The Houston Rockets got a much-needed pair of wins over the weekend, defeating the Brooklyn Nets (119-111) and Chicago Bulls (96-88).

It isn’t exactly top-of-the-line competition. But for a team that has struggled in multiple areas, getting any wins on the board is a positive sign.

THREE OBSERVATIONS

1. The Chris Paul-Carmelo Anthony pairing will be tough to deal with

The allure of Anthony being brought in was what he could provide as a spark plug. Instead of Chris Paul and Eric Gordon carrying the offense when James Harden would rest, Anthony was expected to take pressure off of both guys.

With both James Ennis and Harden returning to the starting lineup over the weekend, it didn’t take long for Anthony to settle into his bench role. He erupted for an efficient 28-point evening against the Nets, then followed that up with a 17-point performance against the Bulls.

Anthony made 17 shots between those two games. Of those makes, 13 of them were assisted. Of those 13 assisted shots, seven of them were courtesy of Chris Paul.

The Paul-Anthony duo posted a 115.1 offensive rating in 41 minutes together. The scary part was just how easy it came together. Against Brooklyn, all it would take was a simple high pick-and-roll to force the Nets into an uncomfortable position.

In general, you just can’t play “drop” coverage against Paul. If he gets downhill, he’ll sprinkle in pull-up middies or toss lobs all day. With a pick-and-pop threat like Anthony, things get a little juicier.

Paul knows he has D’Angelo Russell on his hip, and can tell by how far Jared Dudley is playing back that Brooklyn isn’t going to switch. The second he gets Dudley to move, he tosses an overhead pass to Anthony in rhythm for the jumper.

How about this for a counter?

Paul and Anthony begin their two-man dance on the right wing. Instead of popping out, Anthony tries to seal Russell for the mismatch. Russell and Joe Harris are able to stay attached to their assignments, but Paul pumps, passes it to Anthony, then cuts through the lane for a potential give-and-go opportunity. Russell does a decent job of staying attached, which turns the possession into a quick stint in the torture chamber for Harris.

Having Paul and Anthony out there against second units, and some first units, will be flat-out unfair to deal with. Once Gordon really gets rolling, you could be looking at one of the most prolific second units in the league.

2. Houston switched up their defensive coverage just a tad

Houston’s MO is to switch virtually everything. That is not a secret to anyone. Their switching style led to great success last season, but not so much in the early going of this one. Teams have been able to hunt out mismatches and waltz into easy looks.

That changed subtly over the weekend. Houston still switches a ton, but they’ve started mixing in some “drop” coverage in pick-and-roll, as the great Alykhan Bijani of The Athletic pointed out in his game thread.

It makes sense on a few levels. The Rockets are being blitzed at the rim this year. Entering Friday’s matchup with the Nets, the Rockets had allowed the fourth most shots at the rim (33.8), with opponents making those at a league-best 71.4 percent clip.

Clint Capela (more on him shortly) defending on the perimeter means the paint is exposed behind him. Whenever Isaiah Hartenstein or Marquese Chriss subs in, you can pretty much update the scoreboard ahead of time.

Mixing in “drop” coverage gives Houston a little bit of a safety net. The numbers, for as small as the sample may be, definitely bore that out. The Rockets allowed 54 total shots at the rim, with the Nets and Bulls shooting a combined 61.1 percent on those looks. That 27-shot average would rank seventh in the league; the 61.1 percent clip would tie the Charlotte Hornets for the 10th stingiest mark.

With assistant coach Jeff Bzdelik getting ready to make his return to the sideline, it’ll be interesting to see what Houston does from a schematic standpoint moving forward.

3. Houston has something in Gary Clark

If the Michael Carter-Williams experiment isn’t dead, it’s at least on life support right now. He only played six total minutes over the weekend, and the Rockets were outscored by seven points in that time frame.

Yikes.

Carter-Williams’ disappearance has led to a steady dose of minutes for rookie Gary Clark. The hard-nosed swingman is in the 3-and-D mold, but what makes him potentially special is his competence as a weak-side helper.

Poor Zach LaVine didn’t know what hit him. A burned switch (poor Hartenstein) was supposed to end with a highlight. It did, just not the way many expected it to.

Clark still needs to find his stroke from deep. He shot 2-of-8 from three over the weekend, and has shot 7-of-21 on the season. The good news is that he’s been willing to pull the trigger, and should become more comfortable with more minutes, and more time alongside either Paul or Harden.

TWO QUESTIONS

1. How quickly can James Harden get back to MVP levels?

Harden made his return from a hamstring injury on Saturday against the Bulls. He finished with 25 points and seven assists while also shooting 5-of-12 from deep. He also turned the ball over eight times and shot 2-of-5 in the paint.

We’ve seen high turnover games from Harden. With his usage, that just comes with the territory sometimes. What’s new is Harden’s struggles at the rim. He’s only converting 51.4 percent of his shots at the rim, a mark well below last year’s clip (62.3 percent).

There will be positive regression at some point — he’s too good for there not to be. It just boils down to how quickly he can make that happen.

2. Is Clint Capela OK?

On the surface, Capela is having a good year. He’s averaging a career high in points (15.3), rebounds (11.5), and his block average (1.9) is identical to last year’s. Once you dig a little deeper, or turn on some film, you’ll come away … a little underwhelmed, to be honest.

Capela has missed some bunnies at the rim that he normally makes. He’s had some rebounds snatched away from him that would remind you of his first couple of seasons in the league.

On switches, he’s been much more of a mixed bag. We’ve seen him hold his own in space against guys like LaVine:

We’ve also seen him get dusted in space by Harris:

The inconsistency can be frustrating. There have been chirps about the foot issue he dealt with before the year, but it’s hard to argue that when he’s looked so good in spurts. Ultimately, the version of Capela has gotten this year just hasn’t been good enough. He needs to recapture his postseason play if Houston wants to seriously contend in the Spring.

ONE PREDICTION

1. The Rockets win two of their next three

The Rockets kick off the week against the Indiana Pacers on Monday. They’ll get a three-day break, then take on the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday. After that, they’ll get the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.

Those are three tough match-ups on paper, but they’re all winnable games. The latter two games are definitely in reach; the Thunder have struggled to shoot and are without their best defender (Andre Roberson) for a while. The Spurs don’t have a soul that can defend Houston’s backcourt, period.

If I had to guess, the Rockets will drop Monday’s contest against the Pacers before taking the next two.

Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images