><p>— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) <a href="https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/1472259377889480708?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">December 18, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Josh Christopher has moments <a href="https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/1472259377889480708?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1472259377889480708%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fclutchpoints.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D1589086action%3Dedit" rel="noopener">where he’s got blinders on</a>, but he’s fairly impressive at operating in the pick and roll when he wants to be. He basically played full-time playmaker the moment Jalen Green went down at Summer League. Christopher has an impressive handle, he’s got a big and physical frame, and he’s been a guard all his life. The Rockets made him a combo wing because of his defensive ability, but he’s still a shot-creator at heart.</p><p>“They’re becoming dependable players,” said Silas of his young crop of talent (Christopher, Alperen Sengun, and K.J. Martin). “And that’s what you want. You want guys you can depend on to make the right play, to be in the right spot, and to produce when they’re in the game.”</p><p>This is big praise coming from Silas, considering Christopher wasn’t in Houston’s rotation for large stretches of the season. The Rockets just had a crop of veteran players in front of him and the guard position was crowded. The team’s injuries of course accelerated Silas’ need to believe in him, but what’s important is he’s in the rotation now. It’ll be interesting to see how much that changes when Porter Jr. and Green return to the lineup.</p><p>“I didn’t even tell him,” said Silas of the decision to start Josh Christopher on Saturday. “We just assumed that that was what it was going to be. He assumed. We assumed. We just wrote it on the board and he was ready for it. It was probably a special moment for him for sure and a moment he’ll never forget.”</p><p>Brooks went down on Thursday against the Knicks and Christopher was the player Houston chose to start the second half with. Usually that’s a pretty big indicator of where the coaching staff’s head is at before a decision like this. It’s how they settled on Garrison Mathews becoming a starter. Still, nobody could have ever guessed that Christopher would start a game this season after seeing his rotation minutes at the beginning of the season.</p><p>“I didn’t have my contacts in yet,” joked Christopher on seeing his name on the board with the starters. “I was like “Does that say J.C.? And it did. So there was a little excitement, but was more just ready to go. Like ‘We’re here now. Let’s win a game.”</p><p>Christopher is definitely the most charismatic player on the team. But that’s not to confuse his jovial attitude with weakness. He seems to really get up to play for big games and his leadership qualities are kind of innate. His on-floor talent is obviously great: the secondary ball handling is helpful and his defense is promising. However, it’s this leadership quality and inner-confidence that will drive Christopher to a long NBA career if he keeps improving.</p><p>“Hard work is everything and just being ready,” said Josh Christopher. “Then when you do get your name called, seize the opportunity and maximize it. So you can just keep on building on it. Not to get too high or get too low. When things like this happen, you have to keep going super hard so more good things happen for you and the team.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Josh Christopher revels in his first NBA start for the Rockets

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '');   ga('set', 'title', 'Josh Christopher is making a compelling case to make Houston’s rotation');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Josh-Christopher-Rockets-.jpeg"></figure><h1>Josh Christopher is making a compelling case to make Houston’s rotation</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-10-09T05:45:44-07:00">October 9th, 5:45am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-10-09T05:46:30-07:00">October 9th, 5:46am</time><address><a>Salman Ali</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Prior to the season, it was pretty easy to predict how the Houston Rockets’ rotation would look like. Houston had drafted four rookies, but because they had at least eight active players on the roster over the age of 24, it was likely only two of those rookies would play regular minutes. Rockets head coach <a href="https://twitter.com/SalmanAliNBA/status/1446269053753044992?s=20">Stephen Silas confirmed Thursday night</a> that the team was leaning towards going with an 10-man rotation. However, rookie Josh Christopher is making a strong late push to make the regular season rotation.</p><p>“It’s going to be difficult,” said Silas of cutting the rotation down after Josh Christopher led a fourth quarter comeback against the Washington Wizards. “We have a bunch of young guys who are hungry and work hard. Josh [Christopher] is as hungry and works as hard as anybody that I’ve seen.”</p><p>Christopher had 11 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal and was a +11 in just 8 minutes. Silas rewarded Christopher with an earlier entry into the game and double the minutes. He responded with yet another fourth quarter comeback (minus the win this time) and 12 points and 5 rebounds on 55.1% True Shooting. Christopher is mistake-prone and he can be inefficient at times, but he’s a gamer and it’s not hard to see why Houston drafted him higher than he was projected to go on most mock drafts. Since this is the only real time Houston gets to fiddle with lineups and rotations before the season starts, it’s likely he’ll see another small minutes bump in the next preseason game.</p><p>“Things are starting to open up for me,” said Josh Christopher after Thursday’s game. “Like the gaps, I was able to penetrate and get in and get layups today which is not really like college. It’s way different. I think the game in the NBA is built for me.”</p><p>This is not a pretty common trope you hear about players entering the NBA. The spacing does wonders for athletic slasher types like Christopher who were previously forced to play a condensed form of the game. The spacing is especially good with Houston’s small ball unit with Usman Garuba at center. This unit is able to spread the court and switch defensively one through five and Christopher has thrived in this environment.</p><p>“Just wanting to win a ball game,” said Christopher when asked why that unit has been so successful. “Obviously the crowd is excited so I think that gives a little boost, especially after not having fans for a long time. Wanting to just play hard. It’s fun playing with those guys for sure.”</p><p>Christopher is the furthest thing from a lock to be a rotation player. In fact, he’s probably still going to suit up for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers this season. However, we’ve reached the point where, much like Kevin Porter Jr. last season, one trade or injury could open up minutes for him to play.</p><p>“Whenever my name is called, I think I’ll be ready to go,” said Josh Christopher. “I think I got some tick earlier today. In the second quarter I checked in. It’s just a progression thing. I’m going to keep on working to try and get better as much as possible. And when Silas calls my name, I’ll be ready to go.”</p><p>If you’re a Josh Christopher fan, I’d caution you not to get angry if the season starts and he’s in the G League. February is going to be a month to watch for as the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nets-rumors-kyrie-irving-could-retire-if-brooklyn-decides-to-trade-him-for-ben-simmons/" rel="noopener">trade deadline could force</a> Houston to make a decision on veterans Eric Gordon or Daniel House. This is the obvious path for Christopher to receive real playing time this year. In the meantime, Houston’s coaching staff is set to have some tough conversations pretty soon as the 15-man roster deadline approaches.</p><p>“Those young guys are taking advantage of an opportunity,” said Silas. “Hopefully they make it hard to figure out what the rotation is going to look like.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
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2024-25 SEASON STATS
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